Think 'clean label' just means ditching ‘artificial’ ingredients and avoiding anything attracting negative press (warranted or otherwise)? Think again. Today, brands are also questioning whether ‘natural’ flavors, preservatives and sweeteners...
Hydroponic and aquaponic farms can keep their organic status – at least for now – following the National Organic Standards Board’s decision April 21 to defer a vote on whether the systems are eligible for USDA certification.
Grass-fed cottage cheese brand good culture – which launched in August 2015 with organic ingredients and some edgy savory flavors - is confident it will be in 6,000 stores by the year end after bringing out a lower-priced ‘natural’ range (with more familiar...
Curating the National List of non-organic substances that are allowed in products certified as organic is a core responsibility of the National Organic Standards Board, and as such stakeholders will lobby the USDA advisory board to add and delete several...
To increase supply of organic and avoid the financially challenging three-year transition period necessary to convert conventional farm land, some producers are converting native ecosystems to organic farms – a practice that the National Organic Standards...
The Organic Trade Association wants to put the breaks on a proposal from the National Organic Standards Board to strengthen the requirements for use of organic seeds because “a few substantive changes are critical.”
Organic stakeholders gathering in Denver this week for the National Organic Standards Board meeting will take another stab at defining the role of hydroponic production in organic, which documents suggest the advisory committee may prohibit.
Healthy Skoop, a Boulder-based nutritional product company, is capitalizing on the plant-based nutrition trend with new product launches and an expanded retail footprint.
From turmeric paste, barley couscous and konjac rice to cashew nut spreads, coffee leaf tea and adaptogen-laced juice drinks, CHFA West - Western Canada’s largest natural health and organics trade event (hosted by the Canadian Health Food Association)...
Spring has finally sprung, which means birds are chirping, crops are blooming and bees are pollinating – at least those that survived the winter, and the varroa mites, damage from pesticides, the dearth of natural food sources and problems related to...
Annie's sales set to reach $400m in fiscal 2017, says president
While some commentators baulked at the $820m General Mills parted with to get its hands on Annie’s, the brand has gone from strength to strength since the deal closed in late October 2014, with sales set to reach $400m this fiscal year, and household...
McDonalds, Panera and other high profile food service companies took notable steps last year to introduce “healthier” chicken products, but frozen poultry product producer Hip Chick Farms thinks more can done and it is stepping up the plate to push change...
As animal welfare concerns become increasingly mainstream, farmers and manufacturers, such as the natural and organic meat brand Applegate, are optimistically rethinking the scale of and their approach to humanely raised animal agriculture.
Barnana carved out virgin territory in the healthy snacks segment with its chewy banana bites, but will its new banana brittle prove equally groundbreaking? FoodNavigator-USA caught up with chief marketing officer Nik Ingersoll at the Expo West show to...
There is a “tremendous parallel” between the emerging consumer demand for improved animal welfare in the US and the organic food movement, including notable business opportunities and significant challenges, according to Whole Foods Market CEO John Mackey.
With a goal to become “the Little Debbie of the natural snacks industry,” Nature’s Bakery is expanding its portfolio beyond its flagship Fig Bar line, and overhauling its branding to ensure the company name isn’t lost among the multiplying stock-keeping...
Despite organic’s strong appeal with double-digit year-over-year growth since the early 1990s, and the promise of a significant premium price over that of its conventional counterparts, many American farmers are hesitant to jump on board – creating a...
Is Target a destination store for fresh food, or a place you visit with another shopping mission in mind, and end up picking up some groceries? Right now, says one retail commentator, it’s stuck in a “nether world” between the two.
General Mills’ splashy commitment last year to double the number of organic acres it sources from by 2019 not only is a strategic business move to boost sales, but part of a larger effort to “do the right thing,” according to the company’s organic ambassador.
If high purity Reb A used to be the only game in town when it comes to stevia, the game has become a lot more sophisticated in the past couple of years as suppliers compete to provide the best-tasting combinations of steviol glycosides, and products become...
Increased funding for research to improve production tops the organic industry’s wish list of policy actions that it wants legislators and regulators to consider as they begin in earnest the long process of reauthorizing the Farm Bill, which is slated...
Private label sales now account for more than one in every ten dollars spent at Sprouts stores, said the Phoenix-based retailer, which posted a 0.7% rise in same store sales in the latest quarter while rival Whole Foods Market has continued to see its...
Can organic supply match demand? Is Paleo a fad or a trend? Are you getting enough bang for your promotional bucks? How big will online food shopping become? To gauge our readers’ views on these –and many more questions - FoodNavigator-USA is running...
Check out FoodNavigator-USA’s latest gallery of new products hitting US shelves, where we see plant-based protein creeping into everything from hot cereal to shakes, bars, chips and bites; coupled with ongoing interest in whole milk.
Sales of natural and organic products may be steadily increasing – and even outpacing that of the overall food industry – but three main barriers continue to hold them back from their full potential, suggest new research.
