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Westfalia Fruit Appoints New Top Leadership

Bush, a graduate of Manchester Business School and INSEAD, is an experienced international CEO with nearly 40 years of experience, working across grocery retail. 




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Keurig Dr Pepper to Acquire GHOST Energy Drink Business

GHOST's net sales have more than quadrupled over the past three years, and GHOST Energy is one of the fastest-growing brands in the energy category, characterized by its unique identity, distinctive flavors and packaging, and strong consumer appeal.  




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Festive Chickpeas Expand, Join Redstone Foods

The family-founded, chickpea hearts have a crunch with savory, zesty flavor profiles. Now that they’re available through Redstone Foods Inc., more people in the US can access the product.




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Alianza Team Breaks Ground on First US Facility

The blending and finishing facility is strategically positioned with nearby access to railroads and interstates for efficient truck and rail delivery across the United States. Construction is set to begin immediately.




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Study Finds Eating Pecans May Blunt Negative Effects of Meals High in 'Bad' Fats

The study, conducted at the University of Georgia, compared the cumulative impact of daily pecan eating versus not eating pecans on changes in fasting cholesterol levels and responses to a meal higher in saturated fat (meeting 35% of total daily calories). Findings show notable reductions in cholesterol levels with pecan consumption, as well as lower post-meal triglycerides. 




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How to Reduce Heavy Metals in Food Supply

The white paper also calls attention to mitigation strategies and highlights research, collaboration, and public health communication needs to better address the issue while also offering insight into how a global, interdisciplinary approach can expedite solutions.




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Sabic, Lamb Weston And Opackgroup Team Up to Create Sustainable Packaging

The final packaging contains at least 60% UCO-based bio-renewable polymer material, which is part of SABIC’s TRUCIRCLE™ portfolio. Oerlemans Plastics member of OPACKGROUP, a specialized manufacturer of flexible films and packaging, converts these polymers to a multilayer PE film for Lamb Weston’s pre-fried frozen potato products.




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NotCo Unveils AI-Powered Fragrance Formulator

This tool is expected to transform the process of fragrance creation across various industries by leveraging Giuseppe, NotCo’s advanced generative AI platform, alongside Cramer’s extensive database of tens of thousands of fragrance formulations, enabling the rapid development of premium fragrances in seconds.




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The Food Industry Increases Strategic Investments While Tackling Financial Challenges

The 75th annual report surveyed food retailers’ and suppliers’ 2023 developments and expectations for the year ahead, finding that while the industry made key strides in addressing longstanding labor and transportation capacity issues, inflation and other financial hurdles caused industry profit margins to fall to pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels.




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2024 'Consumer Curiosity Report' Explores Early Food Adopters’ Top Food Curiosities

For the second year, respondents ranked “Easy (Under 30 Minutes) Meals” as their top curiosity for the year ahead, once again underscoring that even the most food-forward consumers are craving approachable, simple meal inspiration.




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Mattson Announces Chief AI Officer

Mattson has been providing innovation services for over four decades. All engagements leverage the real intelligence of this highly experienced team. The team’s real intelligence, RI, is now amplified with AI. It’s the power of RI+AITM. 




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Powering Beverage Product Formulations with Protein

Physically active consumers want convenient, protein-packed options to fit into their on-the-go routine. “Plant-powered” ready-to-drink (RTD) and ready-to-mix (RTM) protein beverages are emerging as a perfect solution to fill this niche nutrition category and grow into the mainstream market.




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Suggested Sodium Guidelines Confuse Consumers

The ambiguity continues as half of Americans also do not know how much sodium they consume each day. When asked about their personal daily sodium consumption, 48% of Americans say they simply “don’t know,” while estimates vary widely for the other 52%.




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Gen Z Trendspotters Identify Top Food & Beverage Product Trends

“We were so honored to be invited to the Fancy Food Show this year. It is a great way for our students to see how broad the food industry is and understand the impact of the work we do at the lab,” said Drexel Food Lab Associate Director Chef Rachel Sherman. “I find it encouraging to see what products and trends jump out to them."




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July 2024 US eGrocery Sales Climb Nine Percent

Walmart promoted a 50% discount on its Walmart+ membership in mid-July that lowered the annual fee from $98 to $49 after offering the same deal in May. Meanwhile, Instacart promoted an 80% discount on its annual membership. Both offers are contributing to growth in Delivery users and order frequency.




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Circana Research Highlights Global Opportunities to Support Consumer Pursuit of Well-Being

The report, “Tapping Into the Global Consumer Well-Being Opportunity,” reveals the complexity of personal well-being, with consumers turning to solutions as varied as physical activity, social media, food, pet ownership, beauty, and books, among many other products and services, to harmonize their physical, mental, and social well-being.




