Even though a final USDA rule strengthening animal welfare standards squeaked into the Federal Register today before the new administration takes control of country, the rule may not be safe from repeal, like so many others finalized under Obama’s leadership.
The US Department of Agriculture’s call today for public comment on the Organic Trade Association’s application to create an organic check-off program comes at a time when sales of organic products in the US are soaring but hampered by limited domestic...
Farmers transitioning to organic soon could more easily sell their products at a premium even during the transition period before they are fully certified thanks to a new USDA program announced today.
Gluten-free brand Simple Mills, known for its baking mixes, enjoyed triple-digit growth year-over-year after dipping its toes in the finished snack category last year.
Offering products made from crops transitioning to organic at a premium above conventional but not as high as certified organic “helps the farmer, helps the consumer and helps the planet,” says the owner of the McKaskle Family Farm.
Essentia Protein Solutions has expanded its ProBase ingredients range for the second time in two months with the launch of organic chicken ingredients.
To protect organic crops and products form the “incursion” of rapidly developing genetic engineering, the National Organic Standards Board voted last week to recommend USDA expand and strengthen the definitions of excluded methods under organic regulations.
Rightly or wrongly, organic snacks often are stereotyped as “esoteric” products that sacrifice flavor and fun for nutrition and are “hard on the wallet” compared to their conventional counterparts, according to the CEO of Pure Growth Organic.
Taiyo’s Non-GMO certification for its Matcha Powder is a sign of the growing influence of this attribute, even for ingredient categories that have never been subject to genetic modification.
The National Organic Review Board’s decision Thursday to remove carrageenan from the list of allowable non-organic ingredients in organic products will limit consumers’ organic options, result in inferior products and sets a dangerous precedent for the...
Advocates for and against allowing organic products to continue using the non-organic thickener carrageenan argued their cases in front of the National Organic Standards Board Wednesday ahead of the advisory committee’s vote on the issue Thursday.
Organic industry stakeholders from across the nation are gathered in St. Louis today for what promises to be a highly contentious three-day meeting during which the National Organic Standards Board will debate the role of hydroponic production, carrageenan,...
Mere weeks before the National Organic Standards Board is expected to vote on a recommendation to allow hydroponically grown food to qualify as organic, the Cornucopia Institute filed a formal legal complaint with USDA outlining why they should not be...
Probiotic-fueled organic fruit & veggie snack brand Nomva has just picked up distribution in close to 175 Target stores, 200 Ralph’s stores and 150 Sprouts stores on the West Coast, says Los Angeles-based brand owner Phenomenal Foods, which has recently...
We've just got into 1,700 Walmart stores with paleo, organic and gluten free meals
Most successful entrepreneurs combine limitless self-belief and a thick skin, says Beetnik Foods founder David Perkins, but they’re also human: “As a chef, I know everyone’s tastes differ, but this company is my baby, so if even one person has a bad experience...
As US consumers embrace a healthier lifestyle focused on prevention rather than treatment, they increasingly are turning to the natural and organic channel for products that are clean, natural and have added health benefits.
Sales of organic food continues to rise at a breakneck pace compared to the overall market, thanks in part to more Millennials regularly stocking their shopping carts with it, according to new survey data from the Organic Trade Association.
Quinoa is what’s up in WutsupBaby’s line of infant and toddler cereals. It has won over East Asian consumers, reflected by its 10% revenue increase in the past 10 months. Now, the California-based company is ready to sell stateside.
While the meal kit market is attracting new entrants on an almost weekly basis – prompting many observers to predict an imminent shakeout – the entrepreneurs behind One Potato, a Los Angeles-based brand targeting families with organic fare, insist they...
KRā, a 90-day-old sports drink company started by three business professionals in the Chicago area, says it is filling a void in the sports hydration market with its USDA Certified Organic sports drink line.
'This isn’t a novelty, it’s serving a fundamental need.'
Meal kits – which enable consumers to cook restaurant-quality meals at home without having to do any of the legwork – could easily be a $60bn dollar market as consumers build them into their weekly routines, predicts the CEO of San Francisco based Sun...
“Consumers are absolutely far more focused on ingredients and on organic products, and conventional retailers are responding to that,” said Bitsy’s Brainfood co-founder Alex Voris.
The US House of Representatives has voted to pass a federal GMO labeling bill (306:117 votes) that would pre-empt and nullify all state-led GMO labeling laws including the one that has just come into effect in Vermont.
Sheila G’s retains its “edge on brownies” and its competition with the launch of an organic Brownie Brittle line that launched this year despite initial formulation challenges and tighter product margins, according to the company’s founder and CEO Sheila...
Los Angeles based Thrive Market – a membership-based online marketplace promising Whole Foods products at wholesale prices, delivered to your door – has raised $111m in a funding round led by investment firm Invus.
