Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a broad concept addressing topics such as human rights, corporate governance, health and safety, environmental effects, working conditions and economic development. Sustainability is another key component of CSR that continues to gain currency in the food and beverage industry. Market data suggests products and companies that keep sustainability as a focus are viewed in a more positive light by consumers, increasing trial, quality perceptions and willingness to pay a premium.

Table of Contents

• Viewpoint
  by Judie Bizzozero
• CSR & Sustainability
  by Judie Bizzozero
• Achieving Sustainability in the Cocoa Sector
  by Melissa Kvidahl
• Case Study: Madécasse
  by Joanna Cosgrove
• Case Study: Theo Chocolate
  by Danielle Rose

Takeaways for Your Business

• Widespread consumer use of social media has led many companies to re-examine how they do business.
• 60% of consumers are more likely to try the products and services of a company demonstrating CSR.
• Cocoa is one sector where manufacturers are gaining points for positively influencing supply chain.

The more ubiquitous clean label becomes, the more it moves from trend to expectation—driving food and beverage companies to change their thinking about new and existing products. With no legal or industry definition of clean label the benchmark is constantly evolving based consumer demographics, which makes identifying the clean label consumer and understanding how their mindset affects purchasing behavior critical for brand growth.

Download this infographic to learn about the clean label consumer mindset and its impact on the future of product development.

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Roughly a quarter of U.S. adults specially seek out foods and beverages with high amounts of probiotics or prebiotics, with Millennials and natural grocery shoppers driving growth in the sector, according to the “Probiotics and Prebiotics: Food and Beverage New Product Trends" report from Packaged Facts.

With the increased focus on their potential in recent years, probiotics have emerged as one of the biggest trends today in the food and beverage industry. These products range from the familiar yogurt, kefir, kombucha and infant nutrition to the cutting-edge probiotics in soda, coffee, tea, soups and beer. But regardless of their mainstream status, or lack thereof, probiotic and prebiotics products are inherently associated with the hottest wellness trends. These products intertwine themselves with a multitude of other superfood trends, nutritional hot topics, and functional areas—ranging from ancient grains to sports nutrition—further splintering the overall probiotic and prebiotic fortification trend.

“Probiotics have emerged as a driving trend in the industry," said David Sprinkle, research director, Packaged Facts. “And given the core importance of gut health, this suggests continued potential for growth of probiotic- and prebiotic-containing foods, as consumers continue to learn more about them and next-generation products make their case in the market."

Among probiotic and prebiotics proponents, Millennials ages 18 to 34 years have relatively higher interest in probiotic foods and beverages compared to Gen Xers and Baby Boomers, a revelation keeping with the elevated interest in functional foods generally among Millennials. Acceptable by this young yet influential consumer segment is an important reason why Packaged Facts forecasts continued positive momentum for probiotic and prebiotics products.

Beyond Millennials, Packaged Fact noted there’s even higher interest in probiotics among those who shop for food in the natural channel, which retains its role as the most significant retail sector for food and nutritional trends.

In the United States, Millennials fuel social media, keep up with the latest trends, quickly integrate new tools and devices into their lives, and spend US$600 billion a year. In fact, experts predict their spending power will exceed $1 trillion by 2020. Millennials have a unique ability to influence not only their peers, but other generations. As such, in the area of healthy, natural and organic products, connecting with Millennials is especially important, as it can help make or break a brand.

Download Natural Products INSIDER’s “Marketing to Generation Influencers" Digital Magazine to find out how brands can employ various strategies to reach this burgeoning demographic, including partnering with influencers—consumers with a platform to communicate and a slew of followers.

Informa, publisher of Food Insider Journal, announced the winners of its 6th Annual SupplySide CPG Editor’s Choice Awards. The SupplySide, Food Insider Journal and Natural Products INSIDER content team selected one consumer packaged goods (CPG) product for achievements in innovation and market impact in 27 categories and announced the winners at SupplySide West 2017 during the SupplySide CPG Editor’s Choice Awards Presentations, Sept. 27-28, at the Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas.

“This year’s Editor’s Choice Awards judging saw the team narrow down the field from hundreds of products to only five on the short list in each category," said Heather Granato, vice president, content, in Informa’s Global Health & Nutrition Network. “The winning items stood out for bringing a combination of factors to the table, from taste and delivery method to innovation in ingredients and cutting-edge science. They truly represent category leaders and set a high bar for next year’s program."

For 20+ years, SupplySide has helped dietary supplement, food, beverage, personal care, cosmetic, animal nutrition and pharmaceutical professionals find information to explore, discover, innovate and market their next best-selling product.

Click to view the image gallery of winners: Food & Beverage and Supplements.

