Food Industry News, Insights, and Education for the CPG Community

First it was snacking as a love language. Now, snack category savant Shauna Golden is diving back in to examine the relationship between the category and an omnichannel strategy.

An array of elevated pantry staples, salad dressings and sauces launched at Natural Products Expo West, offering convenience with a premium twist. Several options featured “no seed oil” callouts, underscoring a growing consumer preference for avocado oil and extra virgin olive oil.

Lisa Curtis launched Kuli Kuli a little over a decade ago to introduce the green superfood moringa into more American diets. Her mission continues with a refreshed brand identity rolling out across 11,000 stores nationwide amid a period of “unprecedented” growth for the supplement brand.

Ultraprocessed foods (UPF) – the not yet defined, but increasingly controversial group of products that account for roughly 70% of the U.S. food supply – are under researchers’ microscopes, caught up in industry review and on the regulatory chopping block all at once.

At Natural Products Expo West this year, Archer (formerly Country Archer Provisions) CEO Eugene Kang spoke about the brand’s journey of reworking its look.

How do the taste and texture of plant-based meat stack up against animal protein counterparts? Food System Innovations’ nonprofit initiative NECTAR wants to quantify how meat alternatives can compete better on the plate.

Though Expo West is a popular launch platform for new products, the show also serves as a sneak peek of companies’ rebrands and packaging refreshes for existing products and formats.

Industry veteran Tyler Ricks assumed leadership at Caulipower less than one year ago. At Natural Products Expo West, he sat down with Nosh to discuss his key objectives for growing the frozen foods business while maintaining profitability and fending off emerging competition.

Early-stage CPG is a narrow margin, operationally complexity space. Add in the current, on-and-off trade war and any international investment firm would likely press pause on new ventures.

Hemp industry stakeholders respond to the announcement that California has extended its ban of intoxicating hemp products for another three months.

Frozen food makers are expanding into new segments, rolling out restaurant-quality dishes and adding snackable options. At Natural Products Expo West last week, Caulipower debuted a pickle-inspired pie, Mason Dixie Foods added breakfast burritos, and Deep Indian Kitchen unveiled dumplings.

The Pizza Cupcake has outgrown its original moniker as consumer demand has pushed the brand to expand into new use occasions and unveil a new, broader-reaching name this year at Natural Products Expo West.

After months of egg shortages and surging prices linked to the latest avian flu outbreak, could relief finally be coming? The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said no significant avian flu outbreaks have been detected in nearly two weeks, per an Egg Markets Overview last week. The respite has allowed producers to make progress in reducing shell egg shortages.

The CPG Week team is back from Expo West discussing all the new things they saw at the yearly natural food tradeshow.