Hybrid Meat Could Outpace Pure Plant-Based on Climate Impact, Industry Expert Argues
Dr. Briony Sayers of ingredient distributor ACI Group argues that hybrid meat—products that blend up to 30% plant protein with animal meat—can deliver greater climate benefits than fully plant‑based alternatives because they require no change in consumer shopping habits. By substituting a portion of beef with low‑impact ingredients such as pea protein, hybrids cut CO2e emissions from roughly 178 kg per kilogram of beef to about 6.4 kg per kilogram of plant protein. The approach targets flexitarians, a larger market segment than vegans, and aligns with retailer goals like Lidl’s aim for 25% plant‑protein sales by 2030 and UK policy urging a 20% red‑meat reduction. The scale‑focused strategy promises a more immediate aggregate reduction in emissions and resource use.
NY Nears Ban on PFAS in Everyday Products
No one wants eggs with a side of “forever chemicals.” New York is so close to passing legislation that will make sure PFAS, a class of chemicals used in everyday products, including in Teflon coated cookware, are no longer on the...
Dr. Will’s to Launch Two Products Into Sainsbury’s
Dr. Will’s is debuting its Classic Mayo in Sainsbury’s stores nationwide on May 3, pricing the 170 g jar at £3 (≈$3.80). The retailer will also stock the brand’s Buffalo Hot Sauce in 300 locations for £3.50 (≈$4.50). Both products join Olive Oil...
La Maritxu to Open Fourth Basque Cheesecake Shop at Coal Drops Yard This May
La Maritxu, the London‑based Basque cheesecake chain founded in 2021, will launch its fourth shop at Coal Drops Yard in May 2026. The new outlet, the brand’s smallest with 14 seats, will serve classic cheesecake slices, whole cakes in four...
Columbia, RNDC Enter LOI for Pacific Northwest Distribution Rights
Columbia Distributing and Republic National Distributing Company (RNDC) have signed a non‑binding letter of intent for Columbia to acquire wine and spirits distribution rights in Oregon and Washington, plus an asset arrangement in Alaska. The deal would extend Columbia’s total‑beverage...
Outlaw Ocean Project Teases New Aquaculture Investigation During Congressional Hearing
The Outlaw Ocean Project testified before the Congressional‑Executive Commission on China, previewing its upcoming "Food for Feed" report that examines forced‑labor and environmental abuses across the global aquaculture supply chain. The investigation mapped roughly 1,400 fishmeal plants, traced feed shipments...
Peruvian Anchovy Small-Scale Purse Seine Fishery Shooting for MSC Certification
Peru’s small‑scale purse‑seine anchovy fishery has entered the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification process, led by Compañía Americana de Conservas and Corporación Leribe. The effort builds on a fisheries improvement project launched in 2016 by the NGO CeDePesca, which has...
Four Regional Grocers Join DoorDash Platform
DoorDash announced that four regional grocery chains—Brookshire Grocery Co., FreshDirect, Harps Foods and Market of Choice—are now available on its platform, adding more than 200 new stores to its marketplace. The partners span Texas to Oregon, expanding DoorDash’s grocery selection...
Maine Wild Blueberries Proven to Boost Heart and Gut Health, Study Finds
A University of Maine study led by nutrition professor Dorothy Klimis‑Zacas validates that daily consumption of wild blueberries reduces vascular inflammation and enhances gut health. The research shows the berries contain twice the antioxidants, 72% more fiber and 33% more...
The Yellow Bittern Adds Evening Wine Bar Service, Keeps Lunchtime‑Only Roots
Chef Hugh Corcoran announced that The Yellow Bittern will begin serving Friday evenings as a wine‑bar style offering, while retaining its famed lunchtime‑only identity. The move introduces bottles of wine, pot au feu, cheese and wheaten bread, but explicitly excludes...
Rossella to Open Muswell Hill Restaurant, Bar and Deli in May as Family-Run Italian Expands in North London
Rossella, the family‑run Italian restaurant founded by Luca Meola, will open its second North London venue in Muswell Hill in May. The new location combines a restaurant, bar and deli, and will soft‑launch from 5‑10 May with a 50% discount...
