Cold coffee may seem unappealing to some, but it has become quite the trend in U.S. markets. Coffee shops and beverage manufacturers are continually seeing a rise in sales of iced coffees, expanding even beyond the popular sugary "coffee milkshakes" of chains like Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts.
read moreOn May 20, the FDA finally unveiled long-awaited changes to the trusty and omnipresent Nutrition Facts labels Americans rely on for information regarding their food. Over the past twenty years, the minimalist, black-and-white label served as a guide of sorts helping consumers make more informed decisions regarding their food choices. The agency made a few notable changes, kept some things the same and added new criteria for others.
read moreWhat type of juice is selling best? What are frozen fruit sales numbers looking like? Which brand of canned corn should we sell?
read moreRestaurateurs are constantly looking for new concepts to increase their popularity, and ultimately, their bottom line. With the advent of social media, the demand for these unusual locales and the unique experiences they offer is only amplified: Pop-up shops, innovative test kitchens and food trucks are all the rage today in our social media-fueled world. Offering a unique spin on a traditional restaurant can pay dividends in brand popularity, and it would...
read moreBorders. Tower Records. Gamestop. What do these companies have in common? Amazon successfully disrupted each of their businesses (or is in the process of doing so). Amazon started by delivering books to your door, and then moved into music, where it was able to push out major national retailers. Currently, through Amazon Prime, customers can get video games delivered on launch day for 20% less than at traditional retailers, pushing video game stores ever closer to obscurity. And now, it appears Amazon has a...
read moreWhen consumers are pleased, they may tell a few people about their experience with a store. When they are dissatisfied, you can count on that number increasing exponentially. In the case of food-borne illness, you can expect the stories to continue ad infinitum. And in the case of Chipotle Mexican Grill, you can expect social networks to salivate and dissect any news that comes from one of Millennials'...
read moreThe month of October 2015 was supposed to be a reckoning of sorts for the retail industry: retailers were told to transition to the new chip-based EMV (Europay, MasterCard and Visa) cards and associated devices or be liable for fraud committed with older, more traditional swipe varieties. Eight months have since passed, and thanks to a variety of news outlets and research...
read moreMeal kit, food and grocery delivery services are all the rage: from Uber to GrubHub to Blue Apron and every startup in between, food producers are looking for innovative ways to bring their products directly to customers' doorsteps. A number of companies made some headlines the past few days, so this is a round-up of sorts to showcase what is happening in the sector around the nation.
read moreMaking a claim about a product is at the center of marketing, and for food sector businesses, this couldn't be more true. Consumers are constantly on the lookout for healthier products, more natural foods and other specialized products, and without proper advertising claims, food companies would miss out on potential customers every day. However, this doesn't mean food claims should be issued without thought; an untrue or misleading claim could lead to fines and class-action lawsuits that can potentially...
read moreUsually when we think of meat, we picture juicy beef burgers and sizzling bacon, but some food manufacturers would like consumers to think of a different image. How about chicken tenders that don't contain any chicken, or a burger made out of pea protein that still "bleeds"?...
read moreDigital ordering kiosks are all the rage, with restaurants from McDonald's to Panera installing tablets and touch screens to make the quick-service restaurant experience even more simple. These ordering systems make lines move quicker, enable more customization, and appeal to young consumers who prefer ordering from a screen rather than...
read moreAs the dollar share of traditional grocery retailers is expected to decline 0.4% and non-traditional grocery stores by 0.2% by 2020, e-commerce activity is seen ramping up and is projected to account for 10% of all grocery sales within ten years, according to data presented by Willard Bishop, an Inmar Analytics Company, at The Food Institute's webinar...
read moreOnline grocery is not a new concept anymore. Increasingly, analysts are seeing that the competition is not so much between traditional supermarkets and e-commerce, but between the plethora of online grocery services themselves. Traditional brick-and-mortar stores may always have a place in the food retail landscape because they offer a completely different shopping experience than online. However, the ever...
read moreGrocery delivery is not a new concept, but it definitely has yet to be perfected. So many companies claim to offer a unique take, whether it's artisan products, fast delivery, or low prices, but I'm not sure any one has figured out exactly what the right formula is to get customers from all types of demographics switching over from traditional supermarket shopping.
read moreMeal kits are a great way to solve a lot of the modern consumer's food-related problems. They can save people time, removing the need for food shopping and meal planning, they can offer an easy way to eat healthy or stick to a certain diet (such as gluten-free, vegan or paleo), and they can help people who are relatively uncomfortable in the kitchen experiment with new recipes and cook more meals at home.
read morePackaging is one of, if not the, most important parts of a brand. It is the first thing customers see when they approach a product in the store, and in many cases, it can be the sole reason one item is picked over another. However, it can be difficult for companies to predict what customers will prefer (even after conducting studies and tests), and what once worked well for years, may no longer cut it. It also sometimes takes a bit of trial and error to get it just right.
read moreRetailers and manufacturers are constantly trying to figure out what demographic groups should be the focus of their marketing. It is important to know who spends the most, and in what categories they are most likely to center their budgets on. Recently, Millennials (those currently between the ages of about 18-35) have been the target of most of the hype, touted as the group that companies most need to impress. However, marketers might need...
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