Refresh

The annual convention of the nation’s independent supermarket operators is being held this week in Las Vegas, and the consumer survey released every year to mark the occasion has some interesting insights into the mind of the whole health shopper.

The poll, conducted by the National Grocers Association and SupermarketGuru.com, devotes an entire section to “Nutritional Concerns,” and that’s where you see just how many of the nearly 2,500 chief household, mostly female shoppers remain committed to eating healthy despite the tough times.

When asked what concerns them most about the foods they eat, the simple “Desire to be healthy/eat what’s good for us” came in first, at 22%, far outpacing the other choices (fat content received 13%).

That desire is apparently translating into action. A full 27% stated their diets are healthy enough. More important, the number of those who admit shortcomings is falling: “Compared with a year ago, when 68% were critical of the foods they eat at home and away from home, this figure improves markedly to 62%,” the report said.

Fruits and vegetables are the most popular ways of improving diet, according to the survey, with 84% of respondents saying so. Less junk food was second (64%) and fewer fried foods was third (63%). more…

As the economy improves in 2010, consumers may be more interested in (and willing to pay a premium for) healthy convenience foods. In 2009, only one in four identified frozen entrees as key to buy organic. We expect those percentages to increase in 2010…first with more customers shifting to organics when buying frozen fruits and vegetables and then to healthy convenience foods.

Retailers can get ahead of the trend by expanding their offerings of organic prepared foods and offering more healthy take-out options. Premium quality store brand and private label organics will be an important part of the product mix for 2010 as consumers will continue to look for value in their natural and organic purchasing.

As for name brand organics, they’ll be looking to coupons, consumer education and promotions to maintain consumer loyalty.

Movies like Food Inc. and the continuing popularity of books such as The Omnivore’s Dilemma and Michael Pollan’s latest release Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual should continue to build consumer focus on both healthy eating and safe, sustainable agricultural methods. That means consumers will be looking for more locally raised food, clear labeling and signage introducing new health- and earth-conscious products.

For all the attention that the organic industry gets, it’s easy to forget just how small it really is. We got a reminder earlier this week when the U.S. Department of Agriculture offered up the results from its first ever wide-scale survey of organic farming.

According to the results, less than 1% of all farms in the U.S. are organic. The survey tallied 14,540 organic farms covering 4.1 million acres of land, with total sales of $3.16 billion in 2008.

A few other interesting findings from the report:

- No surprise, California led the nation with 20% of all organic farms and 36% of total sales.

- Organic farms bring in an average of $217,675 in sales, compared to $134,807 for all other farms.

- Expenditures for organic farms are higher, however, at $171,978 per farm compared to $109,359 for other farms.

- 44% of organic farms sold their products within 100 miles from where they were grown.

- 83% of organic farm sales came from wholesale channels, 10% direct from retailers, and only 7% of sales came directly from consumers. more…

Almost every supermarket website I’ve seen includes a page devoted to wellness. The depth and breadth of the information presented varies from chain to chain, but at the very least, there are sections that focus on gluten intolerance, diabetes and dieting — kind of the holy trinity of supermarket whole health marketing.

As the wellness movement has gained momentum, retailers are beefing up their online offerings, too. They add advice and columns from their dietitians; or they might work with a third-party provider like Aisle7 to really develop an information library that can be customized and updated.

I mention all this because a new survey out shows that more than half of Americans looked up health information on the internet last year. The poll of more than 7-thousand adults ages 18 to 64 was conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics, a division of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“As the percentage of adults in the U.S. who use the internet continues to grow, the internet may become increasingly important as a source of health information for consumers,” stated the center. more…

Forget 2009. Really. I know it’s February, but the bad news — in the form of studies, annual reports and the like — just keep rolling in.

Case in point: The international product intelligence firm, Mintel, found that last year was dismal for new product introductions in the United States, down 30% from 2008.

“In the last decade, [Mintel] has only tracked occasional, small declines in new product introductions for the U.S. market, never a decline as strong as this,” notes Lynn Dornblaser, the firm’s leading new product expert.

The stats were just as grim in health and wellness. Natural and organic products, which saw large increases in 2008, took a few steps back in 2009 due to their higher price points. Food and drink introductions with an all-natural claim decreased from 15% of all launches in 2008 to 13% in 2009. Organic claims showed a similar decline of 12% to 10% in the same timeframe, according to Mintel.

Well, folks, I am happy to say that 2010 (and this is the part I want to write about) is already shaping up to be interesting, with large and small companies introducing new products or services in the wellness channel. If the first weeks of this year are any indication, I think we’re in pretty good shape.

FOOD: Snyder’s of Hanover, the snack food company, has introduced a line of whole grain, gluten-free, fiber-rich all-natural snacks that also promote the company’s contributions to The Nature Conservancy. There are seven products in the line, called Eatsmart. The products are also available in 100-calorie packs. more…

It’s no secret that the snack food market isn’t just about greasy potato chips and candy bars anymore. With the growth of the natural and better-for-you industries, people now have the option of choosing pita chips, fruit-and-nut bars, and other baked, low-sodium, all-natural versions of the munchies they love.

Supermarket checkout aisles have seen the change as $4 organic chocolate bars compete alongside Milky Ways, and now there’s another platform for this next generation of snack foods.

