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| Comment & Opinion |  | | | A former FDA official says don’t worry about the efficacy of dietary supplements – at least for now. Pay attention instead to their safety. Dr. Joshua M. Sharfstein, now at Johns Hopkins University, argues that many dietary supplements – vitamins, minerals, herbal extracts, etc. – are spiked with pharmaceuticals, are poorly manufactured, or lack the stated ingredients. Unfortunately, there is gridlock in dealing with the problem at the national level because manufacturers oppose closer scrutiny of efficacy and federal laws handcuff the FDA, keeping it from effectively monitoring the thousands of products on the market. But Sharfstein says that manufacturers would probably support stronger safety controls if they were not tied to... More "Breaking the gridlock: Regulation of dietary supplements in the United States. ", Drug Testing and Analysis, November 20, 2015
Twenty-somethings – dubbed Generation Z – are the first post-Millennial generation and the first generation to be exposed to multi-channel and digital marketing almost from birth. As children of the Internet age, they make foodservice buying decisions based on outside sources of information, including peers, social media, and traditional media. According to Technomic, Gen Z-ers skip meals and snack a lot while watching TV or listening to music; crave flavorful, high-quality, healthful food; value foodservice speed and digital engagement, but also social eating opportunities; and, as their earning power grows, view their lifestyle choices as independent.
"Technomic's Consumer 4Sight Group Takes a Deep Dive into Gen Z Foodservice Usage Patterns", Report, Technomic, November 05, 2015 | The New York Times , November 21, 2015 | |
| Companies, Organizations | | | |
PepsiCo and smartphone food delivery app Caviar tried a Halloween marketing trick designed to boost awareness of Frito-Lay Cheetos and the app itself. The idea was to videotape the arrival of the Caviar food delivery – along with trickster Cheetos mascot Chester Cheetah – at unsuspecting customer residences, along with free samples of Cheetos. The customers’ startled reactions were then posted to social media sites. It’s not known whether there was any customer backlash, but the idea was to build Caviar name recognition while promoting the snack. An industry observer called it a “perfectly timed scare promotion” and “a great way to create that viral component that has shareable components."
"Cheetos scares Caviar users in trick-or-treat video series", Mobile Marketer, November 19, 2015
Plant-based dairy company WhiteWave Foods, a spinoff of Dean Foods, is riding a trend of health-conscious shopping and nontraditional diets to increased profits. WhiteWave, maker of almond- and soy-based milk products like Silk, expects adjusted 4th quarter EPS of $0.34 to $0.35. The company also increased the full-year EPS guidance to $1.17 to $1.18 from $1.14-$1.17, beating consensus estimates of $1.15. WhiteWave cited cost leverage, higher productivity, improved commodity and other cost overlaps, and increased contributions from acquisitions as key drivers of better financial performance. Dean Foods, meanwhile, posted a 3rd quarter EPS of $0.30, up from a $0.03 loss year ago, thanks in part to a 30 percent decline in milk costs.
"WhiteWave, Dean Foods Rise On Cheaper Milk, New Diets", Investor's Business Daily, November 09, 2015
Panera Bread is determined to boost its sagging profit margins by using technology to streamline ordering, payment and other processes. The keystone of the cost-cutting plan is converting all of its bakeries to the Panera 2.0 initiative – only 100 of its 400 shops have yet to adapt – and so far customer response to rapid pick-up service, delivery to tables, fast-lane kiosks, customizable ordering and mobile payment options, has been positive. Though the company’s sales rose in the third quarter, profit dropped 17 percent because of escalating costs.
