Category: Trending

Ever Wonder Why Supermarkets Sell Flowers? In almost every grocery store across the USA from Whole Foods to smaller shops you’ll find a flower section loaded with cut flowers, plants, and orchids.  I’ve always wondered why flowers have such a large presence in this type of retail environment but it’s a planned and strategic move …

Continue reading “Flowers, Funding and A New Ice Cream”

Here at Noon International over the past few years we’ve been struggling to obtain 8×40 foot ocean shipping containers to get your orders to you, yet there are others who have happily been using retrofitted shipping containers for indoor farming and new business ventures. Indoor farming is nothing new.  Hydroponics (the no-soil method of growing …

Continue reading “Tech-Facilitated Indoor Farming Finds a Home in Ocean Shipping Containers”

The Covid 19 Pandemic along with supply chain disruptions over the past two years has changed the way we eat, what we eat, how chefs in restaurants source and prepare foods, and the popularity/trending of certain foods and ingredients. Massively disrupting supply chain issues forced restaurants and homemakers to turn to local suppliers and farmers …

Continue reading “Vegetables and Upcycling Top the Trending List”

The official USDA website is a wealth of information if you’re willing to take the time to navigate it.  From time to time, we’ll publish pertinent information from this website that we feel could be useful to you and those in the food industry.  One that is of particular interest is the Food Price Outlook, …

Continue reading “Food Price Outlook 2022”

We’re all feeling the immediate effects here in the USA of the war in Ukraine.  The sanctions imposed have cause gas and oil prices to explode compounded by the inflation we are already experiencing.  But there are far more serious problems ahead regarding agricultural production and food prices.  There are food shortages right now worldwide, …

Continue reading “War in the Ukraine Brings Higher Prices and Food Shortages Worldwide”

One of the biggest continuing trends in the food arena today is plant-based foods.  I’m sure you’re all familiar and may have even sampled the “Impossible Whopper” at Burger King even if just out of curiosity. Now, as more players enter this market, we’re seeing a variety of innovative foods in 2022 that will tempt …

Continue reading “Plant-Based Foods Just Keep Getting Better”

Are you as tired of rising prices and shortages as we are? What are you willing to pay for a container?  A trucker?   Unfortunately, it’s not going to end soon.  Our food systems – suppliers, manufacturers, workers, and consumers continue to suffer as transport and supply issues remain unresolved and prices continue rise on almost …

Continue reading “MORE OF THE SAME – More Expensive Products, More Supply Chain Problems, More on OMICRON”

Just when we thought Jeff Bezos had taken the grocery and incidental shopping experience to a new level with his “Amazon Go” convenience and grocery stores in the U.S.A., it appears he is still on the move…and this time, globally. For those readers who are not familiar with the “grab and go “concept, these are …

Continue reading “Amazon’s Grab & Go Technology Takes a Global Leap”

Taco Bell will open its first “Defy” restaurant in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota in 2022.  The artist rendering of this fabulous new restaurant is shown below. It looks a little like a bank with drive through windows, doesn’t it?  It’s very high tech and you won’t interact with anyone, even as you receive your food.  The …

Continue reading “Taco Bell Going Digital & Wendy’s Using Ghost Kitchens”

Japan’s Sanatech Seed has begun selling “Sicilian Rouge High GABA” tomato to consumers.  This is the first genome-edited tomato to be sold on the Japanese market.  The product was developed using CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing technology to edit the tomato’s genome and remove the autoinhibitory domain that prevents tomatoes from increasing their GABA content. The tomato …

Continue reading “Japan Introduces SICILIAN ROUGE HIGH GABA the World’s First Genome-Edited Tomato”

Some incredible things are happening these days.  On September 18, 2021, the Crew Dragon16 spacecraft splashed safely down off the coast of Florida after 3 days in orbit.  This was an amazing success with an all-civilian crew, preparing us for future private adventures in space and perhaps a new outpost on the moon. Back on …

Continue reading “Civilians in Space, Weed Killing Robots & a Cargo Ship Without Humans”

Grocery stores in the U.S. continue to suffer supply problems.  By now the reasons are clear – shortages of labor and raw materials added to the continuing logistical problems make getting back to normal relatively impossible – especially for the smaller stores and chains.  Add stockpiling by consumers (when they can find the items they …

Continue reading “Expect Food Shortages to Continue as Delta Variant Fears Increase”

Here in America, we enjoy relatively cheap food prices compared to other areas of the world. But good things don’t last forever…so don’t be surprised by the coming strategy changes and price increases when shopping at your local supermarket. Sure, I’m grateful that the shelves are stocked with a variety of the latest delicacies from …

Continue reading “Sticker Shock as Food Prices Soar”

Meet the Latest in Delicious High-Tech Fruit In 2015 Hiroki Koga came to California from Japan where he had worked as a consultant in the vertical farming industry. Although this industry initially failed in Japan due to expense, Koga knew this very “tech-savvy technology” could be successful if he found the right way to use …

Continue reading “Oh My Gosh…it’s the Omakase Berry”

Most Americans have become used to low inflation, but all that is changing now.  Although the price increases are difficult for many, most are not surprised. Let’s look back over the last 12-14 months. In March 2020 most of the global economy slowed to a standstill. In the retail and hospitality industry many workers were …

Continue reading “Consumers Feel the Pinch of Rising Food Prices”

These days we take a lot of things for granted; especially how easy it is to shop online!  For many of us, those days of shopping at the mall are almost a thing of the past as we look instead to purchase online from Amazon or Walmart, two of the world’s largest e-commerce stores.  After …

Continue reading “Amazon or Walmart For Online Shopping?”

What was once considered a fad is here to stay.  Enter a Burger King franchise and enjoy the Impossible Burger or try a Beyond Meat patty at McDonald’s. Consumers can now find plant-based meat alternatives in their favorite grocery store or fast-food chain. Burger King just introduced the “Impossible Whopper” in Ontario, Canada on March …

Continue reading “Popularity of Plant-Based Food Continues to Grow Flexitarians Now 30% of the Market”

Most people today are aware of the basic benefits of blueberries…they’re extremely high in nutrients, delicious to eat and low in calories.  One cup of blueberries contains 24% of the RDI of Vitamin C, 36% of the RDI of Vitamin K, 25% of the RDI of Manganese as well as 4 grams of fiber.  When …

Continue reading “Japanese Blueberry Variety KUNISATO NO. 35 May Play Important Role in Fighting COVID-19!”

There’s no doubt about it. Shipping both internationally and domestically continues to pose significant problems. It doesn’t matter if you are importing or exporting, orders are delayed and it’s not without good reason.  Recently, at the port of Los Angeles, there were forty-two ships waiting to unload their cargo. And it’s not just the west …

Continue reading “Shipping Costs at Record Highs As Bottleneck Problems Continue”

The first lab-grown meat was just recently approved for human consumption in Singapore.  This is a big deal, especially exciting for the San Francisco based company “Eat Just” – the first ones to get it to market.  You may also know lab-grown meat by its more official title, cultured meat or by other descriptive terms …

Continue reading “Cultured Meat Just Approved for Human Consumption Are you ready to eat lab-grown meat?”