The ‘cookie economy’ in 7 bites
Premium bakery is booming as indulgent formats, viral brands and shifting consumer habits push prices and expectations higher
Start-ups & disruptors
McCormick’s results take a back seat as Unilever deal nears
Sales are steady and margins remain under pressure, but attention has shifted firmly to a potential tie-up with Unilever.
Up the food chain
How Clio plans to turn Greek yoghurt bars into a $300m business
As protein, satiety and indulgence converge, Clio CEO John McGuckin explains how the refrigerated bar brand went from ‘bleeding cash’ to chasing $120m – and why the real prize is building a whole new snacking category
Easter shopping trends in 2026: Darker, smaller, last minute
Easter shopping is shifting towards premium, playful and last-minute purchases
ABF-Hovis deal clears hurdle, exposes bread market strain
The CMA has provisionally cleared Associated British Foods’ merger with Hovis in Great Britain, while flagging competition concerns in Northern Ireland, underlining pressure on traditional bread models
Why the food industry can’t innovate alone anymore
As cocoa volatility, fat replacement and GLP-1 trends reshape demand, startups are becoming critical partners in ingredient innovation
Why Danone bought Huel: and what’s next for meal replacements
Danone is fast-expanding into meal replacements. What does its Huel deal mean for the category?
Global snacking with Ginsters, Lay’s, Frankie’s and more
From buffalo pastry pockets and protein scone bites to sprouted nuts, snack mixes and football-fuelled crisps, brands are pushing harder on flavour, format and occasion
Sweet proteins promise a sugar reset but new questions are emerging
Oobli’s CEO is betting on protein-based sweetness to cut sugar at scale, but the shift raises uncomfortable questions for regulators, manufacturers and the supply chain
How snack brands can stay resilient in an era of disruption
From GLP-1 drugs and AI to fast-shifting shopper preferences, founders and experts urge snack brands to double down on focus, purpose and agility
Unilever eyes major food split
Unilever’s latest shake‑up could transform the future of food and drink. Here’s what the potential sell‑off means for the CPG giant, and the wider industry
Future chocolate: Mondelēz, Lindt and Barry Callebaut reshape taste
From Mondelēz and Barry Callebaut to Lindt, the future of chocolate is being defined by bold flavour innovation, smarter formulations and a refusal to compromise on indulgence
Ozempic’s chocolate contradiction: Indulgence isn’t disappearing, it’s trading up
As appetite-suppressing drugs take hold, the real shift in snacking may not be how much people eat but how deliberately they choose to indulge
Oreo, Lucky Charms and Barbie lead a new wave of celebration-driven launches
From Nutella pastries and Marvel cookies to Barbie smoothies and Irish oats, brands are rolling out limited-time products designed to turn everyday eating occasions into something special
Why Lay’s, Oreo and M&M’s are engineering consumer experiences
PepsiCo’s Lay’s restaurant in Madrid highlights a growing strategy among snack giants to extend blockbuster brands beyond the supermarket shelf and into cafés, retail attractions and immersive consumer experiences
Chocolate without trees? The science racing to reinvent cocoa
From cacao cells grown in bioreactors to fermentation-built chocolate flavours, scientists and startups are experimenting with ways to produce cocoa ingredients without growing cacao trees
Dole Whip, Lucky Charms, Cookie Pop and SuperPretzel kick off March’s spring snack surge
From tropical frozen desserts to stadium-style pretzel bites, brands are leaning into brighter flavours, playful formats and seasonal moments.
Up the food chain
Fox’s Burton’s Companies factory chief: “I was told being a woman would hold me back”
Ahead of International Women’s Day, the manufacturing leader behind millions of Jammie Dodgers reflects on sexism on the factory floor and why emotional intelligence matters more than bravado
National Snack Day: Inside the billion-dollar brands refusing to slow down
From Oreo’s $4bn global machine to Uncrustables’ rapid ascent, the snack aisle’s biggest names are banking billions and still investing like challengers
Baking NPD: Protein muffins, pistachio nostalgia and cookie culture
Smaller households, impulse occasions and better-for-you cues are driving a new wave of baking innovation
Flavour first, fibre close behind: Bakery resets for 2026
Bakery’s next growth phase won’t be driven by a single mega-trend, but by flavour authority, fibre credibility and formats that make everyday indulgence feel justified
Archer accelerates meat snack growth with $100M from JPMorgan Chase
Backed by a new manufacturing plant and rapid sales growth, the brand behind the “Stick to Real” campaign positions for $500M in sales as it scales meat stick production
Mars, Mondelēz, Nestlé, Hershey, and Lindt team up to transform future of cocoa
The world’s biggest chocolate makers are working together to futureproof cocoa and support growers
Protein is the price of entry at Expo West 2026
Expo West lands in Anaheim this March, and protein isn’t just a trend – it’s the baseline. The real fight is over taste, texture and who can make functionality feel effortless
Gulfood 2026
Hunter Foods’ spicy chips bring extra heat to Middle East chilli lovers
Snacking giant Hunter Foods has launched a range of new snacks meant for ‘true chilli lovers’ in the Middle East, bringing more bold heat and flavour to the region
Pringles, Nakd and Haldirams make flavour the main event in 2026
From mystery heat and nostalgic fruit to saffron-soaked indulgence, the latest launches show brands using flavour to provoke, reassure and seduce shoppers.