"Panera stirs up mobile ordering focus as Q3 profits wobble", Mobile Commerce Daily, October 30, 2015 | Forbes, November 22, 2015 The Economic Times, November 22, 2015 The Economic Times, November 20, 2015 TIME Staff
Time.com
, November 19, 2015 Livemint, November 18, 2015 The Food & Drink Innovation Network, November 18, 2015 | |
| Consumers | | | | A new report from the National Restaurant Association says Americans are growing more familiar with, and enamored of, unconventional international foods. At least 25 percent like to experiment with ethnic dishes. Ninety percent have tried Italian, Mexican and Chinese food, two-thirds know Mediterranean dishes, and half have tried Middle Eastern, Thai and sushi at least once. The cuisines of some nations, however, may be a little too exotic, or perhaps simply unavailable. Seventy percent are not at familiar with Ethiopian cuisine, and half don’t know anything about Korean or Brazilian/Argentinian food. But American testing of foreign foods is definitely on the rise: two-thirds surveyed say they eat a wider variety of ethnic cuisines... More "American diners have an appetite for ethnic cuisine", NRA report, SmartBlogs, November 21, 2015
The U.K. convenience store sector is booming along with discount and online, thanks to a significant increase in visit frequency and store format innovation. Growth will continue over the next five years (17 percent predicted), presenting both opportunities and challenges for C-store operators. A major challenge is the maturing of the sector. New C-stores will find it tougher to grow. Quality store site are becoming scarce. Innovations like fresh produce, chilled foods and in-store bakeries will eventually become routine, possibly putting a brake on growth. To counteract these negative trends stores will need to emphasize value – not just price – and product quality.
"Convenient Quality Wins Big With Shoppers", News release, Institute of Grocery Distribution, November 10, 2015
British sausage rolls, a Boxing Day tradition, ignited a social media frenzy when a New York Times recipe spurred apparently silly questions from Americans who seemed confused by the food. Britons and Australians fired their Twitter guns, expressing “outrage and disbelief” that the former colonists could be so ill-informed about such a revered Christmas time delicacy. Tweeters suggested that the Times might want to visit British bakery chain Greggs to check out the real thing.
"America has just discovered the sausage roll, and it has set off a bizarre social media storm", Evening Standard, November 10, 2015 | Nielsen.com, November 17, 2015 The New York Times, November 06, 2015 The NPD Group, October 28, 2015 Nutraceuticals World, October 20, 2015 | |
| Innovation & New Ideas | | | |
The need to enhance one’s nutritional intake before, during, and after pregnancy, without having to take big, nausea-inducing vitamin pills, led an entrepreneur and her friend to develop ERZO vitamin biscuits. The biscuits offer a more palatable and convenient daily solution for expectant moms. The vitamin-fortified, whole grain cereal biscuits are a good source of fiber, and provide nutritional values similar to prenatal pills and gummies. They avoid common problems such as nausea, reflux and food aversions. And they dovetail neatly with a major food trend: the rise in popularity of breakfast biscuits.
"ERZO Delivers a Functional Prenatal Biscuit", Nutraceuticals World, November 11, 2015 For a hundred years, American wheat has been grown – not for flavor or nutrition – but for industrial “profit and expediency,” says Steven Jones of the Bread Lab in Mount Vernon, Wash. Jones is on a mission to change all that. Long ago America milled flour from a wide variety of wheat. The flour made bread that was “astonishingly flavorful and nutritious.” Not so anymore. Part of the problem is that mass-produced flour, even purported whole wheat flour, is missing the nutritious stuff, all of which was sacrificed for, among other reasons, increased shelf-life. Jones’s answer is to breed new wheat varieties for ‘‘flavor, nutrition, funkiness.’’ He has succeeded. The Bread Lab’s reputation has grown quickly, drawing in a widening... More "Bread Is Broken", The New York Times Magazine, October 29, 2015 | Australian Food News, November 18, 2015 Konbini, November 05, 2015 Industry Week, November 03, 2015 BrandChannel, November 02, 2015 | |
| Market News | | | | German discount grocery chain Lidl – already a huge success in the U.K. – plans aggressive expansion in the country in 2016, adding 40 to 50 stores. The $2.3 billion growth strategy is another blow to Big Grocery in the country, where national chains like Sainsbury are losing revenue and market share in what has turned into a damaging price war. Lidl has 629 stores in the U.K., and plans to more than double that number over the next couple of years. In addition, Lidl’s new stores will start to look a little more like the higher-priced competition, with wider aisles, self-check-out technology, and baby changing stations. Sainsbury’s profits dropped 18 percent in the six months ending in September. Lidl’s profit rose 21 percent in... More "Lidl set to open 50 shops next year in £1.5billion challenge to the high street supermarkets", Mirror, November 12, 2015
Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) has a thing about caffeine as a food and food additive. He believes it’s dangerous. He has pressured the FDA to issue warning letters to makers of caffeinated alcoholic beverages and powdered caffeine. He’s on the warpath again, this time targeting a new peanut butter that contains 170 mg of caffeine in a two tablespoon serving, the same amount of caffeine as two cups of coffee. STEEM peanut butter, sold only in Massachusetts and Connecticut so far, also contains electrolytes and protein. It’s perfect for athletes, active people, and just normal people, the company says. The FDA hasn’t received a letter from Schumer yet, but promises to respond when it gets one.
