Flavors and colors

Driving confectionery sales through promos, micro-occasions, catchy displays

25-Apr-2024 By Deniz Ataman

Consumers continue to buy sweet treats as rewards and to celebrate despite higher prices due to inflation, helping confectionery sales reach $48bn in 2023 and potentially $61bn by 2028, according to the National Confectioners Association’s State of Treating...

Nassau Candy introduces more bulk candies, expands into dextrose market

25-Apr-2024 By Deniz Ataman

Nassau Candy’s positioning in confectionery as an importer, manufacturer and distributor allows the company flexibility to focus on innovation and its customers’ needs by filling in the gaps from discontinued but in-demand products, Dana Rodio, director,...

mio’s brand refresh highlights simplicity in the energy drink category

24-Apr-2024 By Deniz Ataman

Mio liquid water enhancers’ brand refresh blends flavor and function to provide a simple solution for consumers with multiple beverage needs, as well as bright packaging that communicates wellness, Samantha Mills, director of brand communications for...

PepsiCo struggles with slower US volumes in Q1 2024, challenges persist in beverage business

24-Apr-2024 By Ryan Daily

PepsiCo is sticking with its fiscal 2024 guidance, after releasing its first-quarter results yesterday, which showed fresh challenges for the food and beverage giant as volumes decreased across its core US businesses amid fierce competition and ongoing...

WILDE raises $20m to expand consumer awareness of protein-rich chips

23-Apr-2024 By Ryan Daily

Protein snack brand WILDE raised $20m in a round led by private-equity firm KarpReilly, which will help raise the brand’s awareness as more consumers seek nutrient-rich foods to improve their health, Jason Wright, Founder and CEO of WILDE told FoodNavigator-USA.

MyMuse launches its influencer-focused functional soda with singer Dixie D’Amelio

18-Apr-2024 By Deniz Ataman

Beverage brand MyMuse worked closely with social media personality and singer Dixie D'Amelio to develop a new caffeine-free, passionfruit-flavored functional soda and enhance the company's symbiotic influencer marketing strategy as “a brand...

Forward Consumer Partners makes first purchase with Firehook Bakery acquisition

18-Apr-2024 By Ryan Daily

Private-equity firm Forward Consumer Partners acquired artisan baker, Firehook Bakery, marking the first acquisition of the company’s $425m initial fund, the firm’s founder and managing partner, Matt Leeds, told FoodNavigator-USA.

Startup Spotlight

Nourish Ingredients expands in animal-free specialty fats with Creamilux for dairy

18-Apr-2024 By Elizabeth Crawford

Nourish Ingredients, a pioneer in the emerging ‘animal-free’ speciality fat segment, is expanding into non-dairy with the debut of Creamilux – a low-inclusion lipid that recreates the rich, creamy mouthfeel, taste and emulsification properties of dairy...

Natural Products Expo West

SkinnyDipped 'glows up' with new rebrand, upcoming nut butter launch

12-Apr-2024 By Deniz Ataman

Sweet and salty better-for-you almond mix brand SkinnyDipped featured its latest snack flavors, upcoming nut butter line and brand redesign at Natural Products Expo West last month.

Startup Spotlight

DEUX founder discusses ‘year of retail,’ growing with Sprouts, Target

11-Apr-2024 By Ryan Daily

Better-for-you sweet snack brand DEUX is making 2024 “a year of retail" with its recent expansion in Sprouts, while tapping into larger permissible indulgent trends, brand Founder and CEO Sabeena Ladha shared with FoodNavigator-USA during a Startup...

Cup Noodles doubles down on breakfast flavors, releases Everything Bagel with Cream Cheese LTO

09-Apr-2024 By Ryan Daily

Following in the footsteps of last year’s Breakfast flavor, Cup Noodles is turning to another morning-time classic releasing an Everything Bagel with Cream Cheese flavor for its iconic microwavable ramen, as the company continues to promote its newer...

US patchwork of additive bans: Will food manufacturers be forced to come up with a different formulation for different states?

09-Apr-2024 By Gill Hyslop

Unsurprisingly, the current state of play in the US is causing deep concern in the food industry: especially for those producers that sell products across multiple states. It's turning into a quagmire to stay ahead of the latest regulatory developments...

