Promotional graphic from IFF featuring person with teal hair holding a halved orange over one eye, alongside green banner reading “Discover IFF’s zest for the future” with citrus visuals
April 2026 F&B industry highlights.

April in review: UN FAO food security warning, Coffee leaders merge, Cultivated chocolate bars

In April 2026, the UN FAO’s chief economist warned that a prolonged Strait of Hormuz crisis could result in a “global agri-food catastrophe,” urging anticipatory policy actions to mitigate a supply crunch for key agri-food inputs like fertilizer. PepsiCo boosted its revenue through consumer price cuts and healthier snack sales. Fonterra sold its global consumer business to global dairy leader Lactalis. Keurig Dr Pepper acquired JDE Peet’s to form an expanded coffee giant.
pink and red cupcakes and pastries on table
Natural color innovations approach synthetic-level performance as biotech reshapes F&B
Natural colors are no longer aimed at just being a clean label alternative for synthetic hues in F&B applications — they are being engineered to match artificial performance. The future of natural color solutions is not restricted to better plant extracts, but includes a combination of agriculture, biotechnology, and advanced formulation to revamp the F&B ecosystem.
Aux Labs's grilled animal-free grilled cheese.
AuX Labs founder: Solving the melt and stretch problem in animal-free cheese
AuX Labs has secured US$4 million in funding to bring its precision fermentation platform to market, targeting one of the alternative dairy sector’s toughest challenges: delivering animal-free cheese with the texture, stretch, and melt performance required for foodservice. Historically, animal-free cheese has struggled to match the melt and stretch of traditional dairy. AuX Labs believes it has cracked the code. The latest cash injection will propel the company to commercialize precision-fermented dairy proteins designed to perform in real-world kitchen settings.
TechnicalPaperCeamsa
CEAMFIBRE a gut-friendly fibre solution
What's else, besides CEAMFIBRE's mutifunctionality? Could a citrus fibre be gut friendly? CEAMSA investigated whether CEAMFIBRE®—a partially soluble citrus fibre—may exhibit potential prebiotic and satiating properties using in vitro colonic fermentation models and enteroendocrine cell assays. Read the full study to find out.This Technical Paper is brought to you by CEAMSA.
Coralie Garcia, ADM
ADM: Translating consumer behaviors into scalable flavor strategies

Coralie Garcia, senior flavor product marketing manager for EMEA at ADM, answers key questions on translating consumer emotions into flavor strategies, balancing sustainability with innovation, and the role of data in flavor development. Filmed at ADM’s Flavor Innovation Center in Berlin, Germany, the discussion offers valuable insights into the future of flavor across a diverse F&B market.

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Vitafoods Europe 2026 preview: Nutraceuticals, functional food & targeted wellness
At the Vitafoods Europe 2026 trade show (May 5–7), the nutraceutical industry will showcase its ingredients, functional foods, and new product applications for increasingly health-conscious consumers. In Barcelona, Spain, suppliers will gather to present the latest innovations in gut health, longevity, women’s health, beauty-from-within, sports nutrition, pet care, and metabolic health. Exhibitors are set to highlight proteins, postbiotics, probiotics, prebiotics, botanicals, enzymes, and flavors. We preview some of the standout companies and innovations.

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Ambition versus reality: EIT Food reveals major gaps in the protein transition
woman smiling and eating chicken salad
A new foresight study from EIT Food finds strong alignment around a “Circular protein renaissance,” but warns that Europe’s protein transition risks drifting off track due to gaps in financing, regulation, and consumer trust. The key takeaway from the research highlights a disconnect between industry ambition and the trajectory currently taking shape in a more diversified protein system.
Magnesium salt blend delivers simplified sodium reduction for F&B
A worker pours bread baking ingredients into a large mixer in a bread factory.
Nedmag has introduced Novasal Blend, a mineral salt blend that delivers sodium reduction as a direct replacement for regular salt in product development and commercial production. For formulators, the Netherlands-based specialist in magnesium-based solutions states that the blend requires no recipe changes or process adjustments.
Scientists tackle flaxseed oil bitterness to improve flavor stability and shelf...
man in black shirt in front of computer
Scientists in Germany have developed a method to improve the flavor stability of flaxseed oil — an omega-3-rich oil known for its health benefits, but which poses shelf life challenges to F&B manufacturers. The team used bleaching earth (magnesium-aluminum silicate) to reduce the oil’s bitterness, offering a sustainable way to extend its freshness without chemical additives or complex refining.
Brazzein goes commercial: Pentasweet’s €65M Lithuanian facility targets sugar...
A mother and daughter eating cookies and smiling at a table in the kitchen.
A sweet protein stated to be 1,500 times more potent than sugar is about to get its first dedicated production facility in Europe. Pentasweet has begun construction on a €65 million (US$76.1 million) brazzein production factory at the Vilnius City Innovation Industrial Park in Lithuania — one of the largest biotechnology investments in the country in recent years.
FaBA MakerSpace: The innovation hub that could power Australia’s food start-up...
scientists working in lab
The University of Queensland in Australia has unveiled Food and Beverage Accelerator (FaBA) MakerSpace to speed up product development and boost industry collaboration. For Australian start-ups, FaBA MakerSpace can be a bridge between concept and commercialization, enabling faster formulation iterations, while strengthening the country’s food innovation ecosystem.
dsm-firmenich unveils science-backed longevity innovations at Vitafoods Europe...
Healthy seniors around a table

