Non-alcoholic beverages were on full display at Natural Products Expo West 2024 last week, as hop-heavy brands like Hoplark, H2OPS, and Lagunitas shared how they are tapping into consumer demands for bold and interesting flavors.
Seaweed’s versatility as a regenerative crop was on display at Natural Products Expo West in Anaheim, Calif., last week, with brands highlighting its nutrition, texture and environmental benefits in products ranging from seaweed bacon to kelp puffs.
Emphasizing the value of exisiting products appeared to trump breakthrough innovation this year at Natural Products Expo West where many companies either introduced smaller sizes of existing SKUs to lower the entry point or more prominently called out...
Feel Good Foods, Schär, Brazi Bites, and other gluten-free brands showcased breakfast items, pizzas, breads, and other products at Natural Products Expo West last week, as companies lean on innovation to grow the category.
Pro- and prebiotic sparkling drink brand wildwonder released a Raspberry Lychee flavor and is preparing to seek out additional funding to help grow the retail footprint of the Asian heritage-inspired beverage, company founder and CEO Rosa Li told FoodNavigator-USA.
AB InBev’s sustainable ingredient business, EverGrain, said it’s poised to disrupt the performance beverage category this year with the launch of two products that use EverPro, a barley protein made from upcycled brewer’s spent grain.
Once reserved for special occasions and parties, dips are breaking out as an everyday snack – and in some cases meal – to emerge as a fast-growing category driven by pandemic-fatigue, consumer interest in global flavors and an enviable family-friendly...
For the 1 billion people worldwide projected to be menopausal by 2025, very few options for symptom management beyond hormone replacement therapy and an emerging selection of dietary supplements exists – creating a massive untapped market opportunity...
The era of food and beverage entrepreneurs scoring massive checks from investors with scant review to build and exit a business in three to five years is giving way to a new era of cautious consideration by venture capitalists seeking slower but more...
Upcycling food, or turning would-be wasted byproducts from one product into something delicious and nutritious for people, has emerged as one of the hottest trends in food and beverage in recent years with the market projected to grow at a compound annual...
At Natural Products Expo West this year, walking down an aisle without seeing a callout for prebiotics or probiotics was nearly impossible as more players race to meet consumer demand for each, which research from Coefficient Capital shows is climbing...
Tractor Beverage Co. is showing the benefits of organic farming with a customer-facing tracker that details the amount of synthetic pesticides avoided in the creation of its beverages, the brand CMO Justin Herber told FoodNavigator-USA at the Natural...
Better for you snack brand Simple Mills is taking is mission and products beyond its initial “free from” roots to embrace a “for more” approach that not only skips artificial ingredients that consumers are avoiding but gives them more of what they want...
Newly formed trade group Founders Heritage is connecting consumers to authentic products with a new certification that highlights food and beverage brands focused on unique heritages and cultures.
Dueling consumer interests in eating more seafood and concern about climate change is creating a sense of urgency for innovation around plant-based seafood on which newcomer Konscious Foods is moving fast to deliver with a broad lineup of award-winning...
Non-alcoholic beverage brand HOP WTR is leaning on functional ingredients like ashwagandha and L-Theanine to provide consumers with added mood management benefits, as the brand looks to sustain interest and repeat purchase following a spike in sales from...
With the increasing demand for functional beverages, Uncle Matt's is preparing for a year of product innovation in the organic juice space at the same time that it navigates another challenging season for citrus sourcing, as brand CEO and founder...
Over the last several years, mushrooms have increasingly become a popular functional ingredient in a range of products, from plant-based burgers to snacks to ready-to-drink (RTD) beverages. And at Natural Products Expo West last week, many of these latest...
As news broke last week that Silicon Valley Bank has collapsed due to a bank run, many attendees at Natural Products Expo West also had their own economic concerns – namely, how to find capital for their brands and survive the current moment.
Eat the Change co-founder Seth Goldman is continuing to fill the gap left behind by The Coca-Cola Co.'s decision to discontinue Honest Tea by creating a “rhyming copy” of the beloved ready-to-drink brand under his new company, which recently released...
As CPG brands look to innovate in the plant-based meats category, they often meet a host of formulation challenges, including ensuring products have a similar taste, texture, and appearance as their animal-based counterparts. At Natural Products Expo...
Nutrient dense and versitile hemp seeds might be the next ingredient to shake up the super seed space, long-dominated by chia and flax, according to a panel of experts and trendspotters at Natural Products Expo West last week.
How Nestlé uncovers unmet consumer needs and develops foods and beverages are almost as innovative and diverse as the successful new products it has launched and patents it has filed since the pandemic began.
Rising inflation is taking a toll on natural and organic sales in the US, the growth of which slowed dramatically in 2022 and will likely continue to drop in the coming year before rebounding slightly in 2024, according to data presented at Natural Products...
