Many parents strive to feed their babies a variety of fruits, vegetables and proteins, but for the most part in the US they shy away from spices – something several up and coming baby food makers want to change.
More Americans say they are cutting back on sugar as their collective awareness rises about the prevalence and potential health impact of the ingredient, but those who still want something sweet are not clear on what the best option is, according to new...
Firms filing class action lawsuits have used actions aimed at companies making “natural” claims to springboard into a host of other vulnerable areas of labeling and packaging, according to an expert.
‘Dieting’ and ‘reduced fat’ have become passé phrases in the world of packaged food replaced with terms like ‘clean label’ and ‘locally-sourced’, so what can explain low-calorie ice cream alternative Halo Top’s dramatic takeover of the frozen dessert...
At a time when honey production in the US is falling and colony collapse disorder continues to threaten bees’ health, honey manufacturer Nature Nate’s is investing in Cornell University’s department of entomology to advance bee health research and honey...
Parents of children falling behind on the growth scale have few options to supplement their child’s nutrition that aren’t a full blown meal replacement product, which is exactly the market void Healthy Height shake mixes is seeking to fill.
Consumer demand for natural, plant-based ingredients combined with their desire to cut back on sugar without sacrificing taste is creating a perfect storm for stevia sales to grow exponentially, according to the International Stevia Council.
For many consumers, “fats” remains a four-letter word to avoid, despite the health claims and media buzz surrounding grass fed butter, coconut oil, avocados, omega-3s and other sources of the nutrient, according to an industry analyst with NPD Group.
The quest to produce a sweetener with the most sugar-like taste continues with PureCircle identifying two different ways of producing significant amounts of Reb D and Reb M, two in-demand steviol glycosides that are less abundant in conventional stevia...
Milled starchy unripe bananas – which are low in sugar and high in RS2 resistant starch – can help people better control their blood glucose, but they also confer an exciting range of digestive benefits, making them a powerful new gut health ingredient,...
While recent Mintel data reveals a whopping 84% of US consumers say they are reducing the amount of sugar in their diet as a way to manage their weight and improve their health, many are unwilling to completely give up sweets – leaving manufacturers scrambling...
Plant-based protein beverage brand Koia is on course to triple sales in 2018 after quintupling sales last year, fueled by a $7.5m cash injection from KarpReilly and AccelFoods in July 2017.
Non-profit organization the International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI) must improve its communication strategy, says the former program manager of the group’s North America branch.
Aunt Dottie’s is dropping its company name from its line of Green Joy salad bars in order to expand the snack’s appeal geographically and better “dial in on what the bars do, which is bring joy to eating healthy,” according to the company’s CEO.
With industrial hemp in the spotlight following Mitch McConnell’s recent intervention (he’s promised to introduce a bill to remove it from the controlled substances list and legalize it as an agricultural commodity), FoodNavigator-USA checked in with...
Sharply contrasting views over the scope of the 2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans have emerged in comments submitted to USDA and HHS this week, with some stakeholders arguing that issues such as sustainability (eg. should we recommend eating less...
Mintel data* shared by stevia supplier PureCircle shows the number of global new product launches containing stevia grew by 10% in 2017, with stevia utilized in 28% of new products containing high intensity sweeteners, slightly ahead of aspartame – which...
After two years of radio silence, during which some legal commentators – and several judges dealing with civil litigation on the issue – suspected it might die on the vine, the FDA has given its clearest indication yet that it will attempt to define ‘natural’...
The Whole30 Approved logo has become a shortcut for consumers looking for products made with real, simple and nutritious ingredients, and as such it is giving products that bear the certification a huge market boost, as Applegate recently discovered....
The TāStation rewards testers for accurate taste testing via game-based technique
Opertech Bio has developed a novel approach to sensory testing utilising games and rewards, which it claims enables human testers to analyze hundreds of samples in a fraction of the time - and with a greater degree of accuracy - than is possible using...
Industry newcomer Em+Pact is carving out an underserved niche in the $600 million protein bar category by targeting women with products that are crafted to meet their specific nutritional needs and by working with nonprofits to empower them to be “goal...
Americans are snacking more than ever, but not just any bag of chips or candy bar will do. Rather, they want products that are both convenient and nutritious – two boxes that the makers of Truth Bar check with their line of functional nutrition bars.
Atlanta-based Kill Cliff, a sports beverage brand focusing on clean label formulations, launched a new line of sports drinks called Endure, which features a slow-burning specialty carbohydrate, at the Natural Products Expo West show. However, the carbohydrate...
'I think you’ll see a mass exodus of CPG companies moving from polyols to allulose...'
Allulose is the sweetener generating the most buzz among food formulators right now, although many are waiting to see if the FDA exempts it from sugar labeling (it’s technically a sugar, but it’s not metabolized like one), before launching products featuring...
For KIND Snacks, rising consumer concern about sugar and upcoming changes to the Nutrition Facts panel that will more boldly highlight the nutrient represent an opportunity – rather than a threat – to set itself apart from the competition with new products...
