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March 2010
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Are Brands Setting A New Social Ante?
Brands are looking for tiebreakers when consumers are at the shelf - and its not always about price, packaging, taste or nutritional content. To differentiate today, some brands are doling out hundreds of dollars up to $250,000 at a time to fund causes that are meaningful to individuals, businesses or nonprofit groups.
The Pepsi Refresh program (www.refresheverything.com), for instance, funds two $250,000 grants per month as part of its March grant budget of $1.3 million, which will go to entrants that gain the highest vote tallies from site visitors. read more
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Jeff Brown Tackles Food Deserts
The growing obesity epidemic is a frightening reality in the United States. According to a recent Emory University study, an estimated 103 million Americans will be obese by 2018. But combating one of America's biggest health issues with weight management tips may not be enough to curtail the problem.
The USDA reports that 23.5 million people live in low-income areas - or "food deserts" - that are more than one mile from a supermarket or large grocery store. read more
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Raise health image with 'foods for bones'
Supermarkets that have upgraded their assortments and placement of healthy foods to align with consumer demand can take this strategy deeper by assembling and promoting foods according to health conditions.
One key opportunity is bone strength and the prevention of osteoporosis, in our view at F3. This is a primary concern of women as they mature. These chief household shoppers are in the stores most often, where they can select from a bevy of foods and beverages that are naturally high in calcium and vitamin D, or are enhanced to include them. read more
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Supermarket Prices Can Rise When Restaurants Downscale
As restaurant patrons downscale their spending and make less frequent trips (3% fewer in 2009, says NPD Group), chefs are whipping up menu choices that suit the new conservative spending nature. Chefs are focusing more on foods that define the opposite of haute couture, and that neither they nor their guests would have likely considered as recently as two years ago.
Witness the pricing phenomenon of chicken wings as we crash-landed into 2010. read more
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Rice sales get steamy
America's relationship with rice has never heated up to the extent it has in Japan, where nearly four in ten households cook rice at least once a day. The Asia-Pacific region accounts for about 90% of the worldwide market for rice cookers, estimated to exceed $1 billion a year, according to IMS Research (UK).
Perhaps it is our penchant for speed and convenience in preparing meals - it could take close to an hour to properly cook rice, either white grains or the nutritionally superior brown rice. read more
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FDA: Consumers Skeptical of Claims
The degree to which people want to eat healthier as this recession persists was shown in the 2010 national consumer survey done by the National Grocers Association and SupermarketGuru.com: Shoppers that "almost always" look at health claims on product packages rose seven percentage points over a year earlier to 43%. A majority (51%) "almost always" look at the type of preservatives or additives, up nine percentage points in a year. read more
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Is the food storage heyday here?
Is the recession a heyday for food storage products, as people look to streamline waste and conserve edibles? Not fully, we think at F3, because households already have their storage regimens lined up, and haven't yet replaced older containers with new ones at rapid rates.
But as the weak economy and high unemployment persist, this could change very quickly, suggest the latest Nielsen data. Ongoing trends aren't about to end soon: Less dining out in the recession means more eating at home and more leftovers to store. read more
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Tackling Childhood Obesity|More on "Let's Move"
TLRTV is a 5-minute videocast designed specifically for the B2B Food World with a focus on Marketing Analysis, Issues & Trends. In today's report...
Last month, First Lady Michelle Obama launched Let's Move, an initiative with the ambitious goal of solving the problem of childhood obesity in a generation. For children aged 6-11 years, the prevalence of obesity increased from 6.5% to 17.0% in a 25 year period according to government data, that according to The Food Institute. read more
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Dogs and cats: retail rainmakers
Long regarded as a recession-resistant area of the store, the pet foods category didn't disappoint during this economic tumult. Four-legged emotional crutches in tough times, dogs and cats earn their rewards of devotion, foods and treats just by being their natural selves. Nice gig.
According to the American Pet Products Association 2009-2010 National Pet Owners Survey, 45.6 million U.S. households own at least one dog and 38.2 million own at least one cat. read more
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Nutrition Matters
Nutritional information matters more now to consumers than it did a year ago, according to research conducted by the N.G.A. and SupermarketGuru, and underwritten by ConAgra Foods. The research found that four out of ten consumers (37%) find the availability of health information to be "very important" when choosing a store - up six percentage points from 2009.
The 2010 Consumer Panel Survey detailed the purchase influences, eating habits and nutritional concerns of 2,438 consumers between November 2009 and January 2010. 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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Facts, Figures, & the Future Newsletter
Click here for your FREE subscription to Facts, Figures, & the Future.
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