Health and nutritional ingredients

‘A significant breakthrough’: Researchers develop human milk fat analog from microalgae

25-Mar-2024 By Asia Sherman

Biotechnology company Checkerspot has reproduced an essential human milk fat by fermenting microalgae at scale for the development of infant formula that replicates the nutritional benefits of breastfeeding.

Startup Spotlight

[Watch] How Zend Coffee is building its functional coffee business

21-Mar-2024 By Deniz Ataman

Fusing together adaptogens with single-origin coffee, subscription-based Zend Coffee features functional coffee blends that support skin, cognitive, immunity and emotional health using responsibly sourced coffee beans – a blurred category that the company’s...

How is the food industry supporting childhood nutrition?

21-Mar-2024 By Donna Eastlake

From infancy through to adolescence, nutrition is essential in ensuring a healthy body and mind for our youngsters. So how can this be achieved and what it the food industry doing to help parents?

Are ultra-processed plant-based burgers healthy? WHO investigates

21-Mar-2024 By Flora Southey

The World Health Organization has funded research analysing the nutritional composition of ultra-processed plant-based burgers, and the findings are out.

Natural Products Expo West

‘Light at the end of tunnel,’ Investors discuss state of funding at Expo West

20-Mar-2024 By Ryan Daily

CPG startups that have adjusted to a new reality of lower funding and focusing on profitability might have reason to be optimistic about the future of raising money, as two venture-capital investors told FoodNavigator-USA in separate interviews during...

Natural Products Expo West

Sally sells seaweed snacks by the seashore: Seaweed highlights at Expo West 2024

20-Mar-2024 By Deniz Ataman

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.

How is animal-free collagen made and does it work?

20-Mar-2024 By Flora Southey

From plant-based to slaughter-free, we ask innovators how they make collagen – without the cow.

Gut health business is booming: What's next for this unstoppable health trend?

20-Mar-2024 By Donna Eastlake

The gut health trend is one of the single biggest changes to hit the food and drinks industry in recent decades. So what are gut-loving consumers buying and what gut-friendly products will we see next?

How can AI understand the functional food market and the needs that drive it?

20-Mar-2024 By Augustus Bambridge-Sutton

Functional food trends are driven by more than just taste: they’re driven by human need. With AI, the market can be analysed and the needs driving consumption understood.

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...

Season Health partnership will focus on reducing hypertension, improving nutrition access

18-Mar-2024 By Deniz Ataman

The partnership will serve two segments of patients at Steward Health Care Network in Mass. with the goal to “reduce stage two hypertension for patients in the hypertension program and improve both engagement and nutrition insecurity status for patients...

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.

Gut health: Why this consumer trend is here to stay

14-Mar-2024 By Donna Eastlake

Consumer appetite for gut-health friendly foods shows no signs of abating as understanding of its impact on overall health continues to grow. But how will this trend evolve and grow in the future?

Base Culture finds clean-label opportunity in the shelf-stable bread aisle

13-Mar-2024 By Ryan Daily

Clean-label bread maker Base Culture expands beyond the frozen aisle with its first line of shelf-stable products, tapping into consumer demand for preservative-free and nutrient-dense foods, CEO Johnny Heiselberg told FoodNavigator-USA.

Funding strategies: Mother Kombucha, Lil Bucks, Wildway share tips on raising money

12-Mar-2024 By Ryan Daily

CPG founders from natural brands Wildway, Mother Kombucha, and Lil Bucks shared their strategies for securing funding in a tighter capital market during a recent Naturally Chicago webinar.

Consumers turn to digital coupons to save on produce, buy less organic in 2023, FMI reports

12-Mar-2024 By Ryan Daily

Fresh produce was “among the strongest-performing departments in traditional grocery” in 2023, though consumers turned away from organic fruits and vegetables due to price, FMI – the Food Industry Association – shared in its ninth annual Power of Produce...

International Women's Day: Trends in women’s health

08-Mar-2024 By Olivia Haslam

PMS and menopause support, mental and emotional well-being, supporting active lifestyles, and creating tailored solutions are the key trends emerging in women’s health, according to industry experts.

Cultivated Bioscience secures $5m to move forward with yeast-based creamer production

06-Mar-2024 By Deniz Ataman

Food and biotech startup Cultivated Biosciences will move forward with developing its yeast-based dairy-free, non-GMO cream after raising $5m in a seed round, with plans for market launch in 2025.

