Cocoa whiplash: How a record price spike turned into a demand slump
The market has swung from historic shortage to surplus projections for 2025/26 in under two years
Business
Iran Conflict: What does this mean for global food sector?
The ongoing tensions in Iran could disrupt supply routes and drive volatility across key food commodities such as rice and meat
How food retailers and suppliers are driving health and affordability
Grocery retailers and food suppliers are reformulating products, leveraging dietitian expertise and integrating health services to meet rising consumer demand for nutritious, affordable food
The 2026 reset: Why protein strategy is now a structural business challenge
Protein has become expected – and delivering it at scale without breaking flavour, cost or compliance is testing manufacturers like never before
The tale of two spin-offs: What the Kellogg breakup really achieved
Kellogg’s 2023 split was sold as a focus play. Less than two years later, both companies had been sold. So what was the split really for?
Smucker sues Trader Joe’s, as Uncrustables shifts from freezer to fridge
Smucker is retooling its $1B Uncrustables line for ready-to-eat convenience while battling knockoffs in the frozen PB&J arms race
Protein is the price of entry at Expo West 2026
Expo West lands in Anaheim this March, and protein isn’t just a trend – it’s the baseline. The real fight is over taste, texture and who can make functionality feel effortless
Inside the $330bn functional food frenzy fuelled by PepsiCo, Coke & Nestlé
From PepsiCo to Nestlé, global giants are racing to cash in on the booming functional food craze, but with trends shifting fast, the stakes have never been higher
Supreme Court strikes down Trump’s tariff policy
The decision is likely to spark a wave of lawsuits from businesses across the food and beverage industry and beyond
Why Nestlé is selling ice cream to Froneri
The move echoes a broad industry shift and would strengthen an already high-performing JV
Conagra bets on active aging adults to drive the next wave of CPG growth
As competitors chase Gen Z, Conagra Brands is targeting the fastest-growing cohort in the US: active adults seeking protein, portion control, value and health-forward convenience – all of which overlaps with other emerging demographic groups, including...
Mondelēz charts next growth wave across North America, Europe and emerging markets
The company is tailoring its strategy by region, courting value‑seeking US shoppers, fixing European chocolate margins and using Oreo‑led biscuits and cakes to unlock runway across China, India, Brazil and Mexico
General Mills lowers sales expectations but expands its playbook to win back consumers
The packaged food giant is banking on bolder taste, functional nutrition and smarter packaging to offset weak cereal and snack demand
Unilever commits to food growth after strong 2025 performance
After shedding much of the food portfolio, Unilever is championing its remaining business in the segment
Nestlé, Mondelēz, Mars, Barry Callebaut: Which chocolate giants are diversifying?
The cocoa crisis is winding down, but the biggest producers of chocolate still want to protect themselves in a volatile sector
Kraft Heinz scraps breakup timeline to focus on turnaround
Following disappointing Q4 results and the potential exit of a major investor, new CEO Steve Cahillane redirects resources toward restoring growth and competitiveness
Africa’s wheat import dependence leaves bread prices exposed to global shocks
Heavy reliance on imported wheat is amplifying price volatility for African bakeries, as geopolitics, currency pressures and logistics costs collide
Hain Celestial’s reset starts with snacks sale, but doubts about what is next linger
Q2 sales fell 7% as analysts pressed management on whether baby and kids’ food could face similar scrutiny
Barry Callebaut ploughs €250m into world’s biggest chocolate factory
Barry Callebaut plans to modernise Wieze and Halle sites, bolstering reliability and efficiency across its European supply network
Unilever faces a pivotal year as strategy moves to execution
Unilever enters a transition year as the company seeks to accelerate growth after its ice cream spin-off
Food companies further limit advertising to children across digital media
Coca-Cola, Campbell’s, General Mills and other CPG and fast-food companies expanded voluntary advertising restrictions across digital platforms after research found most children encounter unhealthy food branding on YouTube
PepsiCo cuts prices on Lay’s, Cheetos and Tostitos ahead of Super Bowl
CEO calls the move a ‘surgical investment’ as the company integrates Siete Foods, Poppi and its expanded Celsius partnership while preparing relaunches of Gatorade and Quaker Oats
Schumacher’s strategy: Five moves to revive Barry Callebaut
New CEO Hein Schumacher enters a company in decline. Here are the five decisive moves that could put the world’s biggest chocolate maker back on track
Business strategies to win in a GLP-1 food world
It may not be the big FMCGs who dominate in a market where appetite, and impulse, shrink
How Chobani is bringing ‘hunt culture’ to grocery retail
Chobani is translating hype and scarcity economics into everyday grocery categories, reframing its Flavor Drops creamer from a staple product into a discovery-driven experience