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Food & Beverage Innovation: Leverage Trends, Lead by Example

Joan Driggs, Circana’s vice president for content and thought leadership, sits down with Prepared Foods to break down trends fueling success for Circana’s top New Product Pacesetters at both the retail and convenience store channels.




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How Shoppers Control Grocery Spending

Consumers continue to say their primary store for purchasing food does an excellent job of meeting their needs, with 79% of shoppers reporting that getting a “good value” when grocery shopping is their top priority. 




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The Future of Private Label Looks Bright

The Kearney Private Label Report shows an industry with the wind at its back, with positive demographic trends, category proliferation that fills in gaps in national brands’ portfolios, the quality-to-value equation being increasingly recognized by shoppers, and a strong potential boost to retailer economics. 




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Pickle Flavor Takes Center Stage in 2024

There is some indication that “pickle flavor” is experiencing its highest search interest in years. Perhaps that has led to such an explosion of pickle-flavor products on the market in summer 2024.




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Revealing the Future of Dinner

Gen Z consumers are just starting to learn their way around a kitchen and will want to advance their cooking skills but also balance quick dinner meals. 




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Top Food & Beverage Flavors for 2025

We’ve pinpointed four flavors for 2025, each representing opportunity for differentiation while aligning with larger, sustaining trends. As we see them take shape on restaurant menus, each also promises opportunity in the retail space, offering a parallel path for consumer exploration and adoption. 




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R&D Strategy: Seeing the Complete Picture

Whether you are a retail store, manufacturer, ingredient supplier, or a foodservice operator looking to capitalize on the next food or beverage trend, having relevant data allows you to make better decisions that affect your bottom line.




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Navigating the Rising Cost of Food: Trends in 2024’s At-Home Meals and Frozen Foods

As inflation slowly moderates, US consumers continue to feel the pinch of higher food costs. Value retailers are seeing more foot traffic as shoppers shift to store brands and cut back on non-food expenses. According to Circana, formerly IRI and The NPD Group, consumers are looking for ways to make their budgets stretch, from canceling subscriptions to favoring at-home meals over dining out.





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One-Third of US Consumers Prioritize Wellness in Food and Beverage Choices

“Consumers are looking for wellness across every aspect of their lives, and food and beverages are playing a critical role in this transformation,” said Sally Lyons Wyatt, global executive vice president and chief advisor at Circana. 




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Global Food and Drink Trends for 2025

There will be an increase in diversified ingredient sourcing, while the humanization of technology will be essential for consumers who are apprehensive about technology being used to create, modify and produce the food they put into their bodies.




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Forecasting Top 10 Food & Beverage Trends for 2025

The Whole Foods Market Trends Council – a collective of more than 50 Whole Foods Market team members ranging from foragers and buyers to culinary experts – develop these trend predictions each year through a combination of deep industry experience, keen observation of consumer preferences, and collaborative sessions with emerging and established brands.




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How to Develop Kids Foods and Beverages That are Both Appealing and Healthy

Parents care about health and wellness for their children, and their purchasing patterns drive innovation toward healthier children’s food and beverage products. We see growth in numerous categories in children’s products that are positioned as healthy and better-for-you, including dairy alternatives as well as new items in the sweet and savory bakery, and confectionery categories.  




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Bob's Red Mill Signature Blends Pancake & Waffle Mixes

Made with Bob’s Red Mill’s signature blends of premium flours and quality pantry staples, each mix delivers light and fluffy pancakes in minutes. And, with home cooks preferring recipes with a short list of ingredients, they’ll become an essential shortcut for easy, convenient breakfasts with scratch-quality homemade taste. 




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QualiTech Acquires Ellison Bakery

Ellison Bakery is a manufacturer of cookies, snack bars, crunches, toppings, and inclusion ingredients for retail, food service and private label end markets. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.




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Saco Foods Acquires Ancient Harvest and Pamela's

Founded in 1983, Ancient Harvest pioneered the sale of quinoa in the US and continues to be a leading brand of value-added, plant-based products including gluten-free pasta, polenta and a brand of quinoa. 




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Formulating With Chocolate

The role of chocolate is growing and expanding from the classic sweet confections to combinations of sweet and spicy as well as in savory products.




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Hershey Names New US Growth Leadership

With a career spanning 23 years at PepsiCo, Del Pozzo brings a wealth of experience in leading growth and transformation for some of the world's most recognizable consumer brands such as Gatorade®, Propel®, Muscle Milk® and Evolve®. 




