Natural and organic are gaining momentum and driving sales across retail channels, but to capitalize fully on their potential stores and manufactures must work together to improve product assortment and integration throughout the store, according to an...
RangeMe, an online marketplace that connects retailers with products and suppliers and streamlines the product discovery process, has raised $4m in a funding round led by Simon Equity Partners, Freestyle Capital and Transmedia Capital.
Online subscription snack service NatureBox crosses over to the physical realm with the launch of eight products in 900 Target stores nationwide this week with the hope of reaching consumers who still prefer to buy food in brick-and-mortar stores rather...
Hershey has reported positive results for its Candy Experience concept 'store within a store' at a Winn-Dixie outlet in Louisiana and three Supervalu-Cub Food Stores in Minnesota.
RangeMe, an online platform which streamlines new product discovery between suppliers and retailers, has teamed up with FoodNavigator-USA's publisher William Reed Business Media to help facilitate new product discovery at The Healthy and Natural...
If you felt overwhelmed at Expo West, imagine what it’s like for retailers, who are inundated with pitches from entrepreneurial food companies on a daily basis. But what if there were a simpler way for buyers to identify and compare new products and screen...
Bricks & mortar retailers that don’t embrace online food delivery services such as InstaCart risk being left behind in the new on demand economy, says the CEO of San Francisco-based specialty food retailer Andronico’s.
By Keith Anderson, VP, strategy & insights, Profitero
According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), a quarter of Valentine’s shoppers went online to shop and/or buy gifts in 2015, up from 16.3% the prior year.
While the media coverage of the new SmartLabel initiative has focused on shoppers’ enthusiasm (or lack, thereof) for scanning QR codes as they shop, or whether it’s just an elaborate ruse by ‘big food’ to avoid mandatory on-pack GMO labeling, the real...
'We’re selling products you won’t find in big box retail stores or on Amazon'
Consumers are increasingly enthusiastic about discovering ‘small-batch’ foods from artisanal producers, while growing numbers of small producers are looking for other avenues beyond traditional retailers to get their wares to market. Hatchery – an online...
With volumes flat or declining in many CPG categories, and dollar growth coming primarily from price increases, manufacturers are increasingly relying on promotions to drive engagement, but find they are becoming less and less effective, according to...
While only a small portion of people currently buy food online, the expansion of digital shopping is eroding consumer loyalty to retailers – forcing them to rethink how best to approach consumers, according to an industry consultant.
Gourmet food and gift company Harry & David has an ambitious goal to make its iconic and decadent Moose Munch popcorn line a $100 million brand within the next two to three years in part by expanding distribution and fine-tuning its flavors to create...
The US ‘specialty gourmet’ retail channel – led by retailers such as The Fresh Market and Mariano’s - has 1,000 stores and revenues topping $18bn, according to market researcher SPINS.
The successful online snack subscription delivery service NatureBox wants to build brand awareness and drive more consumers to shop online by moving into the physical retail realm.
Snack makers can boost sales and secure stronger retail relations with data-driven product pairing rather than guesswork, says Nielsen Perishables Group.
US sales of specialty foods blasted through the $100bn barrier in 2014, with retail ($85.5bn) and foodservice sales ($24bn) combined hitting $109.5bn, up 10.3% on 2013 sales of $99.3bn, according to a new report from the Specialty Food Association using...
Aiming to source and develop foods that have subtle points of difference from the competition in terms of quality or product offering is the key to innovation and new product development at UK retail chain Waitrose.
The last quarter of 2014 was pretty positive (+5.9%) for sales of non-alcoholic beverages in US convenience stores as shoppers spent cash they saved at the pumps on ‘treating themselves’ and ‘trading up’, according to Wells Fargo.
Technology is reshaping how consumers discover, evaluate and select food – creating dichotomies to which manufacturers must adapt their marketing and product positioning, a recently released white paper evaluating consumer trends in 2015 by Euromonitor...
Consumer interest in the health benefits of dark chocolate and a desire for innovative flavors are driving up sales of premium chocolate, which are significantly outpacing those of everyday chocolate, according to a report from Packaged Facts.
