Focus Archive > Page 51

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 …

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, …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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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 …

How High Can Prices Go: Top Consumer Foods

As pandemic restrictions eased, pent-up consumer demand kept inflation elevated. In July, the overall consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.5%, a somewhat moderate gain relative to recent increases. Yet, over the past 12 months, price …

The Allure of Unconventional Food Mashups

Mac ‘n cheese ice cream and baked bean smoothies? Yes, believe it or not, those food items have become realities in 2021. And those are just a couple of the unusual food mashups that are …