Emerging and maturing trends revealed at Natural Products Expo West in Anaheim last week ranged from dips delivering delightful dinners, mochi moving into multiple day parts, plant-based expanding beyond analogues, and beverages brimming with better-for-you...
To further its mission of bringing culturally relevant and globally nostalgic flavors to the energy bar category, snack bar maker Unite Food this week revealed two new flavors – a baklava and bubble tea – which it featured at its booth at Natural Products...
With a new flavor of its probiotic tonic set to hit store shelves regionally later this month, The Spare Food Co. is repurposing whey from the Greek style-yogurt manufacturing process to create its line of beverages while advocating for more food and...
Kevin's Natural Foods has officially launched its cauliflower pasta meal kits, featuring several classic meat and pasta recipes, following a soft launch earlier this year with a goal of making eating healthy easier.
In a highly competitive industry in which 80-85% of new products fail in the first two years, natural grocery distributor KeHE consistently picks winners and fosters growth among emerging brands thanks to several key initiatives, including its TrendFinder...
Ongoing strain from the pandemic and increasing financial pressure related to rising inflation are causing consumers to reprioritize their health and wellness goals, and by extension their food and beverage purchases, according to new research from the...
While regenerative agriculture resonates with rising consumer interest in sustainability, it can be difficult to explain in snappy marketing sound bites and callouts – prompting natural and organic meat company Applegate to try a different approach through...
From reishi to lion’s mane, ‘medicinal’ mushrooms are gaining traction in foods and beverages, buoyed by growing interest in adaptogens and immunity, says Four Sigmatic CEO Tero Isokauppila, who caught up with FoodNavigator-USA at the Natural Products...
While plant-based beef patties and grounds, pork sausages and chicken nuggets abound, seafood alternatives are still relatively scare – representing a significant, and fast-growing, opportunity that innovators and investors alike are moving quickly to...
With fresh leadership and a portfolio intended to address a consumer's every need state, Laird Superfood is on a strong path towards significant long-term growth and profitability, said the company's new president and CEO Jason Vieth at the...
Boston-based Motif FoodWorks says it is “very confident” it will prevail in its legal spat with Impossible Foods over a new generation of ‘meaty’ flavors produced by precision fermentation.
Worth an estimated $1.94b globally in 2020 and slated to grow at a compound annual rate of 17.7%, according to Research & Markets data*, the plant-based yogurt category is hitting its stride, even as manufacturers struggle to balance nutrition, mouthfeel...
Health and wellness positioned products may account for only a small portion of the food and beverage industry’s overall dollar share, but they are disproportionately driving dollar growth alongside organic, which often outpaced its conventional counterparts...
Tattooed Chef, a rapidly-growing plant-based frozen foods brand, is entering new categories beyond the frozen foods aisle and into refrigerated snack bars and snacking chips.
Despite efforts in recent years to disrupt the roughly $5b fruit snack market with better-for-you options made with more, whole or only fruit, the category remains dominated by legacy products high in added sugars and fillers and low in nutritional value...
With consumers placing more weight on the type and amount of fat in packaged food when selecting purchases, a group of five better-for-you brands are teaming up to ensure shoppers understand key nutritional differences between oils and how they are processed....
Ten years after its debut, upcycling pioneer Barnana continues to push the boundaries of would-be wasted bananas and disprove naysayers with a trio of diverse, savory snacks launched in as many years while simultaneously navigating the uncertainty of...
From a flurry of keto snacks and functional-but-fun beverages, to firms making more proactive claims about their impact (or lack thereof) on the environment, check out our first trendspotting gallery from the Natural Products Expo West show in Anaheim,...
CPG companies with more diverse leadership and which intentionally engage a consumer base that more accurately reflects the racial composition of the US population are attracting shoppers and growing faster than brands that over-index among white shoppers,...
The drop in US sales growth of natural and organic products following the 10% pantry-stocking surge early in the pandemic will linger well into 2023 – dropping to less than 4% before starting to climb again slowly to about 5% in 2024, according to analysis...
Kraft Heinz has just teamed up with foodtech startup NotCo to create a joint venture that will develop co-branded plant-based foods across multiple categories, with the first products to launch this year. FoodNavigator-USA caught up with NotCo co-founder...
Natural and organic brands catering to alternative eating styles and combining better nutrition with convenience are shifting consumer perceptions of frozen to boost purchase intent and sales that could outlast the pandemic pantry stocking surge of 2020,...
Sales of functional beverages are bouncing back after slowing early in the pandemic when fewer people bought on-the-go products, reflecting increased consumer mobility, rising interest in food as medicine and innovation that resonates with health-focused...