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,

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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.”

Heartbroken over Data: Why the AHA is Wrong about Intermittent Fasting

The AHA is wrong about fasting: what religions have preached for millennia is been embraced by the scientific community as well.

Scalding-hot Competition: Specialty Coffee Brands Battle to Stand Out

The specialty coffee category features no shortage of innovation, from fledgling brands hailing from southern CA, Vietnam, and beyond.

Easter Sticker Shock: Cocoa Prices Still Skyrocketing

How much money is the Easter candy market worth? Hold onto your Easter baskets – in the United States alone, 2024 Easter candy sales are expected to exceed $3.3 billion (Statista)

Limited-Time Offers Providing Major Appeal

Limited-time offers (LTOs) continue to drum up significant business for restaurants, particularly among fast-food chains, in 2024.

From Panic to Plate: How Xolair is Changing the Menu for Allergy Sufferers

The treatment represents an impressive scientific achievement, however, borne from human perseverance to solve major quality-of-life issues. Xolair transcends mere new medical knowledge—it’s a step towards allowing food allergy sufferers to live more freely.

Why is Florida Trying to Ban Cultivated Meat?

The Florida House has approved a wide-ranging bill that would ban the sale and production of cultivated meat in the state. How will alt-meat innovations be impacted if it is signed into law?

The Future of Retail, Part 2- Tomorrow’s Tech

To further understand how inventory and supply chain will change, Jarvis said the end of data silos must be achieved “to create a holistic understanding of each shopper, their interactions, and the stream of information being shared with them.

Scottish Cuisine Has Burst onto the American Scene

Not only is Scotland home to world-famous cattle breeds and celebrated wild-caught game, but the neighboring North Sea and Atlantic Ocean ensure that the country of roughly 5.5 million residents boasts stellar oysters and mussels. 

8 Truly Innovative Products at Expo West 2024

Expo West 2024 in Anaheim featured no shortage of creative and innovative products, like mycelium bacon, caffeinated breath spray, and more.

America is Poised to Embrace Tofu

In today’s alternative protein space, the possibilities tofu offers are turning heads. More flavorful than most plant-based products, more rewarding than a perfect burger alternative, and much more affordable than a meat-based option, tofu checks a lot of boxes as a middle-of-the-road protein alternative that doesn’t necessarily have to market itself as a one-size-fits-all plant-based option.

Big Opportunity Remains in Beef Jerky Category

“Jerky brands come and go because the barriers of entry to the industry are small,” Cawley said. “A good recipe, some packaging, and a solid manufacturing partner, and you can start selling legally and usually get traction locally.” Once early consumer adopters are exhausted, however, it often becomes difficult for fledgling jerky brands to earn retail shelf space, keep it, and create a compelling value proposition that resonates with shoppers nationwide.

Mochiko: First Mochi-Crust Pizza

There’s a new variable in the $45.1 billion pizzaverse: an Asian-influenced variety that utilizes a mochi pizza crust.

3 Key Takeaways from Expo West 2024

With consumers as focused as ever on improving their health and wellness, clean diets including foods like whole fruits, vegetables, and lean proteins have gained momentum. The show floor at Expo West illustrated that movement.

What the Jal? Jalapenos Aren’t Hot Anymore

Why aren’t many store-bought jalapenos hot anymore? The answer lies in changing palates and products bred for consistency, not flavor.