Bare Snacks unveils new carrot, beet, and sweet potato veggie chips
Bare Snacks – best known for its apple, banana and coconut chips – has expanded into the veggie snacking arena with a new line of carrot, beet, and sweet potato chips. FoodNavigator-USA caught up with CEO Santosh Padiki at the Natural Products Expo West...
New Jersey-based FlavorHealth – best known for using high-throughput cell-based screening to identify natural compounds that enhance sweetness and saltiness and reduce bitterness – is aiming to commercialize a novel natural high-intensity sweetener with...
“There are protein powders for smoothies, baking mixes for cookies, and I just thought ‘why not a no-bake mix for bars?’” Karen Nation, founder and CEO of Creation Nation, told FoodNavigator-USA at the recent Natural Products Expo West show in Anaheim,...
‘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’.
Celebrity-backed brand This Bar Saves Lives has a simple message: You buy a bar, we’ll donate a live-saving pack of food to a child in need. But is this kind of margin-sapping business model something other less star-studded emerging CPG brands could...
Novel ‘grape-like’ refrigerated fruit bites made from fruit and veggie purees held together with fibers will start shipping to the produce section of 500+ stores in New England in April, says brand owner Incredible Foods, the firm behind allergy-friendly...
Hoping to cash in on the steady growth of the already sizeable sports and energy drink category, manufacturers at Natural Products Expo West in March will showcase a variety of functional beverages featuring an ever-expanding variety of plant-based proteins,...
With today’s launch of a new line of dairy-free, probiotic yogurt drinks, Califia Farms hopes to repeat the success it had when it entered the nut-milk category, and at the same time increase the transparency of marketing probiotics.
The steady growth of Kashi’s Certified Transitional program in the past two years along with positive consumer and retailer response to the protocol shows how paying more for ingredients from farms in the process of becoming certified organic can also...
What's the difference between a great brand, and beautiful packaging design? Will PepsiCo's Drinkfinity concept be a hit in the US? And could sprinkling 'fairy dust' amounts of on-trend functional ingredients in your beverage - and...
More than half of US adults will celebrate Valentine’s Day today by spending a record-breaking $20.1 billion, or about $150 each on average, on “holiday indulgences,” including a variety of traditional sweets and better-for-you foods and beverages, according...
Responding to consumers’ increasingly fragmented dietary preferences, GoMacro revamps the packaging for its low-sugar Thrive bars to better communicate “how accommodating” the protein bars are for a variety of restrictions and needs, according to the...
Insufficient funds may have forced entrepreneur Scott Joseph to pull his beverage brand Chimp Food from store shelves just as large orders were starting to come in, but he isn’t giving up – rather he says he is ready to come back stronger with new branding...
While most consumers remain blissfully ignorant of their role in food production, enzymes – nature’s microscopic biological catalysts - are helping firms improve product quality, clean up labels, reduce costs and lower their environmental impact, helping...
The food industry remains on the hook along with families and local communities to more actively address childhood weight gain after new research published yesterday in The BMJ found comprehensive school-based programs that promote healthy-eating and...
With the help of $8 million in series A equity financing, the co-founders of Wandering Bear Coffee want to make sipping their company’s cold brew a convenient part of more consumers’ daily ritual by expanding their distribution, ramping up marketing and...
Register now for our FREE-to-attend online beverage innovation summit Feb 21
Could cold brew tea be as big as cold brew coffee? Is there a legal definition of kombucha… and a ‘correct’ way to manufacture it? Are consumers paying attention to the debate over the nutritional merits of plant-based versus dairy milks?
After establishing itself as a top player in the honey category with strong year-over-year growth, Nature Nate’s Honey Co. is expanding into adjacent categories where a company executive said it can offer “real, clean” alternatives to existing products...
To standout in an increasingly crowded category and manage rising consumer concerns about sugar, juice manufacturers are incorporating more exotic ingredients while also streamlining formulas and playing with new formats, according to one industry player.
More than 1,600 foods and beverages evaluated by the Guiding Stars nutrition guidance program will lose stars and roughly 1,400 items will gain stars as of Feb. 1 when the program updates how it assesses the nutritional quality of products to better reflect...
Formulations have undeniably improved, but some plant-based yogurts still have a “gelatinous” and “weird” quality, observed Ripple Foods founder Neil Renninger last year (“Let’s not mince words… some of these products are terrible…”). So can new market...
Pique Tea’s clean sweep of gold medals in all three categories of the Global Tea Championships that it entered validates the company’s effort to elevate the quality of instant tea, which often is derided as the lowest class, to that of the industry’s...
After dominating the premium end of the sparkling water category with Perrier and S.Pellegrino, Nestlé Waters North America is going after the mainstream shopper, and an even larger share of the fast-growing segment, with the launch of new and updated...
What are the key beverage trends - and companies - to watch in 2018?
One of the most exciting players in the fast-growing meal replacement space, Soylent built its business – and a highly engaged community – online, first on its own website, and later on Amazon, but has recently ventured into the bricks and mortar space...