The first flavors were made from plants, but were gradually replaced by ‘artificial’ alternatives, thanks to advances in synthetic chemistry. By the end of the 20th century, however, natural flavors were back in vogue.
As the ongoing pandemic accelerates consumer interest in the role of nutrition in wellness and underscores the supply chain’s fragility, the investors at Manna Tree Partners are looking for at least three growth stage companies that are revolutionizing...
A sharp increase in the Consumer Brands Association’s membership in 2020 underscores how the trade group’s “pro-consumer, pro-growth agenda” is helping it regain the trust and support of the CPG industry, including some companies that left the organization...
Plant-based seafood firm Ocean Hugger Foods – which was forced to pause operations last June as COVID-19 ravaged the foodservice industry (its primary market) – will stage a comeback later this year after forging a joint venture (Ocean Hugger Inc) with...
Using funding from its recent $87m Series D capital raise, indoor agriculture company Gotham Greens has expanded operations to Northern California – its first West Coast greenhouse location – opening a 10-acre facility, which will bring its total annual...
Formed last year, LIVEKINDLY Collective had made its US retail debut at Sprouts Farmers Market locations nationwide where it has launched several products from its plant-based foods portfolio, including Like Chick'n from LikeMeat and The Fry Family...
Before the pandemic, few Americans prepared lamb and those who did tended to reserve it for special occasions, but shortages of traditional proteins last spring pushed more people to try it for the first time, and now, nearly a year later sales of lamb...
2020 was a breakout year for 'agrifoodtech' companies as the sector attracted over $26.1bn worldwide in investment, a 34.5% increase from 2019, according to global venture capital firm AgFunder's 2021 investment report.
On a crusade to make buckwheat "cool" -- which has taken strong digital marketing efforts to educate the consumer in a demo-less landscape -- founder of sprouted buckwheat brand Lil Bucks, Emily Griffith, has made the leap from shared kitchens...
The agriculture supply chain is long overdue for an overhaul, as illustrated by breakdowns early in the pandemic, the rising threat of climate change, and increasing pressure to feed a growing population, but the question of who will foot the bill remains...
Vertical indoor farming company Kalera has acquired Vindara Inc., a company developing non-GMO seeds specifically designed for use in vertical indoor farm environments.
Wild Tonic Jun Kombucha (fermented from honey and green tea instead of traditional cane sugar and black tea) is banking on several growth trends in the kombucha category this year including its refreshed slim cans and expanding line of hard kombucha.
Pacific Northwest hydroponic vertical farming startup Forward Greens is deploying what CEO and founder Ken Kaneko believes is an easy to replicate, scalable, and financially sustainable business model for the booming indoor vertical farming industry....
Less than a year after taking the helm at Clif Bar & Co., new CEO Sally Grimes is spearheading the company’s first transformation in 30 years with an ambitious goal to double its business to $2 billion and double its positive impact on the world....
Upcycled foods and beverages made from ingredients traditionally not consumed by people are gaining popularity with consumers seeking more sustainable diets – creating a fast-growing market opportunity estimated to be worth more than $46 billion, which...
Barry Callebaut has joined forces with Swiss chemistry start-up Bloom Biorenewables to investigate upcycling chocolate side streams. The first result: vanillin produced from hazelnut shells.
New US Department of Agriculture leadership optimistically is committed to launching a “a new era of climate smart practices” and “equity and fairness” in food and ag that will remove barriers, rebuild rural America, tackle climate change and control...
Founders of Harmless Harvest, Justin Guilbert and Douglas Riboud, are aiming to take the success and consumer demand they built for sustainable and ethically-produced coconut water, and apply it to the salty snacks category with a brand of upcycled, crispy...
Hydroponic lettuce grower Little Leaf Farms has raised $90m in a recent funding round led by Equilibrium Capital to fully fund its East Coast expansion and build out new greenhouse sites in the region.
Nature’s Fynd - a Chicago-based startup growing protein from a micro-organism with origins in the geothermal springs of Yellowstone National Park – is giving consumers a first taste of the novel ingredient via dairy-free cream cheese and meatless breakfast...
Plant-based milk is growing at an impressive clip, although not every subsegment is gaining momentum and not every new entrant has struck CPG gold. Barleymilk, however, has the potential to be a major player, and is every bit as exciting as current category...
Whether or not you believe in climate change or the food industry’s contribution to the greenhouse gasses wrapping the earth and changing weather patterns, plenty of consumers do, and they increasingly are buying products based on their environmental...
Plant-based based ingredient supplier PURIS Holdings and LIVEKINDLY Collective have entered two joint ventures to create a path towards affordable and accessible plant-based food products.
Trademark Coca-Cola will roll out 100% rPET bottles in a 13.2oz size across the US this summer, following the launch of the bottles in select states this month.
Investors appear skeptical of Unilever’s ambitious five-prong plan to drive sales growth of 3-5% in the coming years after it saw only a 1.9% increase in sales in 2020 and a 5.8% decline in underlying profits in a year when many CPG companies saw significantly...
