Candy Kittens owner in talks to buy Unilever snack brand Graze
Unilever is set to offload Graze for a fraction of its 2019 purchase price. Can Katjes revive the struggling snack brand?
Start-ups & disruptors
Hershey’s salty strategy
The confectionery giant’s latest move – snapping up LesserEvil – pulls it deeper into the everyday snacking landscape it’s been circling for years
Biscuits, cookies & crackers: What’s trending now and into 2026
Premium treats, grab-and-go minis and a burst of festive innovation are giving the aisle more energy than it’s had in years
Cocoa’s gone wild: Could malted barley flour be the calm in the chaos?
With cocoa costs spiraling, Briess is pitching malted barley flour as a reliable, clean label lifeline for bakers and snack makers
Big results for small budgets: How Crave Ventures helps emerging CPG brands scale
Service-for-equity model gives founders access to marketing, branding, PR and retail expertise without upfront capital
Why brands are dropping synthetic dyes ahead of regulation
Synthetic dyes may still be legal but shifting consumer trends and rising US state-level pressures mean bakery and snack brands aren’t waiting for mandates to start cleaning up their color palettes
General Mills, WK Kellogg & Ferrero spark a fresh fight for the breakfast bowl
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
NPD: Feel-good snacking gets serious as brands go big on nostalgia, kindness & chaos
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
Christmas 2025: Sugar, spice & all things iced
From boozy puddings to glitter-dusted brownies, bakers are dialing up nostalgia, sparkle and flavor innovation to make this festive season the sweetest yet
Fruitist continues expanding packaged fresh fruit business with $150 million capital raise
The fresh fruit producer plans to invest in fruit genetics and AI to boost its positioning in the healthy snacking segment
Hain Celestial shows signs of stabilization amid brand shake-up
The maker of Celestial Seasonings and Garden Veggie Snacks narrowed losses as restructuring gains traction
Brewing loyalty: How coffee is powering bakery footfall
Coffee’s not just a pick-me-up anymore. It’s helping bakeries pull ahead in a slowing market
Snack to the future: How startups go from local crave to global shelf
Building a snack brand people love is one thing. Scaling it globally without losing your grip – or your supply chain – is another
World’s biggest chocolate supplier makes move away from cocoa
Barry Callebaut explores cocoa alternatives amid rising costs and climate pressure
Sustainability gets real: It’s crunch time for Europe’s snack makers
New ESA president Christopher Gosau says the region’s snack makers must turn bold sustainability promises into measurable progress or risk losing credibility
5 meat snack innovations at NACS 2025
The tradeshow featured hundreds of innovative new products at the Cool New Snacks preview room
Protein, please: NPD with real muscle
Protein’s still flexing hard, but it’s left the gym and hit the grocery aisle
A splinter too far: Tyson’s corn dog recall bites back
A splinter in a corn dog might sound trivial – until it lands in court, potentially costing millions and shaking consumer trust in food safety
AI helps Hovis, Mars and PepsiCo cut factory downtime
From bread lines to snack plants, manufacturers are turning to artificial intelligence to predict breakdowns and keep production running at full speed
Automation meets its match in muffins: Why bakeries are the toughest floors to robotize
From batter variety to data quality, bakery floors pose unique hurdles for automation, but cobots, AI and smart glasses are helping producers rethink consistency, safety and flexibility
Ben & Jerry’s pro-Gaza ice cream blocked by directors
If Ben & Jerry’s can’t make a ‘Peace for Palestine’ flavoured ice cream, co-founder Ben Cohen will make it himself
Halloween: The White House gets spooky, Pringles begins to glow and McVitie’s brings back Jaffaween
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
The snackdown: Apparently, we forgot what potato chips are made from
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
Pink pastries, prison bakes & purpose: October’s most meaningful bakery & snack launches
Producers are proving that good food can do good, too – turning patisserie counters pink, tackling loneliness and funding second chances through every bite
Postcard from Las Vegas: Bakeries are playing to win
In the city of jackpots and neon, the newest high rollers are made of butter, sugar and vanilla not poker chips
Warburtons cements its grip on UK bakery with Roberts acquisition
Warburtons has acquired Roberts Bakery’s Ilkeston site, expanding its specialty bread capacity as Britain’s bakery market continues to consolidate
Rebel Baker named Scotland’s Start Up Loans Ambassador
Allergen-free bakery The Rebel Baker, based in Ayr, has been named Scotland’s Start Up Loans Ambassador.
