Refresh

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…

Dieting is an American way of life. A new survey from Catalina Marketing founds that weight management has a “strong influence” on the grocery purchases of 56% of American shoppers and at least “some influence” on the purchases of another one-third.

Even more striking is the fact that four out of 10 shoppers followed some type of diet in the past year.

Yet, food products promoting themselves as diet-friendly or waistline-smart don’t necessarily fly off the shelves. In large part, that’s because as a group, dieters are a diverse bunch. The study found there are different types of dieters, different goals and different levels of willingness to spend on diet-related products.

For instance, those following name-brand diets or lifestyles spend more than $3,400 on groceries per year, while those who focus simply on low-fat foods, regardless of brand, spend just over $800.

Catalina researchers queried more than 4,000 shoppers and used their answers to create six shopper segments: Low-Fat & Fit, Carb Conscious, Calorie-Conscious, Unconcerned Families, Healthy Habits and Devoted Dieters. Some of the insights for each include:

Low-Fat & Fit (11 million shoppers): This group reports the lowest level of concern managing or losing weight with 41% “very concerned.” Thirty-two percent of this segment says weight-management has a strong influence on the type of groceries they buy. more…

And just when we were starting to think the storyline had gone stagnant: Last week the Food and Drug Administration stated that they had “some concerns” about health risks posed by bisphenol-A, or BPA, the chemical used to strengthen plastic that appears in food packaging, baby bottles and other reusable containers.

The statement goes against one the agency made in 2008 that said the chemical was safe. That decision was a disappointment to many in the environmental and medical community — a disappointment compounded by a report that came shortly after from the National Toxicology Program (part of the National Institutes of Health) criticizing the FDA’s stance.

So what made the FDA change its mind? Credit the progressive new attitude coming from the Obama administration, under whom the agency has taken aggressive steps to safeguard public health. There’s also been the increased media attention on studies linking BPA to various ailments, from cancer to impaired brain development.

“I think that they could no longer hide from the evidence,” said Alex Formuzis, spokesman for the Environmental Working Group, when I interviewed him earlier today. “The facts were so stacked against their former position that they had no place to go.”

The chemical and manufacturing industries, for their part, are stating that the evidence is inconclusive. The American Chemistry Council released a statement saying they are “disappointed that some of the recommendations are likely to worry consumers and are not well-founded.”

But consumers have already made up their mind. more…

The fact that February is American Heart Month (thanks American Heart Association) is no coincidence. Of course, it’s linked to Valentine’s Day. These are two events worthy of driving some in-store events with a health theme. Anything promoting Heart Month is a no-brainer and the resources and volunteers from your local AHA affiliate make it easier.

The first Friday in February has been declared Wear Red Day, and it’s a great boost for some in-aisle activities, sampling demos and media events. But putting a healthy spin on Valentine’s Day may take a bit more thinking. So put on your thinking caps and add to this starter list for February is Heart Month!

• Plan some demonstrations and samplings of heart-healthy recipe tweaking. Try adding ground flax seed, oat bran or whole oats to foods; substituting some whole grains; or baking and cooking with heart-healthy fats and oils (in reasonable amounts of course). Substituting applesauce or fruit purees for some of the fat in baking mixes remind people that you can make some small changes that still leave you with flavor.

• Plan some heart-healthy Valentine-worthy meals ideas. A glazed salmon, roasted vegetables and garlic with a spinach, strawberry and walnut salad looks and tastes special but provides your loved ones with the benefits of omega-3s and phytonutrients. more…

We’ve been contributing to Refresh for more than two years (woohoo!), and in that time we’ve had fun watching retailers become bloggers themselves. Jim Hiller, president of Hiller’s in Detroit, muses at great length on the company website. Safeway’s blog gets regular updates from “Kate”, a proud mom and worker with the company. There’s also Yoke’s Fresh Market in Spokane, Wash., whose blog contributors include category managers like Ken Chapin, who heads up the meat department.

Well heads up, because another retailer joined the blogosphere last week, and it’s perhaps the most sophisticated one to date. AlbertsonsWellbeing.com is the new health and wellness blog and online community from Albertsons. It includes a superhero-esque lineup of contributors covering a range of culinary and wellness topics. There’s Kyle Gorham, “The Foodie”; Laurie Raymundo, “The Busy Mom”; pharmacist Jeff Ward, “The Fit Doctor”; and several others.

Just in the first couple days, contributors have posted on dieting in the New Year, the importance of cleaning out your medicine cabinet, and why it’s important to eat healthy throughout the day.

The beauty of blogging is that you can reach a wider audience, stay on top of the latest issues, and all while having a little fun. Writing here, we can let loose a bit, moreso than we could in print for SN Whole Health or Supermarket News. And supermarkets, likewise, can show their customers their lighter side. more…