Hope Foods has raised $7.4m by selling the 59,000sq ft industrial building in the Colorado Technology Center in Louisville, Colorado, where it manufactures its organic hummus and dips, to California-based Adler Realty Investments – and has struck a long-term...
A minority equity investment from Encore Consumer Capital could help fast-growing Veggie Noodle Co. spring to new levels by funding the startup's expansion into a larger facility in East Austin that will allow it to produce more than five times its...
Consumers seeking more functional benefit from their foods and beverages are increasingly turning to the color purple, but according to recent research from Welch Foods, Inc. only 18% of Americans can name more than three types of purple produce – a gap...
After years of knocking on the doors of top tier retailers and hearing no, baby and toddler food company NuturMe is finally hearing yes from major players including Target, Kroger and Costco – a change the company’s CEO attributes to the brand’s new “Tummy...
With its “chameleon-like” versatility, nutrient-density and strong structural integrity, the ancient grain freekeh is a triple threat to many modern day eating woes that plague time-crunched consumers seeking something healthy and fast, according to the...
Mung bean protein has potential applications in everything from egg substitutes to pasta and ice cream, says Hampton Creek, which has just received a 'no questions' letter from the FDA responding to its determination that its proprietary mung...
Despite Aramark’s ambitious five-year plan to improve the health of Americans 20% by 2020, the public health non-profit Balanced wants the food service giant to do more to improve the nutrition of the meals it serves more quickly.
Consumers who begrudgingly endure the medicinal taste and multisyllabic, chemical-sounding ingredients in some energy drinks in exchange for the boost the beverages provide no longer need to make that trade off thanks to the launch of Zola’s purely plant-based...
New parents who remember enjoying classic fruit snacks growing up but who struggle to justify giving them to their children in the current era of clean eating and better-for-you foods now have a new option from Veggie Go’s that the company says they can...
Much of the punditry immediately following the Amazon/Whole Foods announcement focused on how the tie up might impact Whole Foods stores. Will they become test beds for Amazon Go-style technology and fulfilment centers for Amazon's broader grocery...
Looks may not be everything, but they matter a lot – especially in the produce section, which can be a pivotal driver for foot traffic and subsequent sales throughout the entire store, according to new research from the Food Marketing Institute.
Impossible Foods – a Bay-area-based start-up on a mission to precisely replicate the taste and texture of meat – has closed a $75m financing round,* bringing its total investment to date to a jaw-dropping $257m, a reflection of the belief investors have...
The FDA – which has continued to maintain radio silence over plant-based ‘milk’ labeling despite mounting frustration from stakeholders – should clarify its position in the face of increasing commercial, legal and political pressure, says the Good Food...
Daiya Foods has carved out an enviable slice of the fast-growing plant-based foods market since its 2008 launch, but did not attract the valuation it was looking for when it first explored a sale in 2014/15. Fast forward to 2017, however, and its value...
With the acquisition of three competitors, healthy snack subscription box company UrthBox hopes to better shine a light on organic and natural brands that otherwise may be caught in the shadow of more broadly recognized but less nutritious conventional...
FDA’s decision to greenlight a qualified health claim connecting macadamia nuts to the reduced risk of heart disease despite the ingredient’s saturated fat content suggests the agency may give manufacturers a little slack to make health claims as long...
For many Americans grilling is more than a means to put dinner on the table – it is a way to celebrate special occasions and everyday joys with friends, family and neighbors – creating an extended marketing opportunity for brands and retailers alike,...
As the summer days heat up, so is the market for frozen desserts, including dairy- and nut-free options, high-protein ice creams, ice cream sandwiches, ice pops and indulgent flavors specially designed for adults – all of which showcased at the Summer...
Household penetration of protein bars has continued to increase as more retailers have moved them from the OTC/supplement aisles to the main snack bar fixtures, prompting shoppers to ‘trade up’ from sugary cereal bars to higher protein, lower sugar nutrition...
Nutrition-packed, environmentally sustainable and already notoriously well-known – although partly for the wrong reasons – hemp is well positioned to become one of the next big superfood superstars in the US.
Despite recent innovations and strong sales in the plant-based milk category, many products are low in desirable nutrients and high in unwanted “superfluous ingredients,” such as gums and starches, which leave the category vulnerable to an exodus but...
In the third and final part of our trendwatching tour of the IFT 2017 expo floor, we discovered how the growth in plant-based foods and high protein beverages is creating new opportunities for ingredients suppliers, and caught up with a couple of key...
Competition in the roasted chickpea snack segment is heating up as more players enter the field, including newcomer Lebby Snacks, which stands apart from the others by offering a soft and chewy – but still roasted – version of the legume rather than the...
A whopping 65% of a representative sample of Brazilian consumers, representing the world’s fifth most populous country, said they wanted to have less sugar in their diets.
With unemployment rates approaching 14% after two years of recession, Brazil’s economy is projected to grow by less than 0.5% in 2017, while the president has become embroiled in a corruption scandal some commentators fear could endanger an economic recovery....
As the new CEO of Beanfields Snacks, industry veteran Mark Rampolla hopes to do for the better-for-you snack company what he did for the better-for-you beverage industry when he founded Zico Coconut Water and in doing so also help Los Angeles-based non-profit...
Between 1 to 3 million people in the United States follow the paleo diet, and yet relatively few packaged products comply with the regime – making it a market brimming with potential that once tapped could quickly drive brand awareness and sales, according...