Why the Super Bowl still delivers what TikTok can’t for food brand power
In a marketing culture obsessed with speed and efficiency, Southern Connecticut State University associate professor Amit Singh argues the Super Bowl exposes an uncomfortable truth about how real brand power is actually built
Boardroom clash behind Barry Callebaut CEO shake‑up
Leadership shake‑up at Barry Callebaut reveals deeper strategic tensions at the world’s biggest chocolate maker
How coffee creamer brands stay top of mind
From Chobani to International Delight, creamer brands are elevating their product development and marketing tactics to keep shoppers onboard
News Bites
Top 5 stories reshaping grocery value in 2026
The grocery value equation is evolving beyond simple price tags
Mondelēz’s CoLab Tech accelerator shines light on the biggest stress points facing the global snack system
As the company reopens applications for its R&D-led accelerator, the focus areas highlight mounting pressure around climate resilience, packaging constraints and shifting consumer expectations
Mondelēz names new EVP, COO and CFO
Mondelēz International reshapes top team, elevating CFO Luca Zaramella to powerful dual role
Why South Africa’s bread giants are going mega
SA bread makers are investing in mega-bakeries to cut costs, boost efficiency and serve rising regional demand while navigating price sensitivity and infrastructure constraints
World’s biggest snack companies: who’s really got the crunch in 2026
In a near-$700bn global market, a handful of companies now decide what scales, what sticks and what survives, and in 2026, the power gap is only widening
UK M&A activity trends
M&A activity in the UK remained resilient despite testing times, data collated by corporate finance house Oghma Partners reveals.
TikTok’s influence on food: How online trends blow up
The social media platform can drive food trends to the point where they move markets
Which Middle East markets are leading food and beverage sales?
The Middle Eastern food industry is booming, with billions of dollars of growth expected over the next decade
When trust turns toxic: Mars exec jailed in $28m fraud case that exposed insider risk
Former Mars executive Paul Steed’s 63-month prison sentence for stealing more than $28m exposes how insider fraud can persist inside global food companies – and why scale can magnify risk
Bread merger puts consumer affordability under global regulatory spotlight
A UK competition probe into a proposed bread merger is expanding beyond market structure, with regulators explicitly weighing consumer affordability and staple food supply
The global bread labeling gap is catching up with bread marketing
From the US to the EU and Asia-Pacific, bread labeling rules haven’t kept pace with modern baking models, forcing bakers and retailers to rethink how they use terms like ‘wholegrain’, ‘sourdough’ and ‘freshly baked’
Barry Callebaut appoints ex‑Unilever boss as new CEO
Barry Callebaut shakes up its leadership as Hein Schumacher steps in during a pivotal moment for the world’s largest chocolate maker
World’s biggest bakery companies: who’s really got the proof in 2026
Bakery looks like a steady, staple business, until you follow the money. In 2026, a small group of companies controls an outsized share of the world’s bread, buns and baked goods, and the distance between the leaders and the rest is still growing
Kraft Heinz demerger: Will the $28.7bn break-up pay off?
After the collapse of a major merger, Kraft Heinz plans to split into two companies. Will this bold move unlock growth or expose new risks?
Chocolate is front-running US-Canada trade breakdown
As US-Canada tariffs grind on with no obvious exit, chocolate makers are quietly redrawing supply chains and exposing a deeper fault line running through food
Heineken CEO steps down
Heineken CEO Dolf van den Brink will step down in May. A search for his successor is under way
Nestlé’s reputation in danger over global infant formula recall
The CPG major faces the biggest product recall in its history - and investors want answers
Barry Callebaut: The rumoured split that could change chocolate
Could Barry Callebaut’s next move reshape the future of chocolate and snacks?
Can Kingsmill and Hovis really share a loaf?
A fast-tracked CMA investigation has thrown Associated British Foods’ planned takeover of Hovis into deep regulatory water and exposed how brittle the UK bread market has become
Sugar, stocks and scrutiny: Mondelez, Kraft and General Mills caught in Trump’s nutrition reset
The market reaction to Donald Trump’s dietary overhaul isn’t about kale versus cookies – it’s about whether Washington has finally decided the packaged food sector needs firmer rules, not friendlier guidance
How the ‘Dyson of dairy’ reinvented butter and why cottage cheese is next
Born from a viral video and built like a modern CPG, All Things Dairy’s is using social‑first brand building, clean‑label processing and protein‑aligned innovation to move the needle in a commoditised category
Beckham’s snack play: How BEEUP plans to sting the competition
Forget celebrity sidelines, David Beckham’s actually in the test kitchen: CEO Peter Stearns lifts the lid on how that shapes BEEUP’s next phase