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April 2009
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Is Cost a True Obstacle or a Mere Excuse to Healthy Eating?
Without a doubt, the recession is a powerful driver behind shoppers' return to home-cooking. But as grim as the outlook may be right now, the economy will eventually recover. It is unlikely that shoppers will abandon all money-saving behaviors we are seeing today at the first signs of recovery, but an increase in the number of meals away from home is a distinct possibility. After all, many consumers continue to be starved for time, despite the economic pressures. read more
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Economy Taking a Bite Out of Health & Wellness Sales
A recent Nielsen report included the following chart depicting how sales growth of organic products have taken a nose dive as our economy has worsened. For the 4-week period ending 3/21/2009, dollar sales of UPC-coded products with an organic label claim grew by just 1%, quite a dramatic shift from the 24% growth rate in March of last year and the more than 30% growth rates experienced in many periods in 2005 and 2006. read more
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Blogs, social networks the next hot spot for brands
CPG and retail marketers looking to connect their brands to consumers online will increase their chances of success if they focus on blogs and social network sites like Facebook, MySpace and Twitter.
That's because two-thirds (66.8%) of the global online population visit 'member communities' (blogs and social networks) a lot; Internet users worldwide spend one out of every 11 minutes at these sites. read more
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Indy Grocers Should Have a Major Beef with COOL
An unkind cut has just been perpetrated on independent grocers with the enactment of the Country of Origin Labeling law, as it pertains to meat.
SupermarketGuru.com certainly endorses COOL, which requires labels that show where fruits, vegetables, most fresh meats and other foods come from. The issue we have with meat labeling is the consumer confusion that will arise from showing where animals were born, raised and slaughtered. read more
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Family planning sales rise in the recession
If you're reading this story and not having sex, join the rest of the country. How else do you think people entertain themselves and relieve stress of the recession, when they go to restaurants and theaters less often and take fewer vacations?
Following a record birth year in 2007with 4.31 million newborns and a 2.3% birth gain among women ages 30-34 (the largest gain of all age groups), said the National Center for Health Statisticsit will be interesting to see if these fertility trends continue once the birth rates of 2008 and 2009 become known. read more
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TLRTV: Urban farm proposal shines hope on Detroit, Enticing recession-weary consumers, and more...
TLRTV is a 5-minute videocast designed specifically for the B2B Food World with a focus on Marketing Analysis, Issues & Trends.
This week's report: Crushing losses at General Motors, Ford and Chrysler have devastated Detroit. Empty lots stain entire neighborhoods, foreclosures taint other at-risk homes, unemployment is high, and people feel low. Yet prospects of lush, productive urban farms could soon bring some optimism to this gritty city. read more
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Printer cartridge sales grow, pens and pencils not so sharp
Remember about 15 years ago when telecommuting first gained legs? Trust issues eventually gave way to corporate desires to save on office rental footage. Millions set up home offices as outposts, and retailers like Staples opened stores wherever they needed to be to serve these remote workers conveniently.
Combine the 12.4 million telecommuters (workingfromanywhere.org 2007 estimate) with the vast tally of independent small businesses across the nation, plus today's swollen ranks of unemployed (more than 8% of the U.S. read more
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Drought Effects Winter Wheat Crop
Last year, a wet harvest in the United Kingdom dropped protein levels more than a percent in their wheat. The consequential reduction in the supply of higher quality wheat caused a rise in the price of bread flour. Now, domestic weather patterns may produce some similar price results.
Although most of the winter wheat areas are free of snow cover, and growing delays are not anticipated, the severe drought that set in starting in November, 2008 - combined with above normal temperatures - has caused nearly 20% of Kansas wheat to be rated poor-to-very poor as of the latest assessment. read more
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Peanut butter sales get shelled, then start rebound
It's largely understandable why the nation's largest food recall everon peanut products processed by Peanut Corp. of Americainflicted sales harm on major peanut butter brands that were completely innocent of spreading salmonella or causing any food-safety problems that emerged during the ongoing intensive coverage.
Especially after President Barack Obama referred to his own daughters' love of peanut butter sandwiches and the need for better food-safety practices, Americans found it easy to make the connection to peanut butter. read more
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More wine drinkers try 3L premium casks to save
The wine package long shunned by enthusiasts is suddenly a smooth operator in this recession. The three-liter premium wine caskwhich is commonly called wine-in-a-boxis posting double-digit sales gains as a value alternative for drinkers wanting to spend less.
Whether casks' new traction will be an eventual path into many more homes is an open question, since less than 1% of U.S. households purchase themout of 38% of households that buy wine during a calendar year, says Nielsen. read more
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Consumers choose rechargeable batteries more to save
Need a recharge in the recession? Who doesn't?
Want to keep music, photos, data and voice communications accessible everywhere without having to carry spare batteries?
Consumers down in this recession think these thoughts and know they can keep a small semblance of power in their livesby using rechargeable batteries. People don't have to forgo every pleasure in these tough times. Since rechargeable cells can keep people dancing or in touch for longer periods at lower cost, this segment has quietly become one of the next big things in consumer electronics. read more
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SupermarketGuru Quick Poll Results: Peanut Recall
Nine people have died, hundreds have been sickened, and thousands of products have been recalled. When the salmonella outbreak in peanut products, traced back to a plant in Georgia, initially came to light, no one expected the storm that would follow. This massive recall of products has shaken up the nation's confidence in our food supply and the controls that have been put in place by our government that have ultimately revealed themselves as not affective enough. read more
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Channel Watch Update: Some Unexpected Positive News
As reported the Department of Commerce, retail sales (excluding automobiles) in the U.S. rebounded in the first two months of the year to register sales levels that at least weren't in the red. January sales grew unexpectedly by 1.0%, and February sales were up 0.7%. read more
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It is about more than just sustainability; it's about feeding the World
Practically every retailing or food focused conference includes at least a half dozen sessions on sustainability. Companies large and small, and consumers democrats or republicans all seem to be aligned around the fact that unless we initial major efforts to help the environment, our plane and people are doomed.
However, what I do not see a lot of discussion around is just how we are going to keep the population of the world fed. read more
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The Power of Meat 2009
The Power of Meat explores meat and poultry buying and consumption behaviors, with a special emphasis in the economy. Also available as a PDF Download
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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
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