PepsiCo is to create a nutrition business unit to develop new products in a series of food categories. The US food and drink giant said yesterday (7 October) that it has set up a “global nutrition group” to “deliver breakthrough innovation” in fruit and vegetables, grains, dairy and functional foods. “The creation of this global nutrition group is part of our long-term strategy to grow our nutrition businesses from about $10bn in revenues today to $30bn by 2020,”... ...Read more »

Dairy farmers across Australia could soon be turning effluent into energy thanks to a new invention being developed under the Victorian Government’s $28 million Smart SMEs Market Validation Program. Launching the Creative Innovation 2010 Conference today, Innovation Minister Gavin Jennings said turning waste into products such as biofuels would benefit the environment, agricultural producers and Victoria’s economy. “Under the $28 million Smart SMEs Market Validation Program Victorian... ...Read more »

While a cup of tea and a biscuit has long been favoured by Aussies, most don’t realize they have been conditioned into buying the same types of biscuits for decades, according to Victorian biscuit manufacturer Unibic.Michael Quinn, Managing Director of Unibic says, “The biscuit industry is notoriously lazy, not only in Australia but around the world. Huge trademarks rest on their laurels and dominate the market for decades with a single iconic brand, never bothering to invest in innovation... ...Read more »

Kraft is seeking high-tech chocolate bar packaging that will prevent bars from melting. The owner of the Cadbury’s chocolate brand said it is seeking “novel materials or approaches to packaging that can protect single serve chocolate bars from medium term exposure to warm ambient conditions”. Nine Sigma, an ‘open innovation’ consultancy has issued a design tender on the manufacturer’s behalf, with “proof of concept” sought within nine months. “These... ...Read more »

Nestlé has a strong and growing business in coffee mixes worldwide. This business is especially strong in the Asia Pacific region, and is expected to continue to grow over the coming years. In response to this growing demand for coffee mixes, Nestlé has created a new hub for innovation in beverages in Singapore to serve the Asia Pacific Region. This new regional hub, which is a team of technical specialists, will be located at the company’s R&D Centre in Singapore. It will extend Nestlé’s... ...Read more »

At Sunday morning’s keynote session of the 2010 Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Annual Meeting & Food Expo®, incoming IFT President Bob Gravani and President-Elect Roger Clemens announced and presented five companies with the 2010 IFT Food Expo Innovation Awards. The winners are Bühler Barth AG and Log5 Corporation (co-recipients), Bunge North America, Caravan Ingredients, and Handary SA. A panel of nine jurors from industry and government with broad expertise in research &... ...Read more »

The Premier, David Bartlett, today paid tribute to a great innovative and sustainable Tasmanian company – Tassal.  Mr Bartlett opened the Atlantic Salmon producer’s new state-of-the-art hatchery at Ranelagh in southern Tasmania, this morning. “The Atlantic Salmon industry is a major success story for Tasmania,” Mr Bartlett said. “Tassal embodies two crucial values for Tasmania’s economic future – innovation and sustainability. “The company recently... ...Read more »

All those involved in the food chain face questions such as how to provide safe and healthy food for a global population that is expected to reach 9 billion by 2050, how to ensure that agricultural and food production systems are sustainable in the long-term, and how to best promote innovation along the entire food chain. Representatives of EFSA, European and Italian institutions, the Spanish Presidency of the EU, and of food chain stakeholders met today in Parma to seek answers to these questions. “Europe... ...Read more »

Mars Inc is planning to “double” its innovation programme in UK chocolate in 2010, the company has revealed.Fiona Dawson, MD of the company’s Mars Chocolate unit in the UK, said the company plans to launch more products this year, including further additions to its Galaxy portfolio. Mars is upping the support it gives to its portfolio and Dawson said the company was increasing its marketing investment by 42% this year to around GBP47m (US$72.4m). She claimed 97% of the population... ...Read more »

In today’s highly competitive, saturated, and dynamic food market, innovation is unquestionably a major factor in successfully responding to and anticipating changing market conditions and consumers’ fickle food demands – and thus maintaining a profitable business. Researchers from the Universities of Copenhagen (Denmark), Manchester (UK) and Saskatchewan (Canada) have analyzed the effects of organization, vertical integration, contractual and other network agreements, to try to... ...Read more »