NRF Calls on White House to Address Port Congestion Challenges

The National Retail Federation delivered a letter to the White House asking to meet with President Biden and other top administration officials regarding the challenges retailers are facing from continued supply chain disruptions that are leading to congestion at U.S. ports.

The letter from NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay states, “The supply chain disruption issues, especially the congestion affecting our key maritime ports, are causing significant challenges for America’s retailers. The congestion issues have not only added days and weeks to our supply chains but have led to inventory shortages impacting...

PODCAST: Diving Into the Seafood Market with Jim Kenny

This week on Market Digest we are joined by Urner Barry COO and Market Reporter Jim Kenny. Jim and Laura discuss rising prices for seafood items, COVID-19 recovery for seafood and foodservice, consumer demand levels, logistical nightmares from production to shipping, and more.

Retail Cargo Continues Setting Records as Supply Chains Struggle to Keep Up with Consumer Demand

Imports at the nation’s largest retail container ports saw their busiest April on record and May could turn out to have set a new all-time record as vaccines allowed consumers to return to normal shopping patterns, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.

“Vaccine rates are increasing, shoppers are back in stores and retail supply chains are working overtime,” NRF Vice President for Supply Chain and Customs Policy Jonathan Gold said. “There’s no shortage of demand from consumers, but there continue to be shortages of labor, equipment and shipping capacity to...

Beyond Meat Expands Presence at Walmart with Beyond Meatballs and Summer Grilling Pop-ups

Beyond Meat, a leader in plant-based meat, announced its second expansion of product offerings this year at Walmart. This June, Beyond Meatballs™ will be available for the first time at 2,100 Walmart stores in which Beyond Meat products are already sold across the country. This rollout is the second major Beyond Meat expansion at Walmart in 2021, following the launch of Beyond Sausage® Hot Italian and Cookout Classic™ in stores earlier this year.

As demand for plant-based meat options continues to grow, Beyond Meat has increased retail momentum across the U.S., Europe, Australia and other global markets in an effort to increase worldwide accessibility to delicious plant-based meat products made without GMOs. As the key summer grilling season kicks off, consumers have continued to...

Lightlife Transforms Plant-Based Portfolio

Lightlife, owned by Greenleaf Foods, SPC, has transformed its portfolio of products to meet high consumer demand for plant-based food that’s made with simple, recognizable ingredients. In just over one year, the brand has heavily invested to completely overhaul 19 of its plant-based products, removing ingredients like carrageenan, eggs, and maltodextrin.

Notably, Lightlife removed carrageenan from its Smart Dogs, which is America’s #1 selling plant-based hot dog. In the final round of consumer tests, adults and kids overwhelmingly preferred the flavors, texture, and overall experience of the new Smart Dog when compared to...

Raised & Rooted Brand Launches New Products Bringing Plant-Based Options to Grills this Summer

Raised & Rooted brand, Tyson Foods’ brand of plant protein products, is expanding its offerings with three new products to meet the increased demand for plant-based protein options. The new plant-based burger patties, Bratwurst and Italian sausages, and ground are available in the refrigerated section of grocery stores nationally.

“Our products are plants made meatier, and deliver the same delicious flavors, in a better-for-you alternative,” said David Ervin, vice president of marketing, Raised & Rooted. “We are excited to...

ADM Advances Protein Innovation with Opening of New Plant-based Lab in Singapore

ADM celebrated the opening of its new cutting-edge, plant-based innovation lab, located in ADM’s Biopolis research hub in Singapore. The lab will develop next-level, on-trend and nutritious products to meet growing food and beverage demand in the Asia-Pacific region.

“ADM is a pioneer in plant-based nutrition innovation, and this new facility will enhance our ability to meet rapidly growing consumer demand in the Asia-Pacific region and bring exciting new products and solutions to the market,” said Leo Liu, ADM president, Asia-Pacific. “Protein continues to be a focus for consumers who are experimenting with plant-based options to meet their health and nutrition, sustainability and...

Incogmeato Introduces Plant-Based Chik'n Tenders

Incogmeato™ by MorningStar Farms®, a leader in plant-based poultry, knows America loves chicken tenders and now they're unveiling new plant-based Chik'n Tenders. Hitting shelves this month in Original and Sweet BBQ flavors, the new Incogmeato Chik'n Tenders are indistinguishable from its animal protein counterpart – with a signature "just-like-meat" tear.

"Our new Incogmeato Chik'n Tenders are a game changing experience for the flexitarian chicken-loving consumer who wants to try plant-based but isn't finding an option that stacks up to...

Beyond Meat Announces Major Retail Expansions Throughout Europe 

Beyond Meat announced significant product distribution expansion within thousands of European retail locations this spring. As Beyond Meat has grown its retail presence in the region, the European plant-based foods market has seen aggressive growth with sales increasing by 49% over the last two years. Beyond Meat’s commitment to making products utilizing simple, plant-based ingredients without GMOs has enabled the brand to rapidly expand product distribution throughout the continent.

Beyond Meat products are available at approximately 122,000 retail and foodservice outlets in over 80 countries worldwide. The new product distribution in Europe includes...

