This year brought more than 120 submissions and after two judged panel tastings, experts selected six items according to a 10-point scale for overall innovation, the team’s problem-solution story and sensory performance (including taste, appearance, texture, smell, etc.) 

Mondelēz International, Inc. announced an agreement to acquire Clif Bar & Company, leading US maker of nutritious energy bars with organic ingredients, for $2.9 billion with additional contingent earnout consideration. 

Mars Wrigley broke ground on a new, best-in-class, global research and development hub adjacent to the company's existing Global Innovation Center on Goose Island. Leaders from Mars as well as key Chicago stakeholders, including Michael Fassnacht, CEO, World Business Chicago, and Alderman Walter Burnett Jr., gathered together to commemorate the milestone for the company.

What started as a five-year commitment to raise a minimum of $50,000 in scholarships for the Williams-Franklin Foundation (WFF) at the start of 2021 by Organic & Natural Health Association, has blossomed into a $55,205 total in less than two years throughout various natural products industry events and supporters. These funds have raised more visibility for opportunities in the natural products industry for students of historically Black colleges and universities (HBCU).

The California Walnut Board (CWB) and the California Walnut Commission (CWC) announced that Robert Verloop has been named executive director and chief executive officer, effective July 11, 2022. The CWB and CWC represent over 4,500 California walnut growers and nearly 90 handlers, producing over 1.4 billion pounds of walnuts in 2021 that ship to more than 50 countries around the world.

Univar Solutions Inc., a global chemical and ingredient distributor and provider of value-added services, announced the launching of Foodology by Univar Solutions, a specialized team dedicated to the unique distribution and technical innovation needs of the food and nutrition ingredient industries.

Founders of the 12 startup brands participating in the Austin and Atlanta cohorts in the SKU (CPG) accelerator celebrated the culmination of the rigorous 12-week program with the premiere of their virtual pitches. The brands span multiple categories, including non-alcoholic cocktails, plant-based burgers, healthy snacks and beauty.

In a landslide victory, our audience named Sunkist® Sauces & Dressings as its favorite new product in April 2022. 

Responsible Distribution is the National Association of Chemical Distributor’s (NACD) third-party-verified environmental, health, safety, and security program that allows members to demonstrate their pledge to continuous performance improvement in every phase of chemical storage, handling, transportation, and disposal.

The unpredictability of the pandemic made the work of manufacturers even more difficult than in 2020, as COVID-19 and the resultant behavior of shoppers ebbed and flowed during 2021. Despite this and other challenges, this year’s New Product Pacesetters delivered an impressive $6 billion in aggregate Year 1 sales across food and beverage and nonfood products.