Purée Play: Restaurants Boost Profits with Purées

Restaurants are leveraging fruit purées these days as an effective method to adapt to rising food costs. Fruit purées bring versatility to dishes while helping operators reduce food waste.

Innovation, Collaboration and Culture Coalesce at DMA’s Annual Conference

NEW ORLEANS – Embracing innovation, cultivating culture, and focusing on collaboration along the supply chain were key themes on display at the DMA Annual Conference. Hosted by Distribution Market Advantage (DMA), this year’s iteration of …

What Killed Kmart? Key Retail Missteps Led to Demise

Kmart’s downfall, accelerated by poor management and failure to adapt to modern retail trends, ended with the recent closure of its last full-size U.S. store. Experts say there are lessons to be learned from Kmart’s demise.

Holiday Shopping Spread: Christmas Comes Early

A new report finds that holiday cheer has surpassed the final weeks of the year. Instead, shoppers and retailers are getting an early jumpstart on the season.

New Report Shows Latina GDP in U.S. Surging

The Latina GDP in the U.S. is growing rapidly, surging at 2.7 times the rate of the non-Hispanic GDP. That figure reached $1.3 trillion in 2021, making Latinas a growing economic force.

How Dirty Sodas Moved from Streaming Platform to Mainstream Culture

Yelp searches for dirty soda rose 609% year over year, a trend largely driven by Hulu’s show “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” and the continued momentum of the sober curiosity movement.

A Sip of Sheconomy: 3 Drink Trends to Watch in an Increasingly Women-Owned World

A recent trend report by Yelp revealed that women-owned businesses saw a 17% increase in new openings across several industries in 2024, with book bars, colorful matcha concoctions, and “sleepy girl mocktails” on the rise.

Consumer Behavior Modifying Retail Seasons

The back-to-school shopping season has spread across multiple waves due to shifting consumer behavior. This trend may impact holiday shopping too, with retailers expecting slower sales growth.

Protein-Packed Products Have Become an American Obsession

Is America overdosing on protein? Some experts feel that Americans have developed a dangerous obsession with protein-packed items like steak, ready-to-drink workout shakes, and snack bars.

New Report Envisions ‘Grocery Shopper of the Future’

A new report from 84.51° highlights key shifts shaping the future grocery shopper, including an aging, more diverse population, and the growth of single-person and multigenerational households.

Pistachios: The Little Green Nut Surging in Popularity

Google trends analysis shows a 60% rise in searches for pistachios since 2019, putting product manufacturers, restaurateurs, and grocers in a unique position to leverage this explosive growth to their advantage.

The Cheat Code: 4 Tips for Marketing to Video Game Fans

Food and beverage brands are tapping into the gamer market with marketing tactics like in-game product placements and creative snack options. Protein-packed and handheld snacks are also on the rise as gamers seek healthier choices.

Aloha Protein Bar Brand Riding Wellness Wave to Big Growth

Aloha CEO Brad Charron is bullish on plant-based products. And it’s easy to see why, considering his better-for-you protein bar brand experienced 500% growth from 2020 to 2023.

Survey Says: Today’s Students Are Giving These 5 Foods the Old College Try

According to a recent survey of college students, affordable protein sources and international flavors are among the top food preferences of college students in 2024.

Moving Targets: Does Pizza Hut’s New Box Signal a Return of Pandemic Trends?

Pizza Hut launched the Moving Box Table, a pizza box that doubles as a makeshift table for moving-day meals. This unique marketing tactic hints at a potential resurgence of strategies popularized in 2020.

5 Innovations Shifting the Alternative Meat Landscape

In a recent webinar, Food Business News shared emerging data, trends, innovations, and consumer insights impacting the alternative meat, dairy, and seafood markets, a $1.03B industry attempting to recover from a sharp decline beginning in 2018. Here are five key takeaways.

The Future of Frozen Food: a Q&A with AFFI’s Dr. Sanjay Gummalla

With nearly every household in the U.S. purchasing frozen food and $74 billion in sales, the frozen food category plays a pivotal role in the food industry.

