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.

FI Fast Break audio news: July 24, 2024

The latest Food Institute Fast Break news podcast touches on the latest update related to weight-loss drugs.

A Fork in the Road to Sustainability: Nestlé’s New Plant-Based Fork

The innovation is a key part of its commitment to eliminate or reduce plastics in packaging while scaling reusable and refillable systems.

Three Key Trends from NRA 2024

The food-away-from home industry gathered in Chicago between May 18 and May 21 for the 2024 National Restaurant Association Show (NRA 2024).

FI Fast Break audio news: May 22, 2024

The latest FI Fast Break news podcast touches on Target’s plans to reduce prices on several items this summer.

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.

What’s Winning in Frozen Food?

After years of economic upheaval, frozen food remains a beacon of convenience, innovation, and at times, affordability. Which categories and brands are in high demand as the new year approaches?

Health and Wellness Movement Remains Fertile Ground for F&B Brands

Companies like Grand View Research and Future Market Insights have produced a host of health and wellness reports recently. The reports noted, for example, that the global prebiotics market size is valued at nearly $6 …

Hot Honey & The Great Condiment Mashup

Hot honey is back. The question is, did it ever leave? Helping prompt this question is Pizza Hut. Pizza Hut has been making a quiet comeback in the QSR market the last few years; it …

CPG Brands Adapting Marketing Messages to Reach Latin Consumers

According to a recent Kantar report, Latin America is home to nearly 40% of the global CPG and FMCG brands that are growing. Here’s a look at the most popular CPG brands in Latin America, …

WATCH: Frozen Food Category Making Moves

Since 2019, frozen food sales have increased 23%, and major players like Nestle and Unilever continue to seize upon the segment’s popularity.

What the Health Star Rating (HSR) System Reveals

Nestle SA recently announced that only 30% of its portfolio is considered healthy after conducting a self-assessment using the Health Star Rating (HSR) system. The rating test also showed that a third of Nestle’s sales …

COLUMN: Let’s Learn from the Demise of Freshly

The public markets (and strategic firms) aren’t kind to businesses that don’t make much money and then stop growing. The recent shutdown of Freshly shocked many of its consumers, but not those following the ~$6B …

Nestlé Boosts Dairy Alternatives Investment with New Arizona Beverage Facility

As Americans grow ever more enamored with alternatives to milk, cream and other dairy-based items, Nestlé USA has decided to make a major investment in the sector with a $675 million beverage facility in Glendale, …

FDA: Blockchain-Based Food Tracking Bound for Widespread Adoption

A new rule could boost blockchain-based food tracking. The rule, expected next November, would require the food industry to maintain records associated with the critical tracking events on the supply chain, according to Frank Yiannas, …

Can Plant-Based Beverages Outpace Dairy?

This article is sponsored and written by Future Market Insights. Plant-based beverages, in many respects, are taking the food industry by storm. The products are praised by many for their healthy nutritional profile. And, as …

Food Industry Execs: Inflation Could Worsen Yet

Overall CPI rose 0.4% in September, slightly ahead of estimates of 0.3%, with the indexes for food and shelter contributing to more than half of the monthly increase. The food price index climbed 0.8%, with …

Report: Vegan Chocolate Increasingly Popular

The global chocolate confectionery market is anticipated to reach $154.5 billion (USD) by 2025. Its growth has been aided by the pandemic, during which consumers have often turned to comforting, indulgent foods, like milk chocolate …

FI Fast Break audio news: July 14, 2021

This week, in The Food Institute’s quick-hitting, audio news podcast, we break down a few innovative strategies for navigating the labor shortage, examine a major new company entering the cultured-meat market, and more. The Food …

Why Essentia’s Growth and Exit is a Critical Model for Strategics and Smart Investors

Many investors are chasing the next RX Bar deal. They scan trade PR, follow Bevnet, and angle in aggressively on the latest fad-driven startups. When these folks approach founders, they like to pressure the founder …

