Items Tagged with 'food product development'

Edlong is investing $10 million to expand its Elk Grove Village, Ill., campus, beginning with a new 35,000-square-foot operations center designed to support growing customer demand. Future phases will modernize the company’s customer innovation center, including research, pilot and application labs, to strengthen product development and collaboration capabilities.

Vibrant Ingredients has opened an 11,000sq-ft Innovation Center in Cranbury, NJ, designed to speed product development through hands-on collaboration, rapid prototyping and real-world processing capabilities. CEO Vince Macciocchi said the facility reflects the company's commitment to helping customers move from concept to commercialization faster while showcasing its broad portfolio of ingredient and system solutions.

As keynote speaker at NJ FoodTech 2026, BlueNalu Founder, President & CEO Lou Cooperhouse will explore how food companies can build durable value propositions in an increasingly competitive marketplace. In an interview with Prepared Foods, Cooperhouse said today's investors prioritize operational discipline, scalability and profitability, while long-term success depends on treating the company—not just the product—as the value proposition.

Vibrant Ingredients has opened an 11,000sq-ft Innovation Center in Cranbury, N.J., designed to accelerate product development through hands-on collaboration and rapid prototyping. The facility expands the company’s technical capabilities for beverage and food applications while giving customers direct access to formulation, flavor and commercialization expertise.

Every so often, we “come full circle” on industry issues. Consider dietary perspectives on fat. In the early days of the dairy industry, we embraced fat. Whole milk was the gold standard. Fast-forward to the 1980s, and the industry was spellbound by the notion of nonfat everything. 

The American Egg Board introduced its first Founders Cohort to help food and beverage startups scale egg-based innovations. The virtual program delivers hands-on guidance across marketing, R&D, supply chain and fundraising.

Fruit-based sweeteners are moving from niche to mainstream as manufacturers seek natural alternatives to refined sugar. Market forecasts show strong growth fueled by health awareness, clean-label priorities, and the functional advantages these ingredients bring to formulation.

The federal government is moving to formally recognize marijuana’s accepted medical use and accelerate its rescheduling from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act. This shift is based on FDA, HHS and NIH findings showing credible scientific support for marijuana’s use in treating pain, nausea, vomiting and anorexia related to medical conditions.

After two decades across global markets, the author outlines a simple but powerful framework—Consumer, Business, Technology—that keeps innovation grounded in human needs while driving measurable growth. Examples from Pringles, Cheez-It and sustainable packaging show how cross-functional collaboration turns this model into real-world impact.

Artificial intelligence is reshaping how beverage brands ideate, formulate and launch new products. With faster insights and smarter R&D, AI is driving the next wave of innovation in the drink aisle.