Nutrition Insight

As demand for healthy aging solutions continues to grow, dsm-firmenich will showcase new longevity solutions and science at next week’s Vitafoods Europe 2026 trade show in Barcelona, Spain. The company says it will present “landmark science” supporting healthy longevity, health expectancy solutions in premix and market-ready formats. Nutrition Insight meets with Anneleen Spooren, SVP Innovation, R&D & Regulatory, Health, Nutrition & Care, at dsm-firmenich, to explore the company’s longevity focus at Vitafoods Europe 2026. 
Highlighted features
Activia yogurts in supermarket.
New Product Development
The year of fiber: How Danone turns surging demand into...
Fiber has moved from a nutrition afterthought to a formulation priority for F&B manufacturers, as Western consumers increasingly prioritize gut health to support their overall well-being. Food leaders like Danone view fiber as a long-term strategic ingredient, but success depends on balancing functionality, sensory performance, and scalable sourcing in fiber-enriched products. Innova Market Insights ranks fiber as the second most popular functional ingredient for consumers in the US, behind protein. Around two in five say they are highly interested in fibers, signaling a strong baseline demand. Although WHO recommends a minimum of 25 g of fiber per day, most consumers in developed markets fall significantly short, highlighting a persistent “fiber gap.”
two young asian girls clicking street food photo on mobile
Food Ingredients News
Asia-Pacific flavor trends: Takasago on “digital natives”...
Asia Pacific (APAC) has emerged as a flavor innovation hub for F&B manufacturers, as they work to navigate consumers’ fast-evolving taste expectations. Social media-driven curiosity for global cuisines is co-existing with local flavor demands, with companies advancing technical innovations around taste modulation, plant-based, and sustainable food systems, particularly to appeal to younger generations.
Food made with traditional South African flavors.
Key interview
African flavors: How ADM localizes R&D to strengthen...
Taste preferences across Africa are highly diverse, but for years, the industry has developed flavors for African F&B markets from a distance, which meant missing the subtleties. ADM’s newest flavor creation facility in Johannesburg, South Africa, looks to overcome that gap by embedding innovation inside the markets it serves.

Ingredient focus

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Natural colors surge in F&B industryApr2026

Innova Market Insights data shows that consumers are actively reducing artificial ingredients in favor of natural alternatives. The use of natural colors in F&B launches is rising, with +9% growth...

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Plant-based F&B launches see steady growth Apr 2026

Innova Market Insights data indicates a 3% CAGR in plant-based F&B launches between 2021 and 2025. Dairy and Meat Substitutes remain the key categories, while Fruit & Vegetables showed the fastest growth (36% CAGR) during the same period. Emerging ingredients in plant-based launches include sucralose, oat flake, and vegetable fats.

Trend analysis

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Healthy beverage trends: A growing market for functional drinksApr 2026

Innova Market Insights has identified “Beverages with Purpose” as one of the top F&B trends for 2026. Consumers worldwide are increasingly prioritizing health-conscious beverages, driven by growing industry support and innovation. This shift is accelerating the demand for functional drinks, with protein and biotic benefits leading the charge as key trends in healthy beverage development.

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Coralie Garcia, ADM
Video09:00
ADM: Translating consumer behaviors into scalable flavor strategies

Coralie Garcia, senior flavor product marketing manager for EMEA at ADM, answers key questions on translating consumer emotions into flavor strategies, balancing sustainability with innovation, and the role of data in flavor development. Filmed at ADM’s Flavor Innovation Center in Berlin,...

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Win-Win: Fermentation unlocks cocoa-free, climate-friendly chocolate NPD
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More per Bite: Turn wellness into market success
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Video11:07
Melt&Marble: Enhancing flavor in alternative meats and dairy with precision-fermented fat
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