We continue to speak with food startups and emerging brands about what’s weighing on their minds as COVID-19 has many cities and communities going into various stages of lockdown, upending typical consumer shopping behavior.
While there may not be a handbook on how to carry on with international expansion amid a global health pandemic, CEO and founder of Eat JUST, Inc. Josh Tetrick is compartmentalizing the endeavor into near- and long-term priorities while taking a page...
While the US oatmilk category is still in its infancy, it’s growing at an explosive rate,* says Oatly, the Swedish brand seeking to take the US market by storm. But can it keep up with demand?
After a tumultuous few years marred by a price-fixing scandal, fines and bankruptcy, Bumble Bee Foods is ready to reemerge as a company dedicated to consumers’ and the planet’s health thanks to help from its new owner, a unique partnership with the maker...
Atlast Food Co – a startup using mycelium (the filament-like roots of mushrooms) to create ‘meaty’ textured edible 3D structures – has been working with innovation consultancy Mattson to help commercialize its first product later this year: meatless bacon.
The latest innovation from Beyond Meat – the Beyond Breakfast Sausage - will hit the frozen breakfast meat section at ACME, Albertsons, Key Foods, Kings, Pavilions, Raley’s, ShopRite, Vons, Wegmans and Whole Foods later this month.
Confronted almost daily with images of marine debris filling the bellies of dead whales, headlines about climate change and emerging stories about America’s broken recycling system, consumers increasingly are worried about single-use plastic and packaging...
Impossible Foods is expanding its product lineup and dropping prices to foodservice distributors by an average of 15% as it seeks to make plant-based meat "ubiquitous, super mainstream, and super mass market."
Creating an entirely new product or launching a business may feel impossible at times, especially when so-called experts say something can’t be done, but according to the co-founders of Hidden Gems Beverage Co. anything is possible with the right network...
Recognizing that climate change is “the challenge of our lifetime” and that farming and livestock contribute nearly 10% of greenhouse gas emissions in the US, Horizon Organic is taking a three-prong approach to help mitigate the threat by becoming the...
The agri-food tech sector raised a total of $19.8bn in 2019, across 1,858 deals and 2,344 unique investors. While that’s a 4.8% drop in funding and 15% decline in deal activity year-over-year, it represents 250% growth in five years, according to AgFunder's...
STIRZ is on a mission to disrupt the instant coffee market with premium Arabica coffee pouches in edible film boxed in 100% biodegradable and compostable packaging, delivering a fresher coffee experience for people on the go, with zero waste.
While its CEO says engaging in an increasingly heated debate over the merits of plant- vs animal-based meat can be a “zero sum” game, Beyond Meat plans to go on the offensive this year with digital and media campaigns that celebrate its ingredients and...
BlueNalu, a startup hoping to make a splash in the cell-based seafood market, has raised $20m in a Series A round that will help fund a pilot production facility in San Diego to produce small quantities of product for commercial launch in late 2021.
The consumer packaged goods industry may be composed of diverse companies offering disparate products ranging from toothpaste to pet food to canned soup, but a recent survey conducted by the Consumer Brands Association reveals 86% of CPG leaders place...
When most people think about curling up with a cup of hot tea they don’t think about opening their freezer first – but that is exactly what the makers of Millennia Tea are asking consumers to do, and in exchange they promise a beverage that is packed...
Can 60% of current meat consumption be replaced by novel vegan meat replacements and cultured meat in the next 20 years? That is what AT Kearney has recently projected, but the analysis does not outline a path for achieving the forecast. Is reaching...
Drawn to the rapid sales growth and widespread consumer interest in plant-based alternatives to animal products, a team of investors and industry experts has launched the Eat Beyond Global Investment Fund to connect retail investors with potentially fast-growing...
Rising consumer concern about climate change is a powerful – but underused – marketing lever for plant-based products, according to new research from the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication.
Plant-based yogurt has been a bit slower off the starting line than other alternatives to animal-based products, but data from IRI shows that it is hitting its stride with double-digit dollar growth and a steep increase in household penetration at a time...
Responding to the growing demand for locally-grown and sustainable food, startup Healthy PlanEat is working to connect consumers with the farmers who grow their produce via a mobile app.
As the number of food accelerators and incubators has increased in recent years, the barrier for entry into the market has decreased – and while this makes launching a new product or company easier, it has made cutting through the competition and finding...
When launching a new product or brand, entrepreneurs may be tempted to target everyone in order to capture more sales, but the cofounder of the new sprouted nut brand Daily Crunch warns this can cause founders to lose focus and, if they are not careful,...
