North American consumers need protein solutions that are right-sized, simple, globally inspired and affordable. That’s according to the newly published “Protein Profile,” an annual report produced by Cargill’s North American Protein business. 

The pizza category is seeing leaders embrace new toppings and crusts, along with processors—from dramatically different categories—breaking into pizza with new offerings.

Calbee's Harvest Snaps is bringing a new name, look and feel to its puffed navy bean snacks, originally called Selects. Introducing Harvest Snaps Crunchy Puffs, which deliver bold flavor and adventurous crunch in every sweet or savory bite.

Just in time for Thanksgiving and the holidays—came news for which food and beverage processors could be thankful. Circana (formerly IRI) and The NPD Group released a 2024 food and beverage outlook with a projection of modest volume growth this year after three consecutive years of volume declines.

2023 was a solid year for cookies and bread with launches up 6% and 5%, respectively. New cakes, pastry and sweet good introductions also were in the plus column, up 2.7% for the year. Baking ingredients and mixes posted a 1.6% decline in launches while cracker introductions dipped 4.8% in 2023.

The research, Finding Growth for Food & Beverage at Retail: Winning Eating Occasions throughout the Day, supports go-to-market strategies and ways in which grocers can attract more shopper relevance regarding needs, experiences, tastes, rewards, health – and especially convenience. 

At the top of the trends hierarchy are five macro forces that impact consumer needs and behavior: focus on health, increased cost of living, potential political and global threats, technology transformations, and health of the planet. This last force, health of the planet, inspires consumers to do what they can to manage their impact on the environment. Sustainable packaging is essential to health of the planet because it allows consumers to take action in a tangible way.

The International Food Information Council (IFIC) recently published new consumer research, Public Perceptions of Processed Foods, measuring consumers’ knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about processed foods.

Globally inspired flavors, evolving use of kitchen appliances, and a surge in breakfast foods are just some of the emerging trends identified in Future of Frozen Food 2024, the inaugural, comprehensive, data-driven report from Conagra Brands that examined how the $78 billion1 United States (US) frozen food market may evolve in 2024.  

Bulking sweeteners, such as sugar alcohols and the newer, rare sugars allulose and tagatose, can require usage levels that are not commercially viable. Plus, parents might be hesitant to purchase cereals with these sucrose substitutes because of a lack of familiarity. Meanwhile, high-intensity sweeteners lack the multifaceted functionality and taste of sucrose and fructose and are not suitable for children whose sweet tooth could use subduing towards lower levels of sweetness in foods.