Processing and Packaging

Plant & Bean opens Europe’s 'largest' plant-based meat factory: 'To make an impact you have to drive scale'

09-Dec-2020 By Katy Askew

Plant & Bean, a UK-based contract manufacturer, has opened Europe’s largest plant-based meat production facility. The investment is an important milestone on its strategic journey to establish what it says would be an ‘industry-first’: a global plant-based...

Meet NoCOé: Mondelez’s first carbon neutral snack brand

08-Dec-2020 By Katy Askew

Mondelez International’s innovation hub, SnackFutures, has developed NoCOé – a French cracker brand that the company says is both carbon neutral and nutritious. “Snackers, especially the younger generation, are looking for values or purpose in brands,”...

VTT creates recyclable plastic bottles from citrus peel

08-Dec-2020 By Jim Cornall

New technology developed at the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland enables the use of pectin-containing agricultural waste, such as citrus peel and sugar beet pulp, as raw material for bio-based polyethylene furanoate (PEF) plastics for replacing...

SavorEat: First food tech IPO announced on Tel Aviv Stock Exchange

07-Dec-2020 By Flora Southey

Israeli start-up SavorEat is celebrating going public on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE), which co-founder and CEO Racheli Vizman says represents an industry first for food tech.

Nestlé’s net zero roadmap: ‘We have no time to lose’

04-Dec-2020 By Katy Askew

Swiss food giant Nestlé wants to halve its emissions by 2030 and achieve net zero by 2050. “We have no time to lose,” CEO Mark Schneider told journalists at an event detailing how the company plans to get there.

The digital labelling technology promising to ‘unlock the lost shelf life of food’

03-Dec-2020 By Oliver Morrison

A Swedish start-up has developed food labelling technology that offers real-time monitoring of food quality to help reduce waste and alert consumers of spoiled food.

The case for processed foods: ‘Zero processing doesn’t work for today’s food choices’

02-Dec-2020 By Flora Southey

With backlash mounting over ultra-processed foods, a research professor from Ghent University has balanced out the argument – making a strong case for processing where appropriate.

Danish Crown’s ‘record breaking’ DKK2bn investment to ‘future-proof production’

30-Nov-2020 By Katy Askew

Meat group Danish Crown is increasing its investment budget by 25% this year, with a focus on automation and increased production.

‘World’s first’ digital sandwich: How next-gen tech is tracing every ingredient in, and between, the bread

27-Nov-2020 By Flora Southey

An IoT, blockchain, and AI-powered digital food supply chain platform is being developed to boost the traceability of ingredients in pre-packaged sandwiches.

Coffee maker Meira cuts carbon footprint with bio-based packaging

26-Nov-2020 By Katy Askew

Finnish coffee producer Meira, part of the Massimo Zanetti Beverage Group, has launched Vallilan Paahtimo, a new range that offers ‘a more sustainable cup, inside and out’. In partnership with packaging manufacturer Amcor, the line includes a bio-based...

Germany officially rolls out Nutri-Score

17-Nov-2020 By Oliver Morrison

Germany’s Federal Minister for Food and Agriculture, Julia Klöckner, says she expects food manufacturers to use Nutri-Score after the controversial food labelling scheme was officially introduced in the country earlier this month.

Asda targets plastics with refill trial: What does it mean for brands?

02-Nov-2020 By Katy Askew

UK retailer Asda has opened a new ‘sustainability trial store’ that leverages refill stations as part of its plastic reduction strategy. What does this latest move away from single-use packaging mean for branded manufacturers?

Kerry spots opportunities for gut health and food protection solutions as it targets net zero emissions by 2050

09-Oct-2020 By Oliver Morrison

Ingredients supplier Kerry Group has unveiled an ambitious sustainability strategy including a commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 33% by 2030 and achieve net zero before 2050. It is also exploring those sectors such as immunity and food...

UK unveils insect industry funding for greener animal protein production

08-Oct-2020 By Oliver Morrison

The UK government has released a £10m funding package to help build the country’s first large-scale industrial insect farm and accelerate the development of sustainable food production systems.

NEWS IN BRIEF

Solina closes another M&A deal to take ‘further step in expansion strategy’

01-Oct-2020 By Flora Southey

French savoury ingredients supplier Solina has acquired UK-headquartered Bowman Ingredients, a supplier of coating systems to foodservice and retail food processors.

New plastic-eating ‘super enzyme’ offers hope for full recycling

01-Oct-2020 By Oliver Morrison

A new ‘super enzyme’ that eats plastic up to six times faster than before may offer food and beverage companies a potential solution to the problem of plastic waste.

