Innovation

Cultivated meat researchers get €1.8 million to solve commercialisation barriers

14-Sep-2023 By Augustus Bambridge-Sutton

Researchers from Germany, Israel and the UK have been given €1.8 million in funding to work on solving the barriers to creating cultivated meat at scale, and thus to provide it on a commercial basis.

American Egg Board cracks open food, beverage innovation with Eggcelerator Lab

07-Aug-2023 By Ryan Daily

Product developers looking to crack open new food and beverage innovation often face challenges, but with the American Egg Board’s (AEB) Eggcelerator Lab, the trade group is streamlining the process and finding new opportunities for food and beverage...

Kraft Heinz's volumes sag after price hikes, but 4-prong plan to recapture share taking hold

03-Aug-2023 By Elizabeth Crawford

Despite losing market share in recent months due to higher prices and increased promotional activity by competitors, Kraft Heinz CEO Miguel Patricio says he is confident the company will meet its full year net sales targets and exceed previous gross profit...

IFT FIRST

IFT FIRST Startup Pavilion highlights innovative solutions to today’s pressing challenges

12-Jul-2023 By Elizabeth Crawford

The Startup Pavilion at the Institute of Food Technologists’ annual Food Improved by Research Science and Technology (IFT FIRST) conference in Chicago this month will be twice as big as it was at last year’s annual conference, reflecting the urgency and...

IFT FIRST

IFT FIRST’s Innovation Lab promises a ‘real world product development experience’

12-Jul-2023 By Elizabeth Crawford

Attendees at the Institute of Food Technologists’ annual Food Improved by Research, Science and Technology (IFT FIRST) conference this month won’t have to wait until they return home to apply what they learn in the hundreds of academic sessions or see...

Summer Fancy Food Show

Soup-To-Nuts Podcast: Six trends to watch from the Summer Fancy Food Show

10-Jul-2023 By Elizabeth Crawford

At the Summer Fancy Food Show in New York City late last month emerging and established brands were going back to basics with simplified ingredients, streamlined packaging, clear cut benefits and natural – if not always familiar – flavor profiles.

What does it take to land shelf space at Whole Foods Market? A forager shares all

30-Jun-2023 By Elizabeth Crawford

Whole Foods Market’s newest store opened this week in the historic Walter Reed Parks in Washington, DC, as an anchor for the redeveloping neighborhood and a new opportunity for area startups hoping to break into the competitive food and beverage industry....

'The ultimate goal is to foster innovation and accelerate the go-to-market of new products': Inside Roquette's new food innovation centre

13-Jun-2023 By Augustus Bambridge-Sutton

French ingredients company Roquette has opened up a new food innovation centre, focusing on developing a wide range of foods with a small number of ingredients, prominently pea protein, wheat protein, polyols, soluble fibres and starches. FoodNavigator...

Kellogg embraces new era of innovation, marketing to lift sales: ‘It’s not 1987 anymore’

05-May-2023 By Elizabeth Crawford

Kellogg’s “stronger than anticipated” first quarter in which the company saw double-digit organic net sales and adjusted operating profit growth not only places the company in the “enviable position” of raising its full year guidance, but suggests it...

Edible utensils and a riff on nori and sandwich wraps are among the stand-out innovations inducted on Mondelēz’s latest CoLab

05-May-2023 By Gill Hyslop

CoLab is designed to build a venture pipeline of early-stage brands and this year’s inductees are doing disruptive things to make snacks delicious.

Kraft Heinz outlines 4-prong approach to ‘gradually’ regain lost market share in US

03-May-2023 By Elizabeth Crawford

Kraft Heinz expects to gradually regain lost market share in the US, which tumbled 30 points on a mix-adjusted basis in the first quarter, by selectively working with retailers to boost shelf space, ramping up marketing and innovation, and tackling lingering...

Soup-To-Nuts Podcast: What will it take to reinvigorate product development that stalled during the pandemic?

24-Apr-2023 By Elizabeth Crawford

After three years of innovation-stifling supply chain and labor challenges paired with record high inflation and a trying economy that has discouraged both investors and adventurous shoppers, food and beverage manufacturers are finally ready to prioritize...