"This new peanut butter has twice the caffeine of a cup of coffee", Quartz, November 09, 2015
Among the international foods and cuisines trending in 2016 are those with African flavors, according to a National Restaurant Association survey of 1,600 U.S. chefs. Diners will be introduced to the flavors of Ethiopia and Morocco especially, represented by spice blends like berbere, harissa, dukkah, ras el hanout and tsire. The seasonings will be used on fish, beef, chicken, goat and lamb, couscous, flat breads and vegetables. The chefs also indicated that Latin American and Middle Eastern flavors will appear more often on American restaurant menus, with dishes spiced with chimichurri, peri peri sauce and harissa.
"African spices predicted to trend on restaurant menus in 2016: report", Yahoo! News, November 06, 2015 | Kelloggs, November 19, 2015 BakeryAndSnacks.com, November 19, 2015 Australian Food News, November 18, 2015 Economic Times, November 17, 2015 CPG Matters, November 15, 2015 PR Newswire, November 12, 2015 | |
| Marketing & Advertising | | | |
A small but ambitious Indian FMCG company with roots in retail believes it may have a marketing edge on the entrenched big brands that dominate the retail universe in the country. Future Group believes that its understanding of Indian needs and preferences will make a big difference. The company has learned that cheaper prices and fancy store displays don’t work as well as consumer insights. Consider body wash, for example, a product that does not sell well. Imported brands tend to be expensive and thick, made for consumers used to taking showers. Future Group came up with a cheaper product, Think Skin, that is thinner and better suited for use with mugs and buckets. It is now a market leader.
"Can FMCG newbie Future Group take on biggies Britannia & Unilever?", Economic Times, November 18, 2015
Last June Walmart announced it would change payment terms and charge fees, including slotting (shelf space) fees and distribution center fees. It was a setback for smaller marketers and suppliers who, it is felt, may have to compensate for the increased costs by cutting back on innovation and marketing, a bad move because brands need to advertise to survive. Larger suppliers, like P&G and Clorox, have more flexibility. They can pressure their own suppliers and find other ways to trim costs. A former retail executive says the big question for younger, smaller brands is whether to “jump into the Walmart game at all” or figure out some way to build the business through other channels, like Amazon.com.
