Consumer Shift: Private-Label Snacks See Unprecedented Popularity

For the first time in the report’s history, the top six brands – all of them – are store brands, from retailers like Walmart, Amazon, and Target.

Peeling Apart the Complex History (and Future) of the Banana

A regular feature in shopping carts from coast to coast, the humble banana has long been a reliable source of nutrition, convenience, and affordability. Yet beneath its cheerful exterior lies a complex tale of botanical intrigue, economic uncertainty, and environmental peril.

For Gen Z, Variety Packs Rule Retail

Some of the takeaways from the Circana report indicate that inflation has generally gone pretty easy on the beverage category, prompting marketing teams to “promote their relative price stability and find ways to demonstrate value, recognizing that ‘value’ doesn’t always mean lower price,” and that premium categories continue to outperform more value-based brand propositions. 

BREAKING: Foxtrot, Dom’s Kitchen & Market to Close

Foxtrot and Dom’s Kitchen & Market have closed their doors effective immediately. The closure will affect 33 Foxtrot locations and 2 Dom’s locations across Chicago, Austin, Dallas and D.C. areas.

Innovations in Fresh Branded Produce

Branded produce companies are dressing up their fruits and veggies to woo online shoppers, tout attributes, and leverage storytelling.

On-the-Go Gourmet: Rapid Pace of Life Fuels Demand for Convenient Foods

Today’s consumers seek snacks that not only satisfy but also nourish, blending convenience with balanced nutrition and illustrated by the emergence of breakfast bars and protein snack boxes.

Restaurant Chains Dominate Top 10 Fastest-Growing Retail Brands

Yelp has released its first-ever list of the 50 fastest-growing brands in the U.S. Restaurant chains dominate the top ten, half of which are “challenger brands” – businesses that are not market leaders but aim to compete by disrupting their industries.

Beef. It’s Still What’s for Dinner

“A lot of people see beef as a premium meat and associate it with things like prosperity and masculinity. Beef is also incredibly rich in fat and protein, so our bodies are primed to crave it,” Rall said, noting federal subsidies, restaurant menus, and advertising all reinforce beef’s place “in our grocery stores and on our table.”

The Recipe for Success for Kodiak Cakes

Through its unique product offerings and strategic influencer partnerships, Kodiak Cakes has differentiated itself and created a strong brand persona that resonates deeply with modern consumers. 

Walmart Exec: Shoppable Content a Retail Game-Changer

The future of marketing was examined by executives during this week’s Possible Conference. A key takeaway: shoppable content.

Gen Z Teens Reducing Spend, Supporting Smaller Brands

Among CPG energy drink brands, Celsius over-indexes with teens, with 17% citing it as their favorite energy drink brand (vs. ~12% market share) while Monster and Red Bull under-index. Among snack brands, Campbell’s Goldfish are still most preferred. Teens report highest intentions to eat more or the same amount of Mondelez’s Clif Bar and Hershey’s products.

Will Amazon’s Dash Carts Work?

The future of checkout technology, consumer perception and adoption, and operator success is a tricky set of balls to keep in the air all at once.

Rise & Grind: Decaf Coffee Gathers Major Momentum

While the rest of us were getting our morning jolt from a decent cuppa, decaf drinkers quietly (and deliciously) infiltrated the greater consumer market. Skyquest Technology recently predicted that the decaf coffee market will continue to grow to a $28.86 billion industry by the end of the decade.

Mac and Cheese Gets a Plant-Based Makeover

CPG producers are veganizing macaroni and cheese by removing dairy ingredients, adding gluten-free pasta and, in some cases, boosting the nutritional value of the popular comfort food.

An Evolution Explained: Mondelēz Report Reveals Changing Consumption Habits

Other noteworthy shifts include the emergence of Gen Z and Gen Alpha as influential consumer groups. These young consumers are influencing market trends such as the push for labeling transparency and ethical production.

Premium, Ethical, and On-Demand: The New Age of Snacking Unwrapped

For starters, the global demographic landscape is undergoing a noteworthy transformation, with “second lifers” – those embarking on new chapters post-retirement – emerging as a powerful group of consumers. By 2050, the over-60 demographic is expected to double. This shift is pushing the market towards balanced nutrition.

$85 Million to the Clearance Bin – Is Magic Spoon Done?

Magic Spoon cereal is twice as expensive as most other name brands. Many regard its flavor as questionable and its better-for-you status isn’t as rock solid as consumers would like to believe.