FMI: FTC proposal to ban non-competes threatens innovation, supply chain resiliency

18-Apr-2023 By Elizabeth Crawford

The Federal Trade Commission should withdraw or “at the very least narrow the scope of its proposed ban on non-compete agreements” to exclude those between businesses and executive-level or “highly skilled workers,” urges FMI, The Food Industry Association....

Natural Products Expo West

Nestlé cultivates new innovation pathways to better meet consumer, retailer needs

14-Mar-2023 By Elizabeth Crawford

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.

Soup-To-Nuts Podcast: How will the CPG space change in the next 10 years?

27-Feb-2023 By Elizabeth Crawford

Change is inevitable, and for most it is uncomfortable – but it isn’t necessarily bad given it can be a catalyst for tremendous growth, deeper connections and betterment, which is good news for the consumer packaged goods industry considering research...

Kraft Heinz reaches ‘inflection point’ in transformation with bold goal to capture $2b in sales with innovation in three years

22-Feb-2023 By Elizabeth Crawford

Kraft Heinz is entering the final stage of its transformation in which it plans to capture $2b in incremental net sales from innovation through 2027 after the company has systematically rebuilt itself following the dramatic fallout of an aggressive cost-cutting...

Soup-To-Nuts Podcast: Emerging demand for positive nutrition must balance functional benefits, taste, sustainability and convenience

23-Jan-2023 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...

Soup-To-Nuts Podcast: Investing in food as medicine opens business opportunities

16-Jan-2023 By Elizabeth Crawford

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 drives market share up 10pp by pruning innovation pipeline, product portfolio to do more with less

13-Jan-2023 By Elizabeth Crawford

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....

Nestlé’s budget-friendly innovation strategy: ‘We are faster now than many of the startups”

21-Dec-2022 By Elizabeth Crawford

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...

STARTUP NATION PART ONE: Israeli food startups to watch, from a flavor revolution with solid state fermentation to boozy shelf-stable creams

06-Dec-2022 By Elaine Watson

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...

'We’re capable of taking whatever pricing we need...' PepsiCo confidently raises prices as shoppers seek ‘small moments of pleasure’

13-Oct-2022 By Elizabeth Crawford

PepsiCo continues to raise the prices of its snacks and beverages with confidence despite some handwringing by analysts about whether elasticities, which remain at historic lows, soon will begin to give as inflation continues to squeeze consumers across...

How Givaudan is re-thinking sugar reduction: ‘Holistic profiling is not about replacing the sugar experience’

11-Oct-2022 By Katy Askew

Givaudan has developed a ‘radical approach’ that it says can assist efforts to reduce the amount of sugar in products: ‘holistic profiling’. FoodNavigator hears more about how this new technique represents a departure from conventional approaches to cutting...

Natural Products Expo East

What will it take to bolster plant-based protein? Meatless Farm says innovation

07-Oct-2022 By Elizabeth Crawford

While plant-based is still one of the hottest trends in food and beverage, sales and consumer engagement with alternative proteins have slid in recent quarters – prompting some players in the space to rethink their strategy.

Soup-To-Nuts Podcast: ‘There hasn’t been a better time for small brands to help transform the CPG industry’

26-Sep-2022 By Elizabeth Crawford

As consumers navigate rising inflation, out-of-stocks due to lingering supply chain and labor challenges and contemplate the potential impact of their purchases on the environment and workers, they are more willing to push aside old loyalties and try...

Soup-To-Nuts Podcast: How can plant-based protein overcome sliding sales, better meet consumer demand?

19-Sep-2022 By Elizabeth Crawford

Plant-based meat alternatives continue their downward slide with sales, units and volume all dropping in July from a year ago – a trajectory that IRI data crunched by 210 Analytics shows was set in motion months ago, but which doesn't shake at least...

Kraft Heinz is ready to move beyond ‘good’ to ‘great,’ which ‘is a very different game’

16-Sep-2022 By Elizabeth Crawford

After previous plans to boost Kraft Heinz’s profit margins and add value by aggressively cutting costs and practicing zero-based budgeting went awry and caused the company’s stock and consumer trust to plummet, Miguel Patricio was focused on the basics...

