Markets, whether for dietary supplements, functional foods or other consumer products, are divided between “market makers” and “market followers.” You don’t want to be in the latter group if you can help it, said market research expert Peter Leighton.
Butter might be winning the PR war in the spreads category owing to its all-natural credentials and short ingredients list; but from a nutritional standpoint, the healthier choice is margarine, says the National Association of Margarine Manufacturers...
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.
Chobani will make its first foray into the organic market later this year with the introduction of 32oz grass-fed multi-serve packs of its Greek yogurt.
In 2012, Late July’s revenues were a modest $18.6m. In 2014, founder and CEO Nicole Dawes says the brand is "currently at a $60M run rate", primarily due to explosive growth in sales of organic snack chips. Not bad going considering she’s vying...
Are consumers who say they’re avoiding gluten really just avoiding wheat? Can we trust survey data about the number of people following ‘gluten-free diets’? Are market researchers' (wildly differing) estimates about the size of the gluten-free market...
Ganeden Biotech - the Ohio-based company behind ultra-resilient probiotic BC30 (Bacillus coagulans GBI-30, 6086) - has scored another industry first after teaming up with coffee firm Copper Moon to launch the first K-Cups with probiotics.
Launching a new brand in the ultra-competitive US carbonated soft drinks market - which is facing well-documented problems right now - is notoriously tough, but the Dutch entrepreneur behind new market entrant Veri Soda is convinced he has found the sweet...
Coca-Cola Life - a stevia-sweetened cola with 50% less sugar than regular Coke - will be introduced into other markets this year following a successful debut in Argentina and Chile.
When PepsiCo replaced the word ‘Simply Natural’ with ‘Simply’ on some Frito-Lay lines recently, some commentators wondered if this signaled the beginning of the end of the industry’s love affair with all-natural claims. However, new data suggests otherwise.
While the number of lawsuits filed against food and beverage manufacturers over ‘all-natural’ claims appeared to peak in 2012 and drop off again in 2013, it’s too early for the industry to start cracking open the champagne just yet, say legal experts.
The new non-GMO formulations of Original Cheerios and Grape Nuts might be made without ingredients from genetically engineered crops, but they also come with fewer vitamins - although brand owners General Mills and Post Foods won’t say why.
While most start-ups struggle to raise the funds to turn their dreams into reality, Hampton Creek Foods CEO Josh Tetrick has convinced some of the world’s wealthiest people that his plant-based egg replacers are worth a serious punt.
While market researchers predict continued healthy growth for the US gluten-free market*, not everyone is convinced that it is built on a solid foundation.
Could coffee fruit be the next pomegranate? One firm on a mission to turn the one part of the coffee plant most growers aren’t interested in into the next big thing in beverages, has just struck a series of deals it hopes will turn it into a household...
Hurdles in food safety, taste and consumer acceptance await on the London South Bank University’s quest to join two big food innovations: 3D printing and insect-based ingredients.
High pressure processing (HPP) has breathed fresh life into the US juice market. But if beverage firms are excited about the technology, so, it appears, are plaintiffs' attorneys, who are starting to take issue with the way some HPP-treated products...
Brazzein - a protein from the berry of the West African plant Oubli claimed to be 2,500+ times sweeter than sucrose - could play a key role in the natural sweeteners market in future as formulators look beyond stevia, says one entrepreneur intent on commercializing...
As the US breakfast food segment flirts with $13 billion in total sales, the most important meal of the day is proving to be equally significant for food and beverage manufacturers.
Packaged goods companies will make their products greener, healthier, tastier, and faster in the New Year, says market researcher Datamonitor Consumer.
Bakery manufacturers can drive growth of packaged sweet baked goods by downsizing to smaller and single-serve packs for higher per unit profits, says the research director of Packaged Facts.
Hershey’s chief executive John Bilbrey says he is “very excited” about a mystery new product that will unveiled later this year, and believes fruit and choc snack brand Brookside could become a $500m global brand.
More than half (56%) of US shoppers say they are cutting back on white bread - but not necessarily because wheat or gluten are the enemy, says Packaged Facts.
From savory yogurt and seaweed chips to healthy vending and protein-packed frozen yogurt, here's FoodNavigator-USA's pick of 10 entrepreneurs and CEOs to watch in food and beverage in 2014.
Super Bowl parties are communal snacking events where consumers are open to trying new products, giving smaller brands a fighting chance, says Euromonitor.
With every man and his dog bringing out a Greek yogurt to cash in on the sector’s meteoric growth, Blue Hill president David Barber wanted to do something a bit different, and three months after launching his savory yogurts on an unsuspecting market,...
THE FOODNAVIGATOR-USA BUSINESS LEADERS ROUND TABLE DEBATE
Some people are repulsed by the idea of eating insects – but those aren’t the people to target when trying to introduce insect consumption to the mainstream, says edible insect expert Professor Arnold van Huis.
Smart Balance, best known for its heart-healthier buttery spreads, sticks and other products, has made a move into the snacks category with the launch of Smart Balance Peanut Butter Popcorn Nuggets.
The FDA’s proposal to revoke the GRAS status of partially hydrogenated oils (PHOs) in a bid to oust artificial trans fats from the US diet “is extreme… and other options should be explored”, says soybean industry collaborative Qualisoy.
The entrepreneur who proved that vending machines can dispense more than candy and soda and still make a decent return has taken the H.U.M.A.N. Healthy Vending concept to the next level with the launch of a new breed of self-service ‘micro markets’.
What are food manufacturers looking for? Plentiful supplies of water, great transport links, a skilled workforce, low-taxes, easy access to raw materials?
What are the hottest trends in food and beverage? And are the big bucks really in blue-sky innovation, or have the most successful firms played with an existing concept and just done a better job at executing, marketing and selling it?
Chobani is going head-to-head with Yoplait Greek 100 with the launch of Chobani Simply 100 Greek Yogurt, a 100-calorie authentic strained Greek Yogurt sweetened with monk fruit, stevia leaf and evaporated cane juice.
From maple water to ‘brogurt’, posh jerky, seaweed chips, purple corn, gourmet popcorn and non-GMO labels; what were the hottest trends of 2013, and what’s on the menu for 2014?
Jatropha protein concentrate can be used to fortify bread without adverse textural impact and bakers should consider using the ingredient more, researchers say.
While private label penetration rates in the US “pale in comparison” to those in Europe, the way US retailers regard their store brands has changed dramatically in recent years, according to the CEO of one leading manufacturer.
The much-anticipated ‘Keurig 2.0’ single-cup brewing system with ‘interactive readability’ (that doesn’t work with unlicensed/copycat pods) will offer such “game-changing functionality” that consumers - and unlicensed players - will want to switch, claims...
