FI Fast Break audio news: Feb. 14, 2024
The latest Food Institute Fast Break news podcast discusses the demise of a noteworthy plant-based seafood brand.
The latest Food Institute Fast Break news podcast discusses the demise of a noteworthy plant-based seafood brand.
There’s also an interesting feedback loop occurring in American consumerism – the tighter the budget becomes, and the more stressed people feel, the more demands they have regarding how they’d like to be accommodated while shopping.
The latest Food Institute news podcast looks at AI’s potential impact on labor, based off a recent university study.
A new report from Mintel suggests one-third of Americans rationalize purchasing chocolate as an energy boost. Meanwhile, new research suggests a direct connection between dark chocolate and reducing factors that contribute to essential hypertension.
Millennials grew up with store brands and they see them for what they are – a brand. Without a doubt, there is a transformation taking place in the private brand mainstream tier where products are moving away from strict equivalency to national brands and becoming true national brand alternatives.
“Choose a future that puts people first – if we keep doing that, we can help people around the world live a better life. That’s what we want to do – that’s the world we want to help create.”
“In the sea of nearly identical programs, grocers are racing to keep up by adding perks such as free delivery or bigger buy-one-get-one savings,” Upside’s Thomas Weinandy said in a blog post.
Mochi donuts are a mix between American-style donuts and Japanese mochi and originated in Hawaii. Mochi donuts are typically circular, like an American donut, but are pieced together with eight small balls that can be pulled apart and come in many different flavors.
Looking ahead, Zimmerman noted that prices would likely increase in the new year, but the magnitude of that increase would likely be more subtle in 2024.
Americans are getting away from healthy habits like meal prepping and perusing produce aisles. Instead, many consumers opt for quicker, more convenient food that often include preservatives and copious amounts of sugar or oils.
“It’s not KETO, it’s not gluten-free, it’s not upcycled grain or something super narrow – it’s a business at the end of the day that needs to make money,” he said, “and if it’s good enough for Erewhon, it should be good enough for many people.”
“Grocers now have more technology at their disposal than ever before, and effectively leveraging this data to drive in-store performance has become increasingly difficult,” Boyle said.
Airing on three platforms (YouTube, Roku, and the pocket-laden TikTok) and also playing in stores, Add to Heart is nothing if not a bold step into the media-laden retail environment increasingly influenced by in-store retail media networks.
Monolithic allegiance has given way to the brands and companies that can provide the best, most convenient, and value-driven experiences, making every consumer a seven-headed hydra.
Nostalgia and fond memories have kept cookies popular and the treats remain a favorite because of their portability and versatility.
And that’s OK. In many ways, being authentic isn’t about the best product or service or value or lifestyle; it’s about being human, which is being vulnerable. Vulnerability is the heartbeat of authenticity, the subtle brand drumbeat that brand advocates and consumers can hear. Without a heartbeat – without being occasionally vulnerable – it will be hard to resonate and grow the brand in a way that feels organic, fresh, and authentic.
The quarterly percentage of American adults who say they purchase organic food regularly (or, “every chance I get,”) is up two percentage points since the first quarter of 2021, reaching 12%.
U.S. milk and butterfat production experienced parallel growth at 24% from 1995 to 2010. Since then, however, production has exploded, particularly for butterfat, pushing 27% growth.
SIRL’s mission is to build the most scalable, robust, accurate, and feature-rich Real-Time Location System (RTLS), and to broadly take this technology to a multitude of markets.
Eli Lilly’s Zepbound, recently approved by the FDA, is the most potent weight-loss drug yet. Could it impact the food industry? At least one expert says ‘yes.’
Food manufacturers have seen their profits fall in the past year, forcing them to pass along increases for raw materials, energy, transportation, and packaging.
LSEG analysts estimated Amazon’s advertising business will increase nearly $3 billion over last year’s fourth quarter to $14.2 billion as a result, Reuters reported.
Demand for instant noodles jumped 2.6% globally to a record high of 121.2 billion servings last year, according to the World Instant Noodles Association, and 2023 marked the seventh consecutive year of instant noodle growth and consumption.
E-commerce has not only failed to kill the great American retail experience but is helping it thrive as sales associates and vendors large and small are using the omnichannel to attract customers, enhance sales, and reduce customer acquisition costs.
Like session beers, Guiver said many ciders feature a higher ABV than what many people are used to (or remember!). “We’re seeing more ciders with ABVs of 7% or more as customer trends change,” she added, “and cider is walking this line of tradition as well as approachability and innovation.”
On Day 2 of The Food Institute’s Latam Food Week, a new generation was coined: Generation H. “Think of it as Gen Z meets Hispanic culture,” said Hunter Thurman, president of Alpha-Diver, “a high-sensory, emotion-first …
Sometimes fans get the best of their preferred brands and flavors by creating demand for a once-unthinkable product or simply demanding the return of favorite LTOs.
The American apple harvest could reach 250 million bushels this year, a 1.5% increase from 2022. Branded apple varieties account for 15% to 20% of apple sales.
Inventory distortion due to out-of-stocks and overstocks is projected to cost retailers $1.77 trillion worldwide this year.
“Companies must stand out,” said Food Institute CEO Brian Choi. “To win in the marketplace, products have to have a differentiated selling point – just being ‘good’ is not good enough in this environment.”
Why is Beyond Meat struggling? What will last in the plant-based category, and will it ever grow again? And what can other founders learn from this classic case of irrational exuberance? The answers may still surprise you.
Many grocers operate with small, tight teams that are experts at their jobs — but this can leave the company shorthanded when a major project or expansion pops up.
Convenience stores often get a bad rap for lackluster foodservice options, but the category has expanded to include better foodservice options in the past few years.
Grocers continue to be challenged by the emergence of competitive C-stores, inflation, and a looming global recession.
Wagyu often tops restaurateurs’ dinner menus as the cut de la creme, the luxurious and bougie beef, the apex protein for the apex predator armed with a sharp knife, a crisp vegetable, and an appetite for the sublime.
The good news is the waning pandemic has allowed consumers to return to in-person shopping; the bad news is the return has been coupled with a sharp rise in retail shoplifting theft, a $100 billion …