Members of the Organic Trade Association went on the defensive last week when they met with Congressional leaders and their staff on Capitol Hill to lay out their legislative priorities for the coming year, and to ask for help protecting the integrity...
Demand for local food is climbing, yet our modern food distribution system is ill-equipped to handle small supply from local independent farmers, according to the founder of Foodshed.io, a new app using blockchain technology to solve for inefficiencies...
Kroger and Home Chef announced a merger agreement that will bring the Chicago-based meal kit brand to thousands of stores across the country signaling a massive evolution of meal kit companies vying for the in-store, non-subscription space.
Nearly 70% of in-store snack purchases are unplanned -- indicating that impulse snack shopping is a shared habit among most consumers, Euromonitor senior analyst Jared Koerten said at the Sweets & Snack Expo in Chicago yesterday.
Despite consumers spending more time and money online, more than three-quarters (78%) are wary of the freshness and 63% have food safety concerns for items that they buy online, according to Mintel.
High Brew Coffee of Austin, Texas, closed a $20m funding round led by investment firm Charles Street Partners, marking its third and largest investment since launching in 2014.
Teaming up with Ocado – a British firm using automated distribution centers to fulfil online grocery orders – could allow Kroger to “potentially leapfrog both Walmart and Amazon in this space,” argues one retail commentator.
60-second interview: Rich DeNardis, chief revenue officer, Home Chef
Home Chef has just struck a partnership with New England-based retailer Hannaford enabling shoppers to order its meal kits through Hannaford To Go and pick them up at their local store the same day, without committing to a monthly subscription. FoodNavigator-USA...
RangeMe – an online matchmaker connecting CPG buyers and suppliers – is fast becoming the ‘Google of CPG’ and the first port of call for retailers looking to research new products and identify new suppliers, says the firm, which has attracted 125,000+...
Startups that balance the health of consumers and the planet, as well as consider how their product impacts others up and down the supply chain are catching the attention of investors, according to industry insiders.
Based on emerging consumer concerns about their health and that of the planet, the future of packaged food must be both healthier for people and sustainable for the planet to succeed, according to the founder of the conceptual grocery store The Future...
Manufacturers and public health advocates hoping to inspire children to eat more healthily will have better luck if they partner with kids to deliver the message rather than adults who could be perceived as talking down to the target audience, delegates...
Mass. Rep. Jim McGovern and other members of the House Hunger Caucus are taking the adage of an apple a day keeps the doctor a way to a new level with the bipartisan Food is Medicine Working Group, which seeks to improve health outcomes by expanding access...
What's in your lunchbox? Healthy meals, snacks and drinks for children
Almost one in three American children is overweight or obese, and one in every 13 has a food allergy.* So how can retailers, packaged food brands and the foodservice industry address these concerns, and develop nutritious and delicious meals, snacks,...
Consumers aren’t shopping for seafood the same way they shop for other fresh category products, and it shows, with overall seafood sales remaining sluggish mainly due to unique barriers that don’t exist in other fresh food areas.
More often than not, better-for-you products are more expensive than their traditional counterparts – limiting their accessibility to those who can afford higher prices. But online grocer Brandless believes everyone deserves better and to make that possible...
Given that everything about selling groceries online is different than in brick and mortar stores – including securing the best page placement, bidding on ads that drive discovery and ensuring sufficient stock for fast delivery – it makes sense that manufacturers’...
As rivals Plated and Chef’d have embraced an omni-channel strategy, Blue Apron has unveiled plans to expand the rollout of branded meal kits at Costco in a bid to woo consumers that buy into the meal kit concept, but don’t want to commit to a subscription.
Companies that want to win over shoppers seeking a healthier life must do more than simply offer better for you brands – they also must clear up the widespread confusion about nutrition that holds consumers back from making meaningful dietary changes,...
Offering lunchbox products for school children is a natural starting point for companies serving those with allergies because this is one of the most challenging meals and environments, but it also is only a small part of the much-larger problem, according...
Contrary to popular belief, the center of the grocery store is not dead, but rather, when well-curated, is an emerging destination for shoppers seeking innovative brands that cater to their specific health and lifestyle goals, according to new research...
Habit meal delivery business on hold as testing and nutrition plan components ramp up
Personalized nutrition platform Habit was originally billed as "food company, not just a recommendation engine." However, delivery of customized fresh prepared meals based on its dietary advice – trialed in the Bay Area last year – is on hold...
Functional beverages have come a long way since consumers first got a taste of drinks that delivered more than taste and refreshment, LA Libations founder and CEO Danny Stepper said at The Beverage Forum in Chicago this week.
The grocery website Peapod continues to push the boundaries of how to sell food and beverage online with a new multi-prong price reduction model that leverages unique aspects of ecommerce to profile products in innovative ways that brick and mortar stores...
Keeping track of emerging food trends can be daunting, especially in an immediate, digital-centric environment, but there are a few constant principles to lean on in the increasingly cluttered, fragmented food and beverage market, according to Lynn Dornblaser,...
