Is your food safety at risk from information overload?
New research suggests food manufacturers may be collecting more info than workers can realistically process – with implications for productivity, quality and food safety
Industry voices
Climate Smart Food: Is sustainability good for business?
FoodNavigator and AgNavigator’s new event will explore the business case for sustainability
The great snack paradox: 7 lessons from snack’s biggest brands
Lay’s, Doritos, Lindt and Oreo are worth billions despite growing pressure from health trends, private label and changing consumer habits. Here’s what they’re getting right
Functional stacking: the new nutrition obsession you haven’t heard of yet
Matthew Balkin, Huel’s former nutrition lead, Registered Nutritionist and founder of Balkin Nutrition, looks at the future of nutrition as its focus moves from just ingredients to biological systems.
How PepsiCo plans to grow a 220-year-old nut brand
PepsiCo is betting on premiumisation, protein, new consumption occasions and younger consumers to fuel Duyvis’ next chapter
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
Has the ‘better-for-you’ boom gone too far in kids’ snacks?
As wellness claims flood the kids’ snacks aisle, some brands warn parents are becoming more sceptical of ‘better-for-you’ marketing and more focused on what products actually contain
7 ways GLP-1s are driving the freeze-dried snack frenzy
Smaller appetites, clean label cravings and the internet obsession with crunch are turning freeze-dried snacks into one of the hottest categories in global food
An existential shift is coming: Dimbleby on the forces set to reshape food
The industry is already seeing a myriad of different pressures, including increased labour and input costs, but Henry Dimbleby has warned things may get much worse before they get better.
Mood enhancers and munchies: The science behind cannabis cravings
Cannabis snacking has gone from counterculture cliché to booming business, fuelled by clinical appetite studies, THC treats and changing consumer habits
Food retail trends 2026: Why Gen Z no longer shops by aisle
Younger consumers aren’t just swapping meals for snacks – they’re tearing apart the traditional rules that have shaped food retail, product development and brand strategy for decades
Less sugar, more pressure: Scotland’s HFSS rules force a food industry rethink
With Scotland’s HFSS restrictions arriving in October, food manufacturers are under mounting pressure to reformulate products without sacrificing taste, texture or brand identity
Up the food chain
Europe’s copy-paste problem in US bakery
Why European bakery brands keep getting the US wrong and what it really takes to compete
Up The Food Chain
Embracing ‘genba’: Glico on balancing global trends with localisation
Yukio Kimura, COO of Glico Asia Pacific, says understanding ‘genba’ – the field where operations and consumer interactions take place – is key to keeping brands relevant in diverse markets
The snack barometer: The Iran conflict and the limits of consumer resilience
Food companies are becoming some of the clearest observers of the economic fallout from the Iran conflict as fuel volatility, inflation fears and changing spending habits begin reshaping behaviour across the supermarket aisle
Calm in the chaos: How US bakers are fighting back on regulation, reformulation and a restless consumer
At the recent American Bakers Association Convention (ABA), industry leaders made one thing clear – in a volatile market, credibility, collaboration and consumer connection will decide who thrives
The death of the free airline snack
Delta’s decision to scrap complimentary snacks and drinks on hundreds of flights is exposing a bigger shift across global aviation.
GLP-1s: Is the industry asking the wrong question?
New data and clinical insight suggest the real impact of GLP-1 drugs isn’t less eating – it’s a rethink of how, when and why people eat
TikTok-fuelled food shortages: How industry can respond
TikTok-led demand for products like ube and pistachio is straining global supply
PepsiCo’s second restaurant gamble is bigger, bolder and riskier
Following its first foray into hospitality in Madrid, PepsiCo is doubling down in Shanghai to test just how far a snack brand can stretch
Dignified food for seniors: Closing gaps in an ageing world
As societies age rapidly, a pressing question emerges: how can we better support seniors with dysphagia, a condition many may one day face?
FBIF 2026
Kraft Heinz insights: Is the concept of consumer brand loyalty dead?
In an era where consumers are bombarded with new products at every turn and purchasing decisions are increasingly influenced by technology, is brand loyalty no longer a thing? There is hope yet, says Kraft Heinz
Time’s ‘10 Most Influential Food Companies’ list misses some of the real disruptors
The 103-year-old magazine’s latest picks highlight companies on the move, but some of the forces genuinely reshaping food in 2026 sit beyond that shortlist
Flexibility under pressure: A practical guide to navigating new labour laws in food
From sick pay and shift scheduling to enforcement and dismissal risk, sweeping reforms are forcing food businesses to rethink how they manage people
‘Healthy’ has moved on – have snacks?
