Del Real Foods Senior Brand Manager Sergio Trujillo sits down with The National Provisioner to discuss the brand's recent distribution expansion with Target. This expansion comes on the heels of Del Real Foods' first-ever brand campaign, Abuela Intelligence.

National Provisioner Multimedia Specialist Brett Parker sits down with Eugene Kang, founder/CEO of Archer, as they discuss the company's launch of its second manufacturing facility in Los Angeles. 

The new 140,000-square-foot facility, which will open in September 2025 and employ 200+ people, will nearly double Archer’s overall manufacturing capacity and primarily produce Archer’s extensive lineup of meat sticks.

In this interview, Kang explains technological innovations that will be featured in this new facility, the importance of having a facility in the Los Angeles area, the biggest challenges of creating meat sticks, and business goals the company wishes to accomplish with this new space.

Kerry Group recently rolled out its 2025 Global Taste Charts Smarts, a data-driven resource aimed at food innovators looking to stay ahead of evolving consumer flavor preferences.

Kerry's research into consumer preferences and flavor performance suggests smoky and spicy flavors along with applewood smoke and bacon-forward flavors are trending. Consumers are becoming more adventurous, especially younger consumers.

In this interview, Kerry Group's Shannon Coco, senior strategic marketing director, meat, shares insights on trends in meat and poultry product development for foodservice, including:

• consumer demand is shifting toward familiar flavors with innovative twists, balancing comfort and novelty
• barbecue remains the most popular flavor, with regional and global variations gaining traction
• innovative flavors drive consumer intrigue, foot traffic and add-on sales in foodservice, particularly for chicken products.
• untapped flavor opportunities include smoky garlic parm, pub flavor, cheesy Cajun and zesty pickle ranch.

A recent US Food and Drug Administration decision updates the rule for "healthy" claims for seafood, allowing seafood products that meet the new FDA criteria to voluntarily make "healthy" claims on their packaging and other marketing materials. 

Under the final rule, the FDA notes that seafood without added ingredients except for water automatically qualifies for use of the “healthy” claim due to its nutritional attributes and role in healthy diets as recommended by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

In this interview, Anna Benevente, director of regulatory affairs for Registrar Corp, discusses the impact this change will have on the seafood industry, including:

• FDA's new "healthy" claim regulation shifts focus from individual nutrients to overall dietary patterns, benefiting seafood marketers
• Seafood (including high-fat fish like salmon) now automatically qualifies for the "healthy" claim if single-ingredient or water-packed.

Land O’Frost recently launched its Hot Honey Chicken Breast and Hot Honey Ham flavors, bringing the hot honey trend from pizzas and charcuterie boards to everyday lunches.

Land O’Frost is the first national packaged lunchmeat brand to bring hot honey flavors to the market, aiming to offer consumers a new way to elevate sandwiches, wraps, and snacks. The products are naturally flavored with real hot honey and hardwood smoked, and both varieties are free from by-products and artificial flavors.

The National Provisioner sits down with Jason Chiu, Beleaf Vegan co-founder and CEO, and Jun Roxas, chief marketing officer, to discuss opportunities for plant-based protein within the private labeling space.

Pat Shanahan, executive director of the Wild Alaska Sole Association, says the light, mild-flavored fish with a flaky texture is the complete package of what consumers are looking for in a protein option today. "It has that protein that doesn't weigh you down, but it offers really superior sustainability and nutrition characteristics," Shanahan says. "It's a wild-capture fish, but it's very abundant. It's the second largest federally managed fishery in Alaska and averages around 200,000 metric tons per year, which is a very large fishery."

She says wild Alaska sole is independently certified sustainable.

On the nutrition side, wild Alaska sole is an excellent source of lean protein, offering high levels of omega-3 fatty acids for a low fat fish, Shanahan says. "It's quite unusual to find the levels in mild, low-calorie, low-fat fish, like wild Alaska sole. So we're really excited to share that kind of information, too, for those consumers and buyers that are looking for really healthy options or superior kinds of health benefits."