US sales of hummus have almost doubled since 2009 to top $600m, but could easily break through the $1bn mark in the next few years, predicts Eat Well Embrace Life, which is carving out a leading role in the ‘other bean hummus’ category and aims to be...
FoodNavigator-USA brings you part two of our gallery of highlights from the 2014 Food & Nutrition Conference & Expo (FNCE) in Atlanta, GA, which addressed everything from nutrigenomics, plant-based diets and Millennials’ eating habits to whether...
Not so long ago, beans were something you’d more likely find in a dip than a chip. Today, in no small part because of the explosive growth of Beanitos, they are all over the snacks aisle as formulators look to boost fiber and protein, and marketers tap...
Consumers want to see what you are putting into the product as well as what isn’t in there
With revenues going from zero to “north of $20m” in three years, the growth of Way Better Snacks has been nothing short of meteoric. But while great branding, its focus on ‘sprouted’ seeds and the CPG experience of its founder & CEO Jim Breen have...
Small companies can carve a niche - even in a mature category like pasta sauce - if they have a genuine point of difference, a novel pack size that stands out on shelf (and enables them to meet a price point), and a striking label, says Nello’s Sauce...
From kombucha to craft beer, US consumers are demanding more sophisticated beverages, and they don’t get much more sophisticated than Jin+Ja, a spicy ginger concoction that looks like it belongs in a swanky cocktail bar, but has also proved it can sell...
In 2010, KeVita sparkling organic probiotic beverages were available in a handful of Whole Foods stores in Southern California. Today they have 90%+ ACV in the natural channel, and a growing presence in the conventional channel, and CEO Bill Moses sits...
St Louis-based Post Holdings - the company behind Grape-Nuts, Honey Bunches of Oats and PowerBar protein bars - has promoted chief financial officer Robert Vitale to the role of chief executive, replacing Bill Stiritz, who will take up the newly-created...
Not so long ago, the only yogurt that US consumers - and retail buyers - appeared to be interested in was the thick, protein-packed Greek variety. Today, as brands such as Noosa have proved, there is more room in the market for other options, says the...
GOLDEN STATE ROW ESCALATES AS NOVEMBER 4 BALLOTS APPROACH
PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi has attacked November ballots in San Francisco and Berkeley that will ask city residents to approve increased taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages and sweeteners used to sweeten such drinks.
Is it harder to start a beverage business today than it was 25 years ago when he started distributing ‘ginger brew’ from his Volkswagen Bug in a tie-dyed tee-shirt? Probably, says Reed’s Inc founder & CEO Chris Reed. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t...
Most business administration graduates dream of starting their own business. And most end up working for someone else’s, at least in the short term. Not many of them start a bottled water company. But that doesn’t make Ryan Emmons crazy.
What will we be eating in 2050? Insect bars, 3D printed food, lab meat and personalized nutrition bars? No one knows for sure. But with a growing population and a changing climate, food systems - and diets - will have to adapt to survive, say 11 thought-leaders...
Conversations about maple water typically start with what it isn't, says Vertical Water co-founder Valentina Cugnasca. It's not ‘watered-down’ maple syrup (quite the opposite in fact - maple syrup is made by boiling up maple water); it’s not...
The notion that defining ‘natural’ is just too hard - either for the FDA or for the food industry - and that we therefore shouldn’t even bother to attempt it, is defeatist and “disingenuous”, says the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI).
In part one of our coverage of FoodNavigator-USA’s natural & clean label panel debate we looked at whether the FDA - or industry stakeholders - should define ‘natural’. In part two, we look at all-natural lawsuits, and whether consumers understand...
While chia seeds are now appearing in everything from breakfast cereal to yogurt, it’s easy to forget that until surprisingly recently, the only place you could find them was in a health food store or on the web in “ziploc bags with the label written...
You’d be surprised with what you can achieve with a limited budget, a giant inflatable banana, a gorilla suit, and a product that no one else is selling, says the 20-something co-founder of a recent - and very colorful - entrant to the healthy snacking...
While sales of vitaminwater and SoBe Lifewater have been pretty lackluster of late, US consumers are still looking for functionality along with hydration and refreshment in the enhanced waters category, and energy is the one trend that refuses to go away,...
The birthplace of Allen Ginsberg, Frank Sinatra and Bruce Springsteen, New Jersey is also home to food industry giants from Campbell Soup and Goya Foods to Unilever USA. But is the Garden State doing what it takes to attract the next generation of food...
Are consumers weary of 'all-natural' claims? And if so, what other cues do they look for on pack to see if a brand fits in with their values? We quizzed the bosses of some innovative food brands, ingredients suppliers and branding experts to...
Entrepreneur interview: Sanjiv Kakkar, managing director of Himalaya International
The flavors of Asia have no doubt made their mark on American palates—as Chinese, Japanese and Thai influences have made their way from niche to mainstream retail and foodservice outlets. Even tiny Malaysia appears to be moving up the ranks of popular...
From how to keep control of your trade spending to presenting the perfect pitch to investors (spoiler alert: ‘Let me get back to you on those numbers’ will not inspire confidence), food & beverage industry veterans and financiers took to the podium...
Beyond Meat - the California-based firm that claims to have unlocked the secret to making ‘near-perfect’ replicas of meat from plants - is preparing to launch its latest innovation: The Beast, a pea-protein-based burger for meat-lovers.