FDA weighs application of new yogurt qualified health claims on sugary products

06-Mar-2024 By Elizabeth Crawford

FDA will not object to two qualified health claims linking consumption of yogurt and reduced risk of type 2 diabetes, regardless of fat or sugar content, but in an enforcement discretion letter to Danone North America detailing its decision the agency...

FDA Human Foods Program launch may not come until next fall, but ‘going quite well’

04-Mar-2024 By Elizabeth Crawford

FDA's massive reorganization to create a unified Human Foods Program under one leader who reports directly to the agency’s commissioner may take longer than originally anticipated, but is “going quite well,” the program’s first Deputy Commissioner...

Finding a-whey to improve cognitive support: Hank’s partners with Nutiani for brain boosting spread

01-Mar-2024 By Deniz Ataman

Nut butter brand Hank’s partnered with Fonterra’s nutrition brand Nutiani to launch Hank’s Brain Boosting Peanut Butter spread, a functional food containing added protein and supplements to support cognitive function, Rachel Marshall, technical engagement...

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.

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...

Bluestein Ventures closes third fund with $45m to focus on nutrition, sustainability, digitization

20-Feb-2024 By Ryan Daily

Private equity firm Bluestein Ventures has raised $45m for its third fund to invest in companies focused on nutrition, sustainability, and digitization, the firm’s co-managing partners Andrew Bluestein and Ashley Hartman told FoodNavigator-USA.

Myprotein: Breaking stereotypes and empowering women in sports nutrition

20-Feb-2024 By Olivia Haslam

A significant number of women still do not perceive sports nutrition as essential for their fitness goals, a persisting misconception that The Hut Group (THG), owner of supplement brand Myprotein, is working to dispel.

What role does frozen food play in reducing food waste?

19-Feb-2024 By Ryan Daily

As the USDA, EPA, and FDA, advance their strategy to reduce food waste, the America Frozen Food Institute (AFFI) is sharing how freezing food can cut down on wasted food and provide consumers with convenient and nutritious food, the organization’s president...

Dietary fiber benefits are highly individualized: Study

19-Feb-2024 By Asia Sherman

Not all gut microbiomes react to dietary fiber in the same way, according to a recent study that explored the complex relationship between the two in the context of colitis sensitivity.

FMI: Grocery stores become ‘an accessible destination for health and wellbeing'

16-Feb-2024 By Ryan Daily

Food companies and retailers increasingly are leaning on the expertise of dietitians and medical professionals to support their nutrition, health, and wellbeing initiatives, FMI -- The Food Industry Association shared in a recent report.

Balchem partners with Virginia Tech to study the impact of minerals on human health

16-Feb-2024 By Stephen Daniells

Specialty ingredient player Balchem has joined with the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) to found the Virginia Tech Mineral Metabolism Research Center, dedicated to studying the impact of mineral nutrition in human health.

Eat JUST relaunches condiment line after discontinuing in 2020

15-Feb-2024 By Deniz Ataman

The discontinuation of Eat Just Inc.'s Just Mayo and Just Ranch products in 2020, despite market success, was a strategic play to “put every bit of energy into JUST Egg,” the company’s flagship animal-free liquid egg alternative, before relaunching...

RIND Snacks complements core business with Small Batch Organics acquisition

13-Feb-2024 By Ryan Daily

Fruit snack brand RIND acquired Vermont-based granola manufacturer Small Batch Organics for an undisclosed sum as part of an initiative to shore up its supply chain and expand into the private label business, Matt Weiss, co-founder and CEO, told FoodNavigator-USA.

Odyssey Elixir raises $6m to shore up inventory, expand in c-stores

12-Feb-2024 By Ryan Daily

Functional mushroom brand Odyssey Elixir raised $6m, which will help it keep up with inventory and expand its distribution, including in c-stores, company founder and CEO Scott Frohman told FoodNavigator-USA.

AHA Heart-Check validates ‘breakthrough innovation’ behind HealthSense High-Fiber Wheat Flour

12-Feb-2024 By Elizabeth Crawford

Bay State Milling Company’s HealthSense High-Fiber Wheat Flour joins the elite ranks of products bearing the American Heart Association’s Heart-Check Certification – an achievement that could help unlock access to consumers interested in the health benefits...

Misfits Market enters logistic business, ‘extremely bullish on online grocery delivery’

08-Feb-2024 By Ryan Daily

Misfits Market is opening its logistic system to perishable brands through a new service, as the company remains optimistic about the online grocery delivery market, company CEO and founder Abhi Ramesh told FoodNavigator-USA.