As natural and organic goes mainstream, Whole Foods’ differentiator is, well, not that different from the rest of the market anymore, says one retail analyst.
Bolthouse Farms expands its footprint in the crowded dressing category with the launch of a new premium line that fills the whitespace in the unexpectedly bare overlap between organic and better-for-you options.
CAUGHT ON CAMERA AT THE 2017 WINTER FANCY FOOD SHOW
Dahlicious – a brand best-known for its cultured dairy product, lassi – is moving into new territory this year with the launch of almondmilk-based yogurt and kefir.
The Trump Administration’s regulatory freeze announced last week could significantly impact how the Nutrition Facts Label final rule and regulations related to the Food Safety Modernization Act are interpreted and enforced even though they passed well...
Matcha, seaweed (paired with chocolate and coconut), veggie snacks, grass-fed meat and dairy, coconuts, hemp, and pulses (beans, peas, chickpeas, lentils) featured heavily at the 2017 Winter Fancy Food Show, where trend-spotters also got to taste Brazilian...
Vegetables will shine as a rising star in the juice industry in 2017 as consumers look for ways to reduce sugar and increase functional benefits, predicts a top executive working with the international juice maker Biotta.
Even though a final USDA rule strengthening animal welfare standards squeaked into the Federal Register today before the new administration takes control of country, the rule may not be safe from repeal, like so many others finalized under Obama’s leadership.
The US Department of Agriculture’s call today for public comment on the Organic Trade Association’s application to create an organic check-off program comes at a time when sales of organic products in the US are soaring but hampered by limited domestic...
Farmers transitioning to organic soon could more easily sell their products at a premium even during the transition period before they are fully certified thanks to a new USDA program announced today.
A growing awareness of the environmental impact of food production and a desire to shop sustainably will heavily influence how consumers plan, shop for and prepare meals in the coming year, predicts a leading food influencer and national retailer.
Personalized nutrition? Plant-based foods? Paleo diets? FoodNavigator-USA quizzed food & beverage entrepreneurs and CEOs to find out what trends they will be monitoring in 2017 and why…
General Mills experienced another lackluster quarter in Q2 2017, with a 9% decline in net sales in US retail, although operating profit in the division was up due to margin expansion initiatives.
Check out FoodNavigator-USA’s latest gallery of new products hitting US shelves. It's a mixed bag here, with everything from chocolate novelties to chilled mac & cheese kits, but protein remains a key theme, from pea protein-fueled crackers and...
Offering products made from crops transitioning to organic at a premium above conventional but not as high as certified organic “helps the farmer, helps the consumer and helps the planet,” says the owner of the McKaskle Family Farm.
For more than 100 years, brewing and benefiting from the health aspects of Yaupon Holly -- a lightly caffeinated and antioxidant packed plant native to the US -- was nearly forgotten, but now it is coming back and ready to go mainstream thanks to the...
Demographics don't provide easy answers to GMO debate, says Pew Research Center
Think anti-GMO sentiment is primarily the preserve of white college educated liberals? Think again, says Pew Research Center, which has just conducted a consumer survey suggesting that attitudes on GMOs, organics, and other food issues are “conspicuously...
Rightly or wrongly, organic snacks often are stereotyped as “esoteric” products that sacrifice flavor and fun for nutrition and are “hard on the wallet” compared to their conventional counterparts, according to the CEO of Pure Growth Organic.
Taiyo’s Non-GMO certification for its Matcha Powder is a sign of the growing influence of this attribute, even for ingredient categories that have never been subject to genetic modification.
The National Organic Review Board’s decision Thursday to remove carrageenan from the list of allowable non-organic ingredients in organic products will limit consumers’ organic options, result in inferior products and sets a dangerous precedent for the...
Advocates for and against allowing organic products to continue using the non-organic thickener carrageenan argued their cases in front of the National Organic Standards Board Wednesday ahead of the advisory committee’s vote on the issue Thursday.
Organic industry stakeholders from across the nation are gathered in St. Louis today for what promises to be a highly contentious three-day meeting during which the National Organic Standards Board will debate the role of hydroponic production, carrageenan,...
Mere weeks before the National Organic Standards Board is expected to vote on a recommendation to allow hydroponically grown food to qualify as organic, the Cornucopia Institute filed a formal legal complaint with USDA outlining why they should not be...
Tofu is gaining acceptance as a center-of-the-plate protein beyond vegetarians and vegans thanks in part to the growing focus on plant-based diets as well as new packaging and product innovations that make it easier to prepare.
Probiotic-fueled organic fruit & veggie snack brand Nomva has just picked up distribution in close to 175 Target stores, 200 Ralph’s stores and 150 Sprouts stores on the West Coast, says Los Angeles-based brand owner Phenomenal Foods, which has recently...
Breakfast and snack food maker Living Intentions is overhauling its packaging and streamlining its portfolio to help products better “pop” from the shelf and more effectively communicate its “roots” in brining uniquely flavored, optimally healthy products...