Healthy vending machines — sounds like an oxymoron, doesn’t it? Well, that’s what folks are calling the new outposts cropping up at hospitals, college campuses and health clubs across the country. Capitalizing off consumers’ desire to eat better without sacrificing snacking, companies have come out with eye-catching new machines that hold products like 100% juice, dried fruit and rice cakes. There are also organic and all-natural varieties of indulgent favorites, too, like sandwich cookies and gummi bears.

So maybe “healthy” doesn’t apply across the board, since sugar and calories can still be found en masse in some products. But hey, that’s the business these days. Putting apples and oranges behind Plexiglas isn’t going to generate sales, and it won’t drive awareness. You have to meet consumers half way.

And sales have been good lately for companies like Vend Natural, based in Ventura, California. Formerly involved in the traditional vending industry, president Gil Sanchez made the transition a couple years ago and now has more than 350 machines across the country. more…

Of the various wellness formats opened by conventional retailers over the past few years, only GreenWise endures. The Publix banner is still above the entrance to three stores, all in Florida. Now we know why.

Fried chicken.

A real eye-opening article from the Tampa Tribune profiles the city’s GreenWise, where Maseratis and Mercedes in the parking lot are no big deal. The neighborhood’s per capita income is among the highest in Hillsborough county, and the store reflects the local affluence, selling eco-detergents, hand-picked olives for $9.99 a pound and $36 bottles of vitamins.

Yet customers have been asking for Tide. The HBC section still has vitamins, but also standard fare like Tylenol.

And finally, in the store’s fresh meals department, where quinoa salad and specially prepared tuna filets are the norm, there is now a fried chicken display, “Right there up front,” the store manager is quoted as saying.

What’s going on? This is supposed to be a store for natural, organic and green products. That’s why you want to go there, as opposed to a regular Publix, right? Several things about this report are revealing. more…

If we look back over the past ten years, is there a food that stands out as the one that defined us? To Harry Balzer there is. Balzer, who’s vice president of the NPD Group, has been following the food industry for more than thirty years. He’s seen trends come and go, and he’s not one to come to any quick or easy conclusions.

His answer: Yogurt.

I first heard Balzer make this assessment on National Public Radio recently. So I decided to give him a call to learn more.

“We started off with about 17% of all Americans eating yogurt in 2000, and we end the decade with something like 28% consuming yogurt on a regular basis,” he said. “No other category has seen that kind of increase in the absolute number of people using the product.”

There are many reasons why we love yogurt: It’s portion controlled, it’s convenient, it can be customized with any number of interesting flavors, and there’s no cleanup afterward.

There’s also, Balzer said, “that wonderful health halo surrounding it.” Indeed, yogurt, a pretty healthy snack on its own, has quickly become a delivery system for all sorts of health benefits, from probiotics to fiber to protein. more…

It’s great to see yet another retailer confronting the urgent need for sustainably sourced seafood. Today, Target announced that it will eliminate all farm-raised salmon from its stores in favor of the wild-caught Alaskan variety.

The decision came out of close consultation with the Monterrey Bay Aquarium, a widely respected organization that has established its own standards for sustainable fisheries. According to Target, the salmon farms it had previously sourced from pollute too much, leach chemicals into the environment, and allow parasites and non-native fish to disrupt surrounding habitats. Alaska’s wild-caught salmon, on the other hand, is intensively managed to protect the health of the species and the ecosystem.

“The company’s decision to address this issue represents an incredible willingness to challenge old paradigms in favor of sound science and environmental preservation, as well as provide real market value to its guests,” said Casson Trenor, a senior markets campaigner with Greenpeace, who’s been a tough critic in the past and who applauded Target’s decision.

This certainly is a big step for a major retailer. Americans have developed a big appetite for seafood, and farming operations have been able to provide supermarkets with large, reliable quantities. But, as Target aptly pointed out, there are issues with their impact on the environment — issues that have caught the eyes of many concerned shoppers. more…

The new Health Starts Here program at Whole Foods Market launched at all of the chain’s 289 locations, and marks an interesting juncture in the evolution of the chain.

The retailer states the program is a “deepening of our commitment to healthy eating by providing education and support tools to inspire interest in foods that help improve and maintain health and vitality.”

Yours truly thinks it’s more a case of Whole Foods getting back to basics after a period of fast living; if nothing else, there were some bouts of binge eating that saw the chain more focused on growth than reinforcing its core values.

The recession has changed all of that. Profits dropped, shoppers sought cheaper options and the company’s fabled double-digit expansion ground to a halt. With the truck by the side of the road and the engine smoking, it seemed a good time to take stock of the situation.

To kickstart slumping sales, Whole Foods introduced a number of money-saving promotions and has given its 365 private label a higher profile. That kept enough shoppers coming back, but the chain must have also realized that over the past few years, as it made appeals to more mainstream, casual shoppers, it was alienating its core customer.

This latest initiative should please everyone, because the beauty is that it gives Whole Foods much-needed cache as a destination for weight management and healthy living, while providing a perfect excuse for culling the aisles of products, added during the high-living years, that don’t really — and never did — fit in with its core mission. more…