Mac and Cheese Gets a Plant-Based Makeover

CPG producers are veganizing macaroni and cheese by removing dairy ingredients, adding gluten-free pasta and, in some cases, boosting the nutritional value of the popular comfort food.

An Evolution Explained: Mondelēz Report Reveals Changing Consumption Habits

Other noteworthy shifts include the emergence of Gen Z and Gen Alpha as influential consumer groups. These young consumers are influencing market trends such as the push for labeling transparency and ethical production.

FI Exclusive: Chef Robert Irvine Provides Guide for Restaurants to Survive Wage Hikes

The celebrity chef, who appeared on Food Network’s Restaurant: Impossible show between 2011 and 2023, fears that as many as one-fifth of all American “mom-and-pop” restaurants could be forced to close by year’s end due to rising labor costs.

Premium, Ethical, and On-Demand: The New Age of Snacking Unwrapped

For starters, the global demographic landscape is undergoing a noteworthy transformation, with “second lifers” – those embarking on new chapters post-retirement – emerging as a powerful group of consumers. By 2050, the over-60 demographic is expected to double. This shift is pushing the market towards balanced nutrition.

5 Functional Food Trends to Watch

The statistics send a clear message: consumers the world over are searching for functional foods and beverages in 2024

$85 Million to the Clearance Bin – Is Magic Spoon Done?

Magic Spoon cereal is twice as expensive as most other name brands. Many regard its flavor as questionable and its better-for-you status isn’t as rock solid as consumers would like to believe.

Co-Branding a Powerful Tool to Pique Consumer Interest

Co-Branding is a powerful tool to pique consumer interest, from Oreo and Breyers Ice Cream, to Mike’s Hot Honey and Lou Malnati’s pizza,

Fast-Food Chains’ ‘Wrap Battle’ Has Commenced

A wrap battle is booming in the QSR arena. By remixing preexisting ingredients with build-your-own appeal, major players are producing flavor-drenched “hunger hacks” and fresh affordable snacks that span dayparts.

Can Fine Dining Survive Without Weekends? Canlis Will Find Out

The restaurant is an outlier in another way: no tipping. Instead, staff are paid what Canlis said is a high hourly wage. The change in schedules will not affect salaries.

Food Producers, WIC Officers Recalibrate Offerings as Food Insecurity Hobbles Consumer Spending

Across the US, inflation-weary consumers continue to push back on years of price hikes, cooking from home or simply buying less to save more.

Walmart Attempting to Foster Compassion Among Managers

Can compassion be taught? That’s the question Walmart hopes to answer with a recent initiative for its store managers.

Major Companies Make Ambitious Push for Plastic Recycling

Advanced plastic recycling remains a dream for many F&B companies, but Nestle, for one, plans to implement major changes along those lines by 2030.

How One Florida Restaurant is Redefining Fine Dining

By offering authentic, boldly flavored dishes, Nolita in Florida is proving that fine dining is alive and well post-pandemic.

Chicken Nugget Sales are Soaring. Can Plant-Based Varieties Take Flight? 

Demand for frozen chicken nuggets is strong, giving alternative varieties a significant runway for lift off — but sales remain grounded. 

Panera’s Menu Makeover Could be Start of Big 2024 for Fast-Casual Chain

With an eye towards efficiency (and, one presumes, improved profits), Panera Bread recently unveiled it’s largest menu revamp ever.

H5N1 Avian Flu Hits Dairy Herds

The recent spread of a highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) strain (H5N1) to dairy cows in the United States has raised concerns about the potential impact on the dairy and beef industries. While the U.S. …

Korean Food is Ascendant

Zooming out, Korean cuisine has found a niche in today’s restaurant, retail, and grocery foodscape, whether standing alone as a global cultural beacon of cuisine or being reimagined with some of today’s food trends.

Wave of Success: Plant-Based Brand Konscious Foods Enjoying Rapid Ascent

Plant-based brand Konscious Foods has enjoyed a meteoric rise. Focusing on achieving price and taste parity with traditional meat has been key, the brand’s founder explained.

Novel Proteins Earn Landmark Regulatory Backing

The approvals signal a potential disruption to traditional animal- and plant-based ingredients that have long dominated consumer packaged goods (CPG).

