News & Analysis on the Bakery and Snacks Industries
From billion-dollar brinkmanship to red-dye revolts and zero-gravity corn chips, 2025 proved nothing in bakery and snacks is too big, too weird or too controversial to make headlines
Mars and Kellanova join forces in a landmark deal set to reshape the global snacking industry
Mars seals €31bn Kellanova deal after EU approval - what does this mean for snacking’s future?
City officials say some of America’s biggest brands helped shape eating habits that are now coming back to haunt public health budgets
Premium treats, grab-and-go minis and a burst of festive innovation are giving the aisle more energy than it’s had in years
Once the poster child for easy mornings, breakfast cereal has been losing shelf swagger. Now a new wave of innovation, investment and protein-packed reinvention is pushing the category back into the spotlight
From colorless chips to collectible crisps and gooey skillet cookies, this season’s launches show how playful storytelling is reshaping what shoppers expect from a simple snack
New ESA president Christopher Gosau says the region’s snack makers must turn bold sustainability promises into measurable progress or risk losing credibility
From the White House lawn to your local supermarket, brands are pulling out all the tricks this Halloween with glowing crisps, monster bakes and desserts to die for
Opinion
Turns out, more than half of us didn’t know chips are made from potatoes – and now food brands are scrambling to remind us what we’re actually eating
Opinion
The European Commission may be ready to wave through Mars’ $36 billion takeover of Kellanova, but in Europe’s snack aisles, the regulator isn’t the kingmaker. The retailers are
Ahead of FoodNavigator-USA’s free webinar ‘Fueling Fun: Connecting with Esports Enthusiasts and Everyday Gamers FTW’ (October 15), we look at how brands from Doritos to Heinz are stepping inside the $200bn gaming economy
With Ferrero’s $3.1 billion deal for WK Kellogg done and dusted, the cereal aisle is buzzing again and competitors are scrambling to figure out what this means for the rest of Big Food
Weightloss drugs are changing the way people snack and brands are answering with protein-packed launches designed to keep cravings at bay while delivering serious flavor.
Less than three months after the acquisition announcement, WK Kellogg is a wholly owned subsidiary of Ferrero
Opinion
ESG’s under political fire in Washington, but the snack giants keep flexing. From Oreos to Doritos, their reports show that in today’s food industry, trust’s as valuable as profit.
Gluten-free cookies, sugar-free chocolate and GLP-1 diets are colliding. The world’s biggest food makers are scrambling to stay relevant
A wave of global flavors is storming the snack aisle. Yet research shows that for many consumers, the crunch on the outside matters just as much as the crunch inside the bag
Following a landslide shareholder vote, the merger deal is expected to close within days
Erratic weather and rising costs are forcing Africa’s food sector to rethink how it sources grain and dairy – and how to keep bakeries and cereal lines running
The EU has resumed its investigation into Mars’ $35.9bn merger with Kellanova, following a stop in July
Opinion
Bayer’s latest push for legal immunity puts the future of ‘clean’ bread and cereal under the spotlight
From cookies and coffee to yogurt and popcorn, pumpkin spice is once again ruling the shelves
Sustainable September
Shoppers swear they care about sustainability, but in the snack aisle it’s still price, taste and convenience that decide what goes in the basket. So are ‘climate-smart’ breads and biscuits set to stay niche or can they crack the mainstream?
Opinion
Once the pride of America’s breakfast table, Kellogg’s now finds itself in the crosshairs of Robert F. Kennedy Jr’s Make America Healthy Again crusade. The fight over Froot Loops isn’t just about dyes – it’s a test of whether Big Food can survive a...
A US judge tossed the first big UPF lawsuit, but with mounting science and regulators circling, bakery, snack and cereal brands shouldn’t breathe easy just yet
From swicy seaweed to smoky crisps and cupcake bites, these NPD show flavor is still the ultimate snack currency
Beckham-backed honey snacks, Pringles-topped cookies and even a suitcase built for sliced bread — the latest wave of NPD pushes boundaries of fun, flavor and fandom
WK Kellogg Co.’s binding deal to drop petroleum-based dyes marks a turning point for a $10bn US category, raising the bar on trust, regulation and corporate accountability
The snackdown
As scrutiny mounts over Bimbo’s stalled bid for Wickbold, Mars’ frozen takeover of Kellanova and Smucker’s costly Hostess misfire, the M&A playbook in bakery and snacks is under serious pressure - from regulators, consumers and the market itself
With a new $240m Nature’s Bakery plant opening in Utah and a $36bn Kellanova deal underway, Mars is laying the groundwork for a US snack empire
European Commission pauses review of $35.9bn Kellanova deal, citing “missing information”
Despite making a public commitment nearly a decade ago to phase out artificial colours, the M&M’s and Skittles maker is in hot water over its continued use of synthetic dyes in the US
The Italian confectioner is buying into breakfast cereals, hoping to stir up a category that’s seen better days
GROWTH ASIA SUMMIT 2025
New tactics emerge as a global giant rethinks how to win hearts, minds – and wallets – across a complex region
Major food companies like General Mills, Kraft Heinz, Conagra and Smucker are leading a sweeping shift away from synthetic colours. Here’s where the US food industry stands right now
The rumours are true. Ferrero Group in Europe is acquiring cereals major WK Kellogg in North America
Italy’s Ferrero is nearing a deal to buy WK Kellogg in the US, sources say
From pink pretzels to protein-packed doughnuts, here’s your ultimate roundup of strawberry-inspired products perfect for summer snacking and tennis viewing
The snackdown
Mars’ $36 billion takeover of Kellanova has been waved through by US antitrust regulators with barely a pause. But across the Atlantic, the same deal has triggered a full-scale investigation by the European Commission
Mars’ $36 billion takeover of Kellanova has been given the green light from US antitrust regulators but Brussels pushes forward with antitrust investigation
Mars wants to rule the snack aisle but Brussels may have other ideas. A full-blown EU antitrust probe now threatens to derail the confectionery giant’s biggest-ever bet
Celebrity-fuelled snacking is the summer’s hottest trend. From tennis courts to comic book universes, these 15 collabs are where fame, flavour and fandom collide
Summer road trip season is in full swing and snacking is riding shotgun. Which new treats are worth packing for the journey ahead?
With an ambitious growth target for the next five years, vice president of new innovation territories at Mars, Greg Hocking, explains how it’ll achieve it through fun formats, functionality and fostering sustainable start-ups
Kellogg’s, PepsiCo, Mondelēz and Conagra are taking aggressive steps to defend their turf and redefine the rules of the snack aisle
New product launches are landing hard this season, with brands pulling out all the stops - from celeb collabs to retro revivals.
Gold’s been baked, vanilla’s booming and snack tech is getting a long-overdue upgrade. From bold packaging pivots to flour with a lighter footprint, here’s what’s rising across the bakery and snack world
Post-spin, WK Kellogg is making a bold play to redefine cereal as a health food. But can a marketing framework overcome falling sales, tariff pressures and consumer scepticism?
Kellanova’s winning streak comes to an end in Q1 as inflation-induced price hikes take a toll on volumes, but the company is optimistic positive marketing pilots could help buoy future returns