|
|
 |
 |
|
|
April 2008
|
|
|
The Power of Meat Remains Undiminished
The state of the economy is the talk of the town in 2008. The housing market slump, credit crunch, high fuel prices and rising unemployment are driving this debate. Additionally, consumers' confidence is subdued and their short-term outlook is cautious at best. The food industry is not insulated from the overall economy and the high food inflation and commodity costs are affecting consumer shopping and eating behaviors. read more
|
Do You Know What Percent of Your Shoppers' or Consumers' Weekly Retail Spend is at the Gas Pump? If Not, You Should!
As described in an earlier issue of F3, Nielsen Consumer Panel Services introduced Homescan® Total ShopperView to enable a broader understanding of total retail spending. This capability enables the capture of consumer purchases for non-bar-coded products across 15 critical non-UPC retail sectors including:
Perishables (Random WeightMeat, Bakery, Fruits, Vegetables, Cheese, Cold Cuts
Center Store (Random WeightCoffee, Candy-Nuts-Seeds)
Rx & Film Processing
Apparel, Floral and Gas
Take Out (Home Delivery, Pick Up)
When combined with UPC purchases, this service provides the broadest view of actual shopping behavior ever captured from a single-source consumer panel. read more
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Spinach rebound still in question
Three questions continue to linger over retailers and leafy greens producers since E.coli contamination killed and sickened people a year-and-a-half ago: What can be done to better secure the growing, harvesting, and shipping of spinach to prevent another occurrence? How soon before the public trusts again? How long will sales be affected?
Since an industry group supervised by the California Department of Food and Agriculture developed Best Practices (in the California Leafy Green Products Handler Marketing Agreement), they've served as the core of potential federal regulations now being weighed by the U.S. read more
|
|
|
|
Low-GI foods show narrow impact
Diet strategies often grow popular and fade. Consumers pursue them in the hope that they're smarter ways to eat, more suitable to their tastes, lifestyles, body type and weight and health goals. Through the years, store displays of low-fat, low-sugar, low-calorie, low-carb and lately low-Glycemic Index (GI) foods have turned heads. Some have had diet plans behind them and others not.
In short, the GI measures how fast and how far blood sugar rises after consumption, according to the Harvard School of Public Health Nutrition Source. read more
|
|
|
|
Sweet cinnamon sales
When rocker Neil Young sang praises to the Cinnamon Girl, he credited a hippie girl he passed on the street as inspiration. Little did he realize that nearly 40 years later he and his fans would become part of the Boomer generation that seeks health as much as taste from the cinnamon spice.
Once revered as a gift fit for royalty, increasing study of cinnamon has brought health benefits to light, particularly in recent years. read more
|
|
|
|
Looking for Supermarket Nutritionists!
As a nutritionist working for a supermarket, you have a unique outlook on how retailers are increasing health awareness at the store level and the kind of questions that shoppers ask. Each month, we'll be featuring a guest column, written by a nutritionist, that communicates this point of view on a variety of topics. And we want to hear from you. If you are a supermarket nutritionist interested in sharing your perspective and insights, we would love to help you share your thoughts! Please contact Allison Bloom at Allison@FoodNutritionScience.com. read more
|
|
|
|
New Products May Be Plentiful, But Success Remains Fleeting
As usual, there was a plethora of new products arriving on store shelves last year...and as usual, the vast majority of them were unsuccessful. According to a new study produced by The Nielsen Company, there were more than 122,000 new SKUs introduced by manufacturers last year, and yet only 3,701 of them, or three percent, managed to achieve more than a million dollars a year in sales; just 206 of them, or 0.2 percent, generated more than $10 million in sales; and 10 of them, or 0.01 percent, managed to ring up more than $50 million in sales. read more
|
|
|
|
Yogurt swirls ahead
As potent as probiotics have been and still are for the chilled yogurt rebirth at retail, there's likely to be more excitement ahead. Consider how at-home consumption ideas could migrate from frozen dessert operators Pinkberry, Red Mango, BerrySweet, Yogurberry or TCBY, to name just a few.
While Pinkberry's inventiveness has earned it kudos, all hasn't been peaches and cream for the chain. Its count of bacterial cultures per gram fell short of thresholds established by the California Department of Food and Agriculture to be called frozen yogurt, the Los Angeles Times reported. read more
|
|
|
|
E-Commerce Nets New Depth Of Market Penetration
The use of the Internet for shopping, offering consumers both the access to one-click convenience as well as the availability of a vast array of products far beyond what they could find in a brick and mortar store, has achieved fast and even surprising penetration.
A new survey conducted by The Nielsen Company suggests that more than 85 percent of the world's online population has used the Internet to make a purchase, up 40 percent from two years ago, and more than half of Internet users are regular online shoppers, making online purchases at least once a month. read more
|
|
|
|
CHANNEL WATCH
The Nielsen Company estimates that during the 52-week period ending on December 29, 2007, over $9.7 billion was spent across all retail channels in the Detergents category which includes Heavy Duty Liquid Detergents, Packaged Detergents, Light Duty Liquid Detergents, Automatic Dishwasher Compounds, and Dishwasher Rinsing Aids. read more
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
What food retailers should learn from tennis
One could argue that tennis is one of the most civilized activities. This past week I was lucky enough to spend time in Indian Wells California at the Pacific Life Open tournament. Those who know me surely would agree that my beat is much more pedestrian - the aisles of a supermarket or the kitchens of a restaurant; but I went not to just watch tennis ... but also to check out the foods. read more
|
|
The Power of Meat 2008
An in-depth look at meat consumption, selection, marketing and purchasing patterns through the shopper's eyes. To obtain your copy of The Power of Meat 2008 or other FMI research and education materials, please visit www.fmi.org/store/
|
|
Consumer 360
Click here for more information.
|
|
Food, Nutrition & Science
We've just launched a brand new monthly newsletter: Food, Nutrition, & Science from The Lempert Report.
Our mission is to provide retailers and brands with the latest food news and the tools needed to better serve and empower our shoppers to make the best food choices possible. Each issue will contain interviews with leading researchers, nutritionists and trend setters. read more
|
|
The Food Retailing Industry Speaks
Make sure your voice is heard in the industry's Annual State of the Industry Review and receive a FREE copy of the report in return. Speaks is used by everyone who follows this industry so we need broad input to make sure the picture we present is accurate. Of course, for that to happen, the Food Marketing Industry needs as many food retailers as possible--from the largest to the smallest--to respond. read more
|
|
FMI Annual Financial Review
For this in-depth financial review of the supermarket industry with key ratios and trends for benchmarking performance, click here.
|
|
Facts, Figures, & the Future Newsletter
Click here for your FREE subscription to Facts, Figures, & the Future.
|
|
U.S. Grocery Shopper Trends 2007
FMI's best-selling report, U.S. Grocery Shopper Trends, tracks the consumer environment as well as the attitudes and behaviors of American consumers as they relate to and impact the food industry. The report focuses on better data and knowledge of the grocery shopper, understanding the role of food and nutrition in today's society and providing retailers and suppliers with operationally useful information needed in serving, communicating and improving relations with their customers. read more
|
|
|
|
