The Food Industry Association released a research that explains how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected grocery prices more than nearly any other category of consumer spending. In April, the Consumer Price Index for food at-home posted its largest monthly increase since February 1974 and grocery prices are up 5.6% for the period June 2019 to June 2020.

Whole Foods Market global buyers and experts unveiled their top 10 anticipated food trends for 2021 in the retailer’s sixth annual trends predictions. Hard kombucha, upcycled foods, leveled-up breakfasts and jerky made from produce are among the food influences expected to take off in the next year.

Innova Market Insights' Top Ten Trends for 2021 provides an in-depth delve into how the food and beverage industry has progressively evolved. As COVID-19 transforms our shopping and eating habits, staying ahead of the curve and keeping on top of the changing and sophisticated food and beverage landscape is of paramount importance.

For the last half century, US animal agriculture has focused primarily on improving productivity, efficiency and throughput, resulting in increasing supplies of commodities that have helped assure a safe, abundant US food supply and growing export markets. However, a new report from The Center for Food Integrity (CFI) shows a pivotal shift in cultural and market expectations for animal protein, and four emerging trends where the industry can innovate. 

The Good Food Institute and Animal Legal Defense Fund filed a lawsuit on behalf of Tofurky challenging a Louisiana law that would impose fines of up to $500 per day for every plant-based meat product marketed or sold with terms like “burger” and “sausage” on their labels. The terms would be illegal even with clear modifiers such as “vegan,” “veggie,” or “plant-based” on their labels. The challenged law became effective on October 1, 2020.

The annual The Food Retailing Industry Speaks (Speaks) report, released by FMI—The Food Industry Association, finds that in 2019 the food retail industry saw strong operational performance, which helped the industry face challenges in 2020. At the same time, outside forces including trade, credit/debit card interchange fees and health care costs impacted food retailers and kept profit margins steady.

Grand View data show North America as the largest regional kombucha market and the firm’s analysts divide the category into “original” and “flavored” segments. These analysts expect flavored kombucha to continue holding the leading market share and register the fastest CAGR of 21.8% during the 2020-2027 forecast period.

As competition for consumer attention in-store and online intensifies, this year’s Breakthrough Innovations have won consumers’ hearts and minds through ingenuity, marketing savvy, and expert-level decision-making.

Independent evaluator Keybridge LLC released its annual report on progress toward a nationwide goal, set by the beverage industry and the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, to reduce the calories and sugar Americans get from beverages. The report noted that 2019 saw the largest single-year reduction in calorie consumption and the third consecutive year of declines since the launch of the initiative.

lil’gourmets, announced a partnership with the fresh food innovation in Target’s newly-created Fresh Kids Snacking Destination. Target shoppers will now have access to lil’gourmets veggie meals in the chilled Produce aisle of select Target stores across seven Midwest states, as well as Target.com.