Many food companies are raising prices to offset higher costs. Higher commodity costs are pressuring companies’ profits, while some are also starting to lap their surging sales sparked by stockpiling in 2020, reported CNBC (March …
Grilling season started early this year – or maybe it never ended, statistics from market research company NPD Group indicate. NPD reported consumers spent more than $4.9 billion on grills, smokers, camping stoves, accessories, and …
While the concept of “food as medicine” has been around for centuries, the philosophy is gaining momentum of late. So much so, in fact, that The Food Institute will highlight the concept and the growing …
Online grocery usage has skyrocketed in recent years: 73% of consumers had purchased grocery items online within the last three months, compared to 17% in 2017, according to a survey by Power Reviews. Of course, …
A vegan diet is essentially the strictest form of vegetarianism. That is, in addition to avoiding animal flesh, vegans also cut out dairy, eggs and animal-derived ingredients, such as gelatin whey and casein. And as …
In many ways, the pandemic has been a boom time for third-party delivery platforms, which have benefited from consumers largely hunkering down at home and summoning dinners to their doorstep. But business is rapidly changing …
A persistent kink in the global supply chain is getting straightened out – slowly, but relatively surely. The backlog at southern California ports appears to finally be easing, even as imports continue to flood into …
While grocery store owners benefited from a rush of customers throughout much of the past year as the pandemic raged, owners now have growing concern that their bottom line will look far less rosy in …
Breaking up is hard to do, but Walmart and McDonald’s seem to have made the split on decent terms. McDonald’s recently announced plans to shutter hundreds of its locations positioned within Walmart stores. After the …
Impossible Foods is reportedly planning for a $10 billion public listing within the next year, either through an IPO or a SPAC. The valuation would be substantially higher than the $4 billion the company was worth …
The push for the Raise the Wage Act, which would increase the minimum wage to $15, is pressuring U.S. businesses like restaurants that depend on keeping labor costs in check to survive. QSRs are finding …
On April 1, the USDA announced that it will provide $1 billion per month in additional SNAP food assistance to an estimated 25 million people in low-income households. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack echoed …
Lamb sales are surging. While shoppers used to be wary due to its higher price tag, store sales of lamb jumped 28% year-over-year as of last month, according to Nielsen. Meanwhile, beef sales rose 25.6% …
While the fast-food “chicken wars” have been going on for some time, Taco Bell and Chipotle are now headed for battle on another front. The two largest Mexican-food chains are testing new items and jockeying …
Unilever plans to introduce carbon-footprint details for all 70,000 of its products and is researching best methods for gathering and presenting the information. A key motivator for the company is that brands perceived as sustainable …
Big foodmakers are taking advantage of a pandemic-driven rise in online shopping to track consumer analytics. “For a food brand it’s really no longer about who has the biggest factory, or who has the biggest …
Some 5,800 Amazon employees at the company’s Bessemer, Alabama, warehouse voted in the last two months on whether to unionize in a move that could energize the labor movement and mean higher prices for those …
Some coffee purveyors say they’re not too worried – at least in the short term – about the shipping container shortage that is pressuring already tight coffee supplies, the result of a South American drought …
As the pandemic continues and vaccines become more readily available in the U.S., here are some insights into how consumers feel about dining out and shopping in stores: Dining Out A significant number of Americans …
During the pandemic, restaurants have had to find new ways of winning over consumers. Those who are innovating seem to be recovering well from pandemic-related losses. “300 million people wake up hungry each day, and …
Fast-food restaurant chains are turning their attention to food trucks as a way to give pandemic-beleaguered franchisees an alternative channel to boost sales damaged by restrictions on the number of customers who can dine in …
On March 17, The Food Institute hosted a webinar on the prospects for mergers and acquisitions activity in the food industry. The event provided a deep dive into M&A trends, with analysis from Lech Czerski, …
Consumers are increasing their off-premises dinner purchases, according to the latest weekly survey from the National Restaurant Association. In the early spring 2021 period, Gen Xers and Baby Boomers have increased their weekly off-premises dinner …
Total U.S. grocery online grocery sales pulled back to $8 billion for February, representing a 14% drop from January, according to data from Brick Meets Click. Here’s a deeper dive into those stats, and what …
There have been recent signs of recovery for the restaurant industry, but obstacles still need to be scaled before the industry is back to a full bill of health. RESTAURANT SALES SHOWING RECOVERY Restaurant sales …
Just like grocery stores and restaurants have changed operational strategies during the pandemic, so have convenience stores. Whether it’s selling more ready-to-eat and heat-and-eat foodservice items to make a dent in lower gasoline sales or …
Amazon has been quietly expanding its grocery operations during the pandemic. EXPANSION IN THE U.S. AND ABROAD Amazon has opened 11 Amazon Fresh stores around the U.S., with plans for at least 28 more, as …
Throughout the pandemic, consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies benefitted from purchases of classic CPG items like canned vegetables, pasta, and coffee, as consumers stocked up during quarantine. However, as the country opens back up, CPG …
Global food prices are the highest they’ve been in six years, with the price of agricultural commodities traded on the global stage rising 50% since the middle of 2020, according to economists at Rabobank. Additionally, …
Today is International Women’s Day (IWD), a day created in 1911 to celebrate the achievements of women. These days, IWD is largely viewed as an opportunity to celebrate the accomplishments of women in areas such …
While the gap between food insecurity and food waste is significant, increased government, industry and community efforts can narrow the divide. But with global food demand projected to rise anywhere between 59% to 98% by 2050 …
President Biden denounced state leaders who are choosing to relax COVID-19 restrictions and protective measures at businesses including restaurants. Biden called the moves “Neanderthal thinking” and “a big mistake,” reported The Hill (March 3). His …
Several retailers have released results for their final quarters of 2020, as well as their fiscal years. Among the noteworthy takeaways were the following: Publix says the pandemic increased fiscal 2020 sales by 12.1% Dollar …
Plant-based diets have grown in popularity in recent years, but new research indicates consumers still aren’t eating enough produce. DECLINING FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CONSUMPTION Research from the Produce for Better Health Foundation shows fruit and …
Online shopping is reaching new heights amid the pandemic – and likely won’t be going away anytime soon. ONLINE SALES UP IN FIRST MONTH OF 2021 Total U.S. online grocery sales reached $9.3 billion in …
On February 18, The Food Institute, in conjunction with DMA, hosted a webinar that examined the recent explosion of ghost kitchens and virtual brands. The event, which featured executives from Denny’s, Kitchen United, and Lettuce …
