With all the attention GMOs have received in recent months—good and bad—confusion in the marketplace has inevitably followed, as consumers scramble to make sense of the pro- and anti-camps’ arguments and product manufactures scramble to keep track of...
The Honest brand could extend well beyond the ready-to-drink tea category into a wider array of beverages and even foods, says the co-founder of Honest Tea, which posted a 27% surge in sales to $112m in 2013, and is growing even faster this year.
Not only are today's consumers less likely to rely on a primary store for food shopping, but they're sharing shopping duties and planning for specific meals rather than stocking up on food, according to the Food Marketing Institute (FMI)’s annual...
Natural and organic is the future of functional food and food in general, according to MetaBrandCEO Eric Schnell. Schnell is a panelist in an upcoming NutraIngredients-USA online forum title "Trends in Functional Foods" and set for June 30.
United Natural Foods Inc. the dominant force in organic and natural food distribution in North America, says its acquisiton of Tony’s Fine Foods will help it stave off competition in the space from more mainstream distributors.
In the latest iteration of FoodNavigator-USA’s What do you do interview series, we talk with the boss of organic ancient grain specialist Ancient Harvest about the challenges of long-distance (work) relationships, his move from banking to CPGs and what...
The founders of Canadian bakery products manufacturer One Degree Organic Foods think the current packaged food landscape has distanced consumers far too much from Mother Nature. They’re looking to narrow the gap between food producers and the end consumer...
Recent acquisitions in the natural space—Bolthouse Farms and Plum Organic—were among the bright spots in a disappointing quarterly earnings report for Campbell Soup Company. The development points to changing sales patterns within the United States overall.
Big Interview: Sarah Pike, CEO & founder of Buen Sabor
The daughter of parents who owned one of the first certified organic farms in Maine, Sarah Pike grew up in a big family for whom the freezer was the preservation tool of choice for home-cooked food.
Guest article: Steven Hoffman, managing director, Compass Natural
Pointing out problems and flaws in organic farming and certification is constructive in that they need to be addressed. But using the imperfections of the organic production system to defend why GMOs are a preferred way to produce food - as Mischa Popoff...
Guest article: Mischa Popoff, author, Is it Organic?
I worked for five years as a USDA-contract organic inspector after growing up on an organic grain farm in Saskatchewan. I had the pleasure of inspecting over 500 organic farms and processors, but I began questioning this career path when I realized the...
US retail sales of organic products grew 11.5% to $35.1bn in 2013, the strongest growth the industry has seen in five years, according to new data from the Organic Trade Association (OTA), which is predicting even higher growth of 12% this year.
There are significant opportunities to grow the Rudi’s Organic Bakery brand, both through increasing distribution and taking it into new categories, says its new owner, Hain Celestial.
Microwave popcorn was a childhood favorite snack of Kristy Lewis; though her nostalgia turned to disillusionment when as an adult she learned that the chemical-, hydrogenated oil-laden formula hadn’t evolved alongside her growing awareness.
For a growing global population facing dwindling resources, non-GMO plant-based proteins are the future, says 29-year-old non-GMO and organic soybean and corn supplier World Food Processing (WFP).
84% of US consumers buy organic food sometimes, and 45% of them buy it at least once a month, according to a new national survey of 1,016 adults. However, there is a disparity between what they think the organic seal means and what they think it should...
Big interview: Noha Waibsnaider, founder & CEO, Peeled Snacks
Armed with an MBA from Columbia University, a great contacts book, and a keen understanding of the CPG market after a two-year stint working at Unilever, Noha Waibsnaider was probably better equipped than most to face the challenges ahead when she launched...
“We could have expanded our market massively and aggressively if we said we’ll deliver anything to anyone, anywhere at any time. But we’d also have lost a lot of money,” says the president and CEO of one of the most successful online grocery platforms...
Consumers have spent years paying over the odds for organic foods based on the erroneous belief - promulgated by stakeholders with a vested interest - that they are healthier and safer than their conventional counterparts, claims a controversial new report.
Walmart has signaled its intention to get into organic food in a big way this week with plans to carry 100 Wild Oats organic products at a “new, more affordable price point” in 2,000 stores.
When Winder Farms CEO Mike Dutton first started tapping private equity firms for cash to support his online grocery shopping business, memories of Webvan (which went bankrupt in 2001) were still fresh, and more than a few doors were slammed in his face...
Sambazon - the firm that made açai a household name in the US - has donated $50,000 to Whole Planet Foundation to help fund microcredit for poverty alleviation worldwide.
The natural products market continues to grow and achieve scale, reaching $150 billion last year and projected to hit $226 billion by 2018—with 68% of that coming from food and beverage products, according to the Nutrition Business Journal.
