DuPont Nutrition & Biosciences says plant-based nutrition is moving beyond single-source ingredients to synergistic combinations that strengthen the nutritional and sensorial profile of final products. Providing single ingredients was once the most common way to serve the plant-based diet market. But now DuPont’s application and development teams are increasingly blending plant-based ingredients that include proteins, stabilizers, antimicrobials and antioxidants, among others. The idea is to take the best of each plant ingredient to develop higher-performance formulations, bringing synergy and leverage of one ingredient to another. An example would be combining soy with almond, or soy with pea or rice and pea. The combinations are better than a single source of protein, because one can bring texture and the amino acids, while another can bring a different sensorial aspect or better hydration.[Image Credit: © DuPont de Nemours, Inc]

Creating new foods, or repositioning established, traditional foods, as sports nutrition products is proving to be a profitable business tactic. As sports nutrition products move into the mainstream, so-called “real foods” – devoid of artificial ingredients – are moving into the world of professional and amateur sports. Example include: Veloforte's sports twist on a traditional Italian treat packed with fruit and nuts; California-based Clif Bar, now firmly tethered to sports and activity;  Soreen, a fruit-based cake from the U.K. repositioned for recreational cyclists; low-sugar protein bar Grenade Carb Killa, marketed as a real food alternative to sports nutrition bars. The trend is powered by sports dietitians whose first principle is that whole foods are the best fuel.[Image Credit: © silviarita from Pixabay]

Sales growth for the top 500 U.S. restaurant companies slid in 2018 to 3.3 percent compared to the average 3.8 percent for the restaurants in the last five-year period, according to Technomic research. And while the fast-casual segment outpaced all other segments, its sales growth slipped to eight percent from an average 9.8 percent gain for the past five-year period signaling a cooling-off period. Meanwhile, delivery has emerged as a major growth area for all restaurants. This has caused companies to explore packaging that allows food quality to sustain itself in transit. It is also causing chains to reconsider their store designs to include a separate entrance for delivery drivers. [Image Credit: © Free-Photos from Pixabay]

California-based Crave Cookie is a chocolate chip cookie bake-and-deliver business built on a simple concept: providing fresh-baked treats “that people couldn’t make themselves.” Shandi Scrivner, who started the business with her husband and brother, offers giant chocolate chip cookies – wide and at least two inches tall delivered warm from the oven. The website-based business – a storefront location is in development – will delivery a box of four warm cookies to five zip codes in the Clovis area with the help of seven part-time employees, including four drivers and three bakers. A box of four – they’re equivalent to four traditional-sized cookies – costs $12, plus a $2 delivery fee.[Image Credit: © Crave Cookie]

The French patisserie business Rosalie Guillem founded with her daughter Audrey in Sarasota, Fla., is approaching its tenth anniversary and is flush with entrepreneurial success. The company owns a few corporate stores, but also some 50 franchise locations, in Florida, California, New Hampshire, Arizona, and seven other states. Another 30 franchises are in development, all based on the original flagship delicacy, an airy but decadent macaron – not to be confused with an American macaroon. The company did $11 million in sales in 2018, made the Inc. 5,000 list of the nation’s fastest-growing companies in 2016, and posted 259 percent growth over three years. Guillem’s Le Macaron stores now offer gelato, eclairs, napoleons, pies, cakes, croissants, and fine chocolates – all made with French ingredients. A catering unit handles parties, weddings and other events – all of it a testament to the dogged pursuit of the American dream, French-style.[Image Credit: © https://lemacaron-us.com/oak/files/images/Foto-LM-1.jpg]

Self-professed “bread nerd” Seamus Blackley, one of the developers of the Xbox, has created a stir in baking circles by experimenting with yeast extracted from a 4,000-year-old Egyptian loaf and from ancient artefacts. The artefacts, including Egyptian ceramics once used to make or store beer and bread, were found at museums in Boston with the help of an interested archaeologist. Blackley, who also collects wild yeast from medieval forests, created a loaf of sourdough bread with a “light and airy” crumb and an “incredible” flavor and aroma. He shared his results on Twitter, sparking interest among thousands of people. Useable thousand-year-old yeast? Yes, experts say: once yeast spores run out of food they go dormant, rather than simply dying, and stay quietly viable for thousands of years until they are extracted.[Image Credit: © Sabine Schulte from Pixabay]

