Retailers and consumer goods manufacturers are increasingly looking at ways to become more ‘consumer-centric’ as the importance of understanding buyer behaviour becomes more critical in light of the prevailing economic conditions. DemandTec, a provider of on-demand optimisation solutions for retailers and manufacturers, and Precima, an analytics firm that translates retail customer data into insights, this week released the findings of a survey measuring how retailers and consumer products... ...Read more »

A London restaurant has rid itself of bills for an entire month and is asking customers to just pay what they believe the food and service is worth.Peter Ilic, owner of the Little Bay restaurant group, will not present a single food bill to diners at his Farringdon Road restaurant in Central London during February. “It’s entirely up to each customer whether they give £100 or a penny. All I’m asking is they pay me what they think the food and service is worth,” Mr Ilic, who... ...Read more »

Shopper traffic and shopping frequency is down across most food and mass channels in America despite an increase in monthly shoppers at Wal-mart – the country’s largest retailer. Tighter household budgets-due to a variety of factors including food price inflation, concerns about job security and declining home values-are altering the shopping behaviour of consumers, TNS Retail Forward ShopperScape research indicates.”Shoppers are rethinking how and where they shop for food and... ...Read more »

A gruyere created from Tasmania’s lush pastures has won the highest accolade among Australian cheeses, while a cream crafted from Gippsland milk has claimed the Champion Dairy Food title in the nation’s foremost dairy competition. Dairy products from across the country were recognised by Dairy Australia at an awards ceremony in Melbourne on Wednesday February 18 promoting quality, excellence and innovation in Australian dairy foods. The Australian Grand Dairy Awards were awarded to 18... ...Read more »

Nestlé, the world’s biggest food manufacturer, has announced sales for 2008 rose 2.2% to CHF 109.9 billion (A$145.68b) as innovation and renovation of their food brands stimulates growth. Sales were driven by by organic growth of 8.3% and acquisitions, which added 1.7% to sales. The negative impact of currency fluctuations weighed heavily, however, reducing sales by 7.8% due to the strength of the Swiss franc compared to most other currencies. Nestlé’s Food and Beverages business, with... ...Read more »

Heinz has reaffirmed its profit expectations as they continue to focus on the Five C’s – Consumers, Costs, Commodities, Cash and Currency – to boost performance. “We remain confident in the strategies that have produced industry-leading top and bottom-line results over the past three years,” Heinz CEO William Johnson told analysts at the CAGNY conference in Florida this week. The company had outlined four strategies – grow the core portfolio, accelerate growth... ...Read more »

Australia’s largest supermarket operator will tomorrow – Friday 20 February – donate the profits made at all of their 792 Australian supermarkets to the Country Women’s Association in each state. The CWA will distribute the funds to farming families, with a third of the money raised given to Landcare – an organisation which is helping farmers manage their operations in a more sustainable way in the face of a long-term drought. It is the third year that Woolworths has... ...Read more »

With economic uncertainty influencing consumer purchasing decisions and interest in healthy eating on the rise, food and beverage manufacturers can feed consumer demand for products that provide more bang for the buck. Ingredients firm Tate & Lyle spoke with several food and beverage manufacturers and spotted seven food trends that American consumers are keen on this year – primarily linked to an overall health and wellness trend. 1. Reduced Calories Consumers are being advised to reduce... ...Read more »

The response from food companies to the appeal for supplies in the wake of Victoria’s tragic bushfires has been remarkable, according to VicRelief Foodbank – which has begun preparing long-term food aid for those affected by the disaster. “Thank you so much, the response to the bushfires from generous companies, large and small, has been unbelievable,” Mike Cannon, from VicRelief Foodbank told Australian Food News. “We have gratefully accepted actual delivery of more... ...Read more »

ASX-listed brewer Lion Nathan has today reported a 7 per cent rise in net sales revenue for the first quarter as consumer demand for premium and low-carb continues to grow. “Lion Nathan Australia’s positive momentum and focus has translated into pleasing first quarter results with … beer volume growth of 9% to 221 million litres,” the company said in a statement. “The Australian beer market remains robust with a growth rate of 2.3% for the quarter and 0.2% on a MAT basis... ...Read more »