Chobani will make its first foray into the organic market later this year with the introduction of 32oz grass-fed multi-serve packs of its Greek yogurt.
Interview with Bobo's Oat Bars founder Beryl Stafford
Ten years after Bobo’s Oat Bars first hit natural food store and coffee shop shelves in Boulder, CO, the now profitable cereal bar manufacturer is capitalizing on the parallel growth in popularity of the gluten-free and grab-and-go segments to target...
Launching a new brand in the ultra-competitive US carbonated soft drinks market - which is facing well-documented problems right now - is notoriously tough, but the Dutch entrepreneur behind new market entrant Veri Soda is convinced he has found the sweet...
A new chart compiled by Dr. Phil Howard at Michigan State University reveals the extent to which multinational food and beverage firms now dominate the organic food and beverage market when it comes to share of dollar sales.
Meat from grass-fed organic dairy steers may be of greater nutritional quality than conventionally raised steers, but falls below standard in overall consumer liking and flavour tests, according to research.
Californian natural flavors firm Blue Pacific has joined a growing number of ingredients suppliers to go through the Non-GMO Project Verified certification process.
Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage has reported a 26% net sales increase year-over-year in its first quarter of fiscal 2014. The company also recorded 10.6% comparable store sales growth, maintaining momentum in this key metric.
A survey of American, British and French consumers by Truvia Natural Sweetener found that French consumers claim to eat the healthiest, while American and British consumers are more likely to reward themselves with food and drink. But all three consumer...
The struggle over GMO labeling will push the growth of certified organic products in the US in 2014, according to market research firm Organic Monitor. And at least one major discount grocery retailer is looking to cash in with the launch of a new organic...
Solid growth for the US organic food market is expected to continue until 2018, according to a new report that puts a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14% on the sector.
Whole Foods said Wednesday it plans to dump Chobani as a yogurt supplier at the beginning of 2014, citing a number of reasons—primarily that it has become more selective in shelf allocation with the recent explosion of Greek yogurt brands.
Organic milk contains significantly higher concentrations of heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids compared to milk from conventionally-managed dairy cows, US researchers have found.
Consumer packaged food and beverage firm WhiteWave Foods has acquired organic food brand Earthbound Farm from its existing shareholders led by Kainos Capital and founders Drew and Myra Goodman, for approximately $600 million in cash.
Amid mounting false advertising lawsuits and increased pressure from consumer advocacy groups, the future of the historically vague marketing term "natural" is in question.
Annies Inc. has announced the $6 million acquisition of a cracker and cookie plant in Joplin, MO that will more than triple the company’s volume in the important snacks segment.
Big Interview: Matt McLean, CEO of Uncle Matt's Organic
From one pulp-free organic orange juice SKU in a regional Florida grocery store chain in 1999, Uncle Matt’s Organic is the oldest US organic juice company with 11 organic juice products and national distribution in such chains as Whole Foods, Publix and...
Whether a food product contains genetically modified organisms, and whether the disclosure of that information should be mandatory on the label has dominated public discourse in recent years. But that focus may have obscured a more basic concern about...
Organic yogurt maker Stonyfield is rolling out new packaging hammering home its organic credentials with a new logo featuring the phrase ‘no toxic pesticides used here’ following research suggesting 74% of Americans would like to eat food produced with...
Across the board, consumers are embracing natural and organic products more and more, with natural/organic retail sales reaching $81.3 billion in 2012, up 13.5% from the year before.
Interview: Greg Estep, president, Olam Spices & Vegetable Ingredients (SVI)
It’s tempting to think of spices and dehydrated vegetables as commodities - in comparison to say stevia, or omega-3s - where price is all that matters. But they are anything but, says the man in charge of the spices and vegetable ingredients (SVI) division...
Breaking into the cut-throat world of consumer packaged goods takes blood, sweat, tears... and enough cash to sustain some momentum after the initial excitement of seeing your product hit the shelf wears off.Here's FoodNavigator-USA's pick of...
An organic equivalence agreement signed yesterday between the US and Japan will reopen the Japanese market to US organic producers and could provide more—and possibly cheaper—food for US consumers.
As consumer demand for local and organic products grow, new research asks whether it a love for these characteristics or a hate for 'conventional' food is driving purchases.
Vinegar (acetic acid) should be ‘purposefully’ integrated into more food matrices, say the researchers behind a new study which reports the potential blood sugar management potential of a vinegar beverage.
‘Eco-eating’, which encompasses everything from edible packaging trends to sustainable seafood, is moving from natural stores and fancy restaurants to the mainstream of food culture, according to a new report.