The 2017 SupplySide Editor’s Choice Awards Winners are:

·         Allergen-Free: TH Foods Inc., Crunchmaster Protein Snack Crackers

·         Animal Nutrition: Fidobiotics and Meowbiotics, Good Guts for Big Mutts and Good Guts for Cats

·         Anti-Aging: Reserveage Nutrition, Beauty R & R

·         Antioxidants: Seeking Health LLC, Optimal Liposomal Glutathione Tropical

·         Bars: Health Warrior, Pumpkin Seed Bar

·         Brain Health: Nordic Naturals, Omega Memory

·         Breakfast Food: Kellogg Company, Bear Naked Custom Made Granola

·         Children’s Products: Serenity Kids, Serenity Kids Baby Food

·         Coffee/Tea: ORGANIC INDIA, Prevention Wellness Teas: Immunity

·         Confectionery: Alter Eco, Organic Dark Mint Truffles

·         Dairy Alternative Food/Beverage: Laird Superfood™, Original Creamer

·         Digestive Supplements: EuroPharma, BosMed Intestinal Bowel Support

·         Energy: Avitae USA, AvitaeXR

·         Functional Food/Beverage: Dreaming Cow, LUSH

·         Heart Health: The Synergy Company, Heart Protector

·         Joint Health: Vida Lifescience, ExoFlex

·         Multivitamin: Vitamin Packs, Vitamin Packs

·         Personal Care: Nutrition For Healing, MEND Cosmetic

·         Probiotics: Good Superfoods LLC, Cocoa Mocha COFFEEBERRY® Superfood Chocolate Bar

·         Snacks, Salty: Good Health, Eat Your Vegetables

·         Snacks, Sweet: Foodstirs Modern Baking, Organic Brooklyn Brownie Mix

·         Specialty Curcumin: Good Day Chocolate, Turmeric Chocolate Supplement

·         Specialty Supplement: Twinlab Consolidation Corporation, Ocuguard Blutein

·         Sports Food/Beverage: Limited Labs, Ketone.io

·         Sports Supplements: Blue Star Nutraceuticals, Post-Factor™

·         Weight Management: Xyngular, Trimstix

·         Women’s Health: UpSpring Ltd., UpSpring Prenatal+ Gummy and Softgel

On Sept. 29, FDA issued a proposed rule to extend the compliance dates for the updated Nutrition Facts and Supplement Facts label final rule and the Serving Size final rule from July 26, 2018, to Jan. 1, 2020, for manufacturers with $10 million or more in annual food sales. Manufacturers with less than $10 million in annual food sales would receive an extra year to comply—until Jan. 1, 2021.

Foods imported to the United States also will need to meet the final requirements. The updated regulations apply to packaged foods except certain meat, poultry and processed egg products, which are regulated by USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS).

In May 2016, FDA unveiled the new Nutrition Facts label for packaged foods to reflect new scientific information, including the link between diet and chronic diseases such as obesity and heart disease. (Click here for a side-by-side comparison of the original label and the updated version). On June 13, 2017, FDA extended the compliance date for the updated Nutrition Facts label; however, the agency did not give new dates for compliance, but stated the “extension will be guided by the desire to give industry more time and decrease costs, balanced with the importance of minimizing the transition period during which consumers will see both the old and the new versions of the label in the marketplace."

In 2014, FDA Deputy Commissioner Michael Taylor estimated the cost to industry at around $2 billion, although he said the regulations are projected to yield $20 billion to $30 billion in economic benefits. FDA estimated the sweeping proposal would impact roughly 60,000 manufacturers and more than 700,000 Universal Product Codes, representing approximately $236.78 billion in sales in grocery stores, drug stores and mass merchandise stores.

The sweeping overhaul of the Nutrition Facts label is the first in 20 years and includes a modified list of required nutrients that must be declared on the label, updated serving size requirements, as well as an updated, easy-to-read design. (Click here to listen to Healthy INSIDER Podcast 19: Understanding the Updated Nutrition Facts Label).

Changes to the Nutrition Facts label include:

• An updated design to highlight “calories" and “servings," two important elements in making informed food choices.
• Requirements for serving sizes that more closely reflect the amounts of food that people currently eat. What and how much people eat and drink has changed since the last serving size requirements were published in 1993. By law, the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act requires that serving sizes be based on what people actually eat.
• Declaration of grams and a percent daily value (%DV) for “added sugars" to help consumers know how much sugar has been added to the product. It is difficult to meet nutrient needs while staying within calorie limits if you consume more than 10 percent of your total daily calories from added sugars, and this is consistent with the scientific evidence supporting the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
• “Dual column" labels to indicate both “per serving" and “per package" calorie and nutrition information for certain multi-serving food products that could be consumed in one sitting or multiple sittings. Examples include a pint of ice cream and a 3-ounce bag of chips. With dual-column labels available, consumers will be able to easily understand how many calories and nutrients they are getting if they eat or drink the entire package/unit at one time.
• For packages between 1 and 2 servings, such as a 20-ounce soda, the calories and other nutrients will be required to be labeled as 1 serving because people typically consume it in one sitting.
• Updated daily values for nutrients like sodium, dietary fiber and vitamin D, consistent with Institute of Medicine recommendations and the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Daily values are reference amounts of nutrients to consume or not to exceed and are used to calculate the %DV that manufacturers include on the label.
• Declaration of vitamin D and potassium that will include the actual gram amount, in addition to the %DV. These are nutrients that some people are not getting enough of, which puts them at higher risk for chronic disease. The %DV for calcium and iron will continue to be required, along with the actual gram amount. Vitamins A and C will no longer be required because deficiencies of these vitamins are rare, but these nutrients can be included on a voluntary basis.
• “Calories from Fat" will be removed because research shows the type of fat is more important than the amount. “Total Fat," “Saturated Fat" and “Trans Fat" will continue to be required.
• An abbreviated footnote to better explain the %DV.
• FDA also is making minor changes to the Supplement Facts label found on dietary supplements to make it consistent with the Nutrition Facts label.