Rice Bran Technologies posted strong earnings growth in its second quarter of 2014 despite having to shut down a major production plant for three weeks as part of a planned expansion and having to absorb the effect on productivity of the World Cup on...
Demand for the sustainable oil is rising faster than supply for the first time as total sales of Certified Sustainable Palm Oil (CSPO) reach more than 2.4 million metric tonnes (MT).
Kellogg has become the second food major to respond to a damning Oxfam report with a climate change revamp that pledges to disclose global greenhouse gas emission targets by December 2015.
It’s been a busy summer for Hampton Creek. After just six months on the market and $30mn raised in funding from the likes of Bill Gates and Yahoo cofounder Jerry Yang, its plant-based mayonnaise brand Just Mayo is the No. 1 selling mayo at Whole Foods...
A new trade organization has formed with the mission to define what 'natural' means. The nascent Organic and Natural Health Alliance (ONHA) plans to go about defining that attribute in a way that is unique in the natural products business in...
A new sustainable palm oil scheme has met with criticism from environmentalists claiming that it actually allows deforestation, rather than stopping it.
When consumers think about GMOs, they tend to contrast them with “some hypothetical alternative food that is pristine”, when in most cases, going ‘non-GMO’ just means returning to a food production system that is less efficient - and worse for the environment...
So Delicious Dairy Free brand grew at a 30% CAGR over past five years
While gluten-free gets all the glory, dairy-free products such as almond and coconut milk are growing at an equally explosive rate, says So Delicious Dairy Free, which has notched up a compound annual growth rate of 30%+ over the past five years, and...
During the IFT 2014 show in New Orleans, FoodNavigator-USA caught up with RIBUS Inc. CEO Steve Peirce for an update on its all-natural and organic rice-based ingredients and the sustainability of rice in a world that faces staggering levels of food waste.
Americans don’t eat a third of the food they produce. But while this shocking statistic might alarm consumers, many still don’t see themselves as part of the problem, and mistakenly believe that food waste is less damaging to the environment than other...
At $88.3bn in 2013, the size of the US specialty food prize is already mouthwatering, and if current trends continue (sales grew 9.6% in 2012 and 8% in 2013), it will blast through the $100bn barrier in 2015. But which categories are growing most rapidly?
Since it was created in 2012, Chapul Inc. has been on a mission to integrate edible insects into Western diets, using its cricket energy bars as the vehicle.
Steviol glycosides produced through fermentation will be cost-effective, high purity, and sustainable, but they are about 18 months away, says DSM Food Specialties as it announces its new sweetener platform at the IFT Expo.
It's hot, it's sweaty, and it's the place to be if you're interested in what's next in the weird and wonderful world of food ingredients. Check out our first gallery of highlights from the 2014 IFT annual meeting & expo in...
Is the farm-to-table movement all it’s cracked up to be? Is a healthy dialogue about GMOs even possible? Can we fix growing income disparities in the developed world? A group representing many points on the agribusiness value chain weighed in.
United Natural Foods Inc. the dominant force in organic and natural food distribution in North America, says its acquisiton of Tony’s Fine Foods will help it stave off competition in the space from more mainstream distributors.
Botanical ingredient supplier Gencor has teamed with Canadian company Radient Technologies to bring to market a new array of natural compounds suitable for use as functional food, beverage and dietary supplement ingredients.
In the latest iteration of FoodNavigator-USA’s What do you do interview series, we talk with the boss of organic ancient grain specialist Ancient Harvest about the challenges of long-distance (work) relationships, his move from banking to CPGs and what...
It’s not as well-known as yerba maté or guarana, yet, but another natural source of caffeine - the Amazonian leaf guayusa - is about to give them both a serious run for their money, predict the entrepreneurs behind Runa, who are on a mission to do for...
World Environment Day - June 5 2014 - Driving action on climate change
Food manufacturers don’t understand the urgency of sustainability and need to act faster, but also communicate actions better with consumers, says the president of global NGO Food Tank.
General Mills and Kellogg have dismissed Oxfam’s claim that they are the ‘worst offenders’ on global greenhouse gas emissions and not doing enough to tackle climate change.
Big Interview: Sarah Pike, CEO & founder of Buen Sabor
The daughter of parents who owned one of the first certified organic farms in Maine, Sarah Pike grew up in a big family for whom the freezer was the preservation tool of choice for home-cooked food.
In a report published today, Oxfam accuses the “Big 10” food and beverage companies of doing far too little to cut greenhouse gas emissions, singling out Kellogg Co. and General Mills as the worst offenders.
