In the 15 years I’ve been writing and reporting on the food industry, I have never come across a poll or study stating that supermarket shopping is fun. Researchers pinpointed a number of reasons. Convenience, pricing and crowds might be the culprit in one study, while mundanity, necessity and a sense of sameness were to blame in others.
So, this is the first time I’m seeing a poll showing that a majority of shoppers stated they enjoy the act. The Nielsen Company conducted the survey, finding that more than one-half (53%) said they “really enjoy or like grocery shopping.”
In this study, everything was reversed: Only 9% responded that they dislike or hate shopping (38% of whom rush in and back out).
Another large group (again, 38%) stated that they consider food shopping a chore, but not an onerous one — though they admit they preplan their trips and know exactly where they need to go in order to speed their visits.
It was the “like” and “love” shoppers that caught my eye and got me thinking about what has changed in the supermarket industry since I started reading these polls in the early 1990s. Sure, times have changed. Not only are there more types of stores to shop, but stores in general are much more sophisticated and differentiated than they were back then. Do consumers equate those changes with a sense of fun? It would seem so, if the Nielsen poll is to be believed.
For example, some 18% of the consumers in the like/love-to-shop category regularly browse the entire store. That’s reflective of “treasure hunt” mentality encouraged by the club and dollar channels. Ever been to a Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods Market? Again, these are retailers that promote lingering and browsing through a combination of unique products, distinctive environments and other factors. more…
Apps have been great for the natural foods industry. Long-time wellness consumers are used to creative thinking. I mean, back in the days before online shopping, if there was a natural/organic lifestyler who needed something special, they either did it themselves or tapped into the word-of-mouth network, shopped specialty catalogues or subscribed to newsletters.
Those inspired approaches to filling their pantries is serving them well as mobile technology continues its dizzying expansion. Indeed, a recent app in particular has the potential to satisfy all consumers with real-time data on food recalls. ReachEverywhere, developers of the Shopper iPhone Shopping Assistant application, announced that it is integrating real-time recall information from the Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Now, both the FDA and USDA currently offer online access to the information (FDA even has its own app), but this new one promises to take the confusion out of trying to figure out which agency oversees the product in question.
According to my colleague, SN tech editor Michael Garry, “Users of the application who put an item on their list that is associated with a recall will automatically see the warning information for that product.”
In addition, ReachEverywhere, which launched personalized retailer circulars on the Shopper application one month ago, has added weekly circulars from Stop & Shop, Publix, Giant Food and Winn Dixie to the more than 100 existing retailers on the platform.
(Photo credit: Thibault Poix )
The food industry knows that “going green” oftentimes means “slimming down”. That’s why in recent years companies have reduced packaging, cut down on the miles they transport products, and lowered their energy use.
Which is all well and good, but there’s a lot more to be done. As the industry works its way to the center of the issue, it’ll likely encounter another area of the business in need of trimming: the food itself.
Food waste includes everything from table scraps to whole products that go bad or get thrown out. It’s anything edible that goes unused, at any point along the food chain, from producers to retailers to consumers. According to a recent study, 1,400 calories of food per person goes to waste each day in this country — a 50% increase since 1974.
Food waste isn’t something most retailer think about. It’s difficult to track and quantify, and it’s not something that’s easily explained. Tell your customers you’re stocking less food, and you may have a rebellion on your hands.
But this doesn’t make it any less of a problem, and it doesn’t mean there aren’t innovative ways out there to address it. Take what Tesco’s doing, for example. The British retailer recently announced it will offer a Buy One Get One Free – Later promotion more…
Supermarkets take note: Whatever neat, unique things chefs do in their restaurants usually end up making their way back to the kitchen table. So, it’s always a good idea to keep track of the trends that are shaping the foodservice side of the business, since shoppers like to take those foods and serving ideas back to their home.
Fortunately, the National Restaurant Association taps its membership every fall and writes up a list of the hottest menu trends for the coming year. For 2010, there are some slight tweaks to last year’s list, but by and large, local sourcing and sustainable foods remain on top.
More than 1,800 chef members of the American Culinary Federation were interviewed on nearly 215 items in the “What’s Hot in 2010” survey.
“The top trends this year — local sourcing, sustainability and nutrition — reflect wider societal trends and consumers’ growing interest in these issues,” said Dawn Sweeney, the NRA’s president and CEO. “Many restaurants are sourcing some of their ingredients locally, and you often see chefs shopping at farmer’s markets to create a host of better-for-you options that today’s diners want.”
Whoa. That’s the same thing today’s shoppers want in the food stores they patronize. What’s going on here? It used to be that chefs were so far ahead — the food equivalent of those haute couture designers who accessorize their runway shows with designs that, to the uninitiated, provoke snorts and laughter — that it would take several years for their choice trends to pierce the retail environment. more…
Add Whole Foods to the growing list of retailers offering incentives to employees who practice healthy lifestyles. According to Bloomberg News, the Austin, Texas-based company will soon introduce an insurance plan under which workers can get discounts of 20% to 30% depending on vital stats like cholesterol levels, whether or not they smoke, and so on.
You can judge for yourself how well this squares with CEO John Mackey’s opinions on healthcare. What’s more important is that the plan joins a positive new direction in healthcare. Retailers like Safeway, Hannaford, Hy-Vee and Giant are doing more than just making good health its own reward — they’re offering tangible savings that spur employees and allow them to benchmark their progress.