Kerry Facility Expansion Helps Meet Demand for Lactose-Free Dairy
Kerry announced a major expansion of its Carrigaline, Ireland biotechnology plant, boosting industrial‑scale production of lactase enzymes. The upgraded facility now supports processing of over 2 million tonnes of milk each year, helping dairy producers meet soaring demand for lactose‑free and...
Cava Group Pushes Toward 1,000 Restaurants as Valuation Stands Near 185× Earnings
Cava Group announced a goal to more than double its footprint to 1,000 restaurants by 2032, a plan backed by a clean balance sheet and $300 million in net cash. Analysts warn that shrinking same‑store sales and rising costs could strain...
Napa Valley Shifts to Walkable, Mass‑Market Wine Experiences to Stem Sales Decline
Napa Valley officials and winery owners are abandoning the traditional reservation‑only model in favor of walk‑able, downtown tasting rooms to attract younger, price‑sensitive visitors. The pivot comes as U.S. premium wine sales soften and competition from spirits and non‑alcoholic drinks...
The Unfortunate Thing That Happens To Leftovers At Raising Cane's
Raising Cane's, a fast‑casual chicken chain, is reportedly discarding 20‑60 pounds of food each day per location, according to Reddit posts from current and former employees. The waste stems from strict food‑safety standards that require chicken to be served within...
Chili’s New Margarita Comes with Dragonfruit Popping Boba
Chili’s is rolling out a limited‑time Popping Boba Margarita as part of its Margarita of the Month lineup, debuting April 30 and running through May. The $6 cocktail blends Lunazul Blanco tequila, Deep Eddy lemon vodka, watermelon syrup, house‑made sour and...
Precision Fermentation and the Shift to Designed Food Manufacturing
Precision fermentation lets food manufacturers produce proteins, enzymes and flavors using microbes, removing reliance on traditional agriculture. The technology’s primary advantage is operational control—shifting quality management upstream to design consistency rather than post‑production testing. While the market is projected to...
Graydon Carter's New Restaurant.
Veteran media mogul Graydon Carter is launching his first hospitality venture, a restaurant in New York City. The project marks his return to the city’s cultural scene, blending his literary pedigree with a classic bistro concept. Backed by seasoned restaurateurs...
Puratos Makes Progress on Cultured Cocoa Product
Puratos announced it will commercialize the world’s first chocolate ingredient made with cultured cocoa, targeting U.S. professional customers by the end of 2026. The product is being co‑developed with California Cultured through Puratos’ food‑tech arm Sparkalis, leveraging early‑stage investment in...
How to Market Instore Bakery Products in GLP-1 Era
GLP‑1 appetite‑suppressing drugs are now used by about 13% of U.S. adults, prompting industry concerns about baked‑goods demand. A 2026 ABA survey of 1,500 consumers, including 400 GLP‑1 users, found these shoppers actually engage more with bakery categories, eating meal‑related...
Hormel, LSI Whole Bird Business Transaction Completed
Hormel Foods Corp. completed the sale of its whole bird business to LSI Foods for roughly $1.2 billion in cash. The deal transfers Hormel's turkey, chicken and related processing assets across the United States to LSI, creating one of the nation’s...
Swig Inks 25-Unit Deal to Bring 'Dirty Soda' To South Florida
Swig, the Utah‑based dirty soda chain, signed a franchise agreement to open 25 locations across South Florida, targeting Port St. Lucie, Palm Beach and Stuart, with the first store expected by the end of 2026. The deal is led by multi‑unit...
Breaking the ‘Boom-and-Bust Cycle’ in Domestic Recycled Plastic Markets
The U.S. PET recycling sector lost roughly 25% of its capacity as seven of the 30 major facilities closed in the past year, intensifying a volatile boom‑and‑bust cycle. Simultaneously, rising virgin resin prices from the Iran‑related oil shock and a...
Small Batch Farms Enters Online Beef Market
Small Batch Farms, a family‑owned beef producer in Eldon, Missouri, has launched an online boutique that sells premium, pasture‑raised beef, jerky and freeze‑dried liver treats directly to U.S. consumers. The new direct‑to‑consumer platform, smallbatchfarms.com, offers nationwide shipping and subscription options....
Empowering Customers to Reduce Food Waste Through Optimised Merchandising
Walmart teamed with the Consumer Goods Forum’s Food Waste Coalition to pilot a new merchandising approach for near‑expiry bakery items. The dual‑channel strategy combined a public‑facing digital education hub with dedicated in‑store “Save Some Dough” fixtures in more than 100...
