Time-crunched consumers on the hunt for convenient, last-minute meals increasingly are opting for food prepared outside the home, but a small and growing portion also are interested in learning new cooking techniques and recipes – giving the sluggish...
How is the plant-based trend impacting the kids’ food market? When and how are children’s flavor preferences developed (and can we really train kids to love broccoli)? And what’s the sweet spot for sugar levels in beverages that kids enjoy and parents...
Grubhub has seen a significant increase in vegan and plant-based food orders in the past year based on user data of more than 500,000 food orders placed through the mobile app on an average day.
Consumers' eating patterns tend to shift during the summer months, becoming more experimental and experiential with new items taking center plate such as meat-less burgers, blended proteins, ‘standalone’ side dishes, and all-day snacking, says Tyson...
True Food Innovations will steam ahead expanding its retail offering of Chef'd and True Chef meal kits this year and will also reveal an exclusive licensing deal with a major CPG brand, its president says.
Plant-based meal kit co Purple Carrot has been sold to Japan's largest meal kit and organic food delivery service Oisix ra daichi for an upfront payment of $12.8m, with another $17.2m due in 2021 if it achieves unspecified earn-out* goals.
Meal kit service Sun Basket has closed $30m in a Series E investment led by PivotNorth Capital to accelerate its direct-to-consumer business offering AI-powered meal personalization and meal plans from breakfast to dinner.
Tovala, a company combining the technology of smart countertop ovens with chef-made meals delivered to the home, has entered its first branded food partnership with Beyond Meat, incorporating the plant-based meat alternatives into its meal recipes.
We’re no longer a nation of pantry stockers. Many Americans don’t know what’s for dinner tonight, never mind next week, and with grocers now competing with everyone from GrubHub to IKEA, is it time for a radical rethink of the traditional supermarket...
Blue Apron will pilot a same-day on-demand service in the Bay Area enabling consumers to order meals by noon for delivery the same evening in an ongoing attempt to reach customers that buy into the meal kit concept but don’t necessarily want to commit...
Developments in mobile technology paired with time-strapped consumers’ increasing demand for convenience are giving restaurants a competitive edge over traditional grocery stores and food & beverage CPGs, but a new study from Oracle suggests many...
Chicago-based Skinny Souping is seeing nationwide demand for its on-the-go, nutrient-dense soups (made with fresh ingredients and free from any sort of preservatives and additives), which are designed to be consumed chilled or hot.
How brick-and-mortar retailers merchandise and present their fresh produce selection plays an important role in driving sales, shares the Food Marketing Institute (FMI) in its 2019 Power of Produce report.
Emerging brands in the plant-based frozen food space are plentiful, but not many have proven their value in international markets as Strong Roots has in the UK and its home base of Ireland.
US sales of in-store meal kits reached $93m in 2018, according to the latest Nielsen data, with 187 new retail meal kit items introduced during the year as high-profile brands sought to reach consumers that like the concept, but don’t want to commit to...
Check out FoodNavigator-USA’s latest gallery of new products hitting US shelves, spanning the latest plant-based launches in the meat and dairy aisle, new pulse based pastas, keto-inspired launches in everything from bone broth and pancake mixes, and...
The future of baby food – according to some brands at least – is fresh. But which business models make the most sense for new players in this small, but rapidly growing, chilled segment of the market?
New York-based direct to consumer organic babyfood brand Little Spoon has raised $7m in a funding round backed by venture funds Vaultier7 and Kairos, Chobani founding member Kyle O'Brien, Tinder founders Sean Rad and Justin Mateen, Interplay Ventures,...
While some of the luster has worn off the subscription-based meal kit market, Yumble's proposition – prepared meal delivery for kids - is inherently ‘stickier’ with busy parents, says Sonoma Brands, the lead investor in its Series A funding round.*...
Kroger is shifting from a "grocery company to a growth company" (referred to as its 'Restock Kroger' initiative), CEO Rodney McMullen told delegates at the NRF show in New York this week, noting that it embarked on the move well before...
When meal kits first burst onto the scene, they were pitched as a way to prep dinner in a hurry. However, the category’s major players are now finding that consumers are looking for even quicker options for every meal occasion - at more accessible prices.
The rise of diets – paleo, plant-based, Whole 30, keto, even ‘lazy keto’ – has created a challenging environment for food and beverage marketers trying to establish and grow a strong consumer following.
With the largest research and development network in the industry and a laundry list of new launches designed to meet evolving consumer demands, Stouffer’s demonstrates that legacy brands successfully can go toe-to-toe with startups when it comes to innovation...
When meal kits first launched in the US, Americans were fast to embrace the idea of pre-planned, pre-portioned, ready-to-prepare dinners delivered to their doors, but according to new research from Packaged Facts that love quickly faded for many who became...
Online grocer Peapod’s third annual meal forecasting survey revealed a growing appreciation for home cooked meals and that spending more time in the kitchen cooking healthy dishes is a top resolution for many in 2019.
By 2030 most meals currently cooked at home are instead ordered online and delivered from restaurants or central kitchens
Plant-based eating and convenient breakfast items are trends that have taken over the packaged food and beverage space, but do the same consumer interests hold true for the food delivery industry as more time-starved consumers are reporting using apps...
