Inside the leadership strategies reshaping British baking
Britain’s first Bakery Leader of the Year finalists reveal what it takes to build stronger teams, resilient businesses and sustainable growth
Industry voices
Is traditional snack advertising becoming obsolete?
Campbell’s is putting 85% of its working media budget into digital channels, reflecting Big Food’s changing approach to how brands are built and sold
The top 3 areas winning private label right now
Private label’s glow-up is winning shoppers with clean labels, high-protein products and trend-driven innovation that goes far beyond bargain pricing
Big Food’s Big Reset: Why the industry’s changing faster than ever
From C-suite shake-ups to targeted acquisitions, Big Food is rethinking how to win in a rapidly changing market
Arsenic for breakfast? Cereal’s contaminant problem exposed
New testing raises awkward questions about what ‘better-for-you’ breakfast really means
The egg crisis failed to crack manufacturers’ reliance on eggs
After four years of disease, flock losses and punishing prices, manufacturers had every reason to replace eggs – but the crisis instead exposed just how difficult that is
Big Food’s colour promises are colliding with supply chain reality
The dye deadlines are closing in, but the alternatives aren’t ready
Does sponsoring one team turn its rivals against your brand?
Sports sponsorship can turn fan loyalty into sales but brands may also inherit the rivalries, anger and controversies surrounding the teams they support
Marion Nestle and former Kellogg exec team up on cereal industry exposé
‘Sugar Coated’ connects decades of cereal-box designs to the policies governing food labels and health claims
Terms including ‘burger’ and ‘sausage’ could be added to EU ‘meaty’ names ban
A range of terms have been added to the proposal
UK food consumers increasingly shun on-the-go impulse buys
UK consumers are increasingly preparing food at home for on-the-go occasions, according to the latest research from the Institute of Grocery Distribution (IGD).
Why the former McVitie’s boss is betting on private label
Cem Karakaş once ran one of the world’s biggest branded snack groups; now he’s buying into the manufacturers helping retailers challenge them
Why relevance is shaping the snacking category
Relevance, not reinvention, is driving innovations in snacks as brands aim to meet consumers’ dynamic lifestyles
Why food products live or die on shelf: A retailer’s perspective
Winning supermarket shelf space is difficult but keeping it can be considerably harder
El Niño 2026 may be ‘largest since the 19th century’
The weather event will be the largest in living memory, according to the UK’s Met Office
Rizz, 6-7 and brainrot: Can food and drink speak internet without sounding cringe?
A viral buzzword can capture attention, but research suggests brands risk losing credibility when borrowed slang jars with the personality consumers already know
Overturning 7 industry assumptions about the GLP-1 consumer
The newest evidence challenges some of the food industry’s most comfortable conclusions about GLP-1 consumers
Can culturally rooted snacks survive industrial scale?
As regional flavours go global, manufacturers risk engineering away the very character that made them valuable
Gen Alpha’s early eating habits offer a roadmap for the future of snacking
NIQ research finds that children are already thinking about ingredients, nutrition and the benefits they want from snacks, which could shape the category as they gain purchasing power
Opinion
No ingredient can make up for a balanced diet: Why ‘maxxing’ trends are not the answer
Consumers should not focus single-mindedly on any ingredient
‘Worth it’ replaces ‘more is more’ as indulgence evolves
Confectionery indulgence is shifting from ‘more is more’ to ‘worth it’ as consumers prioritise quality, experience, wellness and sustainability
Grupo Bimbo bets on China’s shift to ‘eating right’
As Chinese shoppers trade bulk buying for clean label, better-for-you bakery, the Mexican giant is investing to keep pace with a market forecast to top ¥900bn ($130bn) by 2030
The rebel cacao the cocoa industry never saw coming
Ceremonial cacao – minimally processed, traceable to a single farm and allergic to marketing spin – is barging into the mainstream on its own terms, but one UK founder says manufacturers still don’t get it
Balancing founder input with institutional control
As food and beverage businesses grow and attract external investment, founders must adapt to more formal governance structures. Laura Gray, senior associate at law firm, Birketts LLP, explains...
Who really makes the world’s fastest-growing private label foods?
As private label gains ground worldwide, manufacturers from the US, Europe and Southeast Asia are competing to become the hidden engine behind retailers’ increasingly powerful own-brand portfolios
Why so many new product ideas are failing
Brands relying on large language models (LLMs) for innovation ideas are serving up a recipe for blandification, writes Dr Nicki Morley, global MD of innovation solutions for Kantar.
