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Fresh & Easy MEANS Low Prices
Seriously. In the two years of speculation about just what Tesco's new retail format here in the U.S. was all about, much was said about healthy foods, prepared foods, fresh foods and of course Tesco's unwavering demand for transparency and traceability. But not too much was said about price.
Tesco in the UK is clearly focused on all of the above and all about offering value to its shoppers. read more
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Dogs and cats get love, trust...and mostly dry food
As pet ownership scampers to 75 million dogs and 88 million cats in the United States, there's a consummate rise in pet food sales. While growth numbers appear to be a calm continuation of steady annual advances, they mask a tumultuous pet food scare this past spring, which dramatically changed purchase habits.
The pet food contamination, which occurred in China, led to animal fatalities and injuries in the U.S. read more
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All systems go for disposable diapers
Fertility rates in America suggest that disposable diapers and pants ought to be steeped in growth for decades to come. With the offspring of Boomers now beginning to bear their own children, and the collective nation (including immigrant populations) reproducing at a rate of 2.1 births per woman, "after the year 2011, the number of births each year [through 2050] would exceed the highest annual number of births ever achieved in the United States," said a U.S. read more
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FDA Ruling Challenges Trends In Kids' Cough/Cold Remedy Sales
When the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) decided last month to recommend that children under the age of six years old should not be given cough or cold medicines (a move that does not rise to the level of an actual regulation), the move could be seen as likely to hurt the children's cold remedies category, which the Nielsen Strategic Planner shows generated $311.3 million in sales during the year ending September 8, 2007. read more
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Survey Suggests Hispanics Remain Skeptical About Store Brands
A new survey of Hispanic consumers suggests that the more educated and affluent they are, the more positively they feel about private label products. While this reflects attitudes in the general population, it also suggests a marketing opportunity - that by developing store brand labels and marketing communications in Spanish, marketers should be able to increase the understanding and usage of own-label products by this rapidly expanding audience. read more
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Smoking cessation lighting it up
Just as smokers need little excuse for a cigarette break, those who want to quit have little reason not to try. Dozens of alternative products offer the promise of success, and temptations seem equally great to trial cessation patches, gums, gels, inhalers, tablets, lozenges, filters, liquids, pellets, sprays and more.
As a percentage of U.S. households, quitters are rare: just 2.5 percent bought an over-the-counter anti-smoking product at a food, drug, mass, club, dollar, convenience or other retail stores, stated Nielsen Homescan Consumer Facts for the 52 weeks ended June 30, 2007. read more
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Popeye aside, canned vegetables are in a squeeze
Generations of cartoon watchers believed that Popeye's spinachand his impressive powercame from a can. Amazingly convenient when he needed it most, the can opened dutifully with only a squeeze of his hand.
Decades ago, cans were the way to package and distribute the best our nation's farms could produce. However, with today's nutritional insights and lighter-weight packaging methods, consumers today think differently and often reach for fresh, organic or frozen at the point of harvest vegetables for superior taste and health benefits. read more
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Consumers' wellness diets include soy, lift sales
No doubt soy is soaring, the result of consumer wellness priorities, its inclusion by manufacturers in thousands of different foods, and retailer propensity to merchandise packaged consumables in search of a price premium.
A Soyatech report pegs international soy protein growth at 7.4 percent annually between 2007 and 2010 because it is a relatively affordable protein. More of a wellness tale prevails in the United States, however, states a 2007 United Soybean Board survey, Consumer Attitudes About Nutrition: 85 percent of respondents see soy as a healthy ingredient, up from 67 percent in 1998, and 33 percent of consumers say they eat soy foods or drink soy beverages at least once a month. read more
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CHANNEL WATCH
The Nielsen Company estimates that during the 52-weeks ending on June 30, 2007, over $1.9 billion was spent across all retail channels in the baking mixes category which includes cake, pie crust, cookie, brownie, muffin, coffee cake, misc. dessert, bread, rolls & biscuits, pancake, gingerbread, hushpuppy, and frosting mixes. read more
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Cancer...and the Consumer
While it is true that Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity and the Prevention of Cancer: a Global Perspective, the 537 page report issued late last month didn't rival the latest Harry Potter book in the press or in readership - it should have!
As we look around us we are astonished with finding out that our friends and neighbors are overweight, have heart disease, diabetes and cancers. read more
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Phil's Supermarket
Give your products a Second Life! Where can more than seven million consumers connect with your brand around the clock? CLICK HERE for more information.
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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
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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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Management Compensation Study for Retailers and Wholesalers 2006-2007
The 2006-2007 Management Compensation Study is the industry's most comprehensive source of salary and benefits data. Representing nearly one million employees, 56 companies located around the country shared their salary and benefits information.
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Speaks
FMI's Speaks is the annual state of the industry report a must-have for everyone in the food industry. The report reviews important changes affecting the industry that took place in 2006 and evaluates industry performance in sales, profits, margins and productivity measures. It presents detailed information on supermarket operations, store-level benchmarks and outlines strategic and competitive issues. read more
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Most consumers understand the direct relation between what they eat and how they feel. According to the FMI and Rodale/Prevention Shopping for Health study, shoppers try to watch their eating habits to avoid health problems later in life, manage current health conditions or to make sure they maintain or reach a healthy weight. Supermarket pharmacies are uniquely positioned to help shoppers in their attempts to accomplish all of those goals. 
With all of the advanced notice about Tesco's invasion of the west coast, are U.S. retailers any more prepared than our country's founding fathers were when the British invaded the east coast in 1775? While the stakes may not be as high as they were back in the Revolutionary War, Supermarket News recently reported that Tesco's U.S. store count could reach 1,000 locations within the next five years and annual sales could rise to between $7 billion to $10 billion - many, many times greater than what this country borrowed from France, the Netherlands and other sources to finance the eight-year war that ended in 1783. 