Even though the coronavirus vaccine is slowly, albeit a bit unsteadily, rolling out, a recently published survey of dietitians predicts Americans in 2021 will continue to seek protection from COVID-19 and its rapidly spreading variants from food and beverages...
Right now, you can extract collagen proteins from animal skin, bones, and connective tissue, or you can produce them via microbial fermentation, without slaughtering animals (engineering bacteria to produce the target proteins). But there’s also a third...
New York City-based vertical farming company, Bowery Farming, has appointed former Google Internet of Things (IoT) VP and general manager, Injong Rhee, as its new chief technology officer (CTO) responsible for accelerating the integration of proprietary...
A new business model developed by Milwaukee-based startup Agricycle that combines a vertically-integrated supply chain with a portfolio of upcycled brands is proving that with a little imagination and basic resources small growers can have an outsized...
Addressing its natural gas use and fleet emissions, Talking Rain (maker of Sparkling ICE) is funding over 28,000 metric tons of carbon reduction offsets through taking on ownership of three land projects in need of environmental clean up. But what significance...
US investors can now buy and trade stocks of Eat Beyond Global Holdings and its growing portfolio of alternative protein brands from plant-based ingredients firms to cell-based agriculture companies, under the ticker symbol EATBF.
In the next 12 to 18 months, cultivated meat could become available to the masses, according to some industry players raising funds to scale production of technological and scientific advances that will allow for lower production costs and a lower consumer...
Soylent and DuPont Nutrition and Biosciences are participating in a pilot program to highlight the sustainability credentials of US-grown soy by road-testing a new ‘Sustainably Grown U.S. Soy’ logo developed by the United Soybean Board (USB). So what’s...
Sustainable packaging is resurfacing as a top consumer priority after months of being on the back burner due to overriding coronavirus safety concerns, but efforts to switch to more renewable options could be complicated by a dual focus on reducing carbon...
Ben & Jerry’s has ramped up its living income approach for Cote D’Ivoire cocoa farmers in partnership with Fairtrade. Global Values Led Sourcing Manager Cheryl Pinto tells FoodNavigator that addressing poverty is key to tackling supply chain issues,...
Quantis is launching geoFootprint, a digital tool that the company describes as the ‘first’ to use satellite technology to map the environmental impact of food production on an interactive map. The innovation holds the key to ‘smarter, science-driven...
What are the primary purchase drivers for plant-based foods? Should humans drink cow’s milk? Why don’t the Dietary Guidelines address sustainability? And could tapping into consumer interest in the microbiome help make fiber the go-to functional ingredient...
Grocery delivery firm Imperfect Foods has raised $95m in a Series D round led by Insight Partners and Norwest Venture Partners as it transitions from a regional delivery service focused on ‘ugly’ produce, to a national full-service grocer.
Cell-based seafood startup BlueNalu – which is building a pilot plant, demo kitchen and new HQ at a 40,000 sq ft facility in San Diego – hopes to get its first product (mahi mahi) into a small number of US restaurants by the end of the year, assuming...
AppHarvest -- an indoor vertical farming ag tech company based in Morehead, Kentucky -- is shipping out its first harvest of beefsteak tomatoes to national and regional grocery store chains including Kroger, Publix, Walmart, Food City, and Meijer.
PepsiCo has stepped up its carbon footprint targets, with the ambition to become carbon neutral by 2040. FoodNavigator speaks to European sustainability chief Chris Daly about why it is an ‘absolutely aggressive challenge’ but also a timetable that is...
Consumer and regulatory pressure is mounting once again for the CPG industry to cut back on the use of single-use plastics, Styrofoam, and other non-recyclable packaging despite a temporary reprieve during the pandemic when safety and hygiene fears outweighed...
Plant-based meat and dairy products dominate our gallery of new launches, coupled with a wave of products highlighting immunity and digestive health, and a high-profile CBD beverage launch from Molson Coors.
Hydroponic vertical farming company Plenty has hired Impossible Foods VP of sales, Dana Worth, as its SVP of sales to lead the company's next phase of commercial growth.
PepsiCo is targeting a reduction of absolute greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across its value chain by more than 40% by 2030. It is aiming for net-zero emissions by 2040.
GoodSam Foods, a new brand of no-sugar-added, direct-trade chocolate launched by BeyondBrands, has entered the sugar-free chocolate confectionery category with products sweetened with emerging sweetener allulose.
PepsiCo is driving incremental growth for two of its hottest brands by bringing together flavored sparkling water bubly and at home water carbonation platform SodaStream to launch a line of bubly drops that will hit store shelves and ecommerce this month.
As consumer taste preferences shift to reflect a deeper understanding of the connection between health and diet during the ongoing pandemic, PepsiCo is expanding the scope of its Greenhouse Accelerator program to embrace emerging science and technology...
Industrialized animal slaughter is something the meat & poultry industry has perfected over the years. Most consumers, however, are blissfully unaware that the egg industry also slaughters billions of animals every year, but not to put meat on the...
Ag tech and indoor farming company AppHarvest has appointed Impossible Foods CFO David Lee as president to lead its strategy, sales, marketing and finance, and operations management functions.