The high bar set by the companies honored late last week at Whole Foods Market’s annual supplier awards ceremony represents not only what it takes to earn a coveted spot on the retailer’s shelves, but also in the baskets of consumers who increasingly...
With only one shot to make a first impression, it is essential that images and messages on product packaging clearly communicate companies’ principles and meet consumers’ evolving values.
CoAqua doesn’t want to be in traditional retail with all the other coconut water brands and is instead going after an ultra-premium space of luxury resorts and restaurants in its home market of Southeast Asia and pursuing the direct-to-consumer online...
A year since launching the Chicagoland Food & Beverage Network, executive director Alan Reed has said the message of connecting the Chicago food community, an area with more than 4,500 companies, has spread like wildfire with major industry players...
Americans’ long-term love affair with protein shows no sign of slowing, but new research from the full service sales and marketing firm Acosta suggests that the sources of the macronutrient that shoppers are buying is evolving as are their reason for...
The US may be the largest market for organic products, but it is also highly competitive, and manufacturers looking for a leg up might consider exporting their products as a way to build sales and even become category leaders, according to the Organic...
The combination of astaxanthin and sesamin (AS) may help promote recovery from mental and physical fatigue, according to a study from Tohoku University in Sendai, Japan.
While overall US dairy milk sales are in virtual freefall, the organic industry has managed to stay one step ahead so far, but it is nearing saturation with fluid milk and needs to find new outlets to reach the “next level of penetration,” according to...
With a successful series A fundraise of $8 million announced today, nutrition-related data services and analytics firm Nutrino wants to build “the world’s largest and most adaptable nutrition insights platform” in part to help manufacturers track trends,...
While private label’s dollar share of the US CPG market has hovered stubbornly around 18% in recent years, things started to change in 2017, according to new data from Nielsen, which says store brands have experienced a “complete reversal in growth trajectory...
Location is key to any business’ success, but for food and beverage startups the best place to set up shop may not be the hottest spot in town – rather it could be one surrounded by underserved populations where the community and company can help each...
Consumers place significant onus for ensuring the safety of food and beverages on the companies that make them, and yet their trust in manufacturers to deliver this is at rock bottom – creating a dangerous gap that can be closed only with increased transparency,...
Creating a business plan isn’t as fun as launching a new product or company, but it is fundamental to succeeding in the long term in the highly competitive food and beverage industry, according to an executive with FamilyFarmed’s Good Food Accelerator....
In the push to win consumers, woo top talent and, believe it or not, balance budgets, corporate social responsibility programs could be one of the most powerful tools in companies’ arsenals – but determining what to include and how to structure them can...
Beech-Nut is hoping to do for the toddler snack space what it did four years ago for the ‘tired and dated’ baby food category by launching new products in revamped packaging for young children that are inspired by what parents make at home, but more convenient.
The future for food and beverage brands is not about market share, it is about mindshare, says Neil Saunders from GlobalData. “If you have a strong brand that is front of mind for consumers, you have a much better chance of being successful.”
‘The traditional direct to consumer subscription model reaches a limited consumer base’
A significant percentage of consumers buy into the meal kit concept, but don’t want to commit to a subscription, and want more flexible options to purchase them on- and off-line, says Chef’d, which is rolling out meal kits to 1,500 grocery stores by the...
Meal kit brand HelloFresh is profitable for the first time internationally and “close to breakeven” in the US, claims the company, which announced a 52% increase in group revenues to 905m euros (c.$1.11bn) in 2017 the day after unveiling a deal to acquire...
Emerging trends that have helped fuel the natural and organic industry’s “multi-decade tear” with growth that far outpaces that of the conventional channel are now crossing over to the mainstream with increasing speed thanks in part to an influx of funds...
While growth has slowed a little in 2017 vs 2016, the natural and organic products industry remains in rude health. But what’s driving the growth and where does ecommerce fit in? Checkout our gallery of highlights from some education sessions at Natural...
‘Retailers must get their heads in the clouds’, says Whipstitch Capital, which means brands must think omni-channel and what they can do outside of just offering a ‘product’.
ALDI has expanded its partnership with Instacart’s online grocery ordering and home delivery service to residents across Chicagoland, Northwest Indiana and as far west as Rockford, IL.
Ancient Nutrition is ready to “grab the proverbial tiger by the tail” with a $103 million investment that will allow it to reach and educate more consumers about its on-trend powdered bone broth, collagen products and a recently launched and already hot...
An infusion of nearly $1 million in seed funding is helping three students from Yale offer consumers the ultimate convenience: a nutrition bar that combines sustenance and caffeine, and a novel text-to-purchase option that allows shoppers to place an...
Lidl’s US expansion – its first outside of Europe – has not gone as smoothly as the retailer would have liked, with expansion plans now being scaled back. A new report from Planet Retail RNG explores what this means for product suppliers, and how the...