Affordable, better-for-you and flavourful salty snacks lead producers’ formulation considerations in 2024, while creating resilient crops and exploring the metaverse landscape drive the wider value chain.
‘Dry’, ‘chalky’ and even 'gritty' are just some of the less than favourable words used to describe the texture of plant-based proteins. However, scientists at the University of Copenhagen believe they have discovered the secret to significantly...
Fresh research suggests consumers back legislation to improve farm animal welfare, but if reflected in product price, will they vote with their wallets?
Cruise lines are confronting the major issue of food waste head on. So how are they doing it and what can food manufacturers learn from their approach?
Potassium deficiency in soil has been revealed as a major threat to livestock and agricultural farming. So what does this mean for global food security and can the current threat be reversed?
Veganuary has historically led to a significant uptick in consumption of vegan food products. However, with the plant-based sector in decline, and a cost-of-living crisis sweeping much of the world, can the early-year vegan fervour continue apace?
Food systems and supply chains can be confusing for consumers, often leaving them with little understanding of exactly where their food comes from and its environmental impact. Enter the Inclusive Food movement…
The World Wildlife Fund is launching a campaign to not only get Europeans eating sustainably, but affordably too. So, what’s involved and can anyone give it a go?
Israeli start-up Day 8 has emerged from stealth mode with plans to disrupt plant-based food and drink. Its secret weapon? A protein derived from leaves: Rubisco.
Fermentation is, alongside plant-based and cultivated meat, one of the driving forces behind the alternative protein sector. A new investment from the UK Government aims to boost fermentation innovation.
France has outlined exactly which ‘meaty’ words are to be banned when describing, marketing and promoting plant-based products – and the list is extensive.
Plant-based diets are proving hugely popular amongst men and women across the globe, with everything from animal cruelty to environmental impact being cited as the reason. But could the plant-based way of life also prevent against chronic diseases in...
Fighting food waste is one of the most impactful ways we can help to prevent climate change. Now researchers at the University of Bath say they’ve found a way of keeping veggies fresh all the way to our fork.
DEFRA is putting onions high on the agenda with a new research project aimed at detecting, managing and preventing onion crop loss to fusarium basal rot. So what’s the plan and what does it mean for farmers?
Whether you’re spreading it (generously) on a crumpet, making pastry for a pie or baking a cake, butter is a kitchen essential that’s loved by many. But this humble ingredient is having something of a luxury makeover and food lovers are flocking.
Last year, Italy attempted to ban cultivated meat production and the marketing of cultivated meat products. However, the law has come into difficulty for its failure to go through the right procedures at EU level.
Falling into loyalists and reluctants, Generation Z consumers value reliability and brand experience, remaining avid trendwatchers, looking for products on social channels that appeal to their price and quality expectations.
Nudge interventions have been a favourite of public policy for years, making small changes to food environments to persuade consumers to eat more healthily and sustainably without impacting choice. But which nudge interventions do consumers respond to...
A recent study has found that red nets are more effective than black or white nets in preventing onion thrips from damaging crops. So, could red nets be the solution environmentalists have been searching for to help reduce agricultural reliance on the...
Are ultra-processed foods more likely to have low Nutri-Score ratings? And should the Nova classification system be incorporated into the Nutri-Score algorithm?
In this week's NPD Trend Tracker, we see how high orange juice prices have led to the development of mandarin orange juice, and the rise of generative AI has led to the creation of an AI cookbook. Furthermore, we see a rebranding from Mallow &...
After the announced abstention of Germany and Italy, the vote for a key piece of European due diligence legislation which would have ensured companies, including food companies, root out human rights and environmental abuses from their value chains, has...
Using a combination of social psychology and economic models, a new UK study shows fair trade product sales increased in popularity during an economic downturn while organic product sales dropped, indicating a divide between the two labels’ favourability...
