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January 2009
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Food Safety: Your Gift to Shoppers
On the heels of the holiday season and with Superbowl parties around the corner, many of us have to get creative with endless leftovers. Along with our desperate attempts to find new and different recipes to finish off the nonstop supply of turkey, pizza, chips and dips, comes the danger of proper refrigeration, reheating and eating food beyond its time limit.
Foodborne illness is a major health issue, especially this time of year. read more
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Store Tours with Some Real Pros
In this business it is easy to get caught up in facts and figures and lose sight of taking note of what is going on at store level and how retailers leverage store locations, store formats, assortment, and in-store messaging to win shopper dollars. I had the pleasure of speaking to 190 members of the Nice N Easy convenience store chain last month in Syracuse, New York. Twice a year, owner John MacDougall gathers franchise owners, store managers, assistant store managers, and headquarters staff for a two-day meeting to share ideas, learn about new company plans and programs, and hear from experts on the latest consumer, government and industry trends. read more
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Chocolate candy shows a crack in its sweet tooth
Few categories match candy for its level of household penetration (97.3%), the percentage of households that are repeat buyers during a year (96.7%), or the number of purchase occasions in a 12-month period (18.9).
Nearly irresistible to many shoppers, and shown in-line, on seasonal displays and at checkout stands, candy is shown prominently on most shopper visits to the store. Because it is also relatively low-ticket, it garners many impulse sales, especially around Easter, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. read more
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Yogurt revels in its many forms
A high-profile icon of the 'eat healthier' movement, yogurt leads shoppers to many aisles beyond its home. In the core dairy section, rampant varieties of flavors, fillings, toppings, package forms, whey- and probiotics-rich formulations keep users interested and new ones coming. Nearby, in the freezer case, yogurt is a healthful dessert. In center-store, it is part snack (yogurt-covered raisins), part cereal dish or energy bar. read more
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Men's hair care: will it catch a wave?
"A little dab'll do ya," was the sultry call for a popular men's hair care brand of a much earlier generation, before men obsessed more over styling and their perpetuation of active and youthful images. Hair care was simpler then.
Though loyalists still buy the old iconic brand, they are widely outnumbered by today's men of many age groups who want great looks defined by the women in their lives, salon stylists and fashion leaders. read more
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Storm Exchange: Holiday Weather Pattern Shifts May Alter Prices
The weather outside is indeed frightful, but the price outlook for 2009 may be not so delightful. Winter shifts in weather patterns may lead to some significant dollar fluctuations for the nation's crops following the holidays.
For over a month now, the jet stream has featured a strong ridge in the west with a trough in the east. However, an arctic cold front, which recently blasted through much of the western United States, brought down an unusually strong trough across the region. read more
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Diet aids shed some sales heft
The gift no one can give that would top Christmas wish lists is the ability to lose weight without working at it. Still, this doesn't prevent people from buying their own hope in a bottle in the form of appetite suppressants and diet aids, despite the loose 'science' around them, and serious documented health risks that have stained the weight loss business in the past.
Large sectors of the population willingly paid more than $400 million on these products in U.S. read more
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'No-MSG' a $1 billion opportunity
Many people associate monosodium glutamate (MSG) with Chinese restaurants, where diners frequently ask that none be put in their dishes. Relatively few know that food and beverage makers use MSG in a wide array of foods, since it is part of other ingredients whose names give no hint of its presence. To name a few: calcium caseinate, dry milk powder, hydrolyzed soy protein, and yeast nutrient.
The FDA doesn't require MSG to appear on food labels, even though over the past half-century, research has suggested the flavor enhancer could add to health risks ranging from blindness to migraines, nausea, joint pain, sleep disorders, heart irregularities and more. read more
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'100 calories or less' packs: mixed performance
The buzz surrounding package claims of '100 calories or less' has always seemed out of proportion to their impact on category sales. Since their introduction a half-decade ago in cookies/ice cream cones, puddings/dairy desserts and dried fruit—and more recently in snacks, candy and nuts—the limited-portion packs never exceeded 6.6% of any segment's dollar sales.
That happened only once, in 'remaining snacks' during the latest 52 weeks ended November 29, 2008; this is a relatively minor $74 million segment within the $11.3 billion snacks business. read more
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TLRTV: Pharmacists Shortage, Sales of Ready to Eat Up, The World Wildlife Fund's Proposal to Obama
TLRTV is a 5-minute videocast designed specifically for the B2B Food World with a focus on Marketing Analysis, Issues & Trends. In today's videocast, unemployment is rampant, but there is one profession begging for recruits - pharmacists. How bad is this problem?
In addition, ready to eat sales are up, but how is this affecting sales at quick service restaurants? And, The World Wildlife Fund's new position paper "Leading the World Toward a Safer and Sustainable Future: Greenprint for a New Administration" proposes a four-step plan for President-elect Obama. read more
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It's 2009 Consumer Panel Survey Time!
Once again, it is time for our annual survey that explores what YOU want and don't want from the food world. The survey will take about 15 minutes of your time, and as an incentive, we are having a random drawing for those take the survey! You could win one of these 35 gifts:
GRAND PRIZE of two coach-class round-trip plane tickets to fly anywhere in the United States
3 sets of 50 cookbooks (estimated value $1,000 each set)
5 - $100 gift certificate at the food store of your choice
26 runner up prizes - a heavy-duty canvas SupermarketGuru tote bag. read more
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Channel Watch: Missing Holiday Shopping Trips
As you reflect back on the tough year-end sales and examine company financials hitting the wires now, declining November sales were driven by the fact that many shoppers made drastic cuts in shopping trips from year ago. This has not been a new pattern, and we certainly got a glimpse of how bad the holiday season would turn out when we reported October shopping trips. read more
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So what does 2009 hold in store for us?
It is time to get out our crystal ball again and see just how the retail and food worlds may be affected over the next 12 months.
Higher commodity prices. Higher energy costs. Less available investment credit and capital. And a more demanding and smarter shopper will all make for a very different year ahead for the supermarket industry.
In 2008, shoppers used more coupons, bought more store brands, and started using shopping lists again. 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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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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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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