The cost of living pressures in the UK are not likely to inhibit growth of ethical consumerism, according to the Co-operative Bank. Its 9th annual report into green spending in Britain discovered the ethical market had risen by 15 per cent to £35.5b (A$83.6b) in 2007; although ethical spend remained a reasonably small percentage (about 5%) of total retail sales of over £600b. Dick Parkhouse, Managing Director for Retail at the bank, believes that Government stimulus packages can help ensure the... ...Read more »
A new survey has discovered that many UK consumers have been willing to change supermarkets during the downturn in order to save money. In the poll conducted by Empathy Research for TalkingRetail.com, over a third indicated the choice of their current primary supermarket has been influenced “a little” by the credit crunch, with a further 16 per cent suggesting it had been influenced “a lot”. Only 58% would visit the same supermarket consistently for their weekly shop, with... ...Read more »
Nestlé has announced the launch of a new research programme on the specific nutritional needs of athletes engaged in different kinds of sports, in a bid to strengthen the company’s commitment to promoting sporting integrity through nutrition. The programme will provide data to help support a more personalised approach to sports nutrition in the future which, in time, should lead to a new generation of personalised sports nutrition products for leading athletes. The announcement comes in the... ...Read more »
7-Eleven, Inc., the world’s largest convenience store chain, has launched a new line of private-label products in the US this month under the brand, 7-Select. With the rollout of the 32 new items, 7-Eleven has greatly enhanced the presence of store-brand packaged foods, a business that it reports has increased dramatically over the last year and promises strong future growth, especially in light of consumer budget-tightening while the US economy deteriorates. The announcement comes soon after... ...Read more »
Members of the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) have reduced their CO2 emissions by 17% since 1990 as part of a plan to reduce their environmental impact. The reduction means the industry has been releasing an average of 58,000 tonnes less CO2 per year since 1990 - the equivalent of taking 22,000 cars off UK roads each year. This data is to be released today by the FDF in a new report highlighting how the UK’s biggest manufacturing sector is trying to reduce their environmental impact in five... ...Read more »
A 3-year European Union project is set to provide state-of-the-art science on nutrition labels and consumer behaviour as well as best practice guidelines for future research, industry and policy-makers. The first EU-funded research programme on nutrition labelling, FLABEL (Food Labelling to Advance Better Education for Life), was officially launched this week. The issue In response to the prevalence of diet-related diseases, governments and food companies increasingly promote nutrition information... ...Read more »
While the credit crunch has negatively impacted the advertising and marketing budgets of many companies it appears UK supermarkets have viewed the downturn as an opportunity to gain market share and boost sales. Research carried out by Nielsen Media Research for UK newspaper The Daily Telegraph has discovered that most of the market leaders had upped their ad spend this year. In the UK the major supermarkets have come under pressure from discount supermarkets Aldi and Lidl, who have appealed to those... ...Read more »
A new application has launched on Facebook in the UK this month which enables users of the world’s most popular social networking website to buy real beverages for their friends instead of the usual virtual gifts made commonplace on the site. Get Them In allows users to search from a range of alcoholic beverages (and complimentary snacks), select the friend they would like to send it to, pay for the product/s via ‘Google checkout’ and leave a message for their friend with the gift.... ...Read more »
The late 2000s have proven to be a challenging period for the US liquid refreshment beverage category, but growth persists as do opportunities. The changes in the US marketplace often present leading indications as to where the Australian market is headed. Many factors confront the industry, which consists of carbonated soft drinks, bottled water, milk, fruit beverages, sports beverages, ready-to-drink tea and coffee, and energy drinks. Some relate to broader economic and social conditions, while... ...Read more »
H. J. Heinz Company has announced solid growth reflecting higher sales and the benefit of the Company’s strategic decision to hedge translation exposures on key currency exchange rates for the quarter. While the world’s leading soup maker, Campbell Soup Company, has posted sales growth of 3 per cent in their first quarter. Heinz benefited from 5.8% organic sales growth, led by the Company’s Top 15 brands, which posted organic sales growth of 8.5%. Heinz banked a 3.5% second-quarter... ...Read more »