Retail Import Surge Expected Through Summer

The unprecedented surge of imports at retail container ports that began last summer is expected to continue at least through the end of this summer as retailers work to meet increased consumer demand, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released today by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.

“We’ve never seen imports at this high a level for such an extended period of time,” NRF Vice President for Supply Chain and Customs Policy Jonathan Gold said. “Records have been broken multiple times and near-record numbers are happening almost every month. Between federal stimulus checks and money saved by staying home for the better part of a year, consumers have money in their pockets and...

Impossible Foods Launches First National Advertising Campaign, "We Are Meat"

Impossible Foods is launching its first national advertising campaign as the leading food tech startup accelerates growth and takes advantage of mounting economies of scale.

The campaign, titled “We Are Meat,” features TV spots with the meaty images and sizzle of the company’s award-winning burgers. Produced by Portland, Ore.-based Wieden+Kennedy, the advertisements claim that Impossible Burger, which contains no animal ingredients, is meat for meat lovers — made from plants.

The first national integrated campaign for Impossible Foods kicks off today with...

NCBA Delivers House Introduction of Bipartisan DIRECT Act

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) hailed the introduction of bipartisan legislation to create new opportunities for cattle producers and processors to market beef products.

Introduced by U.S. Representatives Dusty Johnson (R - At-Large, S.D.) and Henry Cuellar (D - 28th Dist., TX), the Direct Interstate Retail Exemption for Certain Transactions (DIRECT) Act of 2021 would allow retail quantities of meat processed under state-inspection to be sold across state lines through e-commerce, providing beef producers and local processors alike with more options to...

Get to Know Players in the Plant Protein Market: Roquette 

In 1933, brothers Germain and Dominique Roquette, identified an industrial need for potato starch in French textile markets. Both grain brokers, the brothers decided to establish a potato starch production plant in Lestrem, France, named Roquette. Little did they know their investment would grow to be a leading global provider of high-quality ingredient solutions spanning the food, nutrition, health, textile, and pharmaceutical markets sourced from across North America, Europe, and Asia.

Approaching a century of longevity, Roquette leads the marketplace with over forty years crafting and nurturing its expertise in providing plant protein solutions in the global food industry. To date, Roquette offers plant proteins sourced from wheat, fava beans, and...

National Restaurant Association Releases 2021 State of the Restaurant Industry Report

The National Restaurant Association released its 2021 State of the Restaurant Industry Report, which measures the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the restaurant industry and examines the current state of key pillars including technology and off-premises, labor, and menu trends across segments based on a survey of 6,000 restaurant operators and consumer preferences from a survey of 1,000 adults. The report also provides a look at the path to recovery for chains, franchises, and independents and the year of transition ahead.

Key findings regarding the impact of coronavirus on the restaurant industry include...

Bell & Evans Begins Construction On an Organic Chicken Facility

Premium poultry producer Bell & Evans began construction on a new 411,500 square foot, Organic-Certified Chicken Harvesting Facility in Fredericksburg, Pennsylvania. The first precast walls were placed in July, and the facility will be operational by late 2021. The project will cost the company approximately $330 million and double its current production capacity.

Bell & Evans produces 100% premium Raised Without Antibiotics chicken and Organic chicken, approximately 60% and 40% of its business, respectively. The additional capacity will allow Bell & Evans to continue expanding...

ANALYSIS: Chiming in on the Mid-Year Turkey Market

As we usher in Q3, and in the absence of any major deviations in this week’s overall market environment, we thought it would be a great opportunity to break away from...

General Mills Reports Results for Fiscal 2020 and Outlines Fiscal 2021 Priorities

General Mills reported results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended May 31, 2020. Fiscal 2020 was a 53-week year, with the extra week falling in the fourth quarter.

“I’m proud of the way our organization has remained focused on serving the needs of our consumers and communities while protecting the health and safety of our employees throughout the COVID-19 pandemic,” said General Mills Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jeff Harmening. “Amid significant challenge and change in the world around us, General Mills adapted and executed in fiscal 2020 to deliver outstanding financial results while fulfilling our purpose of making food the world loves. We’ve demonstrated extraordinary agility to meet the unprecedented increase in demand for food at home and to win across our categories.

“As we turn to fiscal 2021, we’ll maintain a sharp focus on the near-term opportunity to meet continued elevated demand while continuing to advance our long-term strategies by...

ANALYSIS: U.S. Protein Inventories Drawn Down During Plant Closures

U.S. cold storage stocks declined across the beef, pork, chicken, and egg categories in May as product was needed to...

Outlook on the Global Egg Protein Industry to 2027

According to ResearchAndMarkets, the global protein egg market accounted for $28.41 billion in 2019 and is expected to reach $48.09 billion by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 6.8% during the forecast period.

Consumer awareness about a healthy diet and increase in demand for proteins as nutritional and functional ingredients are the major factors propelling market growth. However, the surge in demand for plant-based proteins is hampering the growth of the market.

Based on the type, the egg white powder segment is going to have lucrative growth during the forecast period owing to the increasing consumer attention as they contribute to...