Private labeler Westrock Coffee expects to triple its profitability over the next three years as it aggressively builds out its flavors, extractions and ingredients business and finishes renovating what will be its largest production facility following...
A new start-up incubator and investment platform from the team that helped KIND climb from concept to a $5b business with only $5m in primary investment is throwing out the tried-and-true playbooks for growing a brand in favor of focusing on the values...
By Soup-To-Nuts Podcast: Emerging demand for positive nutrition must balance functional benefits, taste, sustainability and convenience
Born out of the pandemic when product availability was unpredictable or limited and when a premium was placed on immunity-boosting, consumers in 2023 increasingly are seeking positive nutrition – both for themselves but also for the planet and workers...
It’s becoming increasingly clear that early projections about the speed with which cultivated meat might gain market share now seem pretty optimistic. But Rome wasn’t built in a day, and significant progress is being made to build the ecosystem needed...
Bold Cultr from General Mills – an ‘animal-free’ dairy cream cheese featuring whey protein made by microbes, not cows – is rolling out to more stores in the Minneapolis area later this month and will be available nationwide direct to consumer from early...
While egg prices were up a staggering 59.9%* year-on-year in December 2022 thanks to rising costs compounded by avian flu, refrigerated liquid plant-based alternatives have come down in price, with unit sales (+14.2%) outpacing dollar sales (+8.4% to...
Over the next three years, Unilever plans to expand its lead in ice cream sales by offering more premium products, expanding in emerging markets and leveraging digitization to boost sales online and out of home, a top executive recently revealed.
The idea of food as medicine is as old as food itself, but only recently has the mainstream US health care system begun to take notice, and action, as community-directed efforts to prevent, manage and treat diet-related illnesses through nutrition education...
Unilever is steadily gaining market share, boosting sales in fast-growing categories, lowering the cost of experimentation and improving its consumer engagement by doing more with less, CEO Alan Jope touted during the company’s investor day last month....
While economists and investors celebrate a slowdown in overall inflation in the US, including for food at home, the price of some grocery staples continues to rise – most notably that for eggs, which increased a staggering 11.1% in December over November,...
Despite concerns that high energy prices, supply chain and labor challenges, and geo-political strife will continue at least through the end of the year if not longer, many CPG executives remain optimistic about their companies’ performance, according...
Taste may be considered king by most food and beverage makers, but at Unilever it no longer reigns supreme after the CPG giant adopted a new ‘holistically superior’ product testing framework and ‘boldly healthier’ food commitments for 2025 – a move that...
While consumer spending remained strong through the holidays despite rising prices, the new year may bring a new level of financial scrutiny as more Americans consider budget limitations and what is essential – altering when, how and where they shop and...
Massachusetts-based startup Superfrau is targeting the emerging functional soda category with a vitamin and mineral packed sparkling beverage made from one core ingredient: upcycled liquid whey from Greek yogurt production.
While economists predict inflation will ease slightly in the coming quarters, this year could easily become a “groundhog day version of 2022” if the weather takes a turn for the worse and triggers a domino effect that strains transportation, commodity...
While several firms are growing fungi in fermentation tanks to make meat analogs, Israeli startup Kinoko is ditching the stainless steel vessels, adding fungi strains to legumes and grains in stacked trays, and letting them work their magic in a solid...
Soup season is in full swing as temperatures across the country drop and cold and flu cases rise. But staying warm and reinforcing their reserves when sick aren’t the only reasons sales of soup are up significantly this year over last, according to new...
No longer a lumbering giant when it comes to R&D, Nestlé significantly increased its number of new product launches and number of patents in priority areas by simplifying its innovation process, fostering an entrepreneurial culture and collaborating...
Even though consumers increasingly are looking for ways to lower their grocery bill as the economy continues to tighten, research from Glanbia Nutritionals suggests many are unwilling to cut corners when it comes to their health – potentially giving better-for-you...
Recognizing more Americans increasingly weigh products’ environmental impact when shopping, but that it is “impossible” for them to verify related marketing claims, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) voted unanimously this week to review formally its...
At-home food inflation slowed in November – up 0.3% from October, but consumers will continue to trim budgets even as prices stabilize, according to Information Resources, Inc. (IRI).
Already a dominant player in coffee with 22% of the nearly $108bn global retail market, Nestlé wants to capture additional share and drive growth in- and out-of-home in the coming years as consumption across both continues to rebalance post-pandemic with...
In part three of our gallery of highlights from FoodNavigator-USA's recent trip to Israel, we profile startups exploring everything from high-tech indoor vanilla cultivation to the manufacture of no-sugar-added snack bars using compression and ultrasonic...
Dairy should focus on reclaiming its functional food identity and infusing excitement through flavor innovation, according to experts from food and beverage flavor company T. Hasegawa.
