Clear windows on packaged foods and beverages seem to be all the rage right now as manufacturers try to literally meet consumer desire for transparency and authenticity – but a well-placed photograph sometimes is a more effective marketing tool, branding...
Online retail of food and beverage may be small now, but it is slowly gaining traction in the US – providing start-ups struggling to get their foot in the door another option for reaching consumers, according to the CEO of online subscription snack service...
How are the top 100 CPG brands performing? Not very well, say Catalina, TABS Group
If you needed further proof that bigger does not correlate with better in the CPG market, a new report from digital marketing expert Catalina reveals that the top 100 brands are underperforming in most of the categories in which they operate.
Kent Corporation, a family owned food and feed company based in Iowa, has acquired privately held Sqwincher, a manufacturer of a line of hydration products that feature a unique distribution strategy and a distinctive approach to formulation.
J.M. Smucker Co.’s aggressive efforts to wake up its sleepy coffee segment are working, resulting in a 12% increase in the segment’s sales and a 13% increase in its profits in the firm’s first quarter, executives announced Aug. 27.
Starbucks is “widely outpacing” the competition in the US coffee pods market, delivering “robust unit growth and ongoing pod share gains”, while market leader Keurig Green Mountain’s share continues to decline owing to “persistently weak dollar sales”,...
Proactive marketing strategies, such as cross-promotions and strategic shelving, by food manufacturers and retailers can reduce the risk of lost sales when consumers are faced with an out-of-stock product on their grocery list.
As Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage nears its 60th birthday, the company is nearing another milestone, too; the company is slated to open its 100th store this month, CEO Kemper Isley said.
The world’s largest food and drink companies saw sales growth nearly halve in 2014 – while local firms have taken advantage of their greater agility to fill market gaps, according to a report from OC&C Strategy Consultants.
New web-based tools are democratizing the concept testing process and enabling everyone from brand managers at large CPG companies to start-ups to get rapid feedback on new product concepts, packaging, pricing or marketing campaigns at a fraction of the...
Boulder Brands – the firm behind EVOL Foods, Udi’s Gluten Free and Smart Balance – has reduced its salaried headcount by 15% and integrated its sales, marketing and innovation functions as part of a restructure following the departure of CEO Steve Hughes.
New software from Vision Critical aims to help large consumer packaged goods companies protect their market share from nimble startups by facilitating a two-way dialogue with consumers in real time online.
Targeting millennials in an effort to reach adventurous, trendsetting consumers who will adopt and evangelize new products early will only get marketers a third of the way to their goal, recent research from CivicScience suggests.
Whole Foods Market’s much vaunted new value chain – 365 by Whole Foods Market – will not be a “discount model or a dumbed-down version of Whole Foods” as feared by some when the company first announced the impending launch, according to the new chain’s...
How do you market plant protein? Until recently, it was all about ‘vegetarian’ options, ‘meat analogs’ or ‘meat-alternatives’, says Lightlife Foods, but today, marketers are presenting their plant-based wares as the first – and best - choice for what...
Four out of 10 consumers claim to be avoiding or reducing genetically modified foods in their daily diets, mainly because they are concerned about the possible impact of GMOs on their health and well-being, according to The Hartman Group’s Organic &...
Millennials have a general distrust of big companies and a different set of priorities than baby boomers
While working at sexy new food & beverage companies such as Hampton Creek or Suja Juice sounds like a pretty exciting way to earn a living, the most talented people coming out of business school today are still more likely to pick technology or investment...
Large food and beverage companies are starting to fight back with mixed success against the smaller, more nimble companies that continue to steal market share, according to market analysts.
ConAgra Food outlines a three-point plant for growing sales of commercial brands, including Swiss Miss, Pam and Orville Redenbacher's, which continue to struggle despite improved share, profit and volume stabilization.
Flavor and spice leader McCormick & Company is on track to meet its ambitious goal of increasing sales 4% to 6% in local currency in 2015, thanks in part to initiatives in North America to drive growth through innovation, marketing and leadership...
Pressure to launch new products that meet consumers’ rapidly shifting interest in natural and organic foods and beverages from conventional products is reducing the time manufacturers have to distinguish between short-term fads and long-term trends with...
Firms need to move away from one-way marketing strategies in traditional media channels and embrace open engagement in new media outlets to capture the attention of millennials, who increasingly wield purchasing power and influence but continue to elude...