Natural Products Expo West

Spring Foods offers fresh bread minus preservatives, artificial flavors thanks to innovative packaging, traditional baking techniques

04-Apr-2024 By Elizabeth Crawford

Brand building platform Spring Foods is on a mission to revive what it says is the lost flavor, nutrition and virtue of bread with the launch of Essential – a certified organic, ready-to-bake bread line that is building on the success of the company’s...

Dannon’s Light + Fit supports women entrepreneurs in new cause marketing campaign

28-Mar-2024 By Deniz Ataman

The Light + Fit campaign is designed to “inspire women to crave more beyond yogurt” through packaging redesigns from female artists and a grant program partnership with the Female Founder Collective, Jessica Grane, senior director of marketing, Dannon,...

Natural Products Expo West

Uncle Matt’s turns to teas, workout shots amid continuing citrus sourcing challenges

28-Mar-2024 By Ryan Daily

Uncle Matt's is innovating outside orange juice – including in teas and workout wellness shots - to grow its brand as citrus greening continues to pressure supply chains and a cure for the tree disease might remain years away.

PepsiCo Frito-Lay takes fans on a ‘tongue trip’ around the US and to the skies

28-Mar-2024 By Gill Hyslop

For years, the snack giant has transported snackers to exotic destinations through potato chip flavors.

Natural Products Expo West

Goodles adds gluten-free SKUs to rainbow of flavors, aims to ‘out weird the competition’

27-Mar-2024 By Ryan Daily

Goodles is shaking up the mac and cheese shelf with colorful branding, playful product names and better-for-you options, including a new gluten-free option sampled at the recent Natural Products Expo West event.

NPD Trend Tracker: From Easter-egg ice cream to dairy-free chocolate eggs

25-Mar-2024 By Donna Eastlake

We’re getting ready for Easter in this week’s new-product roundup. There’s everything from egg-cellent (not sorry!) mini-egg ice cream to egg-citing (still not sorry!) dairy-free chocolate eggs. There’s also a range of drinks from energy-sparking mixers...

Pennsylvania proposes food additive ban, NCA says bill lacks 'scientific basis'

22-Mar-2024 By Deniz Ataman

In the wake of California’s Food Safety Act, Pennsylvania is the latest state proposing a ban of several food additives from the food supply, as trade groups like the National Confectioners Association (NCA) are calling into question the law, arguing...

Short read

Liquid assets: The need for business action on water

22-Mar-2024 By Francesca O’Hanlon

The diamond-water paradox was a puzzle to the man that coined the term, economist Adam Smith. Although water is, unarguably, more valuable to humans, why do diamonds command a higher price?

Natural Products Expo West

Expo West trends: Non-alcoholic category keeps it refreshing with hop-infused beverages

21-Mar-2024 By Ryan Daily

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.

California lawmakers turn to food additives in schools with proposed ingredient ban

21-Mar-2024 By Ryan Daily

Continuing in the footsteps of last year's Food Safety Act, California lawmakers are now seeking to ban a series of food additives from schools, citing a series of children's health concerns.

Natural Products Expo West

Expo West trendspotting: Functional benefits, purity testing help justify premium pricing as consumers navigate economic challenges

19-Mar-2024 By Elizabeth Crawford

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...

Wildwonder expands sparkling beverage line with Raspberry Lychee flavor, prepares for funding search

14-Mar-2024 By Ryan Daily

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.

Startup Spotlight

United Sodas of America's president on growing brand, ‘We have to learn how to say no’

14-Mar-2024 By Ryan Daily

United Sodas of America’s recently appointed president, Dan Herndon, is taking a practical hands-on approach to growing the low-sugar soda company, as the brand focuses on expanding in select channels and deploying capital efficiently to maintain a sustainable...

Connecticut seeks to ban energy drink sales to children once again, amid caffeine content concerns

08-Mar-2024 By Ryan Daily

Connecticut lawmakers once again seek to ban the sale of energy drinks to consumers younger than 16 years, as regulators and researchers raise concerns about the negative health impact of caffeine.

