HIPPEAS® Chickpea Puffs are made from chickpeas. With 4g of protein and 3g of fiber per 1oz serving, the new fiesta-flavored Chickpea Puffs pack a punch of plant power with flavor.

Lay's Wavy Tzatziki, Lay's Masala and Lay's Honey Butter flavors, inspired by Greece, India and Korea, are hitting store shelves in the US for a limited time, helping fans experience the tastes of these countries. 

Buffalo Ranch Canyon Cut Kettle Style Potato Chips are crafted with premium potatoes, cooked in avocado oil, and infused with spicy buffalo and tangy ranch flavor.

"We're so excited to bring a flavor that is loved by so many to our Blue Diamond snack portfolio," said Maya Erwin, vice president, Marketing & Innovation, Blue Diamond Growers. "We’re always looking for new ways to incorporate trending flavors into our products, and with Ranch, we hope our customers feel inspired to take their taste buds to a new level of deliciousness.”

Zapp's, a brand of chips and pretzels inspired by the sights and sounds of New Orleans, added two bold flavors to its bestselling Kettle Potato Chip and Sinfully-Seasoned Pretzel Stix.

Prepared Foods surveys natural sweetener ingredients for use in food and beverage product development.

Consumer preference is shifting toward plant-based meat substitutes perceived to be healthier for people and the planet. Meat analogs present an opportunity for food manufacturers, but they can be challenging to produce in order to deliver pleasing taste and texture.

Motif FoodWorks, the ingredient innovation company on a mission to make plant-based food taste better and more nutritious, announced the grand opening of its new lab and office space in the Boston Seaport neighborhood, a growing hub for science and technology innovation.

Aleph Farms Ltd. and its research partner at the Faculty of Biomedical Engineering at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, cultivated a slaughter-free ribeye steak, using three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting technology and natural building blocks of meat – real cow cells, without genetic engineering and immortalization.

The Institute for the Advancement of Food and Nutrition Sciences (IAFNS), is a new 501(c)(3) organization focused on catalyzing science for the benefit of public health.

Although there may be a pandemic-related slowdown, there’s no stopping new product development. To better help readers with corporate innovation strategy, Prepared Foods turned to leaders at the Eureka! Ranch and the Innovation Engineering Institute, Cincinnati. Founded in 1986, Eureka! Ranch has become a global think tank and innovation training company. 

Silicon Valley-based cellular agriculture company Mission Barns announced a $24M Series A to scale up its cultivated fat technology and build a pilot manufacturing plant in the Bay Area.

Although there may be a pandemic-related slowdown, there’s no stopping new product development. To better help readers with corporate innovation strategy, Prepared Foods turned to leaders at the Eureka! Ranch and the Innovation Engineering Institute, Cincinnati. Founded in 1986, Eureka! Ranch has become a global think tank and innovation training company. 

Ajinomoto Health & Nutrition North America, Inc., announced the opening of its new North American corporate headquarters at 250 East Devon Avenue in Itasca, Ill. The new space is designed to accelerate Ajinomoto Health & Nutrition's commitment to delivering high-quality ingredient solutions that drive value for customers.

Danone North America honored a commitment to science and education through the ninth annual Gut Microbiome, Yogurt and Probiotics Fellowship Grant Program. This year's honorees, selected by a committee of nutrition scientists, are Catherine Shelton of Vanderbilt University and Alice Solomon of the University of Arizona. Winners were chosen based on the quality of their proposals, faculty recommendations and each of their studies' value to human health and wellness.

CP Kelco, a leader of nature-based ingredient solutions, launched a new global innovation center, adding to the company’s growing network of innovation and technical support facilities around the world. The Atlanta-based innovation center is designed as an open, collaborative space for scientists and customers alike to engage in ingredient research, problem-solving, development and pilot plant scale-up of food, beverage, home care, personal care and other consumer and industrial products.

“Last September, an operator approached us to help alleviate some labor challenges they were experiencing,” notes Elise Carlson, CFS, King & Prince senior research and development manager. “They were taking frozen, cellophane-wrapped cod, thawing it and then cutting it into pieces. Kitchen staff then cut the cod by hand so not all pieces were exactly the same, which is a desirable attribute."

In conjunction with its February profile of new sports foods and drinks, Prepared Foods interviewed Scott Peters, director of product development at 3i Solutions, Wooster, Ohio. 

Mars Wrigley broke ground on a new, best-in-class, global research and development hub adjacent to the company's existing Global Innovation Center on Goose Island. Leaders from Mars as well as key Chicago stakeholders, including Michael Fassnacht, CEO, World Business Chicago, and Alderman Walter Burnett Jr., gathered together to commemorate the milestone for the company.

Titled "PAT to Optimize the Cost, Consistency, and Yield of Cultivated Meat Production," the paper explores groundbreaking solutions to enhance the efficiency and sustainability of cultivated meat production processes through applied advanced sensor technology.

Stellex’s partnership with J. Skinner will support investment into production capacity expansion, increased automation, and new product development. 

The Apple Cinnamon Donut Sticks feature a soft yet substantial texture, topped with an apple cinnamon-flavored glaze, creating a satisfying balance of texture and flavor.

Attendees are invited to visit booth #S412 where Kemin is introducing the Virtual Shelf—a new interactive tool, and team experts will discuss the company’s ever-expanding suite of ingredient solutions that can help manufacturers keep foods fresher, safer, for longer.

With zero sugar and zero BS, Main Character 5-hour ENERGY® gives you zero reasons not to bring it to every room, every Friday, and every moment of the summer.

Fruit Punch and Pineapple Coconut are joining the party alongside the classics, Citrus and Island. All four offerings of TAMPICO Hard Punch feature a smoother, more flavorful experience thanks to a new, lower 5% ABV, and for the first time are now available in a six-pack format.

The new varieties will join the original Red Bull Sugarfree and Red Bull Zero in this expansion of zero sugar options.

Formulated with healthy ingredients, including 180mg of natural caffeine from coffee bean extract, prebiotic fiber and functional ingredients, like lychee extract, apple cider vinegar, l-theanine and B vitamins, each can of Bloom Sparkling Energy delivers on taste  and clean energy, with just 10 calories and zero grams of sugar.

With a blend of organic lemons, Brazilian wildflower honey, infused with real Peruvian ginger, Uncle Matt's Organic has produced a blend of better for you organic ingredients without the guilt of calories and sugar.

his collaboration will drive advancements in bioreactor technology, perfusion systems, and media rejuvenation while reducing environmental impact through optimized water usage, power consumption, and circular economy initiatives like waste stream utilization.

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.

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.

Consumers are drawn to the complementary flavors and heat levels offered by different peppers and regional tastes. Understanding these synergies can help manufacturers discover new product innovation opportunities.

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.

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.

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. 

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.

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%.

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.

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.

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. 

Each year, the fall season ushers in hundreds of new and limited-time offer introductions to retail and foodservice channels. It would be a fool's errand to list all of the products featuring fall flavors in 2024, but Prepared Foods has compiled a list of some of the most compelling examples.

“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. 

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.

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. 

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.

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.

“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.”

“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.”

Students Anandu Chandra Khanashyam, Abrielle Schnurr, Nghi Huynh and Suchismita Roy are studying food science and earned the first-place prize of $10,000.