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Exclusive
Liquid Concentrates are Redefining Coffee Convenience
The out-of-home coffee sector thrived on a simple consumer compromise: paying a premium for café-quality beverages that were impossible to replicate at home without expensive, complex machinery. with nearly half of the UK workforce operating in a hybrid model and embracing behavioural shifts like "coffee badging,"
Exclusive Interview
Miso Robotics: AI & Robots in The Kitchen
From the sizzling precision of Flippy to the real-time intelligence of Zippy, Hull reveals how AI and automation are doing more than just frying fries; they are safeguarding workers, empowering managers, and delivering on the elusive promise of the perfect guest experience.
Rich Hull
CEO, Miso Robotics
Miso is built to close that gap on both fronts. Flippy executes the fry station the same way every single time, twice as fast as a human, with zero variance based on who is working the shift. That means the food your guest gets in one location matches what they get in every other location, every time. On the operations side, Zippy is an employee revenue engine and AI shift manager that gives operators AI-powered labour forecasting, employee task management, and real-time store performance data, so managers are putting the right people in the right roles instead of just filling shifts. That is what drives service quality, and it is why operators using our platform and our products see measurable improvements in guest satisfaction scores.
The problem with most restaurant data tools is that they tell you what happened last week. By the time a manager is reading that report, the scheduling decision that hurt them last Saturday is already baked in. Zippy is built around real-time visibility so operators can make decisions that actually change outcomes, rather than just explain them after the fact. If labour is trending wrong today, you can see it and act on it now.
What makes that actionable, rather than just another dashboard, is how Zippy delivers the information. Instead of forcing managers to navigate reports and stitch data together themselves, Zippy brings a conversational AI experience to restaurant operations so an operator can simply ask what happened at a location, why a metric shifted, or how a scheduling change is tracking against sales. The answer comes to you, instead of you having to go find it.
Yes, and this is one of the outcomes of which we are proudest. Burns from the fry station are the number one workers' compensation claim in the QSR industry. Flippy eliminates that exposure entirely. That is not a small thing when you consider what fry station workers have historically dealt with: hot oil, relentless pace, repetitive strain, and a job that burns people out physically.
What we did not fully anticipate was how much employees would actually embrace working alongside Flippy. We see 90%+ employee favorability in our deployments. One of our operator partners documented a reduction in employee walking distance that cuts physical fatigue significantly, and they credit Flippy with improving retention on their team.
The future commercial kitchen is AI-powered, data-driven, and still fundamentally human. We are not building toward a kitchen with no people in it. We are building toward a kitchen where people are doing work that is safer, more skilled, and more satisfying, while the machine handles the repetitive and dangerous tasks it is better suited for.
For Miso specifically, the trajectory is toward a fully connected operation. Flippy handles the physical execution at the fry station. Zippy, our next-generation employee revenue engine and AI shift manager, handles the intelligence layer: forecasting, scheduling, performance insights, and employee engagement. As those products deepen their integration, operators gain something the industry has never had before, which is a single AI layer that sees the entire operation and helps them run it better in real time.
nutribullet's Flavour of the Year: Protein Caramel Horchata Ice Cream
Kitchen appliance brand nutribullet has crowned Protein Caramel Horchata Ice Cream as its inaugural Flavour of the Year following a global campaign promoting its nutribullet Chill frozen dessert maker. Born from the global "Scoops Around the World" campaign, Spain's warm, cinnamony, and protein-packed creation takes the ultimate dessert title.
Trend
July 21, 2026
Pukka: Bleached and Unbleached Tea Bags?
Organic tea producer Pukka Herbs has addressed consumer misconceptions regarding bleached and unbleached tea bags, highlighting the impact of lignin on herbal flavour profiles.
Analysis
July 20, 2026
PepsiCo Foods Summer 2026 Flavour Trends
PepsiCo Foods has unveiled its 2026 summer portfolio, targeting peak seasonal demand with bold swicy profiles, pickle-forward varieties, and high-protein convenience formats. This includes bold flavour innovation, pickle-forward varieties, recipes inspired by peak tomato season and convenient on-the-go formats.
Trend
July 20, 2026
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7-Eleven Japan Launches Fruit Sandwich with Cocoa Bread
July 19, 2026
M&S New Chocolate Strawberry & Pistachio Creme Sandwich
June 25, 2026
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Like Air Enters Rice Cake Segment with Dessert-Inspired Line
June 17, 2026
PepsiCo Brand Mug Root Beer Launches Vanilla Howler to Target Dirty Soda Trend
June 12, 2026
Naked Smoothies Launches Plant Based Protein Flavours
June 8, 2026
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Kraft Heinz Announces Macaroni & Cheese Flavoured Cheesecake
May 26, 2026
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Innocent Drinks Launches Dessert-Inspired Smoothie Range
May 21, 2026
Buzzbar and Serendipity 3 Launch Adult Dessert Creations
May 21, 2026
TREND WATCH: Summer 2026
Differently Indulgent: Dessert-Inspired Flavours
The push-pull between functional wellness and high-end decadence is creating some of the most interesting innovations in the food industry. As consumer fatigue over hyper-functional "bio-hacking" foods peaks, a new category has emerged that refuses to choose between a clean conscience and a clean plate. Welcome to the era of the differently indulgent.
Dirty Soda Nostalgia
Healthy & Dessert Flavoured
Elevating Functional Food
June 2026 Issue
FNBX INSIDER: Differently Indulgent
Summer is officially here, and the food and beverage world is shaking things up! Consumers are craving functional health and unapologetic escapism, and the industry is stepping up to deliver. With hyper-wellness trends and GLP-1 weight-loss meds shrinking our appetites for heavy, solid sweets, we still want our treats! The solution? Liquid indulgence.
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Next-Gen Chocolate
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Functional F&B
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Rule-Breaking Marketing
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Latin American Innovation
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European Commercialisation