Jamaica native Chantal Thomas is a career baker and pastry chef who also blogs about her country’s national fruit, the avocado-like ackee, which she employs in numerous recipes, including one for a vegan ackee-stuffed patty. In addition to ackee patties, Thomas sells ones filled with eggplant, chickpea and zucchini, and lentil. For the crust, Thomas uses coconut instead of shortening. She formed her company, Amazing Ackee LLC, in 2017 and began baking out of a rented kitchen. She landed a spot at one farmers market last year and expanded to four markets this year. Thomas sells between 20 and 40 dozen patties a week at the farmers markets, the volume matching demand for vegan products.[Image Credit: © Amazing Ackee]

A Brooklyn-based bakery start-up – the Flour Shop – has built a huge customer base that includes celebrities like the Kardashians and singer Ariana Grande solely by showing off its unusual candy-packed layer cakes on Instagram videos. What makes the cakes unusual is the fact that they are often stuffed with a column of multi-colored candy sprinkles that burst forth when the cake is cut. Ross Harrow and his baker wife Amirah Kassem’s ready-to-eat products include a $150 bagel and lox cake, a $350 doll body with explosive skirt and a $150 gender-reveal cake, which explodes either pink or blue candies. The duo has amassed 70,000 paying customers, 35 employees, and 85 SKUs ranging from $3 to $150. The success is especially impressive because the cakes are only available in New York and must be picked up in person from the company’s downtown Manhattan location. [Image Credit: © Flour Shop by Amirah Kassem]

Thanks to one obdurate New Jersey lawmaker, a bill that would ease state restrictions on the sale of home-baked foods is stalled in a Senate committee. The bill has passed the N.J. Assembly several times but remains blocked by state Sen. Joseph Vitale (D), who won’t allow a vote. The legislation would approve the sale of fresh baked goods from private kitchens at farm stands, farmers' markets, fairs, festivals, and events. It would end New Jersey's status as the only state in the union that doesn't allow the public sale of cookies, cakes, and pastries made by home bakers. Forty-nine other states allow such sales. "I'm just trying to do this the right way," Vitale has told the Associated Press. "If these were individuals who are trying to be entrepreneurial, I'm just trying to make sure the public is protected."[Image Credit: © Jan Vašek from Pixabay]

Though the U.S. government has been pushing whole grains as part of a healthful diet for nearly two decades, Americans actually consume less than half of the recommended amount. A recent Centers for Disease Control report reveals that whole grains are just 15.8 percent of total grain intake for the average American adult, a far cry from the recommended three servings of whole grains daily. Nutrition experts say it’s not that difficult to get more whole grains into the diet. Aim for three servings of whole grains daily and limit the refined grains – white bread, regular pasta, baked goods, etc. – to three servings a day or less. Also, skip foods whose labels have the words "enriched," "degerminated," "wheat flour," "bran" or "wheat germ" on the label. They are not whole grains.[Image Credit: © tangyi178 from PIxabay]

A wheat breeding expert at Washington State University (Pullman) has developed a variety of spring wheat – dubbed “Ryan” – that he says is growing quickly in popularity among Northwest U.S. farmers and Asian grain buyers because of its surprising ability to create an outstanding fresh noodle, according to Mike Pumphrey. Introduced in 2016 but available in limited quantities until now, Ryan led all public spring wheat varieties for certified seed production in Washington last year. Not only is Ryan expected to dominate spring wheat acreage this year, WSU scientists say it could transform the market for wheat growers and their customers, here and abroad. The wheat industry is already setting Ryan apart, keeping it identity-preserved so dealers can sell it for noodles at a premium. The variety is named for Ryan A. Davis, a WSU alumnus who died of cancer at age 38 in 2016.[Image Credit: © Washington State University News and Media Relations]