3 Fall Flavors Poised to Surpass Pumpkin Spice in Popularity

The popularity of pumpkin spice has officially fallen like autumn leaves. According to a recent survey of 2,000 American adults by Talker Research, 58% of respondents reported that they now favor alternative fall flavors over pumpkin spice, and 45% reported fatigue with the once-beloved spice blend.

Party of One: Why Embracing Solo Dining Is Good for Business

To dine own self be true: solo dining is on the rise, and restaurants are responding with efforts to make parties of one feel comfortable and welcome.

Japanese Company Unveils Revolutionary Diet Drink

A new drink is making waves with its unique approach to curbing hunger, transforming into a jelly-like substance once it reaches the stomach.

Top 4 Value Meals of 2024

Fast food used to be enticing because it offered comfort food at cheap prices. Today, that’s not necessarily the case. Inflation has hit every industry – with restaurant chains being no exception. As a result, …

Circana: Consumers Increasingly Spending on Health and Wellness

The idea of health and wellness is evolving, as shown by a report that noted ways people are tapping into products to harmonize their lives.

Raising the Bar: How MadeGood and Bobo’s Snack Bars Became ‘Killer Products’

Two brands winning this back-to-school season are MadeGood and Bobo’s, according to a prominent CEO. The snacks’ allergen-free ingredients have won over Millennial parents.

CEO of Chipotle Departs to Assume Leadership of Starbucks

Tuesday brought big business news, as Chipotle announced that its chairman and CEO, Brian Niccol, had accepted a similar post at Starbucks.

Freeze Frame: Viral Frozen Grape Trend Illustrates Power of TikTok

The frozen grape food hack has been popular for three years now – and there’s still time for food businesses to take advantage.

3 Key Takeaways from Datassential’s Mid-Year Food and Beverage Trends Report

Datassential recently released its Mid-Year Trends Report, and the post-pandemic resurgence of pickup and takeout stood out as a noteworthy movement impacting the food and beverage industry. As the dust from the COVID-19 pandemic finally …

A for Effort: Parents, Administrators Improving School Lunches

As a new school year approaches, a survey shows parents are prioritizing nutrients and taste far more than cost when shopping for their kids’ school lunch items.

Investors See Weak Earnings in Packaged Food as an Opportunity

The tough economic environment lately seems concentrated among lower-income consumers. Executives at Campbell and McCormick have pointed to particular weakness with that group.

Cash or Credits? Walmart, McDonald’s Explore New Kind of Employee Compensation

New employee compensation initiatives at employers like McDonald’s and Walmart aim to make on-the-job experience count toward college credits.

Analysis: Why Pumpkin Spice Szn has Started Earlier Than Ever

Pumpkin spice season is upon us earlier than ever in 2024. Data from SpotOn suggest the F&B industry’s also moving toward the most expansive pumpkin season yet.

Pour It Over: New Bev50 Report Cites Rise of Impulse Purchases

Alpha-Diver’s latest Bev50 Report examines what’s currently driving consumer beverage purchases, leveraging their extensive U.S. database.

Chick-fil-A Knocked Off Perch as Best Fast-Food Chain

A new list of consumers’ favorite fast-food chains has a surprise winner. Meanwhile, Chick-fil-A is taking rare criticism of late.

The Beanless Coffee Revolution Has Begun

Taking the caffeine out of coffee has been a familiar and useful development in the chemistry of coffee. But what about coffee without beans?

Snacking Survey: Products and Innovations Today’s Consumers Crave

Today’s consumers are snacking around the clock, according to a shopper survey that notes which new innovations shoppers are craving.

Consumer Demand Reshaping Baby Food Market

Today’s consumers are reshaping the baby food market as a growing number of parents prioritize nutrition and hold the industry accountable for the quality of their products. With that, what are consumers looking for? And how are companies delivering?

No Market? No Problem, for Innovative Beverage Brands

In the new-look world of beverages (alcoholic; non-alcoholic; functional; restorative; hybrid; etc.), the right product can ignite a sector.