State of the Consumer: Private Label, Challengers

The biggest stress in the market is coming to mid-priced offerings. In grocery, this means national CPGs are feeling the stress with their legacy brands. In foodservice, full-service is beginning to buckle. The new value ...

Independent Grocers Have a Secret Weapon: Trust

Independent grocers are gaining ground as cost-pressed shoppers place more trust in local stores than national chains. To keep that edge in 2026, independents must pair community credibility with digital convenience, personalized value, and smarter savings tools.

How Online Grocery Is Getting a Whole Lot Better

Online grocery is accelerating into 2026 as retailers lean into functional beverages, agentic AI, and ever faster fulfillment to boost loyalty. The winners will be those who blend smarter tech with sharper product strategy to meet rising consumer expectations.

Plant-Based Values, Natural Retailers Drive Next-Gen Growth

The next phase of plant-based growth is beginning to take root. New SPINS data, global flavor innovation, and the growing influence of natural retailers suggest 2026 could be a pivotal year – if brands rethink value, positioning, and proof-of-concept strategies.

State of the Consumer: Value Obsession

There is no escaping today’s reality: consumers are stressed. This has made the CPG, grocery, and foodservice value propositions more important than ever. Although a value focus is coming to every consumer, irrespective of socioeconomic ...

Club Stores Get the Modern Consumer

Club stores are surging as inflation weary consumers flock to value, consistency, and private label innovation, leaving traditional grocers fighting for relevance. Costco leads the charge, turning trust and membership loyalty into a growth engine the rest of retail can’t ignore.

Chocolate’s Identity Crisis: Cocoa Is Disappearing

Chocolate makers are scrambling as soaring cocoa costs force reformulations and shrinkflation. With supply pressures mounting, the industry is racing toward alt cocoa, gene-edited crops, and other science-driven solutions.

The ‘Casual Athlete’ – A Culture Shift for F&B

Casual athletes are influencing F&B trends, fueling demand for premium protein, hydration, and functional snacks. With wellness spend rising as other categories pull back, savvy brands must meet this lucrative consumer base where they play.

F&B Marketing Playbook: Major Shifts

Coming out of the pandemic, the food and beverage marketing landscape has changed dramatically; plus, technological capabilities have opened doors for personalization and data collection. We are in a new era, and brands need to ...

Snacking Success: Americans Still Have Their Sweet Tooth

Americans may be leaning healthier, but indulgent snacking still drives growth – especially chocolate, candy, and protein-packed salty options. Gen Z’s “little treat culture” and afternoon tea trends are fueling innovation.

F&B Marketing Playbook

The tools in every marketer’s toolbox today boils down to one simple characteristic: understanding your audience. The reality: today’s consumers are in flux. “Many consumers are becoming more value-conscious and brands are forced to rethink ...

3 Key Takeaways from Plant Based World Expo 2025

The Plant Based World Expo 2025 spotlighted snack-driven innovation, protein fortification, and smarter labeling as growth levers. For food leaders, the message was clear: consumer nuance will define the next era in the plant-based sector.

‘Death By a Thousand Paper Cuts’: Panera CEO Charts Big Changes Ahead

Panera’s “RISE” overhaul tackles shrinkflation, menu missteps, and stalled growth with a $7 billion sales target by 2028. CEO Paul Carbone vows bigger portions, sharper value, and renewed relevance amid fierce fast casual competition.

Protein Fortification: The Next Plant-Based Differentiator

Recent product innovations and health & wellness macrotrends show that plant-based brands offering protein-added benefits will stimulate the next phase of growth. Already, national CPGs like Danone are bringing a protein value proposition to their legacy lines.

The Great Culling: Wendy’s Weeds Out to Get Back on Track

Wendy’s “Project Fresh” turnaround slashes 200–300 U.S. units after steep sales declines, while global growth continues. Interim CEO Ken Cook bets efficiency, tech, and sharper value plays can revive the brand.

Has Amazon Found Its Grocery Solution?

In 2022, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy sounded warning bells in a watershed letter admitting defeat on the chain’s grocery business. Earlier this year, he updated shareholders with a “very bullish” future. Today, we have a ...

Tariff Rollbacks Give F&B a Breath

Tariff rollbacks on over 200 food items, including coffee and beef, promise relief for grocers and manufacturers alike. Industry leaders cheer the move as a win for affordability, supply chains, and global trade ties.

Surprise, Surprise: Buc-ee’s Ranked #1 in Fast Food

According to a new report, Buc-ee’s has surprisingly worked its way to the top of the quick-service charts, redefining fast food with convenience and cult-like appeal. As nontraditional players surge, legacy brands must rethink speed, snacking, and breakfast.