Three years ago, Greek yogurt was on fire. Today, as the category has matured, its growth has slowed to a more modest pace, while one market watcher predicts dollar sales growth in the overall yogurt category (which has been driven by Greek in recent...
At $88.3bn in 2013, the size of the US specialty food prize is already mouthwatering, and if current trends continue (sales grew 9.6% in 2012 and 8% in 2013), it will blast through the $100bn barrier in 2015. But which categories are growing most rapidly?
Merchandizing gaps in convenience stores need to be plugged and snack makers must collaborate to drive progress forward, says the category development head at General Mills Convenience as it launches Nature Valley c-store tailored products.
Impulse-reliant confectioners should be wary of emerging technology that could spell the end for in-store checkouts as we know them, says a retail expert.
The entrepreneur who proved that vending machines can dispense more than candy and soda and still make a decent return has taken the H.U.M.A.N. Healthy Vending concept to the next level with the launch of a new breed of self-service ‘micro markets’.
NutraClick, a Boston, MA-based nutritional products company, has found success building its business model on a targeted online advertising strategy. The company was so successful, in fact, that a major chain came to them to request they place their products...
The FoodNavigator-USA business leaders round table debate
What are the hottest trends in food and beverage? And are the big bucks really in blue-sky innovation, or have the most successful firms played with an existing concept and just done a better job at executing, marketing and selling it?
Consumer packaged goods companies are underestimating the growth potential of online sales and still lack clear e-commerce strategies, according to a new study from consulting firm Deloitte LLP.
While private label penetration rates in the US “pale in comparison” to those in Europe, the way US retailers regard their store brands has changed dramatically in recent years, according to the CEO of one leading manufacturer.
60-second interview: Matt Fifer, co-founder, 8th & Walton Group
Want to get on the shelf at Walmart? Prepare to put in some serious work, says Matt Fifer, who spent nearly 13 years in senior roles in store & club operations, people development, marketing, and international marketing at Wal-Mart before co-founding...
On the heels of Bai Brands' Midwest rollout of its caffeinated functional beverage line (to cap off a year of 400% growth) the New Jersey-based company is eyeing nationwide distribution to 12,000 retail outlets within the next 12 months.
If you’re paying more at the pump, you’re likely to spend less on groceries at the convenience store - or just pay at the pump and skip the store altogether. So what do higher gas prices mean for firms supplying the c-store channel?
Chobani has issued an formal voluntary recall for one batch of its branded Greek yogurt in the US following reports of illness - just days after the company discovered mold in the product lot.
Despite the proliferation of supercenters, there is a also a "vigorous counter-trend toward smaller stores" as time-strapped consumers turn to locations where they can get in and out fast, says Packaged Facts in a new report into US food retailing...
Georgia-based Flowers Foods has received the regulatory seal of approval for its $360m deal to acquire several bread brands and other assets from the business formerly known as Hostess Brands.
Traditional supermarkets continue to lose market share to non-traditional formats such as dollar stores, supercenters, fresh food specialists such as Whole Foods Market, natural stores, limited assortment players such as Aldi, wholesale clubs, and e-commerce....
Confectionery manufacturers must use electronic communications and ensure in-store displays are “show stoppers” as consumers make the shift to online shopping, according to the head of a US supermarket.
Private label penetration could reach 25-30% in the US retail market in ten years, according to a new report by Rabobank’s Food & Agribusiness Research and Advisory group.
Does size matter? The answer is yes, if you’re supplying the US food retail market, with new data revealing that food and beverage manufacturers turning over less than $1bn have grown volumes by an average of 3.6% in the year to date, while those turning...
New Nature Valley protein bars will be as big as Fiber One brownies in their first year, General Mills has predicted as consumers replace “mindless munching” with healthier snacking options.
The US private label market has the potential to double its sales in five to six years, the boss of a firm supplying some of the food retail sector’s biggest names with product lifecycle management (PLM) systems has predicted.
Packaged foods specialist B&G Foods is in search of shelf-stable brands or groups of brands with “defensible, niche positions” in their categories and sales of less than $100m, says chief executive Dave Wenner.
