Is meat regaining popularity?
As scores of start-ups compete to develop the perfect meat alternative, are consumers turning back to animal meat?
Clean label
Can plant-based overcome UPF links to avoid future trust issues?
Plant-based diets remain popular, but associations with UPF and low-quality ingredients has shaken consumer trust in alt meat, fish and dairy brands. So, what can the sector do to restore public opinion?
Rustic food trend leaves fine dining in the dark
Consumers are turning away from fancy foods in favour of more hearty meals. So, what’s sparked this new trend and what does it mean for the industry?
£9m secured by small ingredients supplier for ‘US expansion’
A family-owned natural colours, flavours and extracts business supplying global food and drink manufacture has secured a £9m investment to grow into the States.
Big Interview
Mondelēz Snackfutures’ head on staying attractive to investors
He may well be one of snacking’s most influential men. So, an audience with Mondelēz International’s Snackfutures Ventures boss, Richie Gray, could indeed be the making or breaking of a business.
The demand for ‘clean label’ meat alternatives?
With many consumers classing plant-based meats as ultra-processed, the race is on for manufacturers to ‘clean up’ labels.
How to produce a clean-label beverage with a long shelf life
Without artificial additives, ensuring that products have a long shelf-life is more challenging.
Start-ups that caught our eye at Bread and Jam 2024
At the Bread and Jam festival in London last week, we saw a range of start-ups try to plug perceived gaps in the market, in ingredients, cheese and alcoholic drinks.
Convenience over cooking: The unstoppable food trend
Why ready meals, takeaways and eating out, trump home cooking for consumers.
What’s the biggest trend in better-for-you snacking?
What’s the one key trend in the better-for-you snacks category? We put the question to Mondelēz, Nestlé, Ferrero, and Mars.
Does it matter that consumers don’t understand the term ‘ultra-processed’?
Consumers have consistently been shown not to understand what the term ‘ultra-processed’ means. But how much does this matter?
Do consumers believe ‘better-for-you’ marketing on snacks?
The wellness industry is booming, with health and fitness trends becoming popular amongst consumers and profitable for brands. But do consumers trust the ‘better-for-you’ marketing printed on the products they buy?
From peas to pintos: The new ingredients being tested in plant-based dairy
Researchers are looking beyond soy and oat for plant-based dairy innovation. Which ingredients are being put under the microscope?
Mondelēz is hungry for snacks innovation: What’s its VC arm looking for?
When Mondelēz International searches externally for savoury snack and confectionery innovation, what kinds of start-ups is it looking for?
How AB InBev tackles stigma in non-alcoholic beer
Social stigma continues to plague the non-alcoholic beer category, according to AB InBev. How is the world’s largest brewer working to overcome this hurdle?
Making 0.0% ABV beer with body and aroma: Inside the brewery with AB InBev
How has non-alcohol brewing evolved over time? The world’s largest brewery reveals how it develops body and aroma in 0.0% beer.
Novonesis F&B chief on post-merger strategy: ‘We’re now reaching 2bn consumers a day’
How will the merger between Chr Hansen and Novozymes impact their now joint food and beverage division?
UPF watch: What’s the latest on ultra-processed food?
Ultra-processed food is making headlines. In our rolling coverage of UPF, we unpack the good, the bad, and the confusion around this classification of products. Here’s the latest…
Do non-sugar sweeteners make people hungrier?
This is the question posed by researchers, who also wanted to find out whether swapping out sugar for artificial and natural sweeteners reduces blood sugar levels.
Organic alternative to chemical pesticides discovered
Scientists believe they’ve found an organic solution to chemical pesticides
How KFC is reformulating the classics to cut fat, salt and sugar
From burgers to fries, the QSR major is cutting calories from menus in the UK and Ireland. Which reformulation strategies are at play?
Animal-free collagen: The food and drink potential
As demand for collagen ‘surges’, will its animal-free alternative edge further into food and drink?
Danone, Nestlé, Kraft Heinz baby food ‘unfit for promotion’: ATNI
In fact, none of the 1,297 complementary foods tested from six companies were up to scratch, according to the Access to Nutrition Initiative. The food makers disagree.
Taste, appeal, health claims: Getting functional foods to consumers
Functional food brands face a range of challenges, from taste to health claims, in order to get their products to appeal to consumers, and educate them about product potential.
Are ultra-processed plant-based burgers healthy? WHO investigates
The World Health Organization has funded research analysing the nutritional composition of ultra-processed plant-based burgers, and the findings are out.
From non-HFSS cereals to desserts: How unlikely foods hit the sweet spot with regulators
How are brands cutting fat, salt, and sugar from popular product categories to hit the mark with both policymakers and consumers?
‘We made the first female arousal drink’: How G Spot leans into functionality for women
Award winning actor Gillian Anderson is harnessing the power of botanicals to cater to an underserved market. We ask which ingredients align to which need state.
Is hemp the next functional food in vegetarian nutrition?
As regulatory restrictions ease, researchers studying Cannabis sativa L. identify its nutritional benefits and potential in vegetarian diets while highlighting the need for clarity on the safety of some concentrated extracts.
Non-HFSS doughnuts: Which nutrient is toughest to cut when reinventing the wheel?
