Plant-based food sales were already growing before COVID-19, and the category has long enjoyed a healthy halo around its products as beneficial to both consumers and the environment. However, a closer look at some of the labels for plant-based meats, for example, reveal they’re not much healthier than their animal-based counterparts, particularly when it comes to saturated fat, sodium, and the highly processed method of re-creating the taste and texture of an animal protein. Because of this, we’re currently on the cusp of a second era in alternative meats that will continue to focus on flavor, but also honor their “better-for-you” halos with simpler ingredients and minimal processing.  

In-depth Q&As with each of our five Best New Retail Products winners, detailing how their products were created, packaged and brought to market, and why those products resonate with consumers today.

A multi-segment view of how those working along the cold chain have been affected by COVID-19 so far in 2020. 

Our annual July State of the Industry issue is now ready to read in our redesigned digital magazine--even easier to navigate than before. We also feature our annual North American Refrigerated & Frozen Foods Warehouse Guide. put together with the help of the Global Cold Chain Alliance. In this issue, we dive deeper into how COVID-19 has not just impacted, but altered many areas of the cold foods supply chain the first half of 2020. It's a mid-year snapshot that also serves as a map for what will likely continue the rest of the year.

On our latest From the Cold Corner Podcast, I discuss the state of frozen foods and COVID-19’s effect on the entire industry with Alison Bodor, president and CEO of the American Frozen Food Institute (AFFI).

“The average restaurateur makes about 4 cents for every dollar, and now with decreased traffic and increased costs, it’s even more challenging for them,” says Jim Osborne of US Foods--one of the giants of foodservice distribution to restaurants, hotels, catering, schools and more. On the latest From the Cold Corner Podcast, I talk with Osborne about US Foods’ latest initiative—the Restaurant Reopening Blueprint—to help restaurateurs navigate new guidelines for service, staffing, and customer behavior due to coronavirus.

“What does the next normal look like, and when does it become the new normal?” A quote that applies to nearly everything right now, but in this instance, it’s referring to marketing frozen and refrigerated foods. On this week’s From the Cold Corner Podcast, I talk with Jeff Rumachik, EVP and COO of the National Frozen & Refrigerated Foods Association (NFRA) about promoting cold foods to consumers amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Because 2020 is Refrigerated & Frozen Foods’ 30-year anniversary, we take a look back at the evolution of technology in lift trucks, and what current trends will shape the future of forklifts.

Refrigerated & Frozen Foods catches up with Palermo Villa to see how the company has grown since it was named our 2016 Frozen Foods Processor of the Year, and learn more about its latest pizza innovations for the freezer aisle in 2020.

See what best practices companies like Hormel, KanPak, and A M King have implemented to improve sustainability and achieve real results.