Rising Food Costs Heighten Financial Insecurity Among Seniors

Food price spikes across the U.S. are forcing many senior citizens to visit food pantries or cut back on the number of meals they eat per day. In a recent survey by The Senior Citizens …

Report: Eating at Home Trend Here for the Long Haul

The COVID-19 pandemic simply accelerated Americans’ shift to a home-centric lifestyle, according to a new report by The NPD Group. But the tendency to largely hunker down at home was already apparent prior to the …

What Does the Future Hold for Delivery Apps?

It seems like every few weeks food delivery apps are finding themselves in hot water. Most recently, Chicago officials accused both DoorDash and Grubhub of harming city restaurants and customers through high fees and other deceptive …

Is the U.S. Cattle Oversupply Finally Cleared?

After a tumultuous year of COVID-related meat processor backlogs, is the U.S. beef supply finally evening out? One banking and financial services company thinks so: the U.S. oversupply of beef appears to have “finally cleared,” …

Loyalty Programs Gain in Food Industry; Grocers Align With Subscriptions

Loyalty programs continue to gain traction across the food industry as restaurants and retailers implement new offerings to capitalize on customer allegiance. The increase is widely tied to pandemic-induced spikes in digital commerce along with …

Bojangles’ New Approach Amid Labor Issues: Taking Two Days Off

Bojangles closed all of its company-owned stores today and will do so again on September 13 in an effort to give its employees and managers a “well-deserved break.” However, employees will not be paid for …

Robotics Emerging in Food Industry as Labor Shortage Persists

Are robots about to take over? A quick glance at headlines recently makes one wonder. Elon Musk recently unveiled plans for life-like humanoid robots designed to take over “boring” work from humans, for instance. Though …

(WITH VIDEO) Scientists Produce First-Ever 3D-Printed Wagyu Steak

Japanese scientists have taken alternative meat to the next level. A group of scientists led by Osaka University recently used stem cells isolated from Wagyu cows to 3D-print an alternative form of steak. This alternative …

Aquaculture Industry on the Rise as Wild Fishery Production Slows

Global fish consumption continues to rise faster than other proteins, driven by a growing and increasingly prosperous world population that recognizes the health benefits of eating seafood. In fact, since 1961, the average annual 3.1% …

Research Shows Delta Variant Turning Consumers Skittish on Dining In, Shopping

With daily COVID cases up 11% since last week in the U.S., signs of the pandemic’s staying power threaten to disrupt the nascent effort to attain some semblance of normalcy. The Delta variant has turned …

Amid Record Heat and Drought This Year, Midwest Producers Hopeful for 2022

The West Coast may be receiving the bulk of U.S. media coverage on record heat and drought conditions, but it is not the only region contending with extreme weather: the Midwest is also in the …

Latest Salvo in Chicken Wars Includes Taco Bell Hybrid Item

Taco bell is no stranger to unusual combinations (think Naked Chicken Chalupa, Doritos Locos Tacos), but its latest might take the cake. The chain is launching a Crispy Chicken Sandwich Taco on September 2. The …

Sports and Energy Drinks Ascending Thanks to Health-Conscious Consumers

Sports and energy drinks have seen significant sales growth over the past year. Sales of sports drinks were up 14.3% on a dollar basis to almost $5 billion in the 52 weeks ended Aug. 8, …

National Dog Day: Food Companies Catering to Pets Like Never Before

As the calendar turns to National Dog Day, it’s apparent as ever that food and beverage companies are catering to pets these days. BEER BRANDS CATERING TO DOGS Is American beer going to the dogs? …

Labor Shortages Continue to Drive Supply Chain Woes

Massive supply chain disruptions continue to pervade the U.S. food sector, with labor challenges triggering shortages from raw materials and ingredients to packaged goods. Some of the largest U.S. food distributors, including United Natural Foods …

New Albertsons Offering Illustrates Strong Demand for Online Shopping

Albertsons Cos. has begun piloting an Instacart-powered online grocery pickup service in six major cities. The new click-and-collect service, which is currently available in 40 stores, will work in tandem with Albertsons’ Drive Up & …

‘Whoa Nellie’: College Football Stars Landing Big Restaurant Endorsement Deals

Lately, the term “hitting pay dirt” has taken on new meaning for college football stars. On July 1, the NCAA moved to allow college athletes to benefit from their name, image and likeness. And that …

Consumer Study: Diet, Nutrition and Navigating Immunity-Driven Lifestyles

On the heels of the pandemic, more consumers across the globe are gravitating towards nutritious diets and immunity boosting products to bolster healthier lifestyles. A recent report based on Euromonitor International’s Voice of the Consumer: …