Frozen surge continues as sector outperforms fresh and chilled

30-Sep-2020 By Oliver Morrison

Sales of frozen food in the UK have continued to surge and rose by £221m in the last three months, according to the latest statistics from Kantar and the British Frozen Food Federation (BFFF).

Food waste upcycling ‘ripe for innovation’: report

30-Sep-2020 By Oliver Morrison

Food waste upcycling is an area ripe for innovation, says Oakland Innovation. Its report aims to show how food and beverage manufacturers can make upcycling a viable and effective solution to address the food waste challenge.

From biotech to robotics: FTW Ventures talks food tech in the era of COVID

23-Sep-2020 By Katy Askew

FTW Ventures, an early-stage VC, has launched a new fund to support food and agri-tech start-ups that it believes can disrupt the sector. FoodNavigator speaks to founder and entrepreneur Brian Frank about the tech and trends he believes will come to the...

Princes adopts blockchain as part of its 'proactive approach' to illegal labour in Italian agriculture

21-Sep-2020 By Katy Askew

Princes is leveraging blockchain developments to improve traceability and communicate its sourcing story to customers and consumers. Starting with its Napolina brand – but with plans for a further rollout – the company is working with Provenance to communicate...

Huel aims to scoop ‘time-poor, health conscious consumers’ with new hot meals

18-Sep-2020 By Oliver Morrison

Meal replacement brand Huel is expanding its powdered food range and launching its first hot meals in the UK.

The key to healthy and sustainable diets… more processed foods?

09-Sep-2020 By Oliver Morrison

Opportunities abound for the food industry to address public health and environmental issues through clever food processing, say nutrition scientists.

Germany mulls introduction of mandatory climate and NutriScore labels

26-Aug-2020 By Oliver Morrison

An influential advisory group in Germany has urged the government to introduce mandatory climate labels on foodstuffs to display the greenhouse gas emissions of products, as well as for a mandatory roll out of the as yet voluntary NutriScore labelling...

Upfield’s carbon labelling plans: Gimmick or triumph for consumer choice?

13-Aug-2020 By Oliver Morrison

The Amsterdam-based owner of Flora, Blue Band, Stork, Becel, Country Crock and I Can't Believe It's Not Butter! is introducing on-pack carbon labelling to 100 million packs of its margarine and spreads by the end of 2021 in order to “help consumers...

HelloFresh sweeps away supermarket competition in meal-kit space

11-Aug-2020 By Oliver Morrison

HelloFresh raised its guidance for the year for the third time, illustrating strong demand for meal-kit among consumers amid the coronavirus pandemic. The recipe box company also hinted at plans to expand in the ready-meal category, and said it was unconcerned...

Nomad Foods predicts permanent shift toward frozen produce

07-Aug-2020 By Oliver Morrison

Nomad’s latest financial results illustrate the consumer shift to the frozen food category amid the COVID lockdowns.

‘We see them as survivors’: EIT Food allocates €5 million COVID support package for agri-food start-ups

07-Aug-2020 By Oliver Morrison

The European Institute of Innovation & Technology’s food arm received 106 applications to its COVID-19 support fund from different start-ups across Europe. The number was eventually whittled down to just 13.

JBS hits back at deforestation claims

06-Aug-2020 By Oliver Morrison

JBS has defended its efforts to eliminate deforestation in the Amazon Rainforest after criticism from environmental campaigners led the UK’s largest supermarket Tesco to attempt to cut links with the meat giant.

Ice cream start-up Gemelli on surviving COVID-19: ‘Gemelli was born from resilience’

06-Aug-2020 By Katy Askew

The coronavirus crisis has hurt many food and beverage SMEs, reliant on out-of-home channels, particularly hard. We spoke to the founders of French ice cream start-up Gemelli to hear how this company has responded.

Meet the AI start-up helping Nestlé, Barilla, and Mondelēz cut production waste

24-Jul-2020 By Flora Southey

Israeli start-up Seebo has raised a total of $31m to help manufacturers predict and prevent food waste on the factory floor. The more complex the production line, the better, CEO Lior Akavia tells FoodNavigator.

Frozen sales continue to surge as sector outperforms fresh and chilled

13-Jul-2020 By Oliver Morrison

UK sales of frozen food increased by £285m in the last three months according to the latest statistics from market researcher Kantar and the British Frozen Food Federation (BFFF).

'Necessity is the mother of invention': Coconuts Organic on why D2C may be the lifeline small brands need

09-Jul-2020 By Oliver Morrison

As big and small food brands adapt to the 'new normal', many are exploring the direct to consumer (D2C) route as a means of growing sales. Coconuts Organic, a plant-based ice cream, is one of the small businesses doing just that.