Due to informality, lack of contracts, lack of unionisation and low awareness of workers’ rights, many banana workers do not earn a living wage. A range of UK retailers, including Sainbsury’s, aim to challenge this.
The term ‘ultra-processed’ is increasingly used to describe the ‘unhealthiness’ of a product, particularly in the context of plant-based meat. But how processed a food is reveals nothing about its nutritional impact, contends new research.
Palm oil is cheap to produce in large quantities but unsustainable production methods, notably deforestation, means the bad can far outweigh the good. As a result, brands are increasingly distancing themselves from the use of irresponsible palm oil in...
Hybrid dairy, whereby conventional dairy is blended with plant-based ingredients, holds ‘considerable appeal’ as a category, according to Mintel, but innovation is rare. What can industry do to win new consumers?
After four years in development, Swedish dairy-free start-up Stockeld Dreamery claims to have mastered the meltability experience of cheese with plant-based ingredients.
Insects are not only thought to contain at least as much protein as conventional meat, but are also more environmentally sustainable. However, their novelty on the market poses challenges in consumer acceptance. How do start-ups persuade consumers to...
The head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has announced that plans to cut pesticide use across the European Union have been dropped but environmentalists say the battle is far from over.
Research from the University of Chicago has found that one of the most widely used food preservatives, nisin, has a damaging effect on the good bacteria in our gut
In the European Commission’s final text published this week, any mention of methane reduction has been omitted. So have links between dietary patterns and GHG emissions, critics lament.
Ingredients supplier ofi is setting the ambitious target of reducing supply chain carbon emissions for its coffee by 30% by 2030. So how will this be achieved and can other coffee manufacturers follow in their footsteps?
A fermentation bottleneck still exists for the microbial fermentation sector, according to Swiss biotech Planetary, who is working to optimise protein and fat production with not just ‘overall infrastructure, but correct infrastructure’.
Could plant-based meat products be made more sustainably? Research trialling a ‘revolutionary’ concept that shortens supply chains and promotes plant protein diversity has received EU support.
Just over a year after announcing plans to merge, Danish enzyme and cultures suppliers Novozymes and Chr Hansen have joined forces under a new company name: Novonesis.
Foodtech company, Hailia, is taking a ‘waste not want not’ approach to seafood production by utilising more of every fish caught and repurposing what might once have been cast off.
EverSweet, a stevia sweetener made via fermentation rather than stevia leaf extraction, is one step closer to market entry in Europe having received positive safety opinions in the EU and UK.
Norm perceptions – what one perceives as ‘normal’ – differs between both individuals and groups of consumers, including when it comes to meat consumption. One’s meat consumption habits can affect these perceptions. A new study explores how different groups...
Cultivated meat needs growth factors in order for its cells to grow. These are usually added to the cell culture media at considerable expense, impacting potential for commercialisation. New research, however, has shown that edited bovine cells can produce...
With climate change exacerbating water stress and scarcity, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners is backing new tech solutions to help future-proof the beverage industry.
In this week's NPD Trend Tracker, we have a range of bread made with regenerative agriculture-derived flour. We also have desserts, Valentine's Day doughnuts, a new range of fully loaded brownie tray bakes, and a new version of that classic...
Research revealing bees’ ability to synthesise specific nutrients, to support the colonisation of their gut bacteria, offers insights into the symbiotic relationship they have with their gut microbiota. But changes to their habitat is placing this delicate...
The presence of star ingredients will drive purchasing and packaging decisions, Innova Market Insights reveals in its Top Ten Trends for food and beverages in 2024.
The world’s first regulatory approval for cultivated beef has been granted in Israel. For EU cultivated meat stakeholders, is the greenlight yet another sign the EU – which has yet to approve such a product – is falling behind? Or does it hold promise...
Cacao fruit, or cocoa fruit, is drawn from the same pod as cocoa beans. Normally thrown away, the juice, pulp and peel of the pod can be used as a sweetener in a range of products. Across Europe and beyond, cacao fruit has appeared recently in a range...