Walmart Makes Major Play in Last-Mile Delivery

Walmart plans to open up its in-house delivery platform, Spark Driver, to other businesses. The retailer is doing so to allow the independent contractors out delivering Walmart merchandise to make additional deliveries along the way, …

Dietitians Weigh in on Reducing Ultra-Processed Foods in Children’s Diets 

Drinking just one soda could shorten your life by 12 minutes and eating one hot dog could claim an additional 36 minutes, according to a new study. These findings are even more unsettling on the …

How Rural Population Decline Impacts U.S. Agriculture

Rural populations showed further signs of decline in the recent release of the 2020 U.S. census. The data reflects shifting demographics and signals continued labor shortages across the nation’s farming and ranching regions. A Stateline …

Trucking Industry Looks to Address U.S. Driver Shortage Over the Long Haul

Amid the pandemic, supply chain woes have been front and center. And while port constraints have dominated headlines, one of the biggest problems in the shipping industry has been the shortage of U.S. truck drivers. …

E-commerce is Slowing; Will the Trend Continue?

With July U.S. retail sales off 1.1% overall, Walmart bucked the trend, reporting a second-quarter increase of 2.4%, compared to last year, while Amazon missed revenue estimates for the first time in nearly three years. …

Study: Compostable Packaging Matches Shelf Life of Plastic

As more food companies prioritize ESG initiatives, the use of compostable packaging continues to gain traction as an earth-friendly alternative to plastic. In the first half of 2021, major players like Chipotle, Taco Bell, and …

Why the EPA is Banning a Common Pesticide  

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will stop the use of chlorpyrifos, one of the most common pesticides, according to a news release. The move is intended to better protect human health, particularly of children …

Analyst: Plant-Based Food to See Massive Growth in Next Decade

Just when it seems like plant-based food couldn’t get any bigger, the industry is now predicted to grow fivefold by 2030. The global plant-based alternatives market could grow to $162 billion in the next decade, …

UPDATE: Historic Drought Taking Toll on Western Farmers

The historic drought in the U.S. West is hitting California’s top agricultural export especially hard. The state’s $6 billion almond industry produces approximately 80% of the world’s almonds, but more and more growers are expected …

Wendy’s Unlocks `Power of Proximity’ in Delivery Kitchen Partnership

As pandemic challenges continue to damper the appeal of indoor dining, foodservice companies are leaning ever further into the delivery space. Last week, Wendy’s upped the ante with its ambitious four-year plan to launch 700 …

POULTRY UPDATE: Thanksgiving Turkeys Could Be in Short Supply

The latest industry to be impacted by supply constraints is poultry. LABOR AND SUPPLY ISSUES THREATEN HOLIDAY TURKEY AVAILABILITY A broker for Shady Brook Farms, one of the nation’s largest turkey suppliers, said in a …

No Vax, No Service: How Vaccine Enforcement is Impacting Restaurants

Restaurateurs were a bit uneasy about having to determine whether their customers had been vaccinated against COVID-19, but now more are wishing all cities would take a page from places like New York, New Orleans …

GUEST COLUMN: 5 Predictions for the Wine World

What will the post-pandemic future hold for wine retailers? The global wine sector is large and highly fragmented, so it’ll take some time to fully measure and understand COVID’s impact on the segment. For wine …

Update: Major Food Companies Ramping up ESG Efforts

With ESG topics becoming increasingly important to consumers, food companies are noticeably increasing their efforts. Below are a few recent examples of new ESG initiatives in the industry. MCCORMICK ADVANCES SUSTAINABILITY STANDARD McCormick & Company …

Is America Ready to Embrace African Cuisine?

While many traditional African foods are embedded in American culture, as a category, African cuisine remains largely unrepresented. But as consumers’ appetite for global flavor continues to flourish, the tides of change are well ashore. …

Examining the Wine Industry’s Post-Pandemic Challenges

Editor’s note: Juan Ruiz is a finance and investment professional with over 30 years’ experience collecting and reviewing wines. He’s a graduate of New York’s Institute of Culinary Education’s Intensive Sommelier Program and a certified …

Insect Protein Has Investors Intrigued

Environmental activists point to issues like Amazon deforestation to suggest Earth is running out of agricultural real estate. Making matters worse, the United Nations predicts that, within three decades, the world’s population will reach nearly …

The Meteoric Rise of Dairy Alternatives: Will Cow Milk Substitutes Remain Unstoppable?

Cow’s milk has long been known as a rich source of protein and calcium. Owing to the presence of essential nutrients like carbs, proteins, fats, fibers and essential vitamins in milk, cow’s milk and food …