Suppliers of fresh, frozen, and processed meat and poultry are facing increased competition from producers of meat substitutes. Manufacturers of such products include Beyond Meat, Kellogg Company’s MorningStar Farms, and Impossible Foods. As these companies continue to improve the taste and texture (e.g., ability to sizzle on a grill) of plant-based patties and other meat substitutes, more individuals are experimenting with these products. The increased availability of meat substitutes on restaurant menus and grocery store shelves is also spurring sales.
January 21, 2019Investments in branding, marketing, and distribution help to explain the growing popularity of pistachios.
May 7, 2018The canned food industry seems to have opened a can of worms. Long a staple of consumer diets, canned food has fallen out of favor with consumers, with more consumers valuing fresh, healthy food made without packaging. For example, several major canned food companies saw revenues decline in the first half of 2018. Furthermore, Campbell canned its CEO due to a precipitous drop in sales. So what happened? How did canned food get left off of consumers’ plates? And what are companies doing to respond?
October 15, 2018Municipal solid waste (MSW) presents two major challenges for municipalities: collection and management. Over the past few decades, many cities have addressed collection by outsourcing it to firms...
April 3, 2017US demand for fertilizers is forecast to fall to 28.1 million metric tons in 2021. As structural changes in agricultural markets lead to declining acreage of planted crops, less fertilizer will be needed to sustain plant growth. Additionally, fertilizers are improving such that higher crop yields can be obtained with smaller volumes of fertilizer, inhibiting demand.
July 18, 2017Due to the advent of ketogenic and gluten-free diets, consumers want healthy grain-based foods – and they’re willing to pay more for them. One segment of the industry that has benefited is small start-up baking companies. They’ve boosted revenues by offering healthy grain-based products inside the healthy eating niche in the market. However, the major food manufacturers are responding through acquisition of many of these small health-focused food brands to diversify their portfolio.
June 18, 2018The battle over the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in the US food supply has raged on for years. The fight pits advocacy groups, such as Just Label It and The Center for Food Safety, against major crop and food producers such as Monsanto and PepsiCo. Advocacy groups argue that consumers have a right to know. Industry groups opine that two decades of research has suggested GMOs are safe and thus labels are unnecessary and will scare consumers.
September 18, 2018US restaurant and foodservice revenues are forecast to total $990 billion in 2021. Advances will be driven by increases in population and disposable personal income, as consumers dine out more often and purchase higher-priced offerings. Over the 2006-2016 period, revenues increased briskly, with 2009 representing the only year of decline as the recession prompted consumers to curb discretionary purchases.
November 8, 2017The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically altered the way people dine, both at home and in public. The overwhelming fear of contamination that was once the domain of germophobes has become commonplace. As the world starts to open back up as vaccinations expand, restaurants face the challenge of customers who have spent more than a year thinking about the sanitary practices behind the production, handling, and consumption of food. Is the “sanitarian” customer the new vegetarian?
April 29, 2021Unilever declined a takeover offer of over $140 billion from Kraft Heinz, stating that the offer “fundamentally undervalues” the company. The rebuff prompted Kraft Heinz to withdraw the offer, but speculation continues that the company may be hungry for another merger...
March 12, 2017