There’s a reason why beef burgers are so popular, says Cluck ‘n Moo founder Steve Gold. They taste great and they are really succulent. But what if you could have the same great taste with less than half the saturated fat and 32% fewer calories?
US retail sales of organic products grew 11.5% to $35.1bn in 2013, the strongest growth the industry has seen in five years, according to new data from the Organic Trade Association (OTA), which is predicting even higher growth of 12% this year.
If biotech’s big guns want to seize the initiative in the GMO debate, they should ditch their defensive strategy (telling consumers why they don’t need GMO labels) and go on the offensive, launching a positive campaign about the merits of GM crops, according...
Rising levels of carbon dioxide will mean that some grains and legumes will become significantly less nutritious than they are today, according to new international research.
Microwave popcorn was a childhood favorite snack of Kristy Lewis; though her nostalgia turned to disillusionment when as an adult she learned that the chemical-, hydrogenated oil-laden formula hadn’t evolved alongside her growing awareness.
As anti-GMO activists celebrated their first major victory in Vermont this week with the passage of GMO labeling bill H112, the GMA said it would mount a legal challenge within weeks. But while big food companies may well win the courtroom battle ahead,...
Big interview: Noha Waibsnaider, founder & CEO, Peeled Snacks
Armed with an MBA from Columbia University, a great contacts book, and a keen understanding of the CPG market after a two-year stint working at Unilever, Noha Waibsnaider was probably better equipped than most to face the challenges ahead when she launched...
It’s becoming harder to avoid the looming UN statistic that the world population will reach 9.6 billion by 2050, and harder still to evade the question: How will we feed them all in an environment of dwindling resources?
Interview with Dan Belliveau, creator of coffee flour and co-founder of CF Global
A longtime executive at the likes of Starbucks, Frito-Lay and General Motors used his experience in improving supply chain efficiency to create a groundbreaking food ingredient traditionally left to rot as a byproduct of the roughly 17 billion pounds...
In its third year of tracking greenhouse gas emissions, global stevia supplier PureCircle has lowered its carbon emissions by 15% compared to 2012, resulting in carbon savings of nearly 40,000 MT of GHG, according to the company's most recent carbon...
Exclusive interview: Pat Crowley, director and founder of Chapul
As one of the forerunners of the commercialization of edible insects in the US, Chapul, makes its first big push into the national market with its cricket protein bars, founder Pat Crowley caught up with FoodNavigator-USA on the enviable efficiency of...
Last year Professor Mark Post sparked international interest with the unveiling, and tasting, of the world's first lab-grown meat. Since then he's been working to iron out technical issues so that commercially available lab-grown meat can become...
What is the future of food? Simple communication of complex advances will be crucial, as well as picking up the pace amid a global population boom to feed the world nutritiously and sustainably, according to FoodNavigator and NutraIngredients senior editors.
Big interview: Ethan Brown and Brent Taylor, co-founders, Beyond Meat
“We’re a meat company that make products from plants”, say the entrepreneurs behind Beyond Meat, which makes "near-perfect replicas of meat" from plants. And they’re thinking big. After all, why settle for a slice of the $600m US meat-alternatives...
While die-hard opponents of GM crops probably won’t undergo a damascene conversion after checking out the latest updates on ag-biotech-funded website GMO Answers, they are not the target audience, say its backers.
The makers of Third Street Chai have leveraged their partnership with Whole Foods Markets into a new line of ready-to-drink teas that will launch nationwide with the natural foods retailer this spring.
Snack makers should consider sourcing quinoa from India where the exotica strain is sweeter, higher in protein and sells at a stable, lower price, says the managing director of Ashtral Biotech.
Sambazon - the firm that made açai a household name in the US - has donated $50,000 to Whole Planet Foundation to help fund microcredit for poverty alleviation worldwide.
Mars has committed to ending deforestation associated with its palm oil supply by the end of 2015, becoming the latest multinational to do so, alongside Unilever and Nestlé, among others.
The natural products market continues to grow and achieve scale, reaching $150 billion last year and projected to hit $226 billion by 2018—with 68% of that coming from food and beverage products, according to the Nutrition Business Journal.
By Winnie Byanyima, executive director, Oxfam International
Food and drink companies can have a big influence over sustainability and ethical issues in their supply chains - and have the power to change them rapidly. One year on from Oxfam's first Behind the Brands sustainability scorecard, nine of the ten...
While the debate about deforestation due to palm oil rumbles on, new research has suggested that the release of methane from palm oil processing wastewater may also be a significant concern.