PepsiCo brings back Greenhouse Accelerator Program: Juntos Crecemos Edition

07-Mar-2024 By Ryan Daily

PepsiCo is seeking submissions to its annual Greenhouse Accelerator Program, which will once again focus on Hispanic-owned startups in the food and beverage or food supply chain spaces.

Fly By Jing, Fishwife, Aura Bora share best practices for successful product collaborations

01-Mar-2024 By Ryan Daily

Two heads are better than one — or in the case of the CPG world — two brands in one product might be the recipe for business growth, as representatives from Fly By Jing, Fishwife, and Aura Bora shared during a recent SPINS webinar on product collaborations....

Copper Cow releases churro coffee flavor in Costco, adjusts to new funding reality

29-Feb-2024 By Ryan Daily

Vietnamese coffee company Copper Cow is sweetening Costco aisles with a limited-edition churro flavor as it navigates growing without venture-capital (VC) funding, company CEO and Founder Debbie Mullin told FoodNavigator-USA.

Happy embraces ‘modern sensibility,’ mental-health advocacy to differentiate in coffee

29-Feb-2024 By Ryan Daily

Serial entrepreneur Craig Dubitsky has partnered with award-winning actor Robert Downey Jr. to launch happy, a coffee brand leveraging a modern design and a mission to improve mental health to distinguish it from the competition.

PATH’s flavored sparkling water is a continuation of bottle reusability

29-Feb-2024 By Deniz Ataman

PATH’s primary business strategy revolves around the reusability of its aluminum bottles, diverging from the traditional single-use bottled water market. Launched its new flavored sparkling water was an obvious decision, PATH’s CEO, Shadi Bakour, explained...

Smoove's prebiotic beverages place African culture in the spotlight

29-Feb-2024 By Deniz Ataman

Tapping into the multi-billion dollar functional beverage market, Smoove’s RTD prebiotic juice is a cultural nod to African representation through indigenous and traditional ingredients, like tropical almond, tamarind and African cherry, while responding...

Winter Fancy Food Show

Soup-To-Nuts Podcast: Demand for functional beverages could lead to ‘tsunami of innovation’ in 2024

29-Feb-2024 By Elizabeth Crawford

Beverage sales have outpaced that of food within the specialty segment in the past decade, according to the Specialty Food Association, which attributes the boom to an increased demand for functional benefits, a faster pace of innovation and a lower threshold...

Startup Spotlight

Functional coffee brand Clevr sprouts onto Target shelves, readies rebrand

29-Feb-2024 By Ryan Daily

Functional coffee and tea brand Clevr Blends is taking a “deep, not wide” approach to growing beyond its direct-to-consumer (DTC) roots and into Target, brand founder and CEO, Hannah Mendoza, told FoodNavigator-USA during a Startup Spotlight video.

IFF’s new CEO on rightsizing business: ‘Synergy became the goal instead of a tool’

26-Feb-2024 By Ryan Daily

Fragrance and ingredient giant IFF could divest segments of its business as part of a larger strategy to rightsize the company after failing to capitalize on a merger with Dupont Nutrition and Biosciences that sent its stock price tumbling, new CEO J....

CAGNY 2024

PepsiCo builds out an ‘ecosystem of solutions,’ doubles down on positive choices

22-Feb-2024 By Ryan Daily

PepsiCo is expanding beyond snacks and beverages by going after more meal occasions and dayparts while continuing towards its nutrient goals outlined in its pep+ agenda, CEO Ramon Laguarta said at the Consumer Analyst Group of New York conference this...

Startup Spotlight

[Video] Startup élevé stands out in crowded sparkling water category with vintage-inspired packaging

22-Feb-2024 By Deniz Ataman

Startup élevé distinguishes its adaptogenic sparkling water brand in a saturated market through its vintage-inspired packaging, natural ingredients and distribution, co-founders and CEOs Tanya Major and Dianna Aguilar tell FoodNavigator-USA in this episode...

Kerry expects social media’s audacious flavor combos to shape innovation in 2024

20-Feb-2024 By Gill Hyslop

Researchers from the global taste and nutrition specialist annually conduct a deep dive into market and consumer trends using tech like artificial intelligence (AI), natural language processing (NLP) and social media to track the flavors predicted to...