Why chocolate goes wrong in baking
Chocolate leakage and uneven bake performance are often blamed on poor-quality chocolate, but the real problem frequently lies in ingredient performance and process consistency
Mars-Kellanova: What Brussels really decided about brand power
The EU cleared Mars’ $36bn Kellanova deal without conditions and its reasoning reveals how much bargaining power a brand really has left.
Protein Ball CEO: Brands must ‘dance with the devil’ on own label
As retailer own label continues to claim a significant portion of the market, we hear from Matt Hunt, CEO of Protein Ball, on how brand manufacturers can turn a threat into an opportunity.
Hollywood snack collabs: Why movie tie-ins keep winning for CPG brands
Snacks are the biggest beneficiary of Hollywood-powered marketing, with 60% of consumers noticing brand collabs “often or always” and 68% saying they’ve purchased a co-branded or special edition product
From Mars to Intersnack: Are family dynasties becoming food’s new dealmakers?
As public markets keep discounting listed food companies, family-controlled giants are stepping in with the patience – and the premiums – to buy them
The GLP-1 effect reaches ANZ
New research suggests Australia and New Zealand are following the same GLP-1-driven consumer shifts seen elsewhere, offering an early indication of where the wider APAC food market could head next
UK CEOs sound the alarm over serious supply chain vulnerabilities
A majority of UK CEOs have warned that a major supply chain shock could have catastrophic consequences for large British businesses.
From excess to experience: How indulgence is evolving
Indulgence hasn’t gone away, but its meaning has changed
5 hard truths every functional food startup needs to learn
The functional food market is booming, but turning a promising concept into a commercially successful product is rarely straightforward
How heritage brands can break free from category stereotypes
Pulling from real-life cases studies, Ed Hayes, chief strategy officer at branding agency Bloom, sets out key tactics to successfully broadening a brand’s audience without jeopardising its original market appeal.
The climate effect: How extreme heat is rewriting the retail playbook
Extreme heat is forcing bakery chains from Newcastle to New Jersey to swap hot pastries for cold drinks and salads, turning the weather forecast into a key commercial indicator
How are better-for-you snacks outpacing conventional offerings?
High protein is here to stay while consumers seek fresh, whole foods as part of their healthier snack routine
Why traditional flour specifications may no longer predict performance
Traditional flour specifications remain essential but changing wheat quality and modern production demands are exposing the limits of long-established tests
Hovis Bakeries: Can Britain’s biggest bread shake-up revive its struggling loaf market?
Hovis Bakeries is the latest sign that Britain’s industrial bread sector is being forced to reinvent itself as changing consumer habits, supermarket pressure and rising costs reshape one of the UK’s biggest food categories
USDA pushes ahead with reorganization despite lawsuit and warnings of ‘brain drain’
Employees face relocation deadlines as the agency defends plans to move thousands of Washington-based staff to national hubs, while critics argue the overhaul is an effort to force workers out and threatens safety oversight
McVitie’s owner aims to double healthy snack sales by 2030
The company behind McVitie’s, GODIVA and Ülker promises to double its sales of products with higher levels of protein and fibre in four years.
Grupo Bimbo: The bread giant that isn’t afraid of the store brand
Grupo Bimbo says it’s thriving alongside private label’s rise across the US grocery aisle, even as store brands outsell it in parts of its own core bread category
IFT FIRST
‘Facts aren’t enough’: IFT warns of growing food misinformation crisis
Nearly half of food science professionals are extremely concerned as viral content and distrust of institutions reshape the information landscape
Inside the UAE’s push towards a healthier food system
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) National Strategy for Healthy Nutrition 2031 has grand plans to revamp health and nutrition in the country — but lofty challenges lie ahead
IFT First
Upcycling enters new phase as startups unlock premium ingredients from food sidestreams
Advances in extraction, refining and on-site processing showcased at IFT FIRST are shifting upcycling from a sustainability strategy to a platform for premium proteins, bioactives and functional fibers
Health halos mask sugar content: Children’s cereal claims face scrutiny
A new Canadian study finds that sugar levels in children’s breakfast cereals remain high, despite a proliferation of health claims
From Three Square Meals to the Snack Universe
The traditional three-meal day falls from favour as consumers choose spontaneous snacking
Cortisol: The viral trend that’s rewriting shopping lists
The internet’s favourite stress hormone is fuelling a fibre boom, and shoppers are being told to slow down and think again
5 lessons from the start-up that’s seen an 85% spend uptick from GLP-1 users
Jackson’s CEO delves into why GLP-1 users are spending more with it, not less