2026 Innovative Trends: AI, A Best Friend

In the new food and beverage environment, innovations to artificial intelligence will give brands able to adapt the upper hand in 2026. Some of these changes border on dystopian. Tarun Chandrasekhar, chief product officer at ...

The Business Case for Agentic AI Domination

Agentic AI is reshaping food tech, driving smarter service and explosive growth. But as automation deepens, legal battles and leadership shakeups hint at a turbulent future.

From Nightlife to ‘Daylife’: Coffee Raves Redefine Social Gathering

Coffee raves are transforming cafés into wellness-driven, daytime social hubs and boosting margins in the process. As Gen Z redefines nightlife, savvy operators are brewing community, culture, and commerce, all in one.

2026 Innovative Trends: Value-Obsessed Shopper

More often the state of the economy is shifting consumers to a value-oriented model, one that prioritizes cheaper national brands, private label, and products that offer a compelling proposition related to quality or other factors ...

Plant-Based Faces Headwinds, Yet Pockets of Growth Persist

Now that the plant-based market has matured, it must contend with many of the same problems as the meat industry, including eking out margins as consumers tighten their wallets. However, dairy alternatives continue to be a bright spot for the sector.

The Strategic Case for the Grubhub, Instacart Team Up

Grubhub and Instacart’s unlikely alliance fills strategic gaps for both, fueling Wonder’s super app ambitions. It’s a calculated surrender on grocery that unlocks possibilities for a full-spectrum mealtime dominance.

2026 Innovative Trends: Geopolitical Impact

“Global trade feels very fluid at the moment, offering little certainty. For food and beverage, that uncertainty is real: tariffs, climate shocks, and shifting policy can change cost structures overnight,” David Gray, CEO of FedUp ...

The New America: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

Political perceptions are shaping how Americans define value – and it’s not just about price. Today’s consumers demand empathy, convenience, and strategic engagement across life stages.

2026 Innovative Trends: GLP-1

There’s an interesting thing happening in the grocery aisle: assortments are changing to meet the needs of the maturing GLP-1 consumer, but these assortments have a larger mass appeal. “We’re seeing… protein and ‘whole food’ ...

President Trump Eyes Argentine Beef to Solve Domestic Crisis

Beef prices are sizzling at $6.30/lb, and President Donald Trump’s fix – importing Argentine cattle – is sparking bipartisan backlash. Industry leaders warn the move may fuel geopolitical tensions without lowering consumer costs.

AWS Outages Continue, Affecting Web-Based Service

A major Amazon Web Services outage on Monday disrupted thousands of sites, including foodservice platforms, underscoring the industry’s digital dependence. Experts warn the cost could reach billions, as DNS errors rippled through operations and productivity worldwide.

Top 5 National Coffee Chains, Ranked by Craveability

Peet’s tops craveability rankings as consumers seek quality, innovation, and value in a $58.5 billion café market. From cardamom lattes to celebrity collabs, chains are brewing bold strategies to win loyalty amid rising prices.

2026 Innovative Trends: Clean Label

Since the pandemic, the market has gradually shifted to empower consumers to consider the health and wellness implications of their food choices, with a “food as medicine” approach that has compelled many to consider ingredient ...

Candy-flation Is No Match for Halloween Cravings

Despite soaring cocoa prices and shifting consumer budgets, Halloween candy sales are anything but scary. Non-chocolate confections and TikTok-fueled innovations are keeping the sweet season alive, even as chocolate feels the squeeze.

Upgraded Convenience, Thoughtfully Sweet Among 5 Whole Foods Trends for 2026

The Whole Foods Trend Council has been busy this year understanding the forces driving consumer behavior. They found that minimally processed foods that simplify the grocery experience while packing a punch will reach new heights in 2026.

Move Over Dirty Soda, Heavy Soda Goes Viral

Heavy soda — an ultra-sweet, syrup-heavy twist on fountain drinks — is gaining viral traction and nostalgic appeal. With minimal operational lift, it offers high-margin potential and Gen Z buzz for savvy beverage retailers.

LATAM Influence: Future Considerations

LATAM communities have become American tastemakers across all of culture, and as the demographic’s population grows, so will its impact. Hispanic consumers already represent a large portion of growth in the grocery space, and they’re ...

A $4B Investment Aims for an Uncertain Turnaround at PepsiCo

Elliott Management just invested $4 billion in PepsiCo, betting it can fix what fizzled. The activist investor envisions a turnaround – assuming legacy brands can still thrive in a GLP-1 world.