This is taking place in both the retail market and in foodservice. Driving the market is an expanding consumer desire to have healthier foods with fewer added ingredients or any aspects that are not "natural."

Instead, taking an authentic approach to this type of culinary innovation can help brands and menu dishes stand apart from mainstream noodles such as spaghetti.

And, more specifically, there's little deviation from core coffee menu items. A somewhat static menu means that most patrons will fall into a habitual ordering pattern. Thus, one of the challenges for restaurant operators is encouraging customers to consider other beverage options beyond the "usual."

In the U.S. food and beverage industry, it's all fun, games and shrewd capitalism until customers fall victim to a foodborne illness.

One fourth of consumers say they have switched to healthier meat and poultry products within the last year, and all signs indicate that share will continue to grow.

American restaurants have built an empire on the strength of consumer demand for coffee.

The metamorphosis of the American diet in recent years has changed not only what we eat, but how we eat. Health concerns are at the forefront of these changes, and have had perhaps the greatest impact on new and emerging trends in the food and beverage industry.

For the past decade highly confident consumers have been much more likely to be found among 18- to 34-year-olds, no matter what the overall economic climate and despite the fact that Millennials have experienced more economic turmoil and financial hardship than their Gen-X predecessors.