Nestle’s Sale of Water Brands Signifies Key Change in Philosophy

Nestle has agreed to sell its regional spring water brands, purified water business and beverage delivery service in North America to One Rock Capital Partners, in partnership with Metropoulos & Co., for $4.3 billion. The sale includes …

The Newest Plant-Based Innovation: A Vegan KitKat

Next Valentine’s Day, plant-based consumers will have even more chocolate options, thanks to Nestle’s latest development: a vegan KitKat. NESTLE TAKES PLANT-BASED CHOCOLATE MAINSTREAM A plant-based candy bar, called KitKat V, will be Nestle’s first …

Food Companies Push ESG Movement Forward

Major food companies are increasingly placing importance on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) practices. Corporations like Nestle, Danone, and McDonald’s have found that ESG initiatives are necessary to meet the demands of today’s consumers. Nestle, …

As Senior Citizen Demo Grows, CPG Companies Take Note

The number of people aged 65 years or older has surpassed those under five globally for the first time since 2018, according to United Nations data. The number of countries with over 20% of the …

Food Industry Targets Sustainability

Several major food companies have recently announced new better-for-the-planet initiatives. Nestle Nestle will invest $3.6 billion over the next five years in an effort to fight climate change and plans to halve its carbon emissions …

Interest in Delivery Companies Continues

Ahold Delhaize will acquire a majority stake in FreshDirect, with plans to accelerate its growth online and around New York, reported Winsight Grocery Business (Nov. 18). The acquisition will allow Ahold Delhaize to begin its …

Have the Coffee Wars Come Home?

The COVID-19 pandemic has turned the world upside down, but that hasn’t stopped the global consumption of roughly 2.25 billion cups of coffee per day. What has certainly changed during this 2020 crisis is how …

Food Companies Shifting From Investors to Owners of Startups

Industry heavyweights are taking ownership of the startups they invested in. Nestle has gone from stakeholder to full ownership of Freshly, a company that delivers fresh, chef-cooked meals to customers on a weekly basis. The …

Nutrition and Health Businesses Taking Center Stage

Nothing has been more impactful in 2020 than how the COVID-19 pandemic has altered the way people view their lifestyles. Consumers are becoming increasingly more cognizant of the importance of health and well-being for themselves …

Immunity-Boosting Products Attract Consumers

Six out of 10 global consumers are increasingly looking for food and beverage products that support their immune health, with one in three saying that concerns about immune health increased in 2020 over 2019, according …

Nestlé & Coca-Cola Refresh Beverage Portfolios

An insider says Nestlé SA will sell some of its American water brands, which include Pure Life, Poland Spring, and Deer Park, reported Reuters (Oct. 15). The brands being sold, which also include Deer Park, …

How CPG Companies are Strategizing to Thrive During Pandemic

Consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies, such as Mondelez and Nestlé, are finding new opportunities to stay competitive and succeed during the pandemic. Mondelez Mondelez International has been successful in direct-store delivery (DSD)—a logistics fulfillment system …

Lawsuits Abound Over Misleading Food Labels

Food companies have been in hot water recently over their product labels either misleading consumers or not providing enough product information. Frito-Lay Frito-Lay faces at least two lawsuits over the flavor of its chips. After …

World’s Biggest Plastic Producers Accused of ‘Hypocrisy’ Over Pledges

Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Nestlé made public pledges to cut plastic while undermining sustainability reforms behind the scenes through lobbying groups and trade associations, a report from Changing Markets Foundation claims. It accused the world’s largest plastic polluters of hypocrisy, …

Plant-Based Continues into Mainstream

CPG companies have been expanding their plant-based offerings to compete with brands such as Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat. The Kellogg Co. partnered with Walt Disney Co. to launch Mickey-Mouse shaped Incogmeato chick’n nuggets, reported MarketWatch (Sept. …

Nestlé Buys Aimmune for $2.6B to Combat Food Allergies

In an effort to expand its health sciences business, Nestlé SA agreed to buy the rest of the partially owned biopharmaceutical company Aimmune Therapeutics Inc. for $2.6 billion, reported The Wall Street Journal (Aug. 31). …