As consumers become increasingly concerned about food safety, environmental sustainability, and animal welfare, organic products have seen a steady rise in demand. Organic September helps bridge the gap between consumers and the farming community by offering insights into the farming practices behind organic certification and providing access to organic products.

The new creamy condiment features Tajín Clásico seasoning, a blend of chili peppers, lime, and sea salt – offering mild heat and a hint of zesty lime.

The Sun-Maid Board of Imagination embarked on a top-secret mission to create a new product to captivate taste buds and spark imaginations. These young innovators considered everything from color and texture to taste, using their knowledge of flavor profiles to choose their favorite combination.

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.

With 7g of complete protein per serving, Fit Butters x PEBBLES™ is made with premium whey protein and coconut oil to provide healthy fats and a decadent, low-sugar nut butter. 

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. 

Tantos is breaking pasta out of the confines of a dish and putting it at the intersection of where pasta meets snacking. What makes Tantos interesting is that it's like eating pasta but with a form & texture like a puffed snack.

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.

The new hires reflect PIM Brands' continued commitment to driving overall global growth, supporting its public policy advocacy, and expanding reach across North America and abroad.

"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.

Churro Chocolate Caliente Palomitaz Popcorn swirls together the Mexican flavor pairing of hot chocolate and churros into one recipe.

The new Smoothie Pops line includes three varieties: Organic Acai & Blueberry, Organic Dragon Fruit & Mango, and Organic Passion Fruit & Peach. The new Organic Smoothie Pops are both health-forward and tasty.

Sovos Brands announced that Wendy Behr has joined the company as chief research & development (R&D) officer. Behr brings 30 years of experience in lead research and development roles at organizations including Keurig Dr Pepper, WhiteWave and Diageo.

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.

Eat Just, Inc., a company that applies cutting-edge science and technology to create healthier, more sustainable foods, in partnership with 1880, an establishment founded to inspire conversations that change the world, made history when their cultured meat was served and sold to guests for the first time at a series of dinners.

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.

By expanding its capabilities to address the growing consumer interest in functional beverages, the company is poised to offer partners and customers the opportunity to meet consumer needs and expectations while embracing current food and beverage trends and advancements in the market.

Tate & Lyle, a global provider of food and beverage solutions and ingredients, introduced the “Collaborate at Home Kitchen”, a digital engagement hub where food and beverage manufacturers can explore trends, science and solutions that power modern consumer choices. The hub also provides users with access to Tate & Lyle’s experts, as well as additional resources to help them find solutions to their formulation challenges.

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. 

ADM opened a new cutting-edge, plant-based innovation lab, located in ADM’s Biopolis research hub in Singapore. The lab will develop next-level, on-trend and nutritious products to meet growing food and beverage demand in the Asia-Pacific region.  

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.

COVID-19 has certainly brought an ever changing "new normal" to the food industry but one thing that will be a sure constant in 2022 is that food safety and quality testing will continue to be important for the integrity of the global food chain.

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.

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

Five new types of Tradición tortillas include Fajita, Soft Yellow Corn Tortillas, Soft White Corn Tortillas, Burrito Flour Tortillas and Soft Taco Flour Tortillas

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.

Founded in 1917, Legacy Bakehouse is a 100+-year-old, Wisconsin-based company in developing and manufacturing a range of baked snack components, including rye chips, garlic chips, bread sticks, pita chips, and more. 

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.

The new facility is located adjacent to The Mart Group’s headquarters, bringing the company’s total employment in Rupert to more than 230 people. The new Mart Frozen Foods facility will directly create 80 full-time jobs, and have an estimated annual economic impact of $11.15 million.  

Chunk Foods creates plant-based whole cuts that rival traditional meats in taste and texture, offering consumers a versatile option for at-home preparation.

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.

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. 

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.

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.

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.

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. 

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.

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.

“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. 

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.

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.  

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. 

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. 

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. 

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.