Hügli snack seasonings banner with spice powders and colorful pouches, text reading “Be the first to try our new concept” and “Curries from around the world.”
Food plantation.

Cargill chief economist warns “food security is global security” as index exposes resilience gaps

Global food systems are far more vulnerable than policymakers assume, a new 60-country resilience benchmark warns, with no nation scoring above 80 out of 100 and climate risk emerging as a universal weak spot. The findings have emerged as the Strait of Hormuz crisis disrupts a third of globally traded fertilizer, threatening major knock on effects for the F&B industry worldwide. The inaugural Resilient Food Systems Index (RFSI), published by Economist Impact and supported by Cargill, evaluates resilience across four pillars — affordability, availability, quality and safety, and climate risk responsiveness — using 71 indicators, and identifies a 42-point gap between the most resilient system (Portugal, 76.83) and the least (Democratic Republic of Congo, 34.86). 
Chef cooking with oil.
What’s next for fats and oils? Exploring the future of functional food ingredients
Fat consumption remains a core pillar of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA), which were released earlier this year. But the new guidelines explicitly move away from the old “low-fat” mindset and instead rethink recommendations for fats and oils. The updated guidelines now emphasize getting fats from whole, minimally processed foods, and position fats as part of an overall nutrient-dense dietary pattern.
Tate & Lyle food scientists combining ingredients.
Future Food-Tech San Francisco 2026: How Tate & Lyle leverages AI for healthy ingredient innovation
Following its acquisition of CP Kelco, Tate & Lyle has expanded its ability to tackle complex reformulation challenges across beverages and a wide range of food categories, including dairy, soups, sauces, dressings, bakery, and snacks. In 2024, Tate & Lyle acquired CP Kelco, a leading provider of pectin, specialty gums, and other nature-based ingredients, to create a leader in mouthfeel, and significantly enhance its solutions capabilities.
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wheyco™ W80 I LAF: Unlock the Power of Lactose Free Whey Protein Concentrate
Lactose intolerance affects consumers worldwide, driving demand for high quality, lactose free protein solutions. wheyco™ W80 I LAF delivers a premium lactose free WPC80 with excellent solubility, clean taste and reliable performance. It enables manufacturers to create high protein, easily digestible products and offers versatile functionality for a wide range of applications.This Technical Paper is brought to you by DMK.
Expo West 2026: Kerry reveals flavor strategies for functional food innovation
Expo West 2026: Kerry reveals flavor strategies for functional food innovation

Shannon Coco, senior director of new sales development at Kerry, discusses how the company’s 2026 Taste Charts help brands pair functional nutrition with consumer-preferred flavors. She explains how the Taste Chart Companion combines flavor trends with consumer research to guide innovation around protein, fiber, collagen, and adaptogens. Coco also highlights KerryNow, the company’s digital platform that helps manufacturers accelerate prototype and NPD.

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Expo West 2026 review: Functional nutrition for GLP-1 support, gut health & women’s wellness
At the Natural Products Expo West 2026 trade show (Mar 3–6), the nutrition, food, and beverage industries showcased innovations in functional, tasty wellness products in consumer-friendly formats. In Anaheim, California, US, solutions supporting women’s health, gut microbiome, GLP-1 use, and weight management took center stage. Exhibitors spotlighted nutrient-dense products focusing on protein, postbiotics, probiotics, fiber, natural colors, and clean label solutions. We look back at some of the key innovations and companies at Expo West this year.

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How does Ferrero’s Bold Snacks acquisition in Brazil signal wider industry...
Outside the Ferrero offices.
Ferrero Group has agreed to acquire Bold Snacks, a Brazilian protein snack brand, in a deal that reflects the global industry pivot from legacy indulgence categories toward health‑oriented, digitally enabled, and region-specific snacks. Multinational food corporations increasingly regard “better-for-you” snacks as a competitive strategy and investment priority, as global consumers demand more nutritious products. The global confectionery company highlights Bold Snacks’ strong growth since its 2018 launch, driven by the brand’s digital strategy and premium protein bar portfolio. Bold Snacks also recently expanded into whey powders.
Protein pasta goes mainstream as heritage brands embrace functional...
People eating pasta.
As the functional foods trend gathers pace, pasta makers are moving to modernize one of the world’s most established staples. Italian pasta maker Rummo is among a growing number of brands entering the protein pasta space, reflecting rising demand for products that combine convenience, familiarity, and enhanced nutrition. The shift highlights how even heritage categories are evolving to meet changing consumer expectations.
Researchers find upcycled wheat bran gel can improve plant-based food texture
scientist holding brown gel in petridish inside lab
Scientists in Sweden have developed a fully wheat-based gel, which they claim could potentially help thicken, stabilize, or add texture to plant-based meat and dairy alternatives. The research comes amid ongoing industry efforts to improve plant-based food textures to meet consumer demands.
Mars Canada completes CA$180M factory upgrades to expand capacity after...
Mars.
Mars has completed a CA$180 million (US$131 million) investment across four Ontario manufacturing facilities, upgrading packaging lines and boosting production capacity for its snacking, food brands, and pet nutrition. The spend, which ran from 2022 to 2026, brings the company’s total Canadian investment to nearly CA$400 million (US$291 million) since 2015. The move is part of Mars’ coordinated global manufacturing push that includes US$2 billion committed to US operations and €1 billion (US$1.15 billion) earmarked for the EU by the end of this year.More than CA$100 million (US$73 million) of the total was directed toward three packaging line transformations designed to increase capacity and enable new product formats. At the Newmarket facility, a CA$40 million (US$29 million) upgrade to lines producing Mars bars, 3 Musketeers and Milky Way delivered a 25% production capacity increase.  
McCormick makes offer for Unilever food division in potential...
Hellmann's mayonnaise on supermarket shelf.
Unilever has confirmed it received an offer from McCormick for its food division, which includes Hellmann’s, Knorr, Marmite, and Colman’s, in what could be one of the largest food industry deals in years. The companies issued separate statements on Friday confirming they are in discussions, though both cautioned there is no certainty a transaction will be agreed.
Animal-free protein digestibility tests provide low-cost alternatives for novel...
scientist in lab gear dropping liquid under microscope

