Reducing sodium is expensive and difficult, and many bakers are beginning to wonder whether it is worth investing millions into reformulating products that consumers do not want to buy, according to the Association of Bakers (ABA).
Coupon use continued to increase in 2011 as money-saving habits adopted during the recession have become a way of life for many Americans, according to media and marketing services company Valassis.
"At least 12 major players in the food industry" are testing canola protein from BioExx, while a tie up with Century Foods to develop canola-protein-based sports products is also progressing well, claims the veggie protein specialist.
Nestlé and Mead Johnson - two of the biggest guns in infant nutrition - have become embroiled in a row over the design of bottles used by both firms to package their nutritional drinks.
Economic uncertainty is changing the way America eats, creating a series of “virtually untapped” opportunities for food marketers, according to a new report.
Color-coded labeling and rearranging products in-store could lead consumers to make healthier choices, according to a new study from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers.
Food marketers have an opportunity to help consumers seeking healthy foods by providing easy-to-understand nutrition information on-pack, according to a new report from Nielsen.
Processed foods are likely to get a health kick this year, with more whole grains, lean poultry and seafood, vegetables, and mono- and poly-unsaturated fats, according to a new report from Packaged Facts.
More than two-thirds of consumers avoid buying products if they dislike the parent company, according to the results of a new survey from Weber Shandwick and KRC Research.
Almond milk was the fastest growing non-dairy milk alternative in 2011 in sales and popularity, as consumer awareness of plant-based milk health benefits has grown, according to a new report from Packaged Facts.
Industry-backed ad watchdog the National Advertising Division of the Council of Better Business Bureaus (NAD) has taken issue with Gerber over its use of the terms ‘natural’ and ‘immune support’ on products for toddlers.
Fair Trade USA has revised its policy for labeling products with multiple ingredients, introducing a new ‘Fair Trade Certified Ingredients’ label alongside an updated logo.
Ethical production claims such as ‘fair trade’ may influence how consumers perceive calorie content, according to new research published in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science.
African Mango, probiotics, chia, fermented drinks, organic supplements and cognitive health will be top of the health food pops this year, according to TrendWatch 2012, a new report from natural products specialist SPINS.
Food manufacturers have nothing to gain and everything to lose from moves to expand the number of top-level domain (TLD) names allowed on the internet, according to one legal expert.
Food choices are influenced by presentation for children as well as adults – but what appeals to kids may be quite different from what appeals to their parents, suggests new research published in the journal Acta Pædiatrica.
The global food preservative market is set to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2.5% in the next five years, according to a new report from Markets and Markets.
Wonder bread and Twinkies maker Hostess Brands has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to allow it to restructure, but does not expect to stop producing or delivering any of its products during the process, the company said on Wednesday.
Tropicana Products Inc. is the latest company to be sued over use of the term ‘natural’ – this time to describe its not-from-concentrate ‘100% pure and natural’ orange juice.
Forget goji berries and noni juice. Tart cherries, blueberries and other more familiar fruits are likely to trump their exotic cousins in 2012 as shoppers tire of Orac-tastic superfruits, according to trend watcher Hartman Group.
Food manufacturers are upping their game on allergen management, but many still take information from ingredients suppliers about allergens “at face value without further verification”, according to a survey by Deloitte & Touche.
Health- and eco-conscious consumers are just as interested in the ingredients their foods do not contain as those that make it onto the ingredient list – but price remains a top priority, according to a new survey.
Sales of soft drinks to adolescents in Baltimore City nose-dived when study participants were exposed to ‘easily understandable’ information about calorie content, according to a new US study.
Lawmakers have requested a cost-benefit analysis of proposed voluntary guidelines for restricting foods marketed to children, as part of a congressional spending bill.
Kellogg might have been outpacing rivals in the cereals category in the first three quarters but its volumes have started to drop off again and it remains under pressure thanks to “weak fundamentals”, according to a new report.
A group of the biggest packaged food companies in the United States has filed a lawsuit against major US egg producers, accusing them of fixing prices for at least a decade.
Kellogg’s Honey Smacks is not marketed to children, a company spokesperson told this publication yesterday. Really? Then what’s up with the big cartoon frog?
Coca-Cola is switching back to iconic red for its Classic Coke cans just one month after introducing white cans as part of a holiday season campaign, following consumer complaints that they had confused the sugar-containing version with Diet Coke.
Local food infrastructure needs to deepen to ensure production can grow in line with consumer demand, which may be greater than previously thought, according to a new report from the USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS).
Losing or maintaining weight clearly involves taking responsibility for food and lifestyle choices – but creating a healthier environment could help more people do just that.
Local and organic certification labels may increase the likelihood that women will purchase a product, as well as their willingness to pay a premium – but men are less likely to be influenced by logos, according to a study published in HortScience.
Campbell Soup Company has reported a 5% drop in net earnings in the first quarter as soup demand continues to fall in the United States, although the company is beginning to see the first fruits of a turnaround program.
Sugar growers have amended a lawsuit against the Corn Refiners Association (CRA), claiming that some members of the association have conspired to engage in false advertising – an accusation the CRA denies.
King Arthur Flour is the latest company to become the focus of a class action lawsuit for using ‘all-natural’ labeling on products that allegedly contain synthetic ingredients.
Many consumers are rejecting processed food and reconnecting with their food supply – and major food manufacturers are getting on board with a new wave of products dubbed ‘artisanal'.
There is “no silver bullet” to reverse the growing trend of alienation from today’s farms, according to the Center for Food Integrity (CFI), a non-profit industry-backed group that aims to ease consumer fears about the US food supply.
New standards to underpin the use of the word ‘natural’ on meat & poultry products and snacks & cereals should be released by the Natural Products Association (NPA) next year as part of its Natural Seal certification scheme.
Food advertising to children is a “perfect example of a topic that is wholly inappropriate for government regulation”, according to the vice president of the Children's Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative (CFBAI).
Fair Trade USA has said it will conduct a full review of its forthcoming ingredients labeling policy in response to criticism from other stakeholders in the Fair Trade industry.
A new report by a leading US research organisation has criticised leading soft drinks producers such as PepsiCo, Coke and Dr Pepper for aggressively marketing high sugar products to children and teens.
Non-profit consumer group Citizens for Health is the latest organization to oppose the Corn Refiners Association’s petition to allow ‘corn sugar’ as an alternative label declaration for high fructose corn syrup (HFCS).
In the world of food marketing, perception is everything. Consumers want foods that sound wholesome, friendly, and above all “natural” – although they are rarely able to articulate what this means.
A Chicago district court has dismissed a complaint alleging that General Mills and Kellogg Company should have specified on-pack that their Fiber One, Fiber Plus and other bars contained “processed” fiber.
Consumer groups have filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) against PepsiCo and its subsidiary Frito-Lay, claiming that it uses deceptive and unfair marketing techniques to attract teenage customers.
The Institute of Medicine’s (IOM’s) proposed front-of-pack (FOP) labeling scheme is a positive step forward, but "needs much more work”, according to supporters of one leading FOP scheme already up and running in the marketplace.
A co-ordinated industry-led effort to produce a working definition of the term ‘natural’ on food packaging would help firms navigate one of the most contentious areas of food marketing, according to one labeling expert.
Coca-Cola Company chairman and CEO Muhtar Kent insists that if Coca-Cola can’t continue to grow sales in the US then the company only has itself to blame.