Researcher Packaged Facts expects increases in retail dollar sales of fresh bread – up from $16.3 billion in 2018 to $16.8 billion in 2023 – are likely to be driven by healthful, more nutritious products with clean labels and natural ingredients. The flip side of this good news is that the premium prices of the more healthful products are driving the increase in dollar sales, rather than volume increases. But the researcher says there are opportunities for growth, especially in five potential areas: local farms and bakeries and the farm-to-table trend; new ways to deliver better health and nutrition claims; growth in the grain-free market; moving packaged bread closer to in-store bakeries or delis; and merchandising in fast-growing perimeter departments such as produce and meat.[Image Credit: © Daily Kneads Bread, LLC]

Food ingredients company Arcadia Biosciences has resolved an intellectual property dispute by partnering with Arista Cereal Technologies and Bay State Milling to commercialize its high-fiber resistant starch wheat in key wheat markets, including North America, Europe, and parts of Asia. Bay State Milling will will handle marketing in North America under under its HealthSense brand portfolio; Arista will handle marketing in Australia, New Zealand, Europe, Japan, and South Korea. Arcadia will continue to market its high-fiber wheat under its GoodWheat portfolio of specialty wheat ingredients in other international markets. The agreement earns Arcadia royalties for sales of its wheat varieties in North America by Bay State Milling. According to Arcadia, its high-fiber wheat delivers multiple times the resistant starch as traditional wheat and significantly higher amounts of dietary fiber than traditional wheat flour. [Image Credit: © PRNewsfoto/Arcadia Biosciences, Inc.]

In June this year, McDonald’s opened a concept store for 10 days in Berlin aimed at exploring plastic-free options, eliciting customer feedback and starting debate. The Better McDonald’s Store offered paper straws and wooden cutlery, and edible waffle cups for condiments, wrapped sandwiches in grass-based packaging, and presented Chicken McNuggets in paper bags instead of cardboard boxes. The company said that the response was “very positive”, the grass wrapper was a “hit in terms of eco-friendliness and ease of use”, and the waffle cups were seen as a good way of replacing condiment sachets and containers. Customers were happy with the eco-friendliness of the paper straws, but less so about their ease of use and durability, and believed they wouldn’t miss lids on containers. The wooden cutlery experiment wasn’t a hit. 

McDonald’s also said that it is working on other options in its normal restaurants. In Germany, in-house hot drinks are served in porcelain or glass mugs, and McCafé locations in Germany invite customers to bring their own cups in exchange for a 10 cent discount. Selected restaurants in Germany are running a 1 euro deposit system (ReCup) for reusable carry out cups. In the UK, McDonald’s will no longer sell McFlurry products with plastic lids and it is removing single-use plastic from salads, using 100% renewable and recyclable cardboard containers instead. In Canada, the restaurants are using smaller napkins, made from 100% recycled fiber, and switching McWrap® cartons to McWrap wraps. [Image Credit: © McDonald's Corporation]

In a recent interview, Matt Hughes, Coca-Cola’s vice president for incubation and a founding member of its Venturing and Emerging Brands unit, pointed to “beverages for life,” water usage, women empowerment, and environmental sustainability as top priorities of the company’s “mission approach to things.” As to specific product areas, Hughes said “plant-based is an interesting space … that is an adjacent area to dairy from a protein perspective.” As it thinks about the future and “where consumers are going to be five or 10 years from now,” Coca-Cola invests time, energy and money to gain expertise in new technologies, marketing and digital platforms, and other areas that can help drive growth. Hughes said he expects Coca-Cola to be as “on-trend” 30 years from now as it is today, and he is very enthusiastic about the prospects for sparkling water Topo Chico and sports hydration beverage Body Armor.[Image Credit: © THE COCA-COLA COMPANY]