Danone North America, the maker of International Delight creamers, wants to entice the next generation of coffee drinkers who are just establishing their daily rituals with a line-up of flavors launching this holiday season and throughout the new year...
Santiago-based NotCo – a food tech company deploying a proprietary artificial intelligence (AI) platform called ‘Giuseppe’ to bring a new level of sophistication to the formulation of meat and dairy alternatives – has raised $70m in a series D1 round*...
In part two of our gallery of highlights from FoodNavigator-USA's recent trip to Israel, we profile startups exploring everything from upcycled yeast proteins and carob to antimicrobial proteins. Best viewed on a laptop!
Berkeley-based Orbillion Bio – which is carving a distinct path in the nascent cultivated meat industry by concentrating on premium ‘heritage’ breeds from Wagyu to elk – has teamed up with bioprocessing specialist Solar Biotech to scale up production...
PepsiCo this week joins the ranks of food manufacturers, retailers and delivery companies laying off employees or offering buyouts to reduce their workforce and offset inflationary pressures even as the consumer packaged goods industry overall struggles...
It's got a population of under nine million, but in the food innovation stakes, Israel punches way above its weight. FoodNavigator-USA headed to Tel Aviv for the Food Tech IL annual innovation event organized by The Strauss Group’s The Kitchen FoodTech...
Dragon fruit is making the shift from niche to mainstream, says flavors giant Firmenich, which has selected the fruit as its flavor of the year for 2023 after it exhibited “one of the fastest growth rates of any ingredient we’ve tracked in recent years.”
Sales of non-dairy yogurt – like those of most plant-based products – have sharply declined in the past year, but a few bright spots revealed by consumer research and recent innovations by players in the space suggest the category could turn around with...
While plant-based meat sales have slowed significantly over the past year with many commentators blaming the inflationary environment, Daring - a premium brand deploying pricy high-moisture extrusion to make its plant-based chicken pieces – is going from...
Israeli food tech startup Amai Proteins is finalizing the initial closing of a $100m funding round as it gears up to launch its first product next year: a designer sweet protein up to 3,000 times sweeter than sugar with a clean taste and excellent heat...
What’s the most efficient way to make meat, outside of an animal, at scale? Startups in the nascent cultivated meat space are deploying multiple approaches from hybrid strategies combining cell biomass and plant-based protein, to tissue engineering and...
Precision fermentation specialist Perfect Day has completed its acquisition of Indian firm Sterling Biotech Limited (SBL) – which will double its production capability in the near-term - and secured the green light from the Food Safety and Standards Authority...
The ‘vegurts’ can be stored outside the fridge and recipes can be tweaked to meet different formulation objectives – from low-fat and low-sugar to textures and flavors.
The stressful one-two punch of pandemic lockdowns followed by runaway inflation has many consumers looking for comfort and escapism from their food and beverages, which industry leaders say is driving demand for new flavor combinations that are nostalgic,...
Biomanufacturing everything from ‘animal-free’ dairy and egg proteins and high-intensity natural sweeteners to heat-and pH-stable red pigments is a hot topic in food tech. But which microbes will be the production workhorses in future, will new cell-free...
Nearing 2023, consumers are increasingly demanding more from food and beverages, seeking out products that provide a personal functional health benefit and added value, according to Mintel's 2023 Global Food & Drink Trends report.
Moving on from the comfort and nostalgic flavors that grounded consumers during the pandemic, consumer interest in more diverse and unexpected flavors within dessert categories is on the rise, according to consumer research from T. Hasegawa.
Consumers feeling pinched by rising inflation are shifting where they shop for food, what they buy and how many items they place in their carts – prompting retailers to rethink and often reduce their product mix, reveals IRI sales data crunched by 210...
Caught between providing value for its increasingly price sensitive shopper and generating healthy profit margins, Target is identifying new ways to optimize and simplify its business to drive positive long-term growth.
Torr FoodTech - an Israeli startup deploying an intriguing new approach to creating snack bars by deploying pressure and ultrasonic energy instead of sugary binders to ‘weld’ natural ingredients together - has raised $12m in a series A round as it expands...
Tate & Lyle has expanded its sweeteners toolbox with ERYTESSE erythritol, which provides 70% of the sweetness of sucrose, a similar temporal profile, and zero calories.
Premium milk products are breathing new life into the broader fluid milk segment, with large numbers of consumers now buying 'tummy-friendly' a2 milk not because they have trouble digesting regular milk, but because 'they just view it as...
If you’re making cultivated meat in a bioreactor instead of a living, breathing animal, and you want to introduce it to consumers for the first time, what’s the best launch vehicle? A chicken nugget or fillet, a thin beef steak, a high-value item such...
