According to Mintel’s 2023 US Energy Drinks report, total energy drink and energy shot sales increased by 14% from 2021 to 2022.

With the recent surge in attention to immunity, American consumers are now thinking of preventive health less in terms of reaching for “immune boosting” supplements and more about “immune resilience.” Incorporating botanicals into food products can aid significantly in maintaining the many and complex facets of immunity.

Watch or listen to a Prepared Foods interview with ethnobotanist and contributing editor Kerry Hughes discussing the trending foods, beverages, and ingredients using botanicals featured at 2024 Natural Products Expo West.

TAHA will now provide consumers with nutritional supplements that are certified Net Carbon Zero and made with clinically researched functional ingredients.

Upshoot's Phytopúr products are made of wholesome fruits and vegetables from trusted farms, and are supported by sound science, patented technology, and rigorous quality standards.

Florida Food Products’ expanded health and wellness portfolio includes its natural L-theanine. Derived from the leaves of green tea, L-theanine is an amino acid associated with multiple health benefits, from improved focus and sleep1 to decreased blood pressure and promoted relaxation. FFP’s natural L-theanine is an ideal ingredient solution for a wide range of health and wellness applications including beverages, foods, supplements, nutraceuticals, and more.

Sourced from AKFP’s Asian production partner, native waxy tapioca starch is a gluten-free, clean-label, non-GMO ingredient high in amylopectin, that possesses a unique combination of functionalities which make it an effective stabilizer, thickener, and emulsifier.

Moonstone Nutrition, a Pittsburgh-based startup that has developed products to prevent kidney stone formation and promote overall kidney health, announced receipt of an investment from the Accelerator Fund II, LLC., an organization sponsored and managed by the Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse that makes early stage investments in life sciences companies located in western Pennsylvania and outside the region.  

Florida Food Products (FFP), a leading innovator, formulator and producer of vegetable and fruit-based clean label ingredient solutions, is launching a plant-based antioxidant, VegStable® Fresh during the International Production & Processing Expo (IPPE) in Atlanta, January 25-27, 2022. 

Visitors to booth #BC9419 can sample several prototypes, including a delicious hot dog bite that features FFP’s performance and protection ingredient solutions, showcasing how easily they can achieve a fully clean label with maximum protection, and better texture and flavor.

IFT23 attendees are invited to visit booth #S0400 and “Taste the trend”™ with a sampling menu that includes various clean label concepts created for the show. FFP is committed to providing innovative clean label solutions and offers a portfolio of solutions that naturally provide exceptional food protection, flavor, color, and texture for a variety of applications.

"We hear from parents they want more plant-based protein options that align with their food and climate values," said Gerber President and CEO Tarun Malkani. "Gerber Plant-tastic offers stage-based nutrition across milestones starting with organic toddler pouches, snacks and meals."

American Key Food Products (AKFP) is expanding its gluten-free cassava flour line. Cassava is a root vegetable that is naturally gluten-free and native to tropical climates in South America and Asia. It is milled into bakery-quality flour by AKFP’s partner companies through sophisticated processes. 

With all-natural ingredients like rooibos, hibiscus, monk fruit, and lemon, Rebellious Infusions' Caffeine-Free products are free of sugar, calories, artificial colorings, flavors, sweeteners, and fillers.

Pharmactive Biotech Products, S.L.U., launches Liboost®, a novel botanical extract of Damiana (Turnera diffusa), as the first formulation to help enhance sexual function in both men and women. Its sexual performance boosting capabilities have been confirmed in a consumer study conducted by the company yielding impressive results. 

The innovations for retail and foodservice customers include Carrot Shakers, Side Dish Sizzlers, and Soup n' Stewin' Carrots. Beyond offering healthy school lunch options, Bolthouse Fresh products create new possibilities for holiday season entertaining.

Florida Food Products (FFP), a leader in clean label food and beverage ingredient solutions, is exhibiting at SupplySide West 2023 (SSW23) in Las Vegas, October 25–26, 2023. FFP is helping inspire SSW attendees to create the next generation of health and wellness products with a menu of great-tasting concepts. 

If 2020 was the year of supply chain uncertainty due to COVID-19, 2021 may well be the year that transparency in food labeling takes center stage, particularly for gluten-free products.

Although there may be a pandemic-related slowdown, there’s no stopping new product development. To help readers with new product development strategy, Prepared Foods asked Dave Lundahl, founder of InsightsNow, to create a thought leadership series connecting R&D with consumer insights. 