Co-Branding a Powerful Tool to Pique Consumer Interest

Co-Branding is a powerful tool to pique consumer interest, from Oreo and Breyers Ice Cream, to Mike’s Hot Honey and Lou Malnati’s pizza,

Food Producers, WIC Officers Recalibrate Offerings as Food Insecurity Hobbles Consumer Spending

Across the US, inflation-weary consumers continue to push back on years of price hikes, cooking from home or simply buying less to save more.

Walmart Attempting to Foster Compassion Among Managers

Can compassion be taught? That’s the question Walmart hopes to answer with a recent initiative for its store managers.

Chicken Nugget Sales are Soaring. Can Plant-Based Varieties Take Flight? 

Demand for frozen chicken nuggets is strong, giving alternative varieties a significant runway for lift off — but sales remain grounded. 

Korean Food is Ascendant

Zooming out, Korean cuisine has found a niche in today’s restaurant, retail, and grocery foodscape, whether standing alone as a global cultural beacon of cuisine or being reimagined with some of today’s food trends.

Wading in Shallow Waters: New Seafood Challenges Consumers

The high cost of seafood and the very clear preference for certain fish is the reason behind the caution, but it could be a lost opportunity for restaurants to stand out and become true destinations for seafood.

Top 3 Spring/Summer Trends in Retail

In a few short years, retail will be a totally immersive and data-driven experience highlighted by personalized AI recommendations for health and home, smart carts to increase efficiency (and solve the traveling salesman’s dilemma in-store), and much more.

Debate Surrounding California’s Food Additive Ban Heats Up

Debate surrounding California’s impending food additive ban is heating up as state-level copycat proposals rise across the U.S. Last month, the National Confectioners Association spoke out against the ban, calling it “an emotionally-driven campaign that lacks scientific backing.”

The Endless Promise of Pizza

Served as an LTO, in a restaurant, or at a ball game, fired in a brick oven at 800 degrees or reheated Sunday morning in a battered collegiate microwave after a late night, pizza is a tough business that can yield great rewards, revenue, and satisfaction.

Fresh OJ Deep Dive: Brand Leaders Feeling the Squeeze

Fresh orange juice producers continue to walk a fine line between supply and demand while consumer beverage preferences fluctuate widely.

The Cost of Loyalty – How Trader Joe’s & Costco Do It

So prevalent and all-consuming is the cultural agency of the Costco Kirkland Signature All-Beef Hot Dog that it’s propelling a crypto “memecoin” on the Solana crypto exchange. That is a real sentence. “Hot dogs are in control,” writes one commentator on TikTok. “The buns stay on,” adds @Jan crypto trader in the same thread amid a rising swell of crypto brokers.

Fueling the Future: Functional Foods Gain Momentum

There’s a growing feeling among many consumers that what we put into our bodies can perhaps solve myriad health issues. That presents a major opportunity for CPG brands regarding functional food products. 

The Future of Retail, Part 3: The Immersive Retail Environment

“Customers will step into a retail environment where every interaction is personalized, guided by AI algorithms that efficiently navigate shoppers through aisles and offer tailored product suggestions in real time,” fostering brand loyalty and elevating the consumer experience to “unprecedented satisfaction levels.”

Two Sides of Hello Fresh

As a business, it’s difficult to see Hello Fresh as anything but a massive success. And yet, despite the success of the business, Hello Fresh stock has been a terrible investment.

Easter Sticker Shock: Cocoa Prices Still Skyrocketing

How much money is the Easter candy market worth? Hold onto your Easter baskets – in the United States alone, 2024 Easter candy sales are expected to exceed $3.3 billion (Statista)

The Future of Retail, Part 2- Tomorrow’s Tech

To further understand how inventory and supply chain will change, Jarvis said the end of data silos must be achieved “to create a holistic understanding of each shopper, their interactions, and the stream of information being shared with them.

America is Poised to Embrace Tofu

In today’s alternative protein space, the possibilities tofu offers are turning heads. More flavorful than most plant-based products, more rewarding than a perfect burger alternative, and much more affordable than a meat-based option, tofu checks a lot of boxes as a middle-of-the-road protein alternative that doesn’t necessarily have to market itself as a one-size-fits-all plant-based option.

Big Opportunity Remains in Beef Jerky Category

“Jerky brands come and go because the barriers of entry to the industry are small,” Cawley said. “A good recipe, some packaging, and a solid manufacturing partner, and you can start selling legally and usually get traction locally.” Once early consumer adopters are exhausted, however, it often becomes difficult for fledgling jerky brands to earn retail shelf space, keep it, and create a compelling value proposition that resonates with shoppers nationwide.

Mochiko: First Mochi-Crust Pizza

There’s a new variable in the $45.1 billion pizzaverse: an Asian-influenced variety that utilizes a mochi pizza crust.