General Mills has entered a strategic sourcing partnership with Wisconsin-based dairy cooperative Organic Valley that will help roughly 20 dairy farms add around 3,000 acres to organic dairy production over the next three years.
'Creating a little niche called ‘meat-alternatives’ is not helpful and it’s not progressive'
Sweet Earth Natural Foods – a fast-growing plant-based food brand run by former Burger King and PepsiCo execs Brian and Kelly Swette - is on course to generate revenues of $20m in 2016, just five years after the couple acquired the trademark and set about...
US sales of organic food and drink surged 10.6% to $39.8bn in 2015, significantly ahead of the 3% growth in the overall food market, with some segments up more than 30% year-on-year, according to the Organic Trade Association (OTA).
Kashi has launched a breakfast cereal using wheat grown under a new initiative supporting farmers transitioning fields from conventional to organic crops.
Is Paleo a trend or a fad? And are 'plant-based foods' just a sexier term for meat & dairy alternatives, or the start of a new food movement? FoodNavigator-USA caught up with Blake Mitchell, president of food packaging and branding design...
The comment period for the FDA’s probe into ‘natural’ claims has closed, leaving the agency with the unenviable task of sifting through a mammoth pile of submissions from thousands of stakeholders weighing in on the most contentious word in food marketing....
USDA should strengthen organic seed sourcing practices as part of a multifaceted approach to prevent unintentional contamination of organic crops with genetically modified organisms, the Organic Trade Association argues in comments submitted to the National...
Companies from Chipotle to Costco are creatively coming up with ways to keep their organic supplies steady, but mid-sized, natural category veterans are concerned about the big fish jumping into a small and shrinking pond.
Organic infant formula products from high-profile brands Earth’s Best (Hain Celestial) and The Honest Co contain a “spectacular array” of ingredients that are prohibited under the Organic Food Production Act, according to lawsuits filed by The Organic...
Buying organic is a top priority for many American parents, especially when it comes to the food they feed their children, according to new research form the Organic Trade Association.
A proposed regulation that would strengthen and clarify organic animal welfare standards would align consumers’ expectations with production practices and improve their confidence in the organic seal, according to USDA.
'We want to be clear what we stand for and ‘all-natural’ is not clear'
Good Food Made Simple – one of a new wave of companies on a mission to revitalize the frozen food aisle - is transitioning its burritos and wraps to a 'made with organic ingredients' platform and ditching the much maligned term ‘all-natural’...
As 301 Inc’s recent investment in start-up Good Culture demonstrates, large CPG companies are placing bets in promising food companies earlier than ever as the natural & organic food market heats up, says general manager John Haugen, who is looking...
As the debate over the meaning of the most controversial term in food marketing (‘natural’) heats up now the FDA has finally weighed in, more food companies will seek organic certification, predicts Annie’s president John Foraker, who reckons organic...
The retail fresh soup category is now worth “north of $200m,” as more grocery retailers invest in their fresh prepared food offer, says the CEO of Boulder Organic Foods. But there is still a lot of potential for growth as the boundaries between food retail...
The financially daunting three-year transition to certified organic production just became a little less risky for farmers thanks the USDA expanding crop insurance to better reflect the product’s actual value.
Phenomenal Foods – the Los Angeles-based start-up behind probiotic-fueled organic fruit & veggie snack brand Nomva – has raised $3m in a series A fundraising round to help it take its HPP-treated pouches to a broader audience.
Whole Foods products at wholesale prices, delivered to your door? It sounds almost too good to be true, and at the beginning, that’s certainly how many potential investors viewed Thrive Market. But with a run-rate approaching $100m and hundreds of thousands...
The Organic Trade Association in 2016 will push forward several initiatives to help industry “turn the corner” on the supply shortages currently holding it back from meeting surging demand for organic products, the group’s CEO Laura Batcha says.
The term “natural” is an extremely effective marketing claim that taps into one of the hottest current trends in food and beverage, but because it is not defined, it leaves consumers confused and companies vulnerable to false claims allegations.
Sales of organic are skyrocketing in the U.S. with demand often outstripping supply, but the Organic Trade Association has a plan to bring into balance by 2030 the market growth, acreage growth and farming profitability of organic.
Co-founder: 'The deal we have done means we retain control'
While news that Coca-Cola and Goldman Sachs’ merchant banking division have invested in organic juice brand Suja probably didn’t shock anyone that’s been tracking its jaw-dropping growth trajectory, it’s hard to believe that Suja is still less than three...
Natural and organic food manufacturer Hain Celestial Group continued its five year streak of earning double-digit quarterly sales growth thanks in part to a “channel agnostic go-to-market strategy,” according to the firm’s president and CEO.