Justin’s new Dark Chocolate Candy Pieces emphasize ethically sourced, natural ingredients

13-Feb-2024 By Deniz Ataman

Justin’s launch of its Dark Chocolate Candy Pieces continues the brand’s emphasis on offering clean confectionery ingredients that are USDA-certified organic, use Rainforest Alliance cocoa and are Non-GMO Project Verified, aligning with the brand’s corporate...

PepsiCo’s net revenues decline first time since 2020, impacted by pricing and Quaker Oats recall

09-Feb-2024 By Ryan Daily

PepsiCo’s net sales declined for the first time since the start of the COVID pandemic due to lower volumes as consumers pushed back against higher prices, and supply-chain issues, the company reported Friday in its fourth quarter and 2023 full-year results.

Startup Spotlight

Netflix Snack vs. Chef winner S’NOODS launches noodle snack

08-Feb-2024 By Ryan Daily

Winner of the first season of Netflix’s Snack vs. Chef show, Lauryn Bodden, is taking her award-winning noodle snack concept from TV screens to store shelves with the official launch of S’NOODS, as she shared in the recent episode of FoodNavigator-USA’s...

Crystal Light feature brand refresh with new functional product line, enters mocktail category

08-Feb-2024 By Deniz Ataman

The new year sparks a refresh not only for consumers but also for Kraft-Heinz’s powdered flavor enhancer, Crystal Light, which introduced a new logo, typography, photography and packaging to coincide with its new functional product lines inspired by consumer...

Gut-health soda market heats up: Health-Ade launches SunSip

05-Feb-2024 By Ryan Daily

Kombucha maker Health-Ade is throwing its hat into the prebiotic soda ring again with SunSip, as consumers continue to seek out gut-health claims in the carbonated beverage category.

Kellanova expands core brands for c-store channels in time for summer

02-Feb-2024 By Deniz Ataman

Kellanova Away From Home’s latest snack launches seek to standout in the fast-paced c-store shopping experience with new flavors and formats that offer nostalgia, convenience, better-for-you choices and snacks as meals, Dan DeMeyer, senior director, commercial...

Illinois proposes to ban five food additives

01-Feb-2024 By Deniz Ataman

Introduced by Sen. Willie Preston, D-Chicago, the Illinois Food Safety Act (SB 2637) would ban brominated vegetable oil, potassium bromate, propylparaben, red dye No.3 and titanium dioxide from retail food products -- potentially making it the strictest...

Startup Spotlight

Harken Sweets reimagines ‘what a candy bar can be using the power of date fruit’

01-Feb-2024 By Elizabeth Crawford

The founder of startup Harken Sweets, which launched earlier this month, wants to “nutritionally overhaul” the candy bar category by using “the power of the date fruit,” like how she helped Caulipower reinvigorate the pizza category with the “power of...

Why Coca-Cola is betting on water security innovation

31-Jan-2024 By Flora Southey

With climate change exacerbating water stress and scarcity, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners is backing new tech solutions to help future-proof the beverage industry.

Winter Fancy Food Show

Milkadamia’s Artisan plant-based milks launch in refrigerated set, show ‘less is more’

29-Jan-2024 By Elizabeth Crawford

Plant-based milk brand milkadamia moves into the refrigerated set and proves “less is more” with the debut of its organic Artisan macadamia milk and blends line that skips the fillers and gums common in many non-dairy beverages and responds to a growing...

Winter Fancy Food Show

Soup-To-Nuts Podcast: Trendspotting at the Winter Fancy Food Show reveals ‘better’ breakfasts, snacks, flavors and more

29-Jan-2024 By Elizabeth Crawford

A resounding theme of “better” emerged at the Winter Fancy Food Show in Las Vegas last week, where more than 1,200 specialty food companies came together to showcase the latest innovations in cheese, condiments, baked goods, snacks and more.

Mentorship

NCA announces its 2024 Future Leaders class

24-Jan-2024 By Anthony Myers

The National Confectioners Association (NCA) has announced the eight confectionery industry professionals selected for its 2024 Future Leadership Programme.