According to Euromonitor, nearly two-thirds (63%) of containers for food, drinks, home, beauty and pet food are plastic, because of its durability, versatility and other characteristics. Recycling or reuse rates, however, are not high enough, partly because of consumer confusion over what can be recycled, perpetuated by a lack of standardization in packaging. Few countries have the recycling infrastructure and rates of Germany, which runs deposit schemes for plastic bottles, but the effort to increase rates is also hampered by consumers being used to disposing of items. Change is afoot. Consumers are more alive to plastic waste issues. Surveys suggest they are more willing today than two years ago to pay more for options that are better for the environment. Retailers like IKEA and UK-based Iceland are reacting to this change. IKEA is stopping the use of oil-based plastics, pledging to manufacture 100% of its products from recycled materials from August next year. It is also ending the use of single-use plastic products from stores and restaurants. Iceland has announced removal of plastic containers from private label products by 2023, using paper trays rather than plastic. [Image Credit: © mohamed Hassan from Pixabay]

Coca-Cola Korea has named its first female CEO to replace 12-year-veteran Lee Chang-yeob. Choi Su-chong, who is said to have “a proven record of growing businesses and managing large transitions,” will be responsible for managing operations as well as building a brand through competitive differentiation. Choi joined Coca-Cola Korea as a brand manager for Sprite and Fanta in 2006 and was promoted to various positions in marketing soda brands. Most recently she was responsible for the launch of new products such as Seagrams, Georgia Coffee, Toreta, and AdeS.[Image Credit: © THE COCA-COLA COMPANY]

The Asia-Pacific region is a key growth engine for Coca-Cola, but innovation in India is sparking that engine. Coca-Cola India is perceived as “agile and swift when it comes to introducing innovations:” product innovations in India have almost doubled over the last three years.” In a recent interview, Shell Huang, vice-president for R&D, Asia-Pacific, noted that Coca-Cola India has launched nearly 25 new products since 2016, applying an incubation model that cuts development time from the concept stage to the retail shelves to 12 weeks from 2-3 years. Collaborating with the Shanghai R&D Center, Coca-Cola India is currently testing products such as spiced buttermilk fortified with fiber to strengthen its dairy play, a fruit puree product under the Minute Maid brand, and a non-alcoholic malt drink under the Barbican brand. The spiced buttermilk product is likely to be launched nationally in the first quarter of 2020, while the fruit puree product will be launched in select urban markets, Huang said. [Image Credit: © The Coca-Cola Company]

According to Joe Franses, VP Sustainability for Coca-Cola European Partners (CCEP), a major priority for the company is reducing the environmental impact of its packaging. It is working on a number of initiatives to improve the packaging sustainability, including removing unnecessary plastic and developing innovative ways to get its products to consumers. In a recent interview, Franses said the company wants to make sure all packaging is 100 percent recyclable, but the most challenging goal is to “collect a bottle or can for everyone that we sell.”  To achieve these goals Franses said the company is implementing a cross-system working model with Coca-Cola to ensure packaging sustainability. This includes: investing in new manufacturing lines at sites across Europe; increasing capacity for refillable glass bottles and resting new routes to market; and – to encourage use of refillable packaging – looking closely at the different collection and recycling schemes in place in Western Europe – including household collection schemes and deposit return schemes (DRS). [Image Credit: © The Coca-Cola Company]

N.J.-based Nestlé Health Science has launched a nutritional drink targeted at cancer patients. BOOST Soothe clear nutritional drink provides protein and calories as well as “a cooling, soothing effect” to help cancer patients get needed nutrition while dealing with certain side effects of cancer treatment, including oral discomfort and taste changes. Up to 80 percent of patients may experience sore mouth or mucositis during cancer treatment; 46-77 percent of patients receiving chemotherapy report changes in taste. The clear liquid drink contains no artificial colors, flavors or sweeteners, and provides 300 calories and 10 g of protein per serving.[Image Credit: © PR Newswire]

Nestlé has formally inaugurated a new unit, the Institute of Packaging Sciences based in Lausanne, Switzerland, to double down on the development of new environmentally-friendly packaging solutions that address plastic waste. It will have a science and technology focus on a number of packaging areas, such as refillable and reusable options, simplified materials, recycled materials, and materials that are plant-based, compostable or biodegradable. The move was welcomed by Sander Defruyt, the New Plastics Economy Lead at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. The new unit also reaffirms Nestlé’s commitment to reinforcing the Swiss innovation ecosystem.[Image Credit: © Nestle]