Hain Celestial’s reset starts with snacks sale, but doubts about what is next linger
Q2 sales fell 7% as analysts pressed management on whether baby and kids’ food could face similar scrutiny
Valentine’s Day NPD from Cadbury, Paris Baguette and Wisconsin Cheese
Chocolate still anchors Valentine’s Day, but 2026’s launches show how brands are pushing the holiday further through format, experience and gifts that feel less predictable
Inside Magnum and Ben & Jerry’s legal battle
A long‑running feud between B&J’s and its parent has escalated into a governance battle - here’s the latest
Is the protein snack boom running out of steam?
Flattening consumer interest and growing format fatigue suggest the category may be hitting a ceiling unless brands evolve beyond bars and bold claims
Game on: Flipz, Velveeta and SuperPretzel gear up for the Super Bowl
Super Bowl week snack sales reached $742m last year, and snack makers are leaning into shareable formats, bold flavors and activations again as the Big Game approaches
Why South Africa’s bread giants are going mega
SA bread makers are investing in mega-bakeries to cut costs, boost efficiency and serve rising regional demand while navigating price sensitivity and infrastructure constraints
From Snickers Ice Cream Minis to Oreo’s Marvel: Situational snacking takes shape
Big brands are rethinking formats, flavors and channels as snacks are redesigned for specific moments, tighter rules and more intentional eating
Bread merger puts consumer affordability under global regulatory spotlight
A UK competition probe into a proposed bread merger is expanding beyond market structure, with regulators explicitly weighing consumer affordability and staple food supply
The 3 nutrients quietly shaping mainstream snacks
Fiber, protein and whole grains aren’t new ideas but in 2026 they’re doing more than any superfood to reshape snack portfolios
Freeze-dried candy craze grows – but not everyone’s winning
Mars, Ferrara ride TikTok-fueled demand while Sow Good restructures to survive
Finsbury Food Group launches cake ‘bento boxes’
The baking manufacturer has rolled out a new, limited edition celebration cake offering that taps into the rising trend of bento cakes.
From jerky breakfasts to chocolate superfoods: The smarter snacking NPD
Protein is everywhere, but it’s showing up in warmer flavors, softer formats and more inclusive designs as brands rethink what ‘fuel’ really means
Oreo goes zero sugar, General Mills goes playful and January gets interesting
From Oreo’s first zero sugar sandwich cookie and General Mills’ breakfast reset to £2 pie pop-ups, protein-packed cereals and Burns Night limited editions, January’s launches show how brands are using comfort, culture and clever marketing
Exclusive: Can biotech break monk fruit’s supply constraints? Manus thinks so
As demand for natural sweeteners grows, Manus moves monk fruit production in the US
From kings’ cake to crunchy corn: Comfort snacks get a smarter glow-up for 2026
Indulgent treats aren’t being replaced – they’re being refined. This latest wave of NPD upgrades familiar formats with cleaner labels, global flavor cues and subtle functional gains
Scandals, shockwaves & shakeups: 12 of 2025’s most standout moments
From billion-dollar brinkmanship to red-dye revolts and zero-gravity corn chips, 2025 proved nothing in bakery and snacks is too big, too weird or too controversial to make headlines
Beckham’s snack play: How BEEUP plans to sting the competition
Forget celebrity sidelines, David Beckham’s actually in the test kitchen: CEO Peter Stearns lifts the lid on how that shapes BEEUP’s next phase
Opinion
What’s next for The Magnum Ice Cream Company?
Now that the Magnum Company has officially spun out from Unilever, what’s its direction of travel?
Why AI might fix the slowest part of R&D
Cocoa volatility and fast-changing label demands are squeezing R&D timelines. Barry Callebaut’s partnership with NotCo points to a new, AI-assisted path forward
San Francisco sues Kellogg, General Mills, PepsiCo, Mondelez and more over ‘engineered’ foods
City officials say some of America’s biggest brands helped shape eating habits that are now coming back to haunt public health budgets
The big December drop: Snack season starts now
From gingerbread nostalgia to chocolate trolleys and limited edition winter snacks, here’s what’s new this festive season
The ‘radically simple’ sweet snack revolution that’s getting juicy
Sweet snack trends are tilting toward simpler, fruit-forward formulations – and Solely’s approach is drawing fresh attention from retailers
Christmas crisps at risk after second KP strike vote this year
A fresh strike vote at KP’s Billingham plant has raised concerns over whether popular chip brands will be fully stocked in the run-up to Christmas
Candy Kittens owner in talks to buy Unilever snack brand Graze
Unilever is set to offload Graze for a fraction of its 2019 purchase price. Can Katjes revive the struggling snack brand?