Whole Foods Market continues to evolve in the face of increased competition and gain market share by responding to consumers’ changing shopping habits with a broad online presence that is gaining traction.
Consumers likely will not loosen their purse strings to fill their grocery carts with premium or unnecessary foods any time soon, even though gas prices, unemployment and inflation are down, according to IRI’s MarketPulse survey published Feb. 4
While the upfront cost of third-party credentialing from Product of the Year is sizable for many small firms, winning the right to display its iconic red logo for two years can open distribution doors and increase sales in the long-run for new products,...
The new Product Watch tool from consumer insights expert Instantly (formerly uSamp) could prove a game-changer in the CPG industry by using crowdsourcing to enable subscribers to find out what new products have been launched in their categories, how and...
Private label penetration rates have not budged since 2011
Dollar sales of foods and beverages edged up a modest 2.1% to $470bn in the US retail market in 2014, but unit sales (an indication of volumes) were pretty flat (up just 0.9%), according to Chicago-based market research firm IRI.
Consumers increasingly are turning away from cereal for breakfast in favor of nutrition-dense, on-the-go foods, creating a growth opportunity for consumer packaged foods companies that can offer fast solutions to the first meal of the day.
JK Sucralose - which claims to be the largest sucralose manufacturer in China - has weighed into the debate over sucralose pricing raised by market leader Tate & Lyle.
Tune into an earnings call from a big consumer packaged goods (CPG) company, and you’ll likely hear a lot of frustration over the ineffectiveness of trade spending. But is weary resignation (‘it’s just a cost of doing business') a constructive response?
After 18 months of rapid growth and a summer of reflection, True Drinks is ready to accelerate growth for its AquaBall product with an expansion to new international markets, and an advertising campaign calling out its ‘sugar-saturated’ competitors.
The marketplace for consumer goods has fundamentally changed, and CPG companies looking for stable long term growth need to be able to solve this “frustrating puzzle,” according to a new report from market research firm Strategy&.
DISPATCHES FROM INTERNATIONAL WHEY CONFERENCE 2014
It's "business as usual" at Minnesota-based cheese and whey ingredients manufacturer Davisco Foods following its recent takeover by Canadian dairy cooperative Agropur.
The USA is trying to come up with a tailor-made international marketing strategy to tap a bigger share of pork sales, now growing at an estimated 12% globally from 2013 to 2018, said Kevin Waetke, vice-president for strategic communication at the country’s...
Ingredient suppliers are taking on expanded roles in the packaged food and beverage industry beyond just selling ingredients, from research and development to consulting.
Rice Bran Technologies posted strong earnings growth in its second quarter of 2014 despite having to shut down a major production plant for three weeks as part of a planned expansion and having to absorb the effect on productivity of the World Cup on...
Youngevity International, a multilevel marketer of nutritional supplements as well as a bulk coffee roaster, reported big increases in net revenue and gross profit in its second quarter of 2014, driven mostly by organic growth aided by acquisitions.
Beyond the focus group? Next generation concept testing
A new mobile app enabling CPG companies to get instant feedback on new product concepts from target consumers while they are grocery shopping will slash the time and money spent on testing new ideas, claims consumer insights expert uSamp.
Obviously taste rules when it comes to any food or beverage. But many consumers are also looking for indications that what they’re eating has been minimally “messed with”—hence the growing incidence of “all natural” and related terms on product labels.
The number of Americans aged 65+ will double in the next 25 years. But manufacturers of products that could have strong appeal to this demographic (Greek yogurt, protein bars) are not doing enough to target them, says IRI.
In the latest iteration of FoodNavigator-USA’s What do you do interview series, we talk with the boss of organic ancient grain specialist Ancient Harvest about the challenges of long-distance (work) relationships, his move from banking to CPGs and what...
Smithfield Foods has reported a record increase in net profit for its first quarter (Q1), as well as good returns for packaged food and a better export environment.
Understanding consumer expectations and respecting these, combined with a boldness to draw inspiration from new areas is the perfect mix for successful innovation, say experts.
More than four out of every 10 dollars spent on ground coffee in the US is now spent on single-serve pods such as K-Cups, according to the latest Nielsen data.
The exponential growth and availability of “Big Data” offers food and beverage marketers unprecedented access to consumer information, but it also raises some ethical questions when it comes to how companies use it—particularly when it comes to children....
