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February 2009
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What to Do When Times Are Tough?
There is no question that times are tough and cutting expenses is a common knee-jerk reaction. Popular areas of cutbacks include staffing, employee education, marketing programs and advertising spending. While cuts in these areas may seem like an easy solution, we must wonder about their long-term effect on sales, profits, customer service and shopper loyalty — an area overlooked by many. Is cutting advertising and marketing spending in the midst of a recession really the best course of action?
Despite immediate improvement of the bottom line, a Harvard Business School study says otherwise. read more
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If You Thought All Store Brand Buyers Were The Same—Think Again!
2008 was a stellar year for store brands in the U.S., with both dollar and unit growth outpacing branded offerings across consumer packaged goods (CPG) categories. Store brand dollar sales within food, drug and mass merchandisers grew 10.2% for the year, while branded dollar sales grew 2.6%. Although the gap in unit sales was not as wide, indicative of how store brand dollar growth resulted from inflationary pricing across a number of commodity-based categories, store brand units grew 2.6% for the year, but branded units were off 2.2%. read more
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New items post $21B sales in 2008
A new item has less than one chance in 10,000 to post $50 million in first-year sales. Less than one in 500 reaches $10 million in its launch year. And one in 33 surpasses the $1 million benchmark.
Odds appear high because the vast majority of new items represent only minor changes to existing products and brand extensions, according to Nielsen, which monitored sales of 122,743 new UPCs brought to market during the 52 weeks ended December 27, 2008. read more
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'Price' tops shoppers' priority list: 2009 SupermarketGuru Consumer Panel Survey
Consumers changed their relationships with food and beverage, and the stores and restaurants that provide them, after the economy's slash and burn of 2008. Visits and spending shrank, as people began to save in many ways that seem likely to stick.
They tightened their shopping plans, retail outlays, and eating and nutrition strategies to grow fitter and weather these tough times.
As a result, shoppers seek retail improvements in the areas of price/cost savings, service, and assortments, especially healthful, locally grown foods, according to survey results of the 2009 National Grocers Association-SupermarketGuru Consumer Panel. read more
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HFCS-free label claim grows, primarily in fruit drinks
Nutritional controversy over high fructose corn syrup hasn't kept it from being used as a sweetener in many processed foods. While early studies linked consumption of sweetened beverages (with HFCS) with obesity, five papers just published in a supplement to Clinical Nutrition conclude there is no connection.
The newer research could be part of a pushback by the corn industry, which also launched the www.sweetsurprise.com website last year to promote HFCS as an alternative to sugar. read more
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Field to Market
As the competition for land, water and energy rapidly grows, agriculture is facing some clear challenges. Experts estimate that the need for food production will double to keep pace with population growth between now and 2050 - and that leaves the food industry in a difficult situation. How can we increase production without negatively impacting the environment?
Now, a first-of-its-kind coalition known as "Field to Market" hopes to answer this important question. read more
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Pasta shines in dim economy
Consumers saving in this economic downturn have moved pasta from accompaniment to center-plate, and more readily stock up when the filling food goes on sale. Why not? It's inexpensive, versatile, and comes in multi-grain varieties to appease health-conscious shoppers.
It has taken years and the force of a financial cliffhanger to move people off their high-protein fix back to accepting carbohydrates as part of a balanced diet. read more
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TLRTV: Sustainability Series with Procter & Gamble, and New Surgeon General Gupta
TLRTV is a 5-minute videocast designed specifically for the B2B Food World with a focus on Marketing Analysis, Issues & Trends. Here is what's in this week's report:
We announce our Sustainability Series, a new monthly feature that takes a look behind the scenes at America's leading companies. What began as a small, family-operated soap and candle company now consists of 130,000 employees providing products and services in over 180 countries. read more
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'Natural' food sales 4x greater than 'organics'
For a term that's officially undefined by either FDA or USDA, 'natural' has quite a large consumer following. Seeking healthful food choices, people bought items labeled 'natural' at the pace of $22.3 billion last year, up 10% from 2007 and up 34% from 2004, according to Nielsen's Healthy Eating Report for 2008.
What they were buying, however, is a term filled with controversy. "Natural is more of a marketing gimmick than anything else," Kathy Glass, a scientist at University of Wisconsin-Madison's Food Research Institute, recently told the Chicago Tribune. read more
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Dryness in Brazil May Raise Coffee Prices
Your morning cup of Joe may start to cost more. Coffee production is likely to decline across Brazil due to a combination of recent dryness, the credit crunch, and biennial growth cycle. In an increasingly tough economic time, these factors are likely to urge prices higher.
The Brazilian government predicts that the country will harvest 39.2 million 132-pound sacks of coffee beans this year, a drop of 16.2% from 2008. read more
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Super Bowl food sales are clue to rest of 2009
For nearly 100 million football fans who watch the Super Bowl, the game and its surrounding noise—food and beverage, family and friends, betting and rooting—capture their attention and energy for days, even weeks, leading up to the championship contest.
For food industry marketers, however, home entertainment outlays on this Super Bowl serve as an early barometer for holiday sales performance into the rest of 2009. read more
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Economy won't slow down Valentine's Day chocolate candy sales
Although the economy may have slowed down this year, a recent report from The Nielsen Company shows that "love conquers all" on this year's Valentine's Day, when it comes to chocolate candy. Consumers are expected to purchase more than $345 million in chocolate candy during Valentine's week, accounting for 5.1 percent of chocolate candy's annual sales. On a total candy basis, consumers will purchase more than $448 million during Valentine's week. read more
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Channel Watch Update: 2008 Year-End Review
Rising gas prices, inflation across a number of fast moving consumer goods categories and the financial crisis had a tremendous impact on how U.S. consumers shopped in 2008. Comparing changes in channel shopping trips and average per-trip basket rings during 2008 versus year ago, total outlet trips were down 1.2% and average basket rings were up 2.3%. read more
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Food Prices: redux
Over the past nine months, both the media and consumers have been obsessed with the rising costs of food. With the inauguration and Super Bowl, the story seems to have moved from the front pages to somewhere near the obits. But, that's about to change.
Texas has experienced the fourth driest November to January period on record: and the result is a prediction of one-third less wheat crop. read more
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The LOHAS Report: Consumers & Sustainability
NMI's 7th Edition of The LOHAS Report: Consumers & Sustainability report series, due to be published in January 2009, will contain seven years of trended consumer insight and data focused on the role of sustainability, health, social issues, the environment and corporate social responsibility.
NMI will offer three reports on the U.S. read more
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Facts, Figures, & the Future Newsletter
Click here for your FREE subscription to Facts, Figures, & the Future.
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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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