Latin Food Brands Fighting to Stand Out Via Healthier-for-you Products

ANAHEIM, Calif. – American shoppers seeking Latin food demand healthier-for-you items – as well as heat. Those were the common sentiments among Mexican vendors at the recent Expo West 2024 trade show. “People are saying, …

Unlocking Gen Z Loyalty: Why Experiential Branding is the Future

According to brand strategy experts, Gen Z consumers currently seek experiences and cultural relevance from CPG companies.

Wading in Shallow Waters: New Seafood Challenges Consumers

The high cost of seafood and the very clear preference for certain fish is the reason behind the caution, but it could be a lost opportunity for restaurants to stand out and become true destinations for seafood.

Top 3 Spring/Summer Trends in Retail

In a few short years, retail will be a totally immersive and data-driven experience highlighted by personalized AI recommendations for health and home, smart carts to increase efficiency (and solve the traveling salesman’s dilemma in-store), and much more.

Fast-Flation: Fast Food Restaurant Prices Surge, Even as Inflation Wanes

Major fast-food restaurants have raised prices by 60% on average between 2014 and 2024. McDonald’s is the worst offender with average menu prices increasing more than three times the national rate of inflation over the past decade.

Debate Surrounding California’s Food Additive Ban Heats Up

Debate surrounding California’s impending food additive ban is heating up as state-level copycat proposals rise across the U.S. Last month, the National Confectioners Association spoke out against the ban, calling it “an emotionally-driven campaign that lacks scientific backing.”

Clean Label Takes Center Stage as Ultra-Processed Stigma Grows

Clean-label initiatives continue to rise within the plant-based category and beyond as concerns surrounding ultra-processed foods intensify and more consumers prioritize what’s NOT in their products.

The Endless Promise of Pizza

Served as an LTO, in a restaurant, or at a ball game, fired in a brick oven at 800 degrees or reheated Sunday morning in a battered collegiate microwave after a late night, pizza is a tough business that can yield great rewards, revenue, and satisfaction.

Study Shows Consumers Craving Convenient, Traditional Meats

Try as plant-based brands might, traditional meats remain the largest generator of revenue in fresh departments, according to recent findings.

Fresh OJ Deep Dive: Brand Leaders Feeling the Squeeze

Fresh orange juice producers continue to walk a fine line between supply and demand while consumer beverage preferences fluctuate widely.

The Cost of Loyalty – How Trader Joe’s & Costco Do It

So prevalent and all-consuming is the cultural agency of the Costco Kirkland Signature All-Beef Hot Dog that it’s propelling a crypto “memecoin” on the Solana crypto exchange. That is a real sentence. “Hot dogs are in control,” writes one commentator on TikTok. “The buns stay on,” adds @Jan crypto trader in the same thread amid a rising swell of crypto brokers.

Fueling the Future: Functional Foods Gain Momentum

There’s a growing feeling among many consumers that what we put into our bodies can perhaps solve myriad health issues. That presents a major opportunity for CPG brands regarding functional food products. 

CosMc’s: Unraveling the Hype for the “Skip the Buzz” Generation

The arrival of McDonald’s new CosMc’s concept sent a wave of excitement rippling through the fast-food world.

Navigating the Future of Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA)

In an era defined by rapid technological advancement and environmental challenges, the concept of controlled environment agriculture (CEA) is at the forefront of a profound transformation in the agricultural sector.

Infernos, Fevers, and Freight Failures: A Fiery Start to 2024

Wildfires threaten the 2024 growing season, as bird flu and cargo woes challenge global resilience and supply chains.

The Future of Retail, Part 3: The Immersive Retail Environment

“Customers will step into a retail environment where every interaction is personalized, guided by AI algorithms that efficiently navigate shoppers through aisles and offer tailored product suggestions in real time,” fostering brand loyalty and elevating the consumer experience to “unprecedented satisfaction levels.”

Two Sides of Hello Fresh

As a business, it’s difficult to see Hello Fresh as anything but a massive success. And yet, despite the success of the business, Hello Fresh stock has been a terrible investment.