Category: Trending

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?”

In the early 1900’s the residents of Philadelphia experienced a new kind of dining – the first Automat called “Horn and Hardart” (named after its founders) had just opened.  It was a huge success. Food was chosen by the customer from a wall of cubbies that were coin-operated, and the quality of food couldn’t have …

Continue reading “The Return of the Automat, A Modern Solution to “Contactless” Eating”

Have You Met Marty? He’s made by Badger Technologies and only one of five robotic systems currently in place in grocery stores throughout the U.S.  He checks inventory, alerts staff to spills on the floors and directs customers to various store locations.  As of April 2020, 172 Giant Stores and 325 Stop and Shops have …

Continue reading “Robots Gain Popularity in Retail Grocery Stores”

Throughout the world, COVID-19 has changed the way people dine both inside the home and out. Public attitude towards restaurants and choice of eating places has changed.  Restaurant owners have had to become more innovative and adapt to these differences in order to keep their businesses open and hopefully, profitable. Some are ready and anxious …

Continue reading “In Search of Restaurant Survival as Consumers Demand More Affordable and Safer Food”

COVID-19 on the way out – Is everything back to normal? In Wuhan, things changed suddenly with the onset of COVID-19 about eight months ago. Life in China came to a standstill and the government forced the closure of just about every shop and type of entertainment; travel in and out as well as within …

Continue reading “MUST READ CHINA UPDATES”

USA Online grocery sales in the U.S. grew 22% in 2019 (Coresight Research U.S. Online Grocery Survey 2020) and COVID-19 lockdowns have propelled e-commerce food shopping to an even higher level.  In April 2020, e-commerce sales overall jumped 49% compared to early March before lockdowns went into effect, according to new data from Adobe’s Digital …

Continue reading “COVID-19 Leads to E-Grocery Boom Snapshot: China & the USA”

Each year the Specialty Food Association publishes a detailed industry report – it is a joint research project prepared by Mintel and SPINS/IRI.  The report covers the three most recent calendar years of sales data and has figures for 63 specialty food categories. In addition, it includes data and insights from a 23-question customer survey …

Continue reading “State of the Specialty Food Industry Report”

A shopper commented, “Each time I go to the store it seems the grocery bill is higher. Even frozen food that is normally a cheaper option than fresh seems to cost more. Hopefully prices will come back down once things get back to normal.” Unfortunately, prices are not likely to come down anytime soon. The …

Continue reading “Disrupted Supply Chains Bring Rising Food Prices”

Here in California we are still under lockdown or shelter-in-place orders, as are most people throughout the United States.  As a result of COVID-19, there is a noticeable shift in shopping behavior as we consume more “comfort foods” and keep our homes and clothing cleaner than ever.  Frozen pizza, pasta sauce and good old mac …

Continue reading “Home Cooking is Back as Comfort Foods Boom with Fears of Meat Shortages Ahead”

Noon International is a small international trading company that specializes in buying and selling frozen fruits and vegetables globally as well as in the U.S. domestic market. Looking at our volumes, you really wouldn’t call us “small” in our particular category of the import and export of frozen and canned fruits and vegetables; but compared …

Continue reading “BEING SMALL…Just might be better”

As the Covid-19 crisis spreads to new epicenters in Europe and the U.S., companies are scrambling to mobilize responses. There are no easy answers, due to the unpredictability of disease dynamics, a lack of relevant prior experience, and the absence of plug-and-play instructions from government or international authorities. Clearly each local situation is different, but …

Continue reading “How Chinese Companies Have Responded to Coronavirus”

Alibaba is helping China’s farmers survive the COVID-19 (Corona Virus) outbreak. Many brick and mortar businesses in China have recently turned to video live streaming on “Taobao Live” to sell their products…and it’s working. Livestream sessions in February increased by 110% compared to same period last year.  With physical businesses closed in many cities and …

Continue reading “CHINESE FARMERS TURN TO ALIBABA FOR HELP”

If you’re interested in what’s trending in the food industry, you probably attended the Fancy Food Show in San Francisco, January 19-21, 2019.  Not only were there hundreds of exhibitors from throughout the world displaying a multitude of products, but also some excellent presentations and/or sessions from the experts… like “CBD in Foods & Beverages”, …

Continue reading “What’s Trending In Specialty Foods?”

It’s hard to believe that it’s been eleven years since the Chinese milk scandal took place…and some families and young teenagers (who survived) are still suffering today.  Ren Che, a thirteen-year-old boy who lives in southern Hunan province is on three sessions of kidney dialysis a week. Doctors found his kidneys full of stones when …

Continue reading “Safe, Natural and Organic Trending for Babies in China A Great Opportunity for Foreign Suppliers”

Whole Foods Market, headquartered in Austin, Texas, annually reveals what it considers to be the “Top 10 Food Trends” for upcoming year.  The top food trend predictions for 2020 are as follows:  regenerative agriculture, flour power, food from West Africa, out-of-the-box-into-the-fridge snacking, plant-based beyond soy, everything butters and spreads, rethinking the kids’ menu, not-so-simple sugars, …

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On September 25, 2019, the U.S. and Japan signed a limited trade deal that will eliminate certain tariffs and allow market access to specific agricultural products, as well as industrial and digital products.  Japan is America’s third largest export market and imported more than 14.1 billion dollars in U.S. products in 2018. From a trade …

Continue reading “Taking A Closer Look
The New US-Japanese Trade Agreement And Japan Tariff Schedule”