Rabobank is seeking nominations for its annual North America Leadership Awards, which recognize North American Food & Agribusiness (F&A) companies that excel in industry stewardship, sustainability and innovation.

Despite significant hurdles created by the COVID-19 pandemic, many new products managed to beat the odds and emerge as winners, making their way into shoppers' carts during unprecedented times and resulting in multiple $100 million launches. More than a quarter of the New Product Pacesetters launched in the fourth quarter of 2019 or January 2020 saw big performances, accounting for 51 of 200 Pacesetter products, with 27 in the food and beverage sector.

IRI®, a fast-growing global leader in innovative solutions and services for consumer, retail and media companies, announced the launch of the IRI Diversity Advantage Program™ (DAP) to inspire and empower rising minority- and women-owned consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies to achieve positive organizational growth.  

New research from IRI®, a global leader in innovative solutions and services for consumer, retail and media companies, found that small and extra-small CPG manufacturers’ and retailers’ own brands gained US market share over larger players during 2020. Of the CPG industry’s $933 billion of total US sales in measured channels in 2020, large manufacturers collectively lost 1.3 share points, or $12.1 billion in sales, to smaller players due to channel shifts, supply constraints and category shifts.

IRI’s latest report, “Anticipated Vaccine Adoption and Impact on CPG Industry,” explores the opportunities that retailers and manufacturers have to promote vaccinations, both as a physical destination where consumers can get a vaccination, and as part of overall wellness campaigns.

IRI projects turkey sales for Thanksgiving to be strong, with an emphasis on smaller whole birds or cuts. Turkey and roasting meats have enjoyed a sales boom during the pandemic, with the most robust growth among younger and lower-income shoppers.

Looking to promote positive, long-lasting change, Ibraheem Basir, Founder and CEO of A Dozen Cousins, started Project Potluck as a first-of-its-kind organization to help BIPOC thrive in the CPG industry by tackling the inherent bias in hiring, networking gaps, lack of access to capital for diverse founders and more.

If 2020 had gone to plan, Natural Products Expo East 2020 would have been just around the corner and the NEXT team would have been presenting on the top growing and emerging trends that were unfolding on the trade show floor. Instead, we're looking to Natural Products Expo's Spark Change, which kicked off Wednesday, Aug. 26. 

Innovation master Galit Feinreich shares best practices gleaned throughout her decades-long career leading white space innovation and launching new products and platforms as former Chief Marketing Officer for Readypac Foods; and as a consultant to CPG clients including Nestlé, the world's largest food and beverage company. 

Understandably, it hasn’t been the best time for CPG food and beverage processors to unveil new products to retail customers or their consumers. Yet it doesn’t have to bring an end to strategic innovation—involving insights, ideation or product development.