Food as medicine continues to gain traction and inspire innovation post-pandemic

18-Aug-2022 By Elizabeth Crawford

The acute health threat of COVID-19 may be ebbing for most Americans, but the desire it instilled in many to bolster their physical and mental wellbeing continues to push consumers to seek food as medicine, according to industry insiders.

Soup-To-Nuts Podcast: Mintel shares areas ripe for innovation that balance post-pandemic and tighter financial needs

15-Aug-2022 By Elizabeth Crawford

As Americans continue to adjust to post-pandemic life and mounting economic uncertainty, consumer research from Mintel shows that many believe there is no going ‘back to normal’ and as such are changing the way they think about, budget and shop for, and...

Coca-Cola Co. leverages ‘intelligent experimentation’ to land ‘epic’ innovation

23-Jun-2022 By Elizabeth Crawford

While The Coca-Cola Co.’s tolerance for underperforming brands and product launches that miss the mark has dropped dramatically in recent years, its appetite for “intelligent experimentation” has increased – underscoring the need for a structured yet...

Kraft Heinz: ‘We are no longer at the bottom. We are a very different company’

07-Jun-2022 By Elizabeth Crawford

After three years of helping Kraft Heinz claw its way up “from the bottom,” where it crashed after previous management prioritized inorganic growth and cost-cutting measures, CEO Miguel Patricio wants credit given where it is due.

Innovation, added-value help offset inflation threats in dairy – but what do consumers want?

03-May-2022 By Elizabeth Crawford

Dairy innovation that delivers added-value is becoming increasingly important as inflation rises and shoppers look to justify higher prices for products across the board – including for staples, such as dairy, that previously may taken for granted their...

Kraft Heinz leverages innovation, personalized marketing to offset consumer ‘uncertainty’ related to inflation

28-Apr-2022 By Elizabeth Crawford

Kraft Heinz is reimaging its approach to food production and marketing to help offset inflation and increase value for consumers as they begin to consider their budgets and purchase priorities more carefully as prices across categories rise.

SnackMagic’s CPGpulse platform ‘democratizes’ consumer, competitive data to fit emerging brands’ needs, budgets

20-Apr-2022 By Elizabeth Crawford

Entrepreneurs at startups and emerging brands often innovate and build their businesses based on their intuition or anecdotal feedback from loved ones and early adopters, but as they scale so do their need for detailed data and analysis -- not just about...

Nestle shifts portfolio to premium to fend off commoditization, drive sustained growth

01-Mar-2022 By Elizabeth Crawford

Through a combination of rapid innovation, investing in growth platforms, ongoing “prudent” M&A and strategic paring down of labor and factories, Nestle is on track to deliver solid mid single-digit organic growth in 2022 and into the foreseeable...

Soup-To-Nuts Podcast: How has the pandemic permanently changed the startup landscape in food?

07-Feb-2022 By Elizabeth Crawford

While some of the initial challenges that food and beverage startups experienced when the pandemic began have subsided, like restrictions on sampling and freezes on category resets, others remain and new ones have emerged – complicating the path to market...

Soup-To-Nuts Podcast: How will the return of eating out impact supply, new product development?

31-Jan-2022 By Elizabeth Crawford

As waves of COVID-19 and its variants ebb and flow they are creating an unpredictable tug-of-war between restaurants and grocery retailers that one industry insider predicts will continue to complicate inventory management long after the current supply...

Soup-To-Nuts Podcast: Innovations in upcycling open door to reach sustainability goals, boost profits

17-Jan-2022 By Elizabeth Crawford

Innovation within the nascent upcycled food and beverage industry is exploding as manufacturers and ingredient suppliers large and small are drawn to the promise of potentially higher profits, a viable path to ambitious sustainability goals and a consumer-friendly...

Clif Bar & Co.’s Trailblazer Incubator pushes into new categories, underscores commitment to bold innovation

13-Dec-2021 By Elizabeth Crawford

Undeterred by the chaos of the pandemic, including supply chain challenges and retailers significantly scaling back selection and even pausing new product introductions, an elite, cross-functional team of innovators at Clif Bar & Co. secretly pushed...