"Hitting a Wall(mart)", Happi.com, November 09, 2015 Modern technologies that allow ad-weary consumers to avoid advertising on TV and online have got marketers very worried. One of the biggest, Unilever, is no exception, as one of its media mavens said in a recent podcast. “We’re having genuine issues over how to reach our consumers,” said Babs Rangaiah. Among the technologies impeding efforts to get the message to potential customers are DVRs and ad blocking. Rangaiah, however, says ad blockers may be a cloud with silver lining. They may get advertisers to improve online ads that create a poor user experience, hog bandwidth and sometimes infect devices with malware. To improve the online ad experience, Unilever works directly with platforms (i.e., Google, Facebook) “to create... More "Unilever’s Babs Rangaiah: 'There’s a crisis in the ad business.'", Digiday, November 06, 2015 | Adweek.com, November 20, 2015 The Economic Times, November 17, 2015 Marketing Interactive, November 16, 2015 Mobile Marketer, November 11, 2015 PR Newswire, November 11, 2015 Mondelez International, November 09, 2015 | |
| Press Release | | | | Clean eating, organic, “free from,” and “flexitarian” (i.e., part-time vegetarian) are some of the key trends in food and drinks for 2016, according to an analysis of product launches by Innova Market Insights. The desire for transparency in food ingredients showed itself in the form of the “clear label" trend, a step up from “clean label.” Though most consumers don't need foods “free from” gluten, wheat, or dairy, they want them anyway, making it a major trend. Part-time vegetarians have reduced meat consumption for health, sustainability or animal welfare reasons, and that’s having an impact on new food products. Consumers are looking for fresh alternatives to preservatives, like fermentation and other ancient techniques. Other... More "Top Food & Beverages Trends for 2016: "Clean Eating" Trend Inspires a Back to Basics Approach", News release, Innova Market Insights, November 17, 2015
In anticipation of final approval of their merger, supermarket giants Royal Ahold (The Netherlands) and Delhaize (Belgium) have named the rest of the members of the executive committee of the merged company. The future committee will comprise current management board members as well as the four new members who will report directly to the Ahold Delhaize CEO Dick Boer: Marc Croonen, chief sustainability, transformation & communications officer; Hanneke Faber, chief e-commerce & innovation officer; Jan Ernst de Groot, chief legal officer; and Abbe Luersman, chief human resources officer. The merger, announced last June, is expected to be finalized by mid-2016.
"Ahold and Delhaize announce future executive team of the intended combined company", News release, Royal Ahold , November 16, 2015 | Glanbia, November 16, 2015 Nestlé, November 02, 2015 | |
| Products & Brands | | | |
Evidence of Southeast Asia’s rising standard of living is found in the consumer trend toward “premiumization,” according Nielsen. By 2030, Southeast Asia will be home to three billion middle-class consumers. Seventeen percent already say they can spend freely, and do, especially on premium-price grocery and personal care products. In the past year, there has been a 21 percent increase in the proportion of premium-priced goods sold compared to mainstream and value brands. Mainstream products still dominate the market, but “a definitive shift” is taking place among middle-class consumers toward premium brands. Marketers can take advantage of this by introducing “innovative products that are competitively priced.”
"Premium Products Quench Southeast Asian Consumers' Thirst For Quality And Differentiation", Report, Nielsen, November 11, 2015
A Houston bakery has created a piecake that some have dubbed the “turducken” of desserts.Or, like Frankenstein’s Monster, the Pumpecapple Piecake is a blend of body parts: three different pie layers and three different cake layers stacked to make a 12-inch, 23-pound supercake frosted with cream cheese, chopped pecans and topped with caramel. The bottom layer is apple pie and spice cake, then pecan pie and chocolate cake, then pumpkin pie baked into a pumpkin-spiced cake At first the shop could only turn out 300 of the pastries, requiring the baking of 900 cakes and 900 pies prior to final assembly. But increased demand has warranted increased baking capacity.
"Pumpecapple Piecake: The turducken of cakes lives up to the hype", Fox News, November 10, 2015
A Wisconsin-based bakery that specializes in bread that has great taste and texture, top quality ingredients, less processing, and great nutrition has inked a distribution deal with regional Costco stores. Angelic Bakehouse’s Sprouted Seven-Grain bread – which has also received Non-GMO Project Verified status – will be available at 13 Costco locations in Wisconsin, Illinois and Pennsylvania, with more locations coming soon. The bread will be sold in three-loaf bulk packages for about $7, or roughly $2.33 a loaf. Angelic says it uses a unique sprouted grain mash process to make its bread.
