Swiss-based Nestlé, the world’s largest food manufacturer, is to cut the sugar content of some of their most popular childrens’ foods. The announcement will officially be made later today with the release of their “Global Marketing to Children Principles” in Switzerland. Among the products to be reformulated is the renowned Milo brand, with the company reporting they will stamp out advertising to children of products which do not meet a set nutritional profile. All products... ...Read more »

Australian consumers are continuing to embrace organic produce, with three out of every five now buying organic products. A Newspoll survey of 1000 Australian shoppers, commissioned by the Organic Federation of Australia (OFA), discovered that 61 per cent of Australians buy organic - up from 43 per cent in 2003 (according to a University of Central Queensland study). The rapid rise is not surprising given the growth of the industry over the past four years. The Australian Organic Market Report,... ...Read more »

The health and wellness boom has been inextricably linked to the beauty industry this year, as food and drink consumers happily enjoyed as part of a healthy diet (e.g. superfruits and green tea) started to regularly appear in beauty products. Next year, we can expect to see food and beauty become even more intertwined, according to market intelligence firm Mintel. Mintel expects ‘good-for-you’ food ingredients, such as probiotics, to increasingly show up in our cosmetics and skincare... ...Read more »

Nestlé, the world’s largest food group, has announced growth of 3.4% beating forecasts and causing the Swiss-based company to enhance their full-year expectations. The growth came as they strengthened their position as a health & wellness company, gained greater traction in key developing markets and saw premium brands increase their market share. Their food and beverages division, which includes the Milo, Nescafé, Kit-Kat and Lean Cuisine brands, was credited as the driving force behind... ...Read more »

Following the global agreement with Tetra Pak announced recently, Unistraw granted Danisco the worldwide exclusivity for the sales and marketing of its internationally-patented straw concept for use with HOWARU premium probiotics. This award-winning concept from Unistraw will allow consumers to sip a probiotic daily dose with any of their favourite beverage. Unistraw, an Australian company, first came to prominence with the release of the ‘Sipahh’ - a straw that adds flavour to milk. Inventor... ...Read more »

Fibre, green tea extract and soy protein are among the ingredients food and beverage manufacturers are turning towards to help lighten the growing pressures of the global obesity epidemic, according to Euromonitor International’s new report “Weight Management Ingredients in Foods and Beverages“. As consumers increasingly turn to healthier lifestyle choices and governments push to address and create a solution for rising obesity rates, manufacturers are looking towards ingredients... ...Read more »

The results of TNS Worldpanel’s annual Biggest Brands survey for Marketing magazine show significant growth for brands who offer innovation in the areas of healthy eating and/or ‘affordable’ premium products. Cadbury came out on top of this year’s biggest brands list with sales of up to £590 million. Heinz, Kellogg’s, Walkers Crisps and Warburtons rounded out the top five biggest brands in Britain. Brands such as Walkers (+11%), McVitie’s (+16%), Danone (+11)... ...Read more »

Grill’d, one of Australia’s fastest growing franchises, is set to open their 21st store just four and a half years after the concept was launched in the Melbourne suburb of Hawthorn. The achievements of Grill’d, like other recent success stories Crust Gourmet Pizza Bar and SumoSalad, can, to some degree, be put down to a focus on providing a healthier version of a much-loved product. In Crust’s case it was the pizza, for Grill’d it is the iconic burger. Their focus was... ...Read more »

The annual Food and Health Survey, commissioned by the International Food Information Council Foundation (IFIC), has identified current American consumer attitudes toward food, health and nutrition. Health/Diet Perception of health being “excellent” or “very good” has risen amongst consumers to 39 per cent from 33 per cent in 2006, while satisfaction with health has remained constant at around 59 per cent. Despite the increase in health satisfaction, consumers are more concerned... ...Read more »

In spite of rising food prices Canadian manufacturers have been able to remain profitable, with innovation and size reductions among the methods to counter the issue. Seafood, fruit and vegetable processors have also seen strong gains, as the health and wellness boom continues, the Conference Board of Canada reports. The industrial outlook from the Conference Board, “Canada’s Food Manufacturing Industry - Summer 2008″, discovered that, by creating innovative new products, manufacturers... ...Read more »