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Insights & Outsights,
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FOOD BUSINESS NEWS/Market Segments/Functional Foods or FOOD BUSINESS NEWS/Market Segments/Natural and Organic
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July 15, 2016 to August 1, 2016
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Worldwide
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Contents
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 The owners of the Weiser Family Farms, north of Los Angeles and surrounded by the Tehachapi Mountains, are determined to bring back landrace grains – e.g., Sonora and Red Fife wheat, Abruzzi rye and French Black oats – to meet the demands of local bakers and brewers. Landrace, or heritage, grains, are hearty and drought-tolerant, grown from a batch of seeds donated to California farmers by Anson Mills of South Carolina. But the future of the Tehachapi Heritage Grain Project is anything but certain, given the current drought conditions. Will next year’s crop survive the dry weather? Will there be a market for small batches of heritage grain? Or for the flour that’s milled from it, and the bread that’s baked from it? The economics of the
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"Near the Tehachapi Mountains, a family farm looks to a future without GMOs", Los Angeles Times, July 22, 2016
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 A British online health food, beverage and supplement retailer hopes to raise $130,000 through crowdfunding to expand its program of selling out-of-date products at steep discounts. Vitalife’s “Love Health Hate Waste” initiative, launched a year ago, has kept nearly a million dollars’ worth of foods, drinks and supplements from ending up in landfills. The company said it was throwing away products that had reached their best-used-before date but were still “perfectly fit for consumption and legal to sell.” The company sells the products at discounts as high as 90 percent off retail. Under the program, which is expected to turn an $800,000 profit this year, “we are making healthy food and drink accessible to everyone,” a spokesman said.
"Vitalife in Crowdfunding Bid for Love Health Hate Waste", The Grocer, July 15, 2016
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 Big food companies determined to reverse a slide in sales – thanks to rapidly evolving consumer preferences – are buying younger, smaller, successful firms in the natural and organic sector. U.S. food companies in 2015 spent $116 billion acquiring such companies. So far in 2016, acquisitions have totaled $43 billion. Examples of the trend include Danone’s recent $10.4 billion deal with Silk soy and almond beverage maker WhiteWave. The Denver company’s stock price has tripled since its 2012 IPO because it has successfully tapped into the organic trend. Hormel Foods Corp. paid $775 million for organic-meats company Applegate Farms LLC; and in 2014, General Mills Inc. paid $820 million for organic mac-and-cheese company Annie’s Inc. An
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"Food Giants Set Their Sights on Organic, Natural Companies", The Wall Street Journal, July 08, 2016
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 There’s a fine line between outright dishonesty – barred by the federal government – and clever deception when it comes to the use of “unregulated buzzwords” on food packaging. Found frequently on food labels are words like organic – that one is FDA-regulated – natural, fat-free, cage-free, hormone-free, and whole grain. Cage-free, for example, means laying hens aren’t jammed into tiny cages. They can walk around in enclosed areas. But it doesn’t mean they get to wander around outside. That’s what “free-range” means. Another confusing term: only “100 percent whole grain” ensures it’s made from whole grain, while “made with” whole grain means it’s mostly enriched flour.
"Food Labels Like ‘Organic’ and ‘Whole Grain,’ Meant to Clarify, Often Confuse", The Wall Street Journal, July 08, 2016
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 U.S. yogurt maker Chobani has come up with a new ad theme and campaign as the Rio Olympics approach. Instead of “Naturally Powering Team USA,” used for the London and Sochi games, the theme is: ”You Can Only Be Great If You’re Full Of Goodness.” More than 40 videos have been prepared for the campaign. They include commercials, digital video profiles, workout routines and cooking segments featuring the athletes it is sponsoring. An ancillary theme of the campaign, which is managed by the Opperman Weiss agency, is the “No Bad Stuff” phrase Chobani has been using to stress that its yogurts contain no artificial ingredients or GMOs.
"See The Spot: Chobani Stresses Goodness In Olympics Push", Advertising Age, July 07, 2016
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 Sales of sports nutrition products – muscle milks, protein bars, energy gels, etc. – are booming in Great Britain. At the heart of this strong performance is an expanding market: an increasing number of health-conscious consumers – beyond exercise junkies – are buying them. Mintel says 24 percent of Brits consumed a sports nutrition product in the past three months, including 42 percent of men aged 16-24. U.K. consumers spent £66 million on sports nutrition foods and drinks in 2015, an increase of 27 percent from 2013. The products are now staples on store shelves: 47 percent of sports nutrition buyers say the products are part of their everyday diet.
"Sports Nutrition Bulks Up: UK Market Sales Rise By 27% In Two Years As One In Four Brits Use The Products", News release, Mintel, July 06, 2016
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