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Upcycled Foods, Atoria’s Family Bakery Upcycled Naan

The innovative and award-winning mini flatbreads are baked with upcycled flour, made from barley, wheat and rye rescued at the end of the beer making process. 




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Drake's Mini Cake Bites

Drake's Mini Cake Bites are bite-sized cakes in flavors inspired by classic Drake's varieties: Pound Cake, Coffee Cake and Devils Food with chocolate chips.




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Tic Tac Chewy!

Made with layers and layers of intense fruit flavors, Tic Tac Chewy! starts with a crunchy exterior and transforms with a chewy inside.




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Flavor and Food Show and Tell: Seeking Sweets & Snacks Trends

This summer’s Sweets & Snack Expo in Indianapolis drew more than 16,000 attendees and 1,000 exhibitors, from 25 countries. The trends I noticed involve lots of activity around texture—including freeze-dried candies and crunchy and chewy protein snacks. There also are intriguing new flavors in snacks and chips. 




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YumEarth Spooktacular Halloween Sour Littles

Like all YumEarth treats, the sour bites are free from of the top 9 allergens (peanuts, tree nuts, milk, eggs, fish, gluten, shellfish, soy, and sesame), contain no artificial dyes, are non- GMO, and made with organic and simple ingredients.




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Little Bites Snacks Biggie Muffins

Little Bites® Biggie Muffins come in two new pack sizes: eight muffins that are individually wrapped in four twin packs or a single-serve 4-pack designed for convenience.




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Krusteaz Line of Refrigerated Pour & Bake Batters

Whether only needing a few cupcakes for a friend or a full pan of brownies for a group, Krusteaz Batters meet any occasion and stay fresh for up to seven days in the refrigerator after opening, ready for whenever the baking mood strikes.




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Ferrero Opens New Kinder Bueno Production Facility

The 169,000sq-ft facility is an expansion of Ferrero's existing manufacturing campus in Bloomington. CRUNCH, 100 Grand, Raisinets, and other chocolate products are made at the campus, and it is also now home to the company's first-ever chocolate factory outside of Europe. 




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Ice Breakers Flavor Shifters

Wild Berry to Coolmint brings together the best of both fruity and minty flavors, while Wintergreen to Coolmint offers a double hit of two popular mint flavors for the ultimate refreshing taste.




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Collaboration Takes Center Stage at Climate Week NYC

A pilot program brings together financial support from Kellanova, Ahold Delhaize USA, and Bartlett to aid wheat farmers in North Carolina who are adopting regenerative agricultural methods. The wheat from these farms will be combined with conventionally grown wheat to produce Cheez-It® crackers.




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Last Crumb Ube Cookie Flavor

Last Crumb’s head baker and co-founder acquired fresh ube (a sweet potato variety characterized by its bright purple color) directly from the Philippines (the country his family hails from) to produce the items. The newest cookie harnesses the sweet, nutty richness of ube, with no food dyes.




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M&M'S Peanut Butter & Jelly

The first new flavor innovation since 2022, the addition features berry flavored bite-sized chocolate treats with a smooth peanut butter center that will transport fans to the comforting experience of a PB&J sandwich.




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Mars Introduces 2025 Innovations

Mars knows that c-store shoppers and those on the go are adventurous with their purchases, making variety key to winning in the c-store space. The latest Mars Wrigley innovations and offerings aim to fuel category growth and provide new options to consumers.




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Innovation and Ingredient Formulation for Gut Health Continue to Surge

“If your company manufactures yogurt or other cultured dairy products—such as frozen yogurt and kefir—and you are interested in using the LAC Seal on your products, IDFA is now making it easier than ever to obtain the seal for use on product packaging and labels, demonstrating to consumers and other customers that your products contain valuable live and active yogurt cultures,” said John Allan, IDFA vice president of regulatory affairs and administrator of the IDFA’s LAC Seal program. “The LAC Seal is the best way to reach consumers with this unique health and wellness attribute.”




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Heritage Kulfi

Made by slow-cooking fresh milk with traditional ingredients such as saffron, rosewater and pistachio, kulfi is dense, creamy, slow-melting, and tastes like home to South Asians around the world.




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Dairy Processors Develop Range of New Product Innovations

“Truffle is a beloved flavor that provides decadent luxury; combining with our rich and bold White Cheddar delivers the best of both worlds,” said Amanda Vaal, brand director at Cracker Barrel Cheese. “Dill also continues to be high in demand, delivering a sharp and savory twist to a snacking classic.”




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Butter Buds Expands Sales Team

Apuzzo has 30 years of experience in food sales and operations management, focusing his career on working in industrial and functional ingredients in the food, beverage and pet food industries.