Better-for-you frozen food maker Luvo is ready to graduate from startup to an emerging company as it approaches a break-even cash flow and pursues the promise of profitability in the New Year thanks in part to one last infusion of capital from Dugout...
Giant Food, a regional grocery chain in the Washington D.C. area, has invested $175m to remodel 24 of its existing stores and open a new store location over the next two years.
It has been ten years since the last recession first shook Americans’ confidence and caused them to pull their purse strings tighter, but according to industry insiders, consumers finally are feeling more comfortable spending again – which is good news...
If you didn't make it to Chicago last week for the FoodNavigator-USA FOOD FOR KIDS summit, you missed a truly awesome ensemble of academics, industry experts, health advocates, and our first parents’ panel, covering everything from the infant gut...
Roughly half of current online shoppers reported that they plan to purchase grocery items more often in 2019 with increased purchases of fresh food items, according to the 2018 US Online Grocery Shopper Study conducted by The Retail Feedback Group (RFG)...
A month after committing $100m to launch its venture capital fund, Kraft Heinz has acquired wellio, an AI food tech company based in San Francisco, as part of its new digital innovation hub, the evolv group.
The amount of time Americans spend sitting down and eating a meal has shrunk over the past 10 years, while purchases of prepared food options from grocery stores and food service (carry-out, delivery, or fast food) have risen, according to the Economic...
Plated is continuing the in-store rollout of its meal kits with Albertsons, gaining placement with 37 more stores in the Northeast and 42 locations in the Southwest.
A report by market research firm Packaged Facts revealed that online groceries more than tripled between 2013 and 2018, though it still accounted for only 2% of total grocery spending.
Instacart has raised $600m in a financing round led by D1 Capital Partners, bringing its total funding raised – in Iess than one year – to $1.6bn, raising the e-commerce company’s valuation to $7.6bn.
Just Add Cooking (JAC), a meal kit company founded in Boston in 2013, is looking for an extra boost of funding launching a WeFunder campaign with a $300,000 fundraising goal.
Being a picky eater as a child may not have to do just with taste and familiarity, but also the way food is presented and arranged on a plate, recent research from Future Consumers Lab showed.
Following Kroger's acquisition of Home Chef and months spent scaling up production capabilities, Home Chef meal kits have rolled out to 225 Midwest Kroger retail locations.
While the economics of running a subscription based home delivery model for fresh meal kits are notoriously challenging, shelf-stable kits offer distinct advantages to consumers and operators, argues the founder of gourmet meal kit brand Takeout Kit,...
The future of subscription based meal kit delivery remains bright for players with a differentiated offering and an efficient supply chain, claims the CEO of Purple Carrot, who says the 100% plant-based meal kit brand has experienced “significant growth”...
From novel approaches to introducing allergens to babies, to HPP babyfood, grab n’ go granola for schools and frozen puree pops for tots, entrants to our 2018 trailblazers challenge are creating innovative new products, brands, and routes to market for...
PepsiCo-owned Quaker has stretched far beyond traditional oats with chilled, yogurt-based breakfast kits that target portability and nutrition-forward consumers, its general manager says.
Convenient solutions for getting dinner on the table at a reasonable hour are growing and the expansion of produce distributor Baldor Specialty Foods’ retail line, Urban Roots Veggie Side Kits, is intended to give consumers a time-saving and creative...
For busy working parents, mealtimes can be stressful even on a good day, and if direct to consumer companies can solve this pain point with child-friendly meals that don’t require any preparation, the market opportunity is “potentially enormous,” say...
Kraft Heinz stock is down 30% since its 2015 IPO. So, is 3G Capital - which manages the company and owns 22% of its stock – doing a lousy job, as one investor has suggested in an open letter to its board and shareholders this week? Or does the slump reflect...
On average, most Americans eat only half their meals at home with family or household members -- a figure that the Food Marketing Institute Foundation and more than 200 food retailers, manufacturers and community organizations are hoping to increase...
One of the secrets to the rapid growth of Raised Real’s subscription home delivery meal kits for “tiny humans” is asking its members what they need – and actually listening to their answers, according to the company’s CEO Santiago Merea.
A whopping 85% of consumers don’t know what they will have for dinner until mere hours before the meal – meaning what ends up on their plates increasingly doesn’t come from the fridge, but rather from a restaurant, meal kit or the grocery deli and chilled...
KitcheNet launched as an affordable meal kit delivery company two years ago servicing food insecure areas in Chicago, but learned that its ready-to-make meals weren't hitting a homerun with all of its target demographic.
![Jon Sebastiani on Yumble: ‘There is a wide open gap in the marketplace for a premium [kids’ food] brand’](/var/wrbm_gb_food_pharma/storage/images/_aliases/news_teaser_medium/publications/food-beverage-nutrition/foodnavigator-usa.com/news/people/jon-sebastiani-on-yumble-there-is-a-wide-open-gap-in-the-marketplace-for-a-premium-kids-food-brand/9046317-1-eng-GB/Jon-Sebastiani-on-Yumble-There-is-a-wide-open-gap-in-the-marketplace-for-a-premium-kids-food-brand.jpg)