"Angelic Bakehouse expands into Costco", BizTimes, November 04, 2015 | The Economic Times, November 18, 2015 NewHope360.com, November 04, 2015 Japan Today, November 02, 2015 Mintel, November 02, 2015 The Wall Street Journal, November 02, 2015 PR Newswire, November 02, 2015 | |
| Research, Studies, Advice | | | |
Obese people are often afflicted with metabolic syndrome, an array of conditions that include excess abdominal fat, high blood pressure, low "good" cholesterol, and high levels of blood sugar and fats. People with metabolic syndrome have one thing in common: they tend to be deficient in vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol), which the body needs to fight oxidative stress that can lead to heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer's disease and cancer. The key problem for obese people is that, while they need higher levels of vitamin E to fight oxidative stress, their obesity is preventing absorption of the vitamin. And, contrary to recent findings, dairy fat does not increase the bioavailability of vitamin E, at least in supplement form.
"α-Tocopherol bioavailability is lower in adults with metabolic syndrome regardless of dairy fat co-ingestion: a randomized, double-blind, crossover trial. ", American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, November 20, 2015 The main consumers of energy drinks are men, suggesting a connection between “masculinity ideology” and energy drink use, according to a U.S. study. Drinking energy beverages may be a way of “performing masculinity... a way to raise masculine capital." The researchers analyzed data from 467 adult males who were asked if they agreed with statements that suggested traditional masculine attitudes. They also asked what participants expected from energy drinks and whether they felt that the drinks affected sleep patterns. Young white men especially associated the drinks with participation in extreme sports or leading an active and competitive lifestyle. But the researchers warned that the high caffeine content of the drinks can have... More "Moderated mediation of the relationships between masculinity ideology, outcome expectations, and energy drink use.", Health Psychology, November 04, 2015 | University of California, San Diego, November 16, 2015 GNT Growing Colours, November 12, 2015 NC State University, November 02, 2015 Open Access Text, October 22, 2015 Kerry Health And Nutrition Institute, October 19, 2015 | |
| Trends | | | |
British grocery store shopping data from Kantar show that discount German grocers Aldi and Lidl achieved a combined 10 percent market share in the quarter ended November 8. That’s double the market share from 2012. The two chains added a million shoppers from a year ago, and average spend per shopping trip was up four percent. With plans to open hundreds of stores in the short term, the two retailers are tightening their hold on British grocery shopping. Conventional grocers are fighting back, however. Sainsbury's most recent fiscal period saw a 1.5 percent increase in sales, a 0.2 percent increase in market share, and the distinction of being once again the second largest grocery chain behind Asda.
"Aldi and Lidl reach combined 10% share", News release, Kantar Worldpanel, November 17, 2015
The French industry group representing food companies and regional food associations has “consulted” with the public via the Internet to find out what it wants to know about French food. The Association Nationale des Industries Alimentaires (ANIA) says there is a gap between consumers and industry that has resulted in “food-bashing.” The June survey of French consumers found that 45 percent had a negative impression of the food industry. This in spite of the fact that 75 percent were proud of the French food model. The data from the survey will be used to create a “Food Pact” in 2016 to restore consumer confidence. Some French food companies and factories may even have open days so consumers can see where their food comes from.
"French food industry launches public consultation to end 'le food-bashing'", Food&DrinkEurope.com;, November 05, 2015 Health food marketers may think of China as a sort of “promised land” of sales opportunities, if a Chinese food industry five-year plan is to be believed. By 2019, health food sales in the country are expected to reach $48 billion, for several reasons: a growing overall obesity rate (up 67 percent between 2002 and 2012), a doubling of the obesity rate for children and adolescents, severe vitamin and mineral deficiencies, and mounting high blood pressure and cancer rates. Though Chinese consumers want high-quality foreign health foods, it’s still a daunting procedure for multinationals to get their products to market. It can take two to three years, and up to $15,800, to get one health food product registered under China’s blue hat... More "Chinese New Regulation for Health Food Products", Natural Products Insider, October 20, 2015 | Retail Analysis, November 17, 2015 Natural Products Insider, November 06, 2015 Nutraceuticals World, November 02, 2015 Trendwatching.com, November 01, 2015 | |