As consumer demand for spicy food increases, it also is evolving beyond that for just eye-watering and mouth-burning heat to include a desire for more complex blends of pungent flavors, a recent survey by Kalsec reveals.
From caffeine-free energy drinks and 'coffeehouse style' tea lattes to chia and greens drinks and ready-to-drink Soylent, check out FoodNavigator-USA's gallery of new beverage launches hitting US shelves this summer.
How about a glass of red wine, crackers… and some vegan cheese? If the prospect fills you with horror, says Miyoko’s Kitchen founder and TV chef Miyoko Schinner, you’re not alone. But try some of hers, and you’ll never look back, she insists.
American households - and eating habits - are changing, and food marketers need to catch up, says the Food Marketing Institute (FMI) in its 2015 US Grocery Shopper Trends report. Here are 10 things that caught our eye...
The next generation of food scientists is developing palatable and scalable products made with insect protein to help meet the growing global population’s increasing demand for protein.
Multifunctional fibers made from fruit and vegetable peals and pulps that would otherwise be thrown away can help manufacturers meet consumers’ growing demand for clean ingredient labels while also reducing food waste.
Matcha tea, known for its vibrant green hue, is hitting its stride in the U.S. where household penetration is currently low but sales are climbing double-digit year-over-year – representing significant consumer interest and growth potential, according...
Foods and beverages carrying a 'local' label appear poised to become the leading symbol of trust and transparency to consumers as the authenticity halo of such terms as 'organic' and 'natural' lose momentum, claims market...
'We switched from glass to aluminum cans, and the brand just exploded'
Back in 2011/12, nerves were getting very frayed at Hiball Energy, which was doing a steady trade in upmarket energy drinks in elegant glass bottles, but “losing more and more money”, recalls founder Todd Berardi. In May 2012 he switched to aluminum cans,...
Two firms that generated a lot of buzz at the IFT show this year were Parabel and Hinoman, which are both selling brand new nutrient-packed ingredients from tiny aquatic plants. But do they have what it takes to give more established players in the plant-based...
From the challenges of sourcing organic milk, to the threat 'alternatives' milks pose to the dairy sector and the 'scary' promotional dynamics of the yogurt category, the FoodNavigator-USA Dairy Innovation Forum covered a lot of ground....
To boldly go... where no food conference has gone before? Space food is on the menu at Food Vision USA (we've lined up NASA on day three), but we're just as concerned about what we're eating here on earth, and whether food retailers are...
“Applegate’s mission is to change the meat we eat and we believe we can help them to do that."
When Applegate - the #1 brand in natural and organic prepared meats – got into bed with Hormel Foods, which owns Spam and Stagg, some diehard fans were not happy. But selling up does not mean selling out, insists Hormel.
The growing semi-homemade category offers an ‘unbelievable opportunity’ for retailers, as Millennials want to feel like they’re making dishes themselves.
Meet the people behind a2 milk, Yasso, Smári Organics, Tarte Foods, and good culture
The Eureka moment came on a business trip in 2007 when Dave Lefkow’s co-worker Justin Esch casually observed that bacon flavored salt might taste pretty good. The cash to make it happen came from Lefkow’s three-year old son, who propelled a baseball into...
Alan Hahn: 'We noticed it right away... the gluten was gone'
Speaking to FoodNavigator-USA at the 2015 IFT show, MycoTechnology CEO Alan Hahn recalls the moment his team discovered that mushroom mycelium (roots) could virtually eliminate the gluten in wheat and other cereal crops.
'There’s going to be little tweaks in the direction of better-for-you because it isn’t just a niche group like granola people, it’s everybody'
The alternative chip craze has exploded with a flurry of root veg and plant products on shelf, but can they compete with or even kill off the infamous potato chip?
Consumers found algae oil to have a 'cleaner taste than other cooking oils’
There are lots of pretty cool things about algae oil, from its clean flavor and stability to its striking nutritional profile (unprecedented levels of healthy monounsaturated fat, low saturates and zero trans-fat). But one factor that really sets it apart...
The dramatic rise of coffee pod sales in the U.S. has been a rare bright spot for the retail category in the past few years, but the platform’s days at the top may be numbered, according to Euromonitor International analysts.
Can the world’s smallest vegetable give other sources of plant protein a run for their money? Will consumers accept ‘synbio’ ingredients, and will the rare sugar allulose be a hit? FoodNavigator-USA hit the show floor at IFT to find out what’s hot, what’s...
Market researchers Innova Market Insights and Mintel shared new data on what’s hot and what’s not in food & beverages at the IFT show this year, exploring everything from dairy-free claims to why consumers buy organic foods.