This fall saw Chocolove, Boulder, Colo., return with seasonal favorites, Tree-Shaped Bites, as well as holiday collection bars. Chocolove holiday collection bars include Candy Cane Crunch in Dark Chocolate, Frosted Gingerbread in Milk Chocolate, and a Fruit-Nut Medley in Dark Chocolate. 

Laird Superfood products contain only clean ingredients with no artificial (or “natural”) flavors, colors, syrups, refined sugars, or additives.

Choose from two tile, two tread and two wall base selections—each available in eight coordinated colorways.

Sherwin-Williams High Performance Flooring introduced SofTop Comfort flooring systems, an addition to its seamless resinous flooring collection.

PPG has signed a strategic agreement with flooring leader Shaw Industries Group, Inc. to offer the PPG Flooring line of resinous flooring products. The products will be available to Shaw’s customers in the commercial property market via its Patcraft brand. 

This month’s dry processing product focus covers bulk bag handling equipment.

AHF said it continues to produce ways to grow the Do It Best partnership and drive sales, such as putting together pallet buy specials, creating a national drop-ship program and looking to get products into their distribution centers.

AHF Products President and CEO Brian Carson, Crossville President Greg Mather, and Lindsey Waldrep, VP of marketing for the Crossville brand, recently spoke with FLOOR Trends & Installation about how the acquisition came about—and what it means for flooring retailers.  

Ned Monroe, president and CEO of the Vinyl Institute, offers insight into the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announcement that vinyl chloride will be one of the next five chemicals selected for prioritization under the Toxic Substances Control Act.

At NeoCon 2024, Floor Trends & Installation met up with AHF Products Chief Commercial Officer Jennifer Zimmerman and Vice President of Commercial Fred Reitz to learn more about the company’s commercial channel strategy, incorporating AHF Contract, Armstrong Flooring, Crossville Tile and Parterre brands.

The alert gives the FDA the ability to help prevent entry of human food products into the U.S. if they are found to be contaminated with a broad range of human-made chemicals.

The sampling was conducted to better understand the extent to which these products potentially contain unintended milk at levels that may be hazardous to people with milk allergy.

Torlys Grand View Smart Laminate collection offers extra-wide and extra-long planks, with Surface Flood Protection thanks to Aqua Protect and pressed bevel edges.

AHF Products, a manufacturer of hard surface flooring in the U.S., announced the launch of new product lines by Bruce, Armstrong Flooring, Hartco and Crossville, the company's brands.

Distribution remains a vital part of the floor covering trade, but distributors are facing increased competition from e-commerce sites and retailers who go direct to manufacturers to buy their flooring products.

Nineteen flooring manufacturers, including AHF Products, showcased a curated selection of products and met with architects and designers from the greater New York City area. 

Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. has completed a strategic investment with Crepini LLC, establishing a new egg products and prepared foods joint venture.

HMC fabricates and installs new HMC HFFS machines and rebuilt HMC/Bartelt HFFS machines for flexible packaging solutions across numerous industries.

We invite manufacturers and distributors from residential and commercial market segments to submit their latest flooring and installation product launches for our second-annual readers' choice contest. 

The new retail program will include sales tools to incentivize and educate the salesperson – including a few “wow” surprises from "Fixer to Fabulous” stars Dave and Jenny Marrs.

The company will close its Warren, Arkansas, solid hardwood flooring manufacturing facility. Production will be moved to the AHF Beverly, West Virginia, facility, the largest solid hardwood flooring plant in North America, and the AHF West Plains, Missouri. 

Flooring manufacturer Swiss Krono Group announced the adoption of the Unidrop locking system for its laminate and hybrid resilient flooring products in multiple manufacturing facilities around the globe.

After the recent addition of LL Flooring to the F9 Brands retail portfolio, F9 Brands CEO Jason Delves said the company is exploring other potential strategic options that will better align with Southwind’s long-term growth opportunities.

Shower installation and accessories technology for 2023 combines design elements, ease of installation and innovation in this roundup.

The Versaflex collection features seven different flexible molding and trim options, in addition to flooring and stair solutions.

In 2022, Mohawk's Performance Accessories further expands its portfolio by launching a stair tread program to help retailers reach previously untapped markets and emphasizing its waterproof accessories.

The proposal would also require poultry establishments to develop a microbial monitoring program to prevent pathogen contamination throughout the slaughter system.

COMPASS is designed to identify and remove foreign material and product defects to protect food safety and final product quality.

Unlike wet ingredients, the handling of dry powder ingredients and products usually requires specifically designed process areas to prevent dangerous situations that could result in worker injuries or death.

Idaho Milk Products will break ground on the 183,000-sq.-ft. plant on Oct. 11. The facility will be substantially complete by early 2026 with full commercial production by May 2026.