Greater Omaha Packing Receives Environmental Award From Meat Institute
Greater Omaha Packing Co. received the Meat Institute’s Environmental Achievement Award for its water‑conservation and wastewater‑management initiatives. The honor was presented at the Institute’s Environment, Labor, and Safety Conference. CEO Henry Davis highlighted substantial investments in treatment infrastructure and process...
University of Idaho Opens New Meat Science Lab for Processing Education
The University of Idaho inaugurated its $17.5 million, 12,750‑square‑foot Meat Science & Innovation Center on April 10, drawing more than 300 guests. The state‑of‑the‑art facility houses a Vandal Brand Meats storefront, smokehouses, a fabrication room, a modern classroom, and a test kitchen,...
What Are Hotel Buffets Really Serving—Experience or Excess?
Hotel breakfast buffets remain a key driver of guest satisfaction, offering speed, variety and a visual cue of hospitality. However, they also generate significant food waste, contributing to roughly 8‑10% of global greenhouse‑gas emissions. Recent research shows that waste can...
Corn Leads Export Inspections, Over Double Soybeans
Export inspections for the week ending April 23 (mln bu): #corn 64.7, grain sorghum 7.1, #soybeans 23.1, #wheat 13.4 #oatt
This Popular North London Italian Restaurant Is Opening a Second Location
Family‑run Italian restaurant Rossella, a Muswell Hill staple since 2012, is launching a second location in Kentish Town (N10) on May 12. The new venue will replicate the original’s cosy vibe while expanding the menu with steak salads, putanesca salmon...
Walmart’s Grocery Sales Growth Slows
Walmart’s U.S. grocery segment posted $285 billion in net sales for fiscal 2026, a 3.4% year‑over‑year increase and 59% of total company revenue. Growth slowed to roughly 3% after 4% and 11% gains in the two prior years, and the retailer’s...
Food Lion Pulls Back the Curtain on Its Loyalty Program
Food Lion’s MVP loyalty program has become a cornerstone of the chain’s recent growth, helping it achieve 53 consecutive quarters of comparable‑store sales expansion. The program now serves over 1 million monthly active customers, delivering personalized discounts automatically at checkout and...
Study Finds Cold Plasma Treatment Reduces Peanut Allergenicity
Researchers at McGill University demonstrated that cold plasma treatment can slash the immunoreactivity of whole peanut protein by nearly 70 percent after a 25‑minute exposure. The process altered protein structures, making them more digestible while preserving functional properties essential for...
US Stocks: Domino's Pizza Sees Weak Annual US Sales as Diners Curb Spending, Shares Slump
Domino's Pizza cut its U.S. same‑store sales outlook for fiscal 2026 to low‑single‑digit growth, down from a prior 3% rise expectation. The chain reported first‑quarter U.S. comparable sales of just 0.9%, well below analysts’ 2.72% forecast, and earnings per share...
SN Top 10: Should Walmart Be Scared when It Comes to Grocery?
Walmart’s grocery market share slipped below the 20% mark for the first time in years, settling at 19.9% according to Numerator data. Costco continued its ascent, reaching an 8.2% share and moving into third place behind Walmart and Kroger. Kroger’s...
Keurig Dr Pepper, Nestlé USA Extend Strategic Partnership
Keurig Dr Pepper and Nestlé USA have renewed their strategic partnership, extending the manufacturing and distribution agreement for Starbucks K‑Cup pods across the United States and Canada. The deal builds on the 2020 collaboration and adds new programs aimed at...
Baby Food Brand Recalls Jars over Undeclared Allergen
HiPP Organic UK is recalling its 7‑plus‑months Vegetable Lasagne baby food (190 g jars, batch B49311, best‑before 31 January 2027) after the ingredient list failed to display celeriac in bold, breaching UK allergen‑labelling rules. The recall affects only this specific batch and product...