Mondelēz-backed Celleste Bio debuts cell-cultured chocolate-grade cocoa butter
The new ingredient is positioned as an ‘insurance policy’ against cocoa supply chain volatility and says the bio-identical ingredient could stabilize supply as climate change strains traditional crops
Roberts Bakery lands a lifeline
The century-old bread maker’s been pulled back from the brink after a rescue deal secured hundreds of jobs and gave new life to one of Britain’s best-known bakery brands
Quick bites: The snack built for the GLP-1 generation
In a world of grazers, go-getters and GLP-1 users, The Protein Ball Co’s bold refresh proves that clean, portionable snacking still has power
NPD report: Bread innovation goes big on protein, purpose and planet
A new study is changing what bakers know about sourdough, while a wave of launches from Thomas’ to Sara Lee is proving bread can be nutritious, inventive and purposeful all at once
Diwali’s billion-dollar mithai boom goes global
Once an Indian household tradition, mithai (traditional confections) is now a global indulgence and brands like Haldiram’s are cashing in on Diwali’s sweet glow-up
Press start to snack: Inside the $200 billion gaming boom brands can’t ignore
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
Opinion
The snackdown: What happens when activists come to buy a baguette
Activist investors have developed an appetite for food-to-go and SSP Group, the company behind Upper Crust, is suddenly on the menu
Fright club: Halloween 2025 NPD gets bold, boozy and baked
Halloween spending is set to smash records this year, and brands are responding with limited edition launches designed to thrill. From eerie éclairs to glow-in-the-dark Goldfish, 2025’s NPD lineup is frightfully inventive
GLP-1-friendly snacks: protein-packed NPD
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.
Opinion
The snackdown: Europe dithers while chocolate-linked deforestation grows
Brussels has kicked the can down the road on its flagship deforestation law again – blaming IT problems while forests fall and compliant companies foot the bill.
From Oreos to Ozempic: Inside the $100bn Free From race
Gluten-free cookies, sugar-free chocolate and GLP-1 diets are colliding. The world’s biggest food makers are scrambling to stay relevant
Buffalo Wings, Stranger Things and greener packs: Chips NPD heats up
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
PepsiCo and Unilever step up with new regen ag push
PepsiCo and Unilever have decided it’s time to get serious about soil: their new STEP up for Agriculture program throws money and muscle behind regenerative farming
Banks, bakers and brands bet on Africa’s supply chain
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
Ferrero chooses New York cupcake disruptor for spooky collab: ‘This is a pinch me moment’
For Melissa Ben-Ishay, teaming up with Ferrero is a Halloween treat. But the Baked by Melissa CEO knows collabs are more than fun – they’re fueling serious business growth
Christmas is shaping up to be a real cracker
It may be only September, but it’s never too soon to talk about Christmas. In 2025, festive innovation is set to deliver indulgence, hybrids and playful nostalgia.
Archer gives snack meat market something to chew on
Premium protein company carves its niche in the rapidly evolving jerky industry
From field to aisle: Regenerative won’t work without supply chain buy-in
Heartland Craft Grains’ pact with Grown Climate Smart proves regenerative certification is becoming a supply-chain movement
Sam’s Club takes a slice of the pizza business with online sales growth
The warehouse club is growing its store count along with its prepared food offerings
Pumped for pumpkin NPD: Fall’s favorite flavor is back in force
From cookies and coffee to yogurt and popcorn, pumpkin spice is once again ruling the shelves
The new rules of snacking: How to navigate a $150bn market in flux
Data from Conagra and Circana shows how shifting tastes, wellness demands and convenience are rewriting the playbook for snack makers worldwide
Sustainable September
What shoppers really think of climate-smart chips and planet-saving pastries
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?
Sustainable September
From net zero to no hunger: Bakery&Snacks powers up Sustainable September
Climate roadmaps, community kitchens and cleaner labels – Sustainable September showcases how bakery and snacks are delivering for consumers, the planet and communities, proving collaboration is the real gamechanger