In the refrigerated, HPP baby food space, cold-pressed ingredients dominate. Fresh Bellies is differentiating itself by cooking vegetables to release flavor, and not blending them with fruits.
With the growing popularity of plant-based meat alternatives, Israel-based Salt of the Earth tested its sodium reduction ingredient to add umami to such products.
Maker of essential oils and oleoresins Arjuna Natural Extracts is ramping up its US operations and opened a new sales office in Dallas earlier this month, making its line of products more readily available stateside. It will also be exhibiting at this...
The Court of Justice of the European Union in Luxembourg today announced purely plant-based products cannot, in principle, be marketed with designations such as ‘milk’, ‘cream’, ‘butter’, ‘cheese’ or ‘yogurt’, which are reserved by EU law for animal products.
A tale of two plant ‘milk’ lawsuits: Court stays Whitewave lawsuit, but dubs near-identical case vs Blue Diamond as ‘patently implausible’ and throws it out
A lawsuit alleging Silk almondmilk is falsely advertised as nutritionally equivalent to dairy milk has been stayed by a judge on primary jurisdiction grounds, while a near-identical case filed by the same law firm over Almond Breeze has been thrown out...
At the crossroad of Americans’ increasingly sedentary work- and lifestyles and their demand for decadent food is a growing need for digestive remedies and an opportunity for supplements and fortified foods to edge out over-the-counter treatments that...
Tortilla, salsa, canned beans. These pantry staples of Tex-Mex cuisine have traditionally been found in the shelf-stable aisles. Increasingly, they can be found instead in the store’s refrigerated perimeters.
Plant protein, when digested with a patented probiotic strain, increased bioavailability of amino acids in the upper gastrointestinal tract, leading to a healthier colon environment, according to an in vitro study conducted at Maastricht University.
Plant Based Foods Association: 'I am not sure how this resolution helps'
State milk regulators have weighed into the plant-based milk debate in a vote that was hailed by the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) as “the strongest statement yet that the abuse of dairy terms has gone too far," but dismissed as unhelpful...
Nutriati’s chickpea protein is white, odorless, and neutral-tasting
Commercial quantities of highly functional, neutral-tasting chickpea protein concentrates and a high-protein chickpea ‘flour’ will be available by the end of the year, says Richmond-based Nutriati, which has just closed an $8m financing round to help...
“So why does the world need another [insert your product here]?” is a question entrepreneurs are well-advised to prep for before hitting the stage at any pitch slam judged by ZICO founder Mark Rampolla. So how does he answer his own question when it...
An FDA-issued alert from frozen dessert brand Dream reiterating that some of its products contain traces of milk also warns other plant-based product manufacturers that they may need to go beyond legally mandated allergen warnings when it comes to dairy...
While the FDA’s radio silence on plant ‘milk’ labeling implies to some that it's comfortable with terms such as ‘almondmilk,’ the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) says the agency has a legal duty to enforce federal standards of identity...
Impossible Foods – which claims to have created a plant-based burger that precisely replicates the taste and texture of meat - will be able to produce one million pounds of Impossible Burgers a month when its first commercial-scale manufacturing facility...
An electric vehicle uses a very different propulsion system to the internal combustion engine, but it also has four wheels, and gets you from A to B, which to most consumers, makes it a 'car.' So isn't it time to apply the same logic to...
While its compatriots in the plant-based beverage sector have argued pretty strongly that consumers are not in the least bit confused by the use of dairy-derived terms (notably, ‘milk’) to describe nut-, seed-, or legume-based products, nut-fueled brand...
Pea protein-fueled brand Ripple has weighed into plant-based ‘milk’ debate with a provocative new media campaign that challenges the nutritional and environmental credentials of dairy milk, but also brands almond milk a ‘sham,’ and argues that when it...
The dairy lobby is justifiably frustrated about the widespread use of dairy-terms (milk, cheese, yogurt) to describe plant-based products, but it also needs to focus on its own game to understand why sales of fluid dairy milk are declining, argues The...
It is both lawful and pragmatic to describe plant-based beverages as ‘milks,’ and the courts agree, the Plant Based Foods Association (PBFA) has told the FDA, in the wake of pressure from lawmakers to crack down on the use of dairy-related terms for products...
CAUGHT ON CAMERA AT THE 2017 WINTER FANCY FOOD SHOW
Labeling conventions in plant-based ‘dairy’ are a hot topic right now, with two leading players (Almond Breeze and Silk) hit with false advertising lawsuits this week, and a Senate Bill urging the FDA to enforce standards of identity for milk, cheese...
Beans, chickpeas, lentils, key to next-generation of plant-based dairy
A patent application from General Mills shows it is experimenting with legumes such as chickpeas, adzuki beans, fava beans and lentils to create non-dairy ‘milks;' eggless mayonnaise and dips; and cultured legume based products such as cheeses, yogurts,...
Is it legal for nut or other non-dairy based beverages sold in the US to describe themselves as ‘milk’ (almondmilk, cashewmilk, soymilk) on food labels?
In the natural channel, says Good Karma CEO Doug Radi, plant-based options account for 25% of dollar sales of fluid ‘milk,’ but just 8% of yogurt sales. In the conventional channel, meanwhile, the figures are 8% and 1% respectively. “So if you close the...