Nutrition Insight

Nine laboratories are proposing cruelty-free alternatives to animal-based testing for protein digestibility in food labeling. Nutrition Insight speaks with the scientist whose team carried out tests using new methods to support this transition, as current US and Canadian regulations rely on using animals for specific food ingredient tests. The new methods come amid a rise in alternative protein innovations. Supporting the study, the Institute for the Advancement of Food and Nutrition Sciences points out that companies creating new food and ingredients cannot back them with existing data that do not cover these new items. Thus, animal-based digestibility tests become a costly and ethical hurdle.
Highlighted features
woman in supermarket choosing dairy products
Key interview
Breaking the taste barrier: How alt-dairy can capture...
Alt-dairy manufacturers can already achieve taste parity in some dairy categories — especially barista milk and creamers — but an R&D push is needed to close the taste gap in dairy-free ice cream and mozzarella, a sensory analysis of established and emerging alternative dairy companies by Nectar has revealed.
Cyber attack.
Business News
Asahi cyberattack exposes food industry’s growing...
Ransomware attacks on F&B companies surged in 2025, shutting down factories, halting distribution networks, and costing major players hundreds of millions of dollars in lost sales. The trend poses direct risks to ingredient supply chains, food safety systems, and regulatory compliance — and most of the sector remains unprepared.Japanese beverage giant Asahi Group Holdings published its delayed third-quarter 2025 financial results on March 10 after a ransomware attack in September knocked out the company’s financial reporting systems for months. The attack, attributed to the Qilin ransomware group (a Russia-linked operation that uses double-extortion tactics, encrypting systems while threatening to publish stolen data), encrypted servers across Asahi’s data centers and disrupted ordering, shipment, and production systems at its 30 Japanese factories.  
Solar Foods Solein lab.
Key interview
“Air-grown” protein: Solar Foods reveals next steps at...
Finnish firm Solar Foods is gearing up for Future Food-Tech San Francisco 2026 in the US (Mar 19–20), where it will demonstrate how its nutritious and ultra-sustainable “air-grown” protein can be applied and scaled across various F&B applications, including meat alternatives, dairy substitutes, pasta, and snacks. Solar Foods produces Solein using microbes fed with carbon dioxide, water, nutrients, and renewable electricity. By relying on fermentation instead of agriculture, the company can create a high-protein ingredient without farmland, large water use, or dependence on weather. This approach allows food production to happen almost anywhere, marking a shift toward more controlled, resilient, and scalable systems.

Ingredient focus

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Fats & oils: New frontiersMar2026

Innova Market Insights data reveals that consumers increasingly link lighter textures with healthier indulgence, favoring smooth and crunchy formats that balance pleasure with perceived wellness. Thes...

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Future of food processing Mar 2026

According to Innova Market Insights, attitudes toward ultra-processed foods are changing. Consumers increasingly associate ultra-processed foods with unhealthy indulgence, but their habits are shifting, particularly with a rise in cooking from scratch. This shift means many products require reformulation to deliver the fresh, authentic characteristics consumers seek.

Trend analysis

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Vanilla’s adaptive edge spurs NPDMar 2026

Vanilla is proving its adaptive edge in global F&B innovation. New product launches featuring vanilla ingredients witnessed a large annual growth rate globally between 2023 and 2025, signaling sustained cross-category demand. More than a third of global launches were from Europe.

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Expo West 2026: Kerry reveals flavor strategies for functional food innovation
Video09:30
Expo West 2026: Kerry reveals flavor strategies for functional food innovation

Shannon Coco, senior director of new sales development at Kerry, discusses how the company’s 2026 Taste Charts help brands pair functional nutrition with consumer-preferred flavors. She explains how the Taste Chart Companion combines flavor trends with consumer research to guide innovation...

Expo West 2026 GNT Video Thumbnail: Woman wearing glasses at a trade show booth for plant-based color solutions, with colorful ingredient samples, certification icons, and textured wall displays.
Video04:48
Expo West 2026: GNT explores technical challenges behind plant-based color performance
Pedro Goncalves, Tetra Pak
Video11:38
Expo West 2026: Tetra Pak’s aseptic processing tackles shelf life and food waste challenges
Santiago Vega, Givaudan
Video09:05
Expo West 2026: Givaudan drives flavor innovation to support better-for-you formulations
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