Is the U.S. Facing a Megadrought?

“Every moving thing lifted the dust into the air: a walking man lifted a thin layer as high as his waist, and a wagon lifted the dust as high as the fence tops, and an …

Amazon, Walmart Taking Different Approaches on Retail Technology

Amazon-owned grocery stores are poised for a technology upgrade, specifically in checkout. AUTOMATION Amazon is bringing automated checkout technology to full-size supermarkets, reported Bloomberg (April 22). Planning documents for a store under construction in Brookfield, …

Food Brands Celebrate Earth Day with Focus on Sustainability

As sustainable practices become increasingly important to today’s consumers, food brands are making their environmental goals and initiatives clear. In honor of Earth Day, here’s a closer look at companies taking steps to become more …

A Closer Look at Gen Z’s Eating and Shopping Habits

Food is Gen Z’s No. 1 wallet priority at 23%, according to Piper Sandler’s annual Taking Stock with Teens survey. The survey highlights discretionary spending trends and brand preferences from 7,000 teens across 47 U.S. …

Food and Beverage Companies Signal Higher Prices

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 …

Consumers Fire Up Grills as Outdoor Cooking Gains Momentum

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 …

Big Meat Buying Up Competition, Expanding into Plant-Based Space

The world’s largest meatpacker is looking to appeal to those who want to eat less meat. Brazil’s JBS will buy Dutch vegetable-based protein company Vivera for $408.1 million, reported Reuters (April 19). Vivera includes a …

Food as Medicine: A Primer on a Growing Trend

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 …

Foreseeable Future Appears Bright for Grocers

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, …

Once a Fringe Movement, Veganism Goes Mainstream

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 …

Delivery Platforms Experiencing Upheaval

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 …

Beef and Pork Consumption Rises as Consumers Go with What They Know

The Food Industry Association and the Meat Institute Foundation reported that grocery store meat sales increased by 20% last year, with three-quarters of consumers saying meat belongs in a healthy diet. “All protein sales at …

Supply Chain Update: California Shipping Logjam Finally Easing

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 …

Mushroom Market Booming on Alternative Protein, Other Trends  

Mushrooms are currently thriving at the intersection of multiple industry trends, including alternative proteins, food as health, and countertop gardening. A recent report by Grand View Research projected that the global mushroom market value is expected to exceed $50 billion in …

As Vaccinations Increase, Outlook Less Rosy for Grocers

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 …

Here’s the Scoop: Vegan Ice Cream Market Surging

According to a study conducted by Allied Market Research (June 2020), the non-dairy ice cream market was valued at roughly $520 million in 2019 and is growing at a compound annual growth rate of 13.7%. …

Study: Ranchers Can Reduce Livestock’s GHG Emissions by 50%

Cattle produce approximately 78% of total livestock greenhouse gas emissions and are responsible for 14%–18% of human GHG.   But, according to a recent report by Global Change Biology, ranchers who focus on changes to their agriculture production …

What’s In-Store for Walmart? New QSR Partners

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 …

Report: Impossible Foods Planning Eye-Opening, $10B Public Listing

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 …

Gluten-Free Market Growing Despite Questions About Benefits

Gluten-free diets are all the rage, but aside from benefitting the small percentage of people with celiac disease and non-celiac gluten sensitivity, there is little to no evidence showing that a gluten-free diet is effective …

Coffee Subscriptions a Proven Prescription to Boost Restaurant Traffic

Free is good, as any customer will tell you, and fast-casual restaurants are beginning to see the benefits of offering free (or virtually free) coffee to drive increased traffic and revenue. In February 2020, Panera …

Plant-Based Protein Momentum Not Slowing Down

While plant-based protein still makes up a small portion of the overall protein market, the segment has been gaining significant traction. The plant-based proteins market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 9.5% through …

Restaurants’ Labor Shortage Causing Major Concerns for Operators

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 …

SNAP Benefits Increase as USDA’s Vilsack Reprises Role

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: The Latest Meat in High Demand

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% …

Quesadilla Wars Ramping Up Among Taco Bell, Chipotle

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 …

Carbon Labeling Gains Momentum Despite Challenges

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 Food Companies Using Consumer Data as Creatively as Ever

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 …

Seafood Fraud Becoming a Costly Global Concern

Seafood mislabeling is rampant throughout the industry, accounting for as much as 55% of product sold in some countries with little regulatory framework in place to prevent the practices, an analysis by The Guardian indicated. …

Oat Milk Is Gaining Considerable Ground in the Plant-Based Milk Category

Plant-based food and drink companies are tapping into rising consumer demand for animal product alternatives, including milk. In fact, sales of plant-based milks grew five percent in 2019, making up 14 percent of the entire milk category, according to …

Tofurky Case Stoking Alt-Meat Labeling Debate

A federal appellate court has ruled a state law that prohibits companies from marketing alternative protein products as meat does not violate free speech rights, but it begs the question of whether consumers really would …

As More States Legalize Marijuana, What Does it Mean for the Food Industry?

New York and New Mexico are primed to join 15 other states in legalizing marijuana, which could have far-reaching implications for the food industry. NY & NM JOIN IN ON LEGALIZATION Shortly following legalization in …

Frozen Food Sales Surging Amid Pandemic

Frozen food sales have been anything but icy of late. Frozen foods were among the fastest growing categories in grocery stores over the past year, according to the American Frozen Food Institute’s Power of Frozen …

Unionization Threatens to Increase Amazon Costs

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 …

Coffee Prices on the Rise, But Sellers Aren’t Concerned … Yet

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 …

Case Study: Cereal Companies Dealing with PR Concerns in Contrasting Fashions

A pair of cereal brands, General Mills’ Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Post’s Grape-Nuts, have been under the spotlight of late, by both the media and those on social media. Although their situations are different, both …