The 500 largest U.S. restaurant chains accelerated their cumulative sales growth in 2015 to a 4.9% increase, totaling an estimated $288 billion, according to data released by Chicago-based Technomic Inc.

With the election coming up, how do you feel about the future of the cold food industry?

To be successful in meeting the needs of customers and retailers’ bottom line, manufacturers must hit four key points.

Global retail analytics leader Retail Solutions Inc. (RSi), Mountain View, Calif., introduced the new shopper marketing optimization (SMO), a solution that helps consumer packaged goods (CPG) shopper marketing teams plan, execute and measure events in an end-to-end workflow solution.

The U.S. and Canadian food and beverage industry is expected to see "slow but stable" growth in 2016, following a period of strengthened investment in new-build projects.

Consumer demand for healthy items and product transparency continues to shape the food and beverage marketplace, according to Gladson, a Lisle, Ill.-based provider of digital product content for the consumer goods industry.

Big data is getting big buzz among food industry leaders as a potential game changer in food safety, product development and supply chain management, according to DNV GL, Houston, Texas.

Health and eco-minded consumers are looking beyond natural labels to organic, non-GMO and grass-fed label claims, according to the 2016 Market LOHAS MamboTrack consumer research survey, produced by Market Dynamics-Market LOHAS, Acton, Mass.

A successful meat department can help a store differentiate itself from the competition and be a significant driver of sales and foot traffic.