‘Store brands as a brand': FedUp Foods co-founder sees sustainability, functional opportunity in private-label beverages

07-Feb-2024 By Ryan Daily

Private-label is shaking off its fast-follower status as partnerships between manufacturers and brands become stronger, allowing for quicker innovation that responds to consumers' demand for endurable and functional products, Andreas Schneider, co-founder...

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.

How Blume developed itself as a post-coffee ritual brand

05-Feb-2024 By Deniz Ataman

Alternative coffee brand Blume’s founder and CEO, Karen Danudjaja, started the adaptogenic latte blend brand in 2017 when she was looking not only for a delicious and functional coffee alternative, but an alternative ritual to coffee, she explained to...

'Plant-based foods are here to stay,’ Dr. Praeger’s on rebrand, category’s evolution

02-Feb-2024 By Ryan Daily

Dr. Praeger’s is celebrating 30 years in frozen foods with a new look and feel, designed to showcase the deliciousness of plant-based foods, former brand CEO and current special advisor & board member, Larry Praeger, told FoodNavigator-USA.

‘Wellness is a luxury for certain consumers,’ NIQ shares how Ozempic, protein, clean labels are motivating consumers in 2024

31-Jan-2024 By Ryan Daily

Consumers' focus on value during months of high inflation has impacted the wellness market in 2023, but GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and clean-label and protein-rich products are poised to grow the space in 2024, Sherry Frey, VP of total wellness for...

ALDI lays out multi-pronged approach to creating a greener private-label business

31-Jan-2024 By Ryan Daily

Private-label giant and retailer ALDI is leveraging its deep partnerships with food manufacturers and ingredient companies to create sustainable products while making their retail stores more energy efficient, Una Hrnjak, director of sustainability at...

Dollar General turns to AI-based Shelf Engine to sustainably grow produce business

29-Jan-2024 By Ryan Daily

Dollar General leverages AI-based automated-ordering software Shelf Engine to efficiently bring more fresh produced to its shelves, reduce food waste and ensure stocked shelves in the process.

Move Nutrition offers sneak peek at survey findings ahead of big reveal at SANS

25-Jan-2024 By Danielle Masterson

Michigan-based Move Nutrition Network, a new resource for active and sports nutrition education, recently reached out to more than 500 sports and active nutrition practitioners (sports dietitians, sports nutritionists, and trainers) to find out where...

How GT’s Living Foods is leveraging social media to inform kombucha innovation

24-Jan-2024 By Ryan Daily

GT’s Living Foods is leveraging social-media to find new SYNERGY kombucha flavors, as the brand revamps its strategy to better engage with consumers about the importance of gut-health, the brand’s director of social media marketing, Sam Ayers, told FoodNavigator-USA....

McKinsey Future of Wellness 2024 trends: Eye on personalized and credible solutions

24-Jan-2024 By Asia Sherman

Consumers are taking greater control of their health and expect companies to provide effective, science-backed solutions, according to insights provided by McKinsey & Company.

MOSS taps into functional demand with sea moss beverage, launches in Sprouts

23-Jan-2024 By Ryan Daily

Health food and beverage company Dr Smood is taking its functional MOSS beverage to more store shelves in 2024, as the company continues to find ways to spread the word about sea moss’s functional properties, company executives and sales professionals...

Bakeries rebuild margins in 2023, promotions provide an opportunity to regain volumes in 2024

22-Jan-2024 By Ryan Daily

After years of supply-chain issues, the bakery market is starting 2024 with lower commodity prices and higher margins but will need to lead on innovation and promotions to build back volumes, JP Frossard, VP of consumer foods analyst, told FoodNavigator-USA.

NPD Trend Tracker: From Deliciously Ella-inspired recipe boxes to menopause tea

22-Jan-2024 By Flora Southey

Which new products are hitting the shelves? In our latest NPD round-up, look at a new menopause infusion made with hibiscus, rosehip and passion flower; a ‘veggie spin’ on the classic macaroni cheese and bacon dish; and a flavour mashup between Baileys...

Consumers are unsure what processed foods are, but seek to avoid them, IFIC reports

19-Jan-2024 By Ryan Daily

American consumers say they are cutting out processed foods from their diet, despite many not fully understanding what they are, Alyssa Pike, senior manager of nutrition communications at the International Food Information Council (IFIC), shared during...

Startup Spotlight

[Video] ELAVI's journey to Costco and reinvigorating its brand

18-Jan-2024 By Deniz Ataman

Participating in Costco’s RoadShow and interacting directly with consumers to sample its gut-friendly, cashew dessert spreads gave WOC-founded startup ELAVI insights that would have “cost thousands of dollars” to acquire elsewhere, allowing it to make...