It’s very difficult to ‘crack’ better-for-you indulgence, according to maker of HFSS compliant doughnuts Urban Legend. Here’s how founder and ex-Graze CEO Anthony Fletcher claims to have done it.
Single-ingredient meat analogue developed in ‘happy accident’: ‘We’re the first and only ones doing this’
Although developing meat alternatives from a single ingredient was not Nosh Bio’s initial aim, the start-up very quickly realised it had something ‘super powerful’ on its hands.
NPD Trend Tracker: From gut-friendly sweets and flapjacks to edible insects
Healthy living is firmly on the agenda in this week’s new product roundup: There are immunity-boosting drinks, gut-friendly sweets and flapjacks, and an alternative protein source in the form of edible insects. Elsewhere we have a sparkling lemonade...
'A relationship turned sour’: How Yoplait plans to reverse a declining yoghurt trend
The UK kids’ yoghurt category is in long-term decline. Having researched the root causes, dairy major Yoplait now wants to reverse the trend.
Tackling texture of plant-based proteins with non-UPF discovery
‘Dry’, ‘chalky’ and even 'gritty' are just some of the less than favourable words used to describe the texture of plant-based proteins. However, scientists at the University of Copenhagen believe they have discovered the secret to significantly improving...
Ultra-processed food linked to 32 poor health outcomes in largest study to date
We ask lead author Melissa M Lane where she stands on the ultra-processed food debate.
Nestlé in hot water over Perrier and Vittel processing methods
The largest bottled water company in the world is being accused of selling bottled tap water as mineral water and using illegal treatment methods to do so.
Rubisco: Overcoming extraction hurdles to market the ‘most abundant protein on earth’
Israeli start-up Day 8 has emerged from stealth mode with plans to disrupt plant-based food and drink. Its secret weapon? A protein derived from leaves: Rubisco.
The case against ultra-processed food: 'UPF is designed to increase consumption and profit'
Do ultra-processed foods lead to poor health outcomes by definition? A ‘hyper-literal’ focus on definitions is not the point, suggest Henry Dimbleby and Chris van Tulleken: ‘ultra-processed food’ as a category encapsulates the toll that an industry...
Less booze, more prebiotic soda: The new trends bubbling in beverages
How are beverage trends expected to evolve this year? And are there any up-and-coming innovations industry keep a close eye on? We ask the experts.
Can links be drawn between Nutri-Score and ultra-processed food?
Are ultra-processed foods more likely to have low Nutri-Score ratings? And should the Nova classification system be incorporated into the Nutri-Score algorithm?
Are we misusing the term ‘ultra-processed’? Uncoupling UPF from nutrition
The term ‘ultra-processed’ is increasingly used to describe the ‘unhealthiness’ of a product, particularly in the context of plant-based meat. But how processed a food is reveals nothing about its nutritional impact, contends new research.
Novonesis: Chr Hansen and Novozymes merge to form €3.7bn ‘biosolutions’ major
Just over a year after announcing plans to merge, Danish enzyme and cultures suppliers Novozymes and Chr Hansen have joined forces under a new company name: Novonesis.
Fermentation-based stevia with ‘cleaner, sugar-like profile’ wins EFSA safety nod
EverSweet, a stevia sweetener made via fermentation rather than stevia leaf extraction, is one step closer to market entry in Europe having received positive safety opinions in the EU and UK.
‘Plant-based downturn isn’t halting innovation’: Beneo talks 2024 alt protein strategy
The ingredients supplier outlines its two-pronged alternative protein strategy, which it is betting on to reignite demand for plant-based meat.
Star ingredients ‘take the spotlight’ of leading 2024 trend
The presence of star ingredients will drive purchasing and packaging decisions, Innova Market Insights reveals in its Top Ten Trends for food and beverages in 2024.
Evolving colour trends influenced by nostalgia, sustainability, and Gen Z: ‘Younger consumers are bold and loud, and this trickles into product development’
It is said ‘we eat first with our eyes’. The colour of food and drink can have a major influence over what we choose to consume, so which pigments are expected to whet appetites in 2024?
Diversified protein sourcing is on the 2024 agenda: What's the path to mainstream adoption?
While the alternative protein scene continues to pursue widespread uptake and acceptance, in 2024, expect to see new and evolving concepts, technologies and regulatory support to progress towards attaining resilient food systems.
‘A mutually beneficial opportunity’: Ingredion prepares to market Better Juice sugar reduction tech
From Q2 2024, Ingredion will begin marketing Better Juice’s sugar reduction technology to its customer base. It’s a ‘win-win situation’ that leverages each company’s strengths, Better juice co-founder and co-CEO Gali Yarom tells FoodNavigator.
How will food additives’ reputation fare in 2024?
Off the back of shifting political landscapes, evolving biotech-led categories and regulatory changes in 2023, we look at how these influence food additives in 2024 and what further changes we can expect to see.
Preserving meat with natural alternatives? It's possible, confirms research
As a new Chinese study supports the role of natural alternatives in meat preservation, does this have the potential to expand Europe’s approved preservatives list?
Processed plant-based meat: Clearer communication on the horizon, predict experts
European producers in 2024 will focus on informing consumers about processed and ultra-processed foods and drinks, potentially lowering content in formulations to encourage plant-based meat or dairy alternatives uptake.