Independents Shrink While Chains Slightly Grow in 2025
2025 was a rough year for independent #restaurants. Let's look at the numbers of units; the closures indicate that it remains really challenging for smaller operators to stay afloat: Limited service Chains +1.6% Independents -1.8% Full Service Chains -0.1% Independents -2.6%
Magnum’s ‘Multisensorial’ Ice Cream Tops FMCG NPD Chart
Worldpanel’s Innovation Advantage report ranks Magnum’s new “Utopia” ice cream at the top of the FMCG new‑product launch list, attributing $3.8 million of category incrementality. The study evaluates launches by the incremental spend they generate, finding that nearly half of new...
Tiba Tempeh Brings Whole-Bean Snack Bites to UK Chilled Aisles
UK plant‑based brand Tiba Tempeh is debuting Protein Bites, a chilled, single‑portion snack made from whole‑bean tempeh. The bites deliver 20 g of protein per 100 g, high fibre and natural ingredients, and come in 60 g (£1.50 ≈ $1.9) and 45 g (£1.30 ≈ $1.6) packs. The...
Applebee’s Franchisees Sue Chain over Dual-Branding Exclusivity
Apple Texas Restaurants and Apple Houston Restaurants have filed a federal lawsuit accusing Dine Brands of breaching franchise exclusivity clauses by opening dual‑branded IHOP‑Applebee’s locations in Texas trade areas they control. The plaintiffs argue the new concept, which Dine touts...
Pizza Hut Is Closing Hundreds of Restaurants: See an Updated List of Doomed Locations for 2026
Yum Brands is accelerating its "Hut Forward" turnaround by closing roughly 250 underperforming Pizza Hut restaurants in the United States, with more than 50 sites already shuttered according to a Fast Company analysis. The closures are slated for completion by...
Spate: US Supplement Market Is Moving Toward a ‘Symptom-First’ Consumer
Spate’s analysis shows U.S. supplement shoppers now begin their purchase journey with a symptom—bloating, magnesium deficiency, or high blood pressure—rather than a brand. Year‑over‑year search interest surged 423.5% for high blood pressure, 133.9% for magnesium deficiency, and 83.6% for bloating....
Middle East Focus: SAMBAZON Acai, Iran Conflict and Saudi Food Fraud
SAMBAZON, the world’s largest açaí brand, is leveraging rapid growth in Japan and the Middle East to position the berry as a lifestyle staple, highlighting its unique jungle‑based processing that guarantees same‑day handling. At Gulfood 2026, the company emphasized its vertical‑integrated...
Domino's Profits Fall as Consumers Curb Spending Based on Rising Costs
Domino's Pizza reported first‑quarter net income of $139.8 million, a 6.6% decline from a year earlier, largely due to a $30 million valuation loss on its Chinese master franchisee. Despite the profit dip, total revenue rose 3.5% to $1.15 billion, helped by higher...
Most US Food Service Giants Still Failing on Plant-Based Protein, Annual Scorecard Finds
Humane World for Animals released its 2026 Food Service Industry Protein Sustainability Scorecard, grading the largest U.S. food‑service managers on plant‑forward menus, animal‑protein reductions, and fiber‑rich options. Five firms—Guckenheimer, Elior North America, Metz Culinary Management, HHS LLC, and Fresh Ideas—earned...
Men More Likely than Women to Justify Meat-Eating, Turkish Study Finds
A Turkish study of 520 adults found men justify meat‑eating with direct, masculinity‑linked arguments—health, strength, hierarchy—while women rely on indirect tactics such as dissociation and avoidance. Men reported higher meat consumption and stronger endorsement of speciesism and social dominance orientation...
Reading Food Labels: How to Tell if What You're Eating Is Healthy
An article from a nutrition outlet highlights 14 seemingly healthy foods that can cause rapid blood‑sugar spikes due to high glycemic indexes or hidden sugars. It details the glycemic scores of items such as oat milk, instant oatmeal, sushi rice,...
Remember New Coke?
In 1985 Coca‑Cola introduced New Coke to counter Pepsi’s surge, but the formula change was driven by internal business pressure rather than consumer demand, sparking a public backlash. The author draws a parallel to today’s rapid AI adoption, where many...
Saudi FDA Advances Global Food Safety Cooperation at IHFAF
The Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) led a high‑profile delegation at the Seventh International Heads of Food Agencies Forum (IHFAF) in Auckland, focusing on risk communication. Dr. Hisham Aljadhey held bilateral meetings with food‑safety agencies from the Netherlands, the...