From fibre and protein to texture and sensation, the new rules of healthy snacking go far beyond cutting sugar, salt and fat
Up the food chain
If industrial bread looks artisanal, what happens next? Lesaffre baking director weighs in
As industrial processes close the quality gap, Edouard Gestat warns baking is entering a new phase – one where price and perception may matter as much as provenance
QR codes on-pack: Smart engagement or the next labelling fight?
They promise transparency and storytelling, but new research suggests QR codes are currently doing far more selling than informing
Earth Day 2026: ‘Food’s problem isn’t supply – it’s commitment’
Eighth-generation UK miller Bertie Matthews says regenerative farming is already proven, so if it’s still niche, the failure sits with retailers, manufacturers and the wider supply chain
‘Sweet treat people’: 7 ways Gen Z is driving America’s sugar boom
From daily habits to social rituals, new data shows Gen Z is driving a more frequent, more emotional – and more connected – sweet snacking culture.
Fermented grape is crushing reformulation’s toughest trade-offs
As pressure mounts to cut sugar and sodium, fermentation-derived ingredients are helping manufacturers cut trade-offs across flavour, texture and cost.
Toast-time trade-off eases as gene-edited wheat cuts acrylamide risk by 93%
Rothamsted field trials show gene-edited wheat can sharply reduce acrylamide risk in baked and fried foods without denting yield
Up the food chain
Celleste Bio CEO on the urgency of cultivating chocolate’s ‘magic’ ingredient - as missiles fall
Scaling biotech ingredients for a sector under strain is a hard. Doing it while conflict closes in is even harder
Hormuz blockade leaves food industry pricing in the dark as volatility becomes the baseline
Escalating tensions in the Strait of Hormuz are pushing up energy, freight and insurance costs – but the bigger challenge for the global food industry is managing risk in a market that is becoming increasingly unpredictable.
General Mills’ $697m Brazil hit shows how fast Big Food has changed
General Mills’ sale of its Yoki business in Brazil underscores a broader shift across the food industry as global players move away from expansion and towards tighter, margin-led portfolios
Could the GLP-1 boom open the door to shrinkflation?
Users of the drugs want smaller portions - this could help food companies save money
Mould, microbes and the $10m mistake food companies keep making
As climate shifts and supply chains stretch, food safety failures are becoming faster, costlier and harder to contain
Unilever and McCormick defend food tie-up after investor jitters
Executives from both companies reframe planned combination of food businesses as a ‘flavor-led’ growth strategy, despite sharp share price declines following the announcement
Cross‑industry food waste coalition targets 30M meals a year by 2028
Five major supermarkets have rolled out a joint fundraising campaign, as the food industry partners up to transport food to redistribution charities for the first time.
California pushes ‘non-UPF’ seal as certifications multiply and confusion grows
A proposed state-backed label aims to simplify ultra-processed food choices, but could competing definitions and private certifications risk muddying the message for consumers and complicate reformulation efforts?
Stagflation is food manufacturing’s worst-of-both-worlds scenario
Costs are rising again just as consumers start to hesitate and that’s a far more difficult mix than inflation alone.
Circana: Private label takes different paths in the US and Europe
With national brands leaning on promotions, retailers are betting on premium private label, better-for-you innovation and ESG commitments to build long-term trust and loyalty
Future Food-Tech San Francisco
Beyond disruption: What Big Food actually needs from startups
What separates startups that move forward from the ones that stall?
Up the food chain
How Clio plans to turn Greek yoghurt bars into a $300m business
As protein, satiety and indulgence converge, Clio CEO John McGuckin explains how the refrigerated bar brand went from ‘bleeding cash’ to chasing $120m – and why the real prize is building a whole new snacking category
Easter shopping trends in 2026: Darker, smaller, last minute
Easter shopping is shifting towards premium, playful and last-minute purchases
Retro and nostalgia: Why consumers are looking to the past
Consumers seek comfort and familiarity from food
Why the food industry can’t innovate alone anymore
As cocoa volatility, fat replacement and GLP-1 trends reshape demand, startups are becoming critical partners in ingredient innovation
Glyphosate in baby cereal sparks safety alarm in South Africa
A watchdog report detecting herbicide residues in bread, flour and infant cereal is reigniting the safety debate and putting pressure on regulators to act
The raisin squeeze: Iran tensions expose a fragile ingredient supply chain
Raisins sit quietly inside thousands of everyday foods, but the global trade behind them is far more concentrated than most manufacturers realise
Iran at war: What food and beverage needs to know
Israel and US attacks on Iran have long-lasting implications for global food and drink industries. Here’s the latest
Are we wrong about plant-based’s decline?
Some predict that plant-based growth could balloon in the coming decade