Check out our gallery of highlights from the 2015 Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) annual meeting & expo in Chicago, spanning 3D printing, edible insects and cultured meat, to the future of food (when we'll be "editing living organisms...
The number of new products coming to market every year continues to shrink, but that doesn’t make cutting through the competition any easier, according to Larry Levin, executive VP and practice leader at IRI Worldwide.
The founder of Tio Gazpacho, a front runner in the drinkable soup segment, welcomes to the nascent category several newcomers that he hopes will help validate the new food concept and build consumer interest.
US social enterprise Project7 is carving a niche for itself in the highly consolidated chewing gum market with novel flavors such as birthday cake and sour caramel apple.
Sales of tea in the U.S. are growing quickly as more Americans are drawn to the beverage for its health benefits, rich history and artisanal qualities, according to industry stakeholders.
US cereal sales continue to decline, but retailers know the category is still important and want innovation around prevalent consumer trends, says the CEO of General Mills.
The 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans say half of our grains should be whole. So how are we doing? FoodNavigator-USA headed to Portland, Oregon, for the 2015 Whole Grain Summit - organized by Oregon State University and the Grains for Health Foundation...
Why is dietary diversity essential for a healthy microbiome? Can 3D printing and edible insects live up to the hype? And when will growing meat in the lab be commercially viable? Check out FoodNavigator-USA's guide to the hottest topics at the Institute...
Sriracha, the garlicky, hot chili sauce made popular by Huy Fong Foods, Inc., no longer is confined to the green-lidded bottle with a distinctive rooster on the front. Several companies are tweaking the ubiquitous condiment and its packaging to make healthier...
San Francisco-based seed stage biotech accelerator Indie Bio is offering up to $250k in seed funding for scientists and entrepreneurs developing cultured meat, milk, and egg products.
'Sprouted grains have long term potential to be very big...' Ardent Mills
Sprouted whole grains could give the grain industry a real opportunity to claw back the initiative in the debate sparked by books like Grain Brain and Wheat Belly by tapping into demand for more nutrient-rich, minimally processed natural foods, but also...
The insect protein market has been relying on its youthful enthusiasm and faith in sustainability but it needs a solid business plan to move forward, says Invenire as it seeks crowdfunding for its edible insect roadmap.
While turmeric is still a novel ingredient to many Americans, it’s only a matter of time before it moves from the niche to the mainstream of US food culture, predicts Temple Turmeric founder Daniel Sullivan, who has set his sights on conquering the conventional...
The US fruit pouch category could be worth $1bn in next 3-4 years, predicts the firm behind GoGo SqueeZ, a resealable squeezable fruit snack that was developed in France in the late 1990s, entered the US market in 2008, and notched up US retail sales...
Whole milk, cheese and butter surge ahead; margarine, skim milk and frozen yogurt fall backwards
New data on the US retail market for dairy products reveals strong dollar sales growth for butter, whole milk, cream, kefir, and natural cheese, but a lackluster performance from low fat and skim milk, frozen yogurt and margarine, suggesting Americans...
What are the hottest new trends in dairy? Grass-fed everything? A whole milk renaissance? High-protein kefir? Quark? And what’s next after Greek yogurt?
An injection of capital from private equity firm Alliance Consumer Growth (ACG) will help Way Better Snacks accelerate its nationwide distribution and raise awareness about the benefits of sprouted grains, founder and CEO Jim Breen told FoodNavigator-USA.
New software from Vision Critical aims to help large consumer packaged goods companies protect their market share from nimble startups by facilitating a two-way dialogue with consumers in real time online.
The tide may be changing for cheese, as science helps re-position the dairy food as a protein-dense, calcium-rich, healthy snack rather than as a high-fat and -sodium food to be enjoyed in moderation, suggests a market trends expert.
Consumer concern about animal welfare is rising to a level that retailers – and by extension CPG manufacturers and suppliers – can no longer ignore, according to new research by the Food Marketing Institute.
Targeting millennials in an effort to reach adventurous, trendsetting consumers who will adopt and evangelize new products early will only get marketers a third of the way to their goal, recent research from CivicScience suggests.
BioVittoria and Guilin GFS Bio-Tech Co have doubled their monk fruit supply and significantly boosted production capacity following a multi-million-dollar investment leading to the formation of a new company - Monk Fruit Corp - boasting an estimated 70%...
Indulgent dessert brand Dannon Creamery – the Dannon's Company’s first new brand in the US since Oikos – has not set the world on fire, the firm has acknowledged.