Claimed to be more versatile than granola and with more antioxidants than many other grains, crunchy sprouted buckwheat by Lil Bucks is introducing buckwheat into more Americans' diets through new distribution with Midwest Whole Foods stores this...
Readers of The Guardian’s recent report on pollinating California’s almond crop (‘Like sending bees to war: the deadly truth behind your almond milk obsession’) were left with a clear message: honey bees are dying en masse, and almond growers luring them...
Canadian startup Noblegen has unveiled ‘the egg’ - its first consumer product under the eunite brand showcasing the ‘ancient microorganism’ euglena gracilis, which it claims can produce proteins with exciting functional and nutritional characteristics......
The quickly emerging vertical or indoor farming sector often is touted for its environmental sustainability, but according to ongoing research conducted by one of player in the space, produce grown indoors also offers notable health benefits to people...
BrightFarms, supplier of locally grown salads for supermarkets, opened its largest greenhouse yesterday in Pennsylvania. The new 280,000 sq. ft. farm in Selinsgrove, Pa. will deliver over 2 million pounds of fresh, local produce year-round in Pennsylvania...
Häagen‐Dazs will be the first major food brand to carry the Xerces Society's Bee Better Certified Seal on its ice cream products containing almonds, communicating to consumers that its almonds were grown and harvested in a 'bee-friendly'...
Under a new joint development agreement, Nestlé will help Merit Functional Foods and its technology partner, Burcon NutraScience, scale and commercialize its portfolio of plant proteins with the goal of using the startup's novel ingredients in foods...
Giving the first clear signal that cell-based meat is moving out of the laboratory and into the market, Memphis Meats has unveiled plans to build a pilot production facility after raising $161m – a sum greater than the amount invested to date in all of...
Organic produce continues to be one of the strongest food product growth segments in the grocery channel, increasing at a much faster rate than conventional produce, according to a new report by the Organic Produce Network (OPN).
The consumer-packaged goods industry is undergoing a “cataclysmic transformation,” according to one branding expert, who explained that a new crop of entrepreneurs who are unfettered by outdated taboos and not intimidated by industry giants are challenging...
Gathered Foods, parent company to plant-based seafood brand Good Catch, has closed a series B funding round led by several industry players including Greenleaf Foods and 301 INC, the venture arm of General Mills.
The Botanical Adulterants Prevention Program has released a bulletin on olive oil adulteration that shows that the issue, though widely acknowledged, continues to plague the market.
As we enter the next decade, consumers will continue to wield the power they took from food and beverage brands during the last ten years to drive increased transparency, sustainability and social responsibility, predicts one leading market analyst and...
Millennials and younger members of Gen X have tended to be the biggest consumers of organic and natural foods, but now, the youngest generation of adult consumers – Gen Z (ages 18-24) – is beginning to command the category.
The plant-based Impossible Sausage – the latest innovation from Impossible Foods – will debut next week at Burger King outlets in five states in the 'Impossible Croissan'wich' for a limited period.
As consumers continue to place a higher value on enjoyable shopping experiences, retailers will need to offer more than low prices to drive traffic in 2020, including enticing “sights, sounds and smells” in brick-and-mortar stores, seamless shopping across...
As Mexico becomes the latest country in Latin America to set national plastic-reduction goals, increasing numbers of Latinos are looking for plastic-free packaging options, according to market analysts. But how feasible is going plastic-free?
Baby food made using biodynamic and regenerative agriculture practices is becoming increasingly important to US consumers as parents become more aware, and wary, of things that don't make it onto product labels such as glyphosate residue.
Type ‘Kraft Heinz procurement’ into Google and the search engine helpfully suggests ‘scandal,’ ‘misconduct’ and ‘investigation,’ serving as a reminder that the buying function at one of the world’s most iconic food companies had something of an annus...
Increased production of key crops from China, Argentina and Brazil may have weakened US agriculture’s competitive position over the last 10 years, but rapid innovation in ag-tech in the new decade could help American farmers regain a pole-position by...
KeHE, distributor of natural, fresh, specialty, and organic foods products, predicts personal and environmental wellness to be top of mind for consumers next year.
Consumers are still seeking a balance of animal and plant-based foods in their diet, says Euromonitor, which says plant-based meats are currently in the 'honeymoon period,' but could evolve over time as consumers demand less processed plant-based...
In future, the majority of natural flavors could be produced from microscopic armies of microbes programmed to convert sugars into target molecules, rather than devoting vast swathes of agricultural land to growing plants that only contain tiny amounts...