What’s notable, too, is that they’re offering the means to achieve these savings. Giant lets employees consult with store dieticians and develop nutrition plans. Safeway, meanwhile, lets its workers participate in its FoodFlex program that builds healthful meals, and also has a 17,000 square foot gym for its corporate employees. This year, the California-based retailer even held a “healthiest lifestyle” contest that included 400 teams of 10 employees each. more…
There’s a new Food and Drug Administration in town, and its serious about label reform.
This has been apparent for some time now — ever since early this year, when the agency fired a warning shot at General Mills — and we’ve been on the case, covering the issue as its evolved. There’s only so much insight we can offer, however. For the best idea of where things are headed, check out yesterday’s column in The Atlantic’s food section by Michael Taylor, the FDA’s advisor in charge of food safety and nutrition labeling.
In it, Taylor talks about the problems with labeling systems developed by retailers and manufacturers. Companies claim they’re providing helpful guidance and transparency — but to Taylor, it’s all an overload of dubious information.
“Consumer studies show that some people feel these messages are helpful point-of-purchase shortcuts,” he writes. “But many people are overwhelmed by these messages–and skeptical of their legitimacy.” more…
CPG manufacturers and supermarket retailers can take a lot of credit for stimulating consumer interest in healthy eating. They’ve accomplished this during some pretty tough times, yet the latest numbers from Information Resources, Inc. show that demand for natural, organic and better-for-you foods continues to grow.
The chart at right shows some impressive bumps in sales and volume over the past year. Sales of products with any grain claim grew nearly 10% now account for 4% of edibles spending across the grocery, drug, mass merchandise and convenience channels. All natural claims are a factor in 12% of all food spending.
CPG marketers are making it happen by taking a new look at product development, marketing and merchandising. Product extensions have helped put healthful twists on conventional favorites, whether it’s adding whole grains to cereal or removing sodium from frozen dinners, according to the latest IRI Times & Trends report.
Thom Blischok, president of of IRI’s Shopper Marketing and Innovation division, notes that CPG manufacturers and retailers are also exploring merchandising opportunities. Here, successful strategies have included setting up discrete displays or kiosks where better-for-you products are displayed, cross-selling healthier products on packages of “traditional” products and selectively reducing prices. more…
What’s more important to consumers: the safety of their food or the purity of it? That’s an important question, and one that doesn’t often get answered directly. Raw milk is the exception. It’s as straight-from-nature as you can get, yet it can contain harmful bacteria like salmonella and listeriosis. There’s been considerable tension between the two sides on the issue, and now the stakes have grown.
By some estimates, a million people in the U.S. regularly consume raw milk. That’s come off increasing demand over the past several years for whole, unprocessed foods, which advocates say possess vital nutrients that safety procedures like pasteurization eliminate. Raw milk has something of a reputation as a miracle healer, too. Parents have stories of how raw milk cured their child’s asthma, autism, Crohn’s disease, and cleared up their allergies.
For dairy farmers, this growing demand has created an alternative to the shamefully low prices offered for conventional and organic milk. According to a recent New York Times story, raw milk producers receive up to five or six times as much money per gallon — a real life-saver for struggling farmers. Methods of sale vary across the 23 states that allow the sale of raw milk. In California, you can find it in the grocery store, while in Virginia you can only drink it from a cow you own. more…
At first glance, the idea of food safety being environmentally sensitive seems extraneous. After all, the sole purpose of food safety is to make food safe — period. In the mind of most consumers, the procedures used are ancillary to the end result. Pasteurization has long been accepted, but other measures, such as irradiation, are only tolerated because everyone understands — and accepts — the necessity of its use.
That’s why it’s heartening to read about elements of sustainability in some newer food safety programs. Even better, some of the leaders in this area of the business are making ecology a foundation of their offerings. Here are alternatives that are just as effective as their predecessors, yet eco-friendly and therefore, better for consumers.
The first program that came to my attention comes from Eco-Safe Systems, based in Los Angeles (Purfresh is another company known to the industry). The company’s systems — applicable across the entire supply chain — use ozone to protect food and water supplies against the usual suspects in food poisoning, including salmonella, listeria and E. coli. That means there’s no chlorine, pesticides and bactericides residues on food. more…
The $4 billion food bar category is dominated by functional options. Look at any snack aisle or checkout display and you’ll see energy bars, breakfast bars, nutrition bars — and nowadays, even pregnancy bars.
To stand out from the crowd, some companies have gone back to the drawing board to focus a different, completely radical concept: taste.
“People say they’re looking for all sorts of things in a bar, but when it comes down to it they want to enjoy eating it,” said Frankie Whitman, vice president of marketing at Full Bloom Baking Company, a wholesale baking business based in Newark, California.
It was this thought that led Full Bloom and others to develop “artisan” bars that emphasize unique, gourmet ingredients and a handmade style of production. This fall, Full Bloom released a 12-grain toasted oatmeal bar. The company is also working on a cranberry almond bar made with ancient grains, and a bacon cornflake bar. That’s right, a bacon cornflake bar. more…
In the 15 years I’ve been writing and reporting on the food industry, I have never come across a poll or study stating that supermarket shopping is fun. Researchers pinpointed a number of reasons. Convenience, pricing and crowds might be the culprit in one study, while mundanity, necessity and a sense of sameness were to blame in others.
