Iran War Food Price Crisis: How Industry Can Prepare
Three months after the Iran war began, the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, choking global energy and fertilizer shipments. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization warns that prolonged disruption could trigger a worldwide food‑price crisis within six to twelve months. Fertilizer‑intensive crops are already feeling price pressure, while rising energy costs inflate production expenses across the sector. The FAO urges the food industry to diversify logistics, cut fertilizer use, and adopt resilient technologies to avert a looming crisis.
Danone’s €1bn Huel Bid Sparks Competition Scrutiny
French food giant Danone announced a €1 bn (~$1.08 bn) acquisition of British meal‑replacement brand Huel, aiming to expand its functional nutrition portfolio. The UK Competition and Markets Authority has opened an invitation‑to‑comment phase, seeking market views before deciding on a formal...
Big Food’s Leadership Crisis: Why CEOs Are Falling Faster than Ever
Big Food’s C‑suite turnover has surged, with CEOs at Coca‑Cola, Nestlé, Unilever, Kraft Heinz and others exiting in the past year. Boards cite post‑COVID growth slowdown, rising input costs and mounting private‑label competition as catalysts for the shake‑ups. The industry...
Big Players in Cultivated Meat: Who Are the Survivors?
The cultivated‑meat sector faces soaring production costs, regulatory headwinds and waning investor enthusiasm, prompting a wave of closures. A handful of firms—Aleph Farms, Mosa Meat, Parima, Vow and Meatly—remain active, each carving a niche through approvals, hybrid products, mergers or...
Big Food Splits: Smart Move or Strategic Misstep?
Big food giants are pursuing demergers amid investor pressure. Unilever’s planned spin‑off of its Foods unit triggered a share‑price drop to 4,221.5 GBX, while Kraft Heinz paused its split after Berkshire Hathaway began selling its stake. Nestlé is divesting parts of...
Will the Next Wave of Alt Dairy Be Built Backwards?
Canadian startup Aux Labs secured a $4 million seed round led by NYA Ventures and Nàdarra Ventures to advance its precision‑fermentation platform for dairy proteins. The company’s core strategy flips the traditional model by designing ingredients around existing brewing infrastructure, allowing...
Consumers Don’t Care About Regenerative Agriculture - Yet
A recent analysis finds that consumers, squeezed by inflation, are indifferent to sustainability and therefore unlikely to seek out regenerative agriculture products. Food and drink brands are advised to shift messaging toward nutrition, taste, and soil‑health benefits rather than planetary...
Do UPFs Pose Greater Risk of Plastic Packaging Harms?
Recent research highlights that ultra‑processed foods (UPFs) face added health risks from the plastic packaging that protects them. Chemicals such as bisphenols, phthalates and PFAS can migrate into foods, especially those high in fat, and sterilisation processes further amplify this...
Mars: The Global Heavyweight Setting the Snacking Agenda
Mars, the world’s largest confectionery and snacking group, is reshaping the industry through a series of high‑profile acquisitions and aggressive product innovation. The $36 bn purchase of Kellanova adds salty‑snack icons such as Pringles, Pop‑Tarts and Cheez‑It, broadening Mars’ reach beyond...
Healthy Ageing Beyond the Wrinkle: 4 Big Opportunities in Food and Drink
The healthy ageing trend is moving from beauty products into mainstream food and drink, driven by an aging population and rising chronic‑disease awareness. Nestlé’s launch of a longevity‑focused drinks line targets a projected $43.1 bn (≈ $39.5 bn) elderly nutrition market by 2032....
Instant Coffee Now Included in EUDR
The European Commission’s review of the European Deforestation Regulation now adds soluble, or instant, coffee to the list of covered products, closing a longstanding compliance gap. Instant coffee’s customs code will trigger mandatory EUDR due‑diligence checks at the border, aligning...
Biofuel Use Pushes up Food Prices: Is Demand Here to Stay?
Recent oil price spikes from the Iran war have accelerated biofuel production, putting upward pressure on food commodities used as feedstocks. In the EU, 39‑44% of biodiesel and in the US 70‑80% comes from crops such as vegetable oil, corn...
Orf Genetics on Cutting Growth Factor Costs and Supplying Cultivated Meat Sector
Orf Genetics, an Icelandic biotech firm, is cutting cultivated‑meat growth‑factor costs by producing them in barley instead of traditional E. coli systems. The barley‑based platform delivers comparable bioactivity at a fraction of the price and is already used by roughly 150...
Nestlé Waters Sale Nears Decision Point
Nestlé is advancing a partial disposal of its Waters division, moving beyond earlier speculation about a full spin‑off. The decision follows a series of 2024 scandals involving PFAS contamination and allegations of mislabeling bottled water as mineral water, which heightened...
Animal Product Yields, Quality and Manufacturers’ Margins Under Increased Threat
A joint FAO‑WMO report warns that rising temperatures are eroding productivity in livestock and aquaculture. Feed intake of goats, pigs, sheep, chickens and cattle falls 3‑5% for each degree above 30 °C, while milk fat, protein and egg‑shell quality deteriorate. Most...