Foodnavigator-usa Podcast

Despite skyrocketing inflation that reached a 40-plus year high of 8.5% for all goods year-over-year in March, and ongoing supply chain challenges that are driving up production costs and out-of-stocks, US consumers continue to spend what it takes to fill their grocery carts and keep their pantries stocked.

When it comes to eating seaweed, most Americans likely think about snacking on toasted sheets of nori, the wrapper around their sushi, or maybe a bright and briny salad at a restaurant, but a handful of startups cultivating fresh seaweed and kelp at scale in the US want consumers to know it can be so much more.

Ongoing strain from the pandemic and increasing financial pressure related to rising inflation are causing consumers to reprioritize their health and wellness goals, and by extension their food and beverage purchases, according to new research from the Brightfield Group.

While plant-based beef patties and grounds, pork sausages and chicken nuggets abound, seafood alternatives are still relatively scare – representing a significant, and fast-growing, opportunity that innovators and investors alike are moving quickly to seize.

After two years of lockdowns and uncertainty during the pandemic, consumers simultaneously are desperate to let loose and enjoy life and to reinstate a sense of self-control – creating a complicated marketing landscape that intelligence experts at Mintel note is equally fraught and filled with opportunity.

Despite laudable progress in recent years to create a more circular economy for plastics, the food industry still has a long way to go to meet ambitious and fast-approach goals to reduce the use of total and virgin plastic and incorporate more post-consumer recycled content in packaging.

Spring is around the corner which means diet food and fitness marketers will soon begin pressuring women to swap favorite foods with low-calorie, low-carb and low-sugar alternatives to help “get their beach bodies back,” and encouraging men hit the gym with a protein shake to help melt away their winter weight.

Nearly nine in ten consumers snack daily, but according to new research from Mondelēz International, what they reach for and when has evolved significantly during the pandemic – requiring brands to rethink their product offerings, marketing strategies and channel distribution.

Originally designed to help babies grow, but not much else, traditional infant formula often falls far short of delivering the same benefits as breast milk, which also boosts immunity, contributes to cognitive development, is more easily digested, and supports the microbiome.

While some of the initial challenges that food and beverage startups experienced when the pandemic began have subsided, like restrictions on sampling and freezes on category resets, others remain and new ones have emerged – complicating the path to market and raising the bar so that success is more difficult to attain.

As waves of COVID-19 and its variants ebb and flow they are creating an unpredictable tug-of-war between restaurants and grocery retailers that one industry insider predicts will continue to complicate inventory management long after the current supply chain challenges subside.

When it comes to building a new category, the founder of the better-for-you, late-night snacking company NightFood found after years of struggling to explain his value proposition to consumers that a new playbook was in order – one that focuses more on high-quality shopper engagement through channels with a more curated approach and less on high-traffic channels crowded with competitors.

Innovation within the nascent upcycled food and beverage industry is exploding as manufacturers and ingredient suppliers large and small are drawn to the promise of potentially higher profits, a viable path to ambitious sustainability goals and a consumer-friendly story about waste reduction in an era when food insecurity is soaring.

With each New Year comes new resolutions to be healthier and more mindful, which for a growing portion of the population includes cutting back or giving up alcohol – maybe just for one month during so-called Dry January, but increasingly for longer stretches or at different points throughout the year – creating a new marketing opportunity for savvy beverage manufacturers.

When most people hear ‘regenerative agriculture’ they either have no idea what it means or they think about it as a strategy to rebuild soil health or reverse the negative environmental impact of farming – but according to the international sustainability non-profit Forum for the Future, the benefits – and business opportunities – go far beyond the land.

More than 2 billion cups of coffee are consumed a day, fueling a retail market worth more $450 billion that supports 125 million people, including more than 12 million small holder farmers, most of whom are completely blind to the quality of their crops – a limitation that threatens their livelihoods and the future of the industry and which food-tech startup Demetria is changing.

For most Americans, coffee is an integral part of their daily ritual that is so ingrained that not even the chaos of the pandemic could break them of their habit, but according to the National Coffee Association, it did change how and where many reached for the beverage.

Despite the surge in hunger, sluggish supply chains and transportation woes that have drastically delayed food production, delivery and availability since the coronavirus outbreak more than 20 months ago, cross-disciplinary experts at the global design firm IDEO say the food system is not broken.

During the pandemic, ‘mindfulness’ became a lifeline for many Americans whose anxiety spiked as they balanced old and new obligations without the in-person support so many previously relied on to get through the day – for some this came in the form of meditation or journaling, and for many it spilled over into their diet.

Given the food system currently contributes a third of greenhouse gas emissions and is a driving cause of soil and species loss, adopting ‘sustainable’ practices is no longer enough to save the planet’s health or ensure sufficient nutritious food for future generations, which is why soup mix, spice-blend and meal kit maker Knorr is launching 50 regenerative agriculture projects around the world in the next five years.