While entrepreneurial start-ups touting healthier snacks have been entering - and leaving - the category with startling speed in the past couple of years, the 20-something entrepreneurs behind Brooklyn-based ProFormance Foods are quietly confident that...
In the latest edition of FoodNavigator-USA’s ongoing What do you do? series, we talked with Gert Van Manen, founder of bulk coconut importer iTi Tropicals on pioneering the tropicals market in the US and the yet-untapped potential of coconut water concentrate,...
Eggs are just the beginning; we're also looking at food dyes, trans fats, and even sugar
Plant-based foods trail-blazer Hampton Creek Foods has hired one of its Silicon Valley-based investors - Ali Partovi (founder of LinkExchange and Code.org, and early advisor at Facebook & Dropbox), as its new chief strategy officer, just weeks after...
Chobani has hired Robert C. Post, PhD. - a former USDA official who helped oversee the transition from the food pyramid to MyPlate - as its senior director for nutrition and regulatory affairs.
Ingredient suppliers are taking on expanded roles in the packaged food and beverage industry beyond just selling ingredients, from research and development to consulting.
When Coca-Cola & PepsiCo invested in Zico and O.N.E. in 2009; Vita Coco CEO and co-founder Michael Kirban admits he became a little nervous as pundits predicted he’d get sidelined as the world’s biggest beverage companies slugged it out for supremacy...
Do you understand the implications of POM vs Coke? Are you excited by innovation and entrepreneurs? And could you produce articles to match our award-winning content? If yes, we want to hear from you!
Given its apparently limitless potential to feed and fuel the world, there is a huge buzz around microalgae. But with some notable exceptions such as DHA and astaxanthin, this has not - yet - translated into much hard cash. But that’s about to change,...
Big interview: Joseph Montgomery III, CEO of Agro Innova
A long beloved refreshment for cacao plantation workers—albeit previously underused part of the cacao fruit—the nutritional powerhouse cacao pulp is making its way to US supermarket shelves in smoothie form.
The BevNET Food & Beverage University heads to LA on Sept 11
Want to avoid rookie mistakes when you take your new food or beverage brand to market? Or perhaps you’ve been in business a couple of years and are looking to take your brand in a new direction, secure new financing or utilize new sales and marketing...
How clean is your label, and who decides - plaintiff's attorneys or Whole Foods Market? Are ‘all-natural’ claims still resonating with consumers or are other on-pack cues more important? And do shoppers understand the difference between natural and...
The small guy can still win in the snacks aisle, says Jim Schneider
The ‘Saratoga chip’ - a snack food sensation first cooked up in 1853 by George Crum in Saratoga Springs, NY - was ultimately overwhelmed by the might of Herman Lay’s potato chip. 160+ years later, however, America’s original kettle chip is staging a comeback,...
Analyst: Top CPG firms not delivering on innovation, falling back into promotional trap
As several CEOs have recently observed, big brands are not getting so much bang for their promotional buck these days. But in the current climate, targeted trade spending is a must to retain market share, although other strategies must be pursued in the...
Selling everything from coffee flour to ‘Chimp Food’, egg white chips, artichoke water and kids’ tea, here's FoodNavigator-USA's latest pick of entrepreneurs to watch in the US food and beverage market.
It’s been a busy summer for Hampton Creek. After just six months on the market and $30mn raised in funding from the likes of Bill Gates and Yahoo cofounder Jerry Yang, its plant-based mayonnaise brand Just Mayo is the No. 1 selling mayo at Whole Foods...
Retailers are going to reduce the space given to legacy brands
Leading CPG companies are like huge ships that cannot change course quickly enough to address evolving consumer trends, claims the boss of Boulder Brands (which owns the Udi’s Gluten-Free, Earth Balance and EVOL brands). But unless they make some bold...
Gary Rodkin, CEO of branded and private label food giant ConAgra Foods, has announced plans to retire at the end of the company’s fiscal year, in May 2015.
Big interview: Robin White, co-founder of Single Cup Coffee
Two longtime coffee industry veterans who took part in the launch of Keurig K-cups in the late 1990s and watched the subsequent meteoric rise of single-cup coffee brewing say they found a void in the nearly $2 billion market for variety and quality. They...
Ice cream co engaged in ‘David & Goliath’ lawsuit vs Nestlé alleging unfair competition
As Kraft’s CEO recently observed, smaller, more agile players seem to be better at coming up with exciting new products than many CPG giants, for whom innovation is often more about trade management than addressing genuine consumer needs. But if this...
In the latest installment of our ongoing What do you do interview series, we talked with the regulatory head of organic standards at industry trade group the Organic Trade Association about her lifetime love of soil, how often organic farmers and processors...
Almond water has been a runaway success story for LA-based start-up Victoria’s Kitchen. But not because it's the next big thing in functional beverages. It isn't, says CEO David Meniane, who stresses that his product should not be confused with...
NYU professor questions supplements; vitamin D expert supports efficacy of oral forms
FDA proposals to list "added sugars" on the Nutrition Facts panel have already generated heated debate, so it's unsurprising that its plan to include vitamin D is proving equally controversial, with critics claiming it could encourage over-consumption...
First there was juice, then there were smoothies, now there is, er, Chimp Food, the brainchild of Florida-based entrepreneur Scott Joseph, who lost 100lbs after eating like a chimp (he ditched meat, dairy & grains and ate nothing but fruits, vegetables,...