Soup-To-Nuts Podcast: Nissin Foods’ Top Ramen, Cup Noodles 50th anniversary underscores importance of innovation, empathy & teamwork for sustained success, consumer relevancy

20-Sep-2021 By Elizabeth Crawford

A keen empathy for consumers, a deep commitment to innovation and an open-door approach to collaboration helped the founder of Nissin Foods not only capture the hearts of billions of people when he invented instant noodles, but also helped build and sustain...

Hormel: Future innovation will rely on partnerships to overcome pandemic-related resource limitations

20-Aug-2021 By Elizabeth Crawford

Pandemic-related limitations on key resources, from essential ingredients to packaging to labor, continue to challenge food and beverage manufacturers, and while pressures may ease in one area they simultaneously increase in another – elevating the need...

Milk does a body good: 12 startups featuring functional benefits of California dairy compete for $650,000 in prize funds

29-Jul-2021 By Elizabeth Crawford

From immunity- and metabolism-boosting kefir to a sugar-free lassi that supports mental clarity to trendy boba lattes optimized for performance and recovery, the 12 semi-finalists in the Real California Milk Excelerator are reinforcing the old adage “milk...

Investing in the Future of Food: SnackMagic's Snack Drop offers inexpensive sampling, data analytics to help emerging brands test innovations, understand consumers

30-Jun-2021 By Elizabeth Crawford

For a fraction of the price and hassle of in-person sampling or focus groups, the new product discovery and data analytics platform Snack Drop allows emerging brands to offer goods directly to consumers in exchange for honest feedback and detailed information...

Del Monte Foods doubles down on frozen plant-based innovation, purposeful snacking & at home occasions

14-May-2021 By Elizabeth Crawford

A sweeping collection of convenient and accessible new products from Del Monte Foods rolling out this summer takes the company into new categories and channels to meet the rising consumer demand for plant-based products, purposeful snacks and time-saving,...

Balance consumer demand for innovation & authenticity by providing cultural context for new offerings

02-Apr-2021 By Elizabeth Crawford

As concerns about cultural appropriation and misrepresentation bubble up alongside the push for social equity, food and beverage industry stakeholders are delicately navigating consumers’ sometimes-conflicting demands for authenticity and innovation.

Coca-Cola Co. shifts innovation in 2021 to favor ‘big bets,’ while saving space for experimentation

23-Feb-2021 By Elizabeth Crawford

While Coca-Cola Co. is eager to restart innovation in 2021 after pulling back in 2020 to accommodate supply-constraints and heightened retailer demand for best-sellers, it is doing so with a shorter leash on experimentation and higher bar for financial...

Clif Bar adopts ambitious ‘transformation’ to expand portfolio, consumer-reach & sustainability

23-Feb-2021 By Elizabeth Crawford

Less than a year after taking the helm at Clif Bar & Co., new CEO Sally Grimes is spearheading the company’s first transformation in 30 years with an ambitious goal to double its business to $2 billion and double its positive impact on the world....

Coca-Cola: ‘Our 2021 innovation pipeline has been shaped and coordinated for scale and impact’

11-Feb-2021 By Rachel Arthur

Coca-Cola has been streamlining its portfolio: cutting down from 400 to 200 master brands. This doesn’t mean the company has abandoned NPD, says CEO James Quincey – rather, he sees the strategy as clearing the way for the ‘next generation of innovation’.

Unilever and Kellogg discuss innovation priorities for 2021: From gut health to next gen plant proteins

09-Feb-2021 By Oliver Morrison

Kellogg Company and Unilever are calling on start-ups to help tackle some of the most critical issues facing the food and industry.

PepsiCo’s Greenhouse Accelerator’s fifth cohort focuses on functional & personalized nutrition

12-Jan-2021 By Elizabeth Crawford

As consumer taste preferences shift to reflect a deeper understanding of the connection between health and diet during the ongoing pandemic, PepsiCo is expanding the scope of its Greenhouse Accelerator program to embrace emerging science and technology...