The world’s largest coffee chain, Starbucks Coffee Company, announced today plans to introduce wine, beer and “premium food” to a handful of its stores in the United States by the end of 2012. Starbucks stores in Atlanta, California and Chicago, have been “carefully selected” in response to “customer feedback for more options to relax in the evenings” for the new menu additions. These stores, along with several others recently announced for the Chicago area, will be the first stores... ...Read more »

The latest study by researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health, in the USA, has raised fresh debate over the regulation of Bisphenol A (BpA), a chemical compound often used as protective lining on the inside of cans containing food or beverages. The Harvard study’s findings were published on 22 November 2011, in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The researchers say their study is one of the first to quantify BpA levels in humans after ingestion of canned foods. Exposure... ...Read more »

U.S. foodservice research and consulting firm Technomic has published a list of trends it predicts will shape the American restaurant industry in 2012. Based on its own market research, Technomic claimed the following developments will be making news in the U.S. restaurant industry in the coming year: Consumers seek a twist on the familiar: Consumers are in no mood to take risks, but novel flavours still tingle their taste buds, according to Technomic. For example, comfort foods with a twist (gourmet,... ...Read more »

According to a report from Australian food law specialists FoodLegal, Australian beverage and food companies will need to watch closely what emerges from a recent American lawsuit. Foodlegal has reported that parents of a 13-year-old girl from Maryland, USA, have filed a lawsuit against Nestle USA, manufacturer of ‘Deer Park’ and ‘Poland Spring’ bottled waters with added fluoride, and also against Gerber Products Company, which manufactures baby food and infant formula products containing... ...Read more »

US researchers have suggested that organic products are failing to gain mainstream appeal in the country, despite increasing retail penetration and media attention. According to research firm TABS, there has not been a growth in the number of consumers who purchase organic products over the past 12 months. “The usage results for our latest study were remarkably similar to the results from last year’s study. Organic food and beauty products continue to be niche products, they have not... ...Read more »

Personal financial trajectories are reshaping consumer spending on groceries and foodservice, according to Premium Consumers in the New Economy: Food and Foodservice, a new report by market research publisher Packaged Facts.A keener taste for food adventure, elevated health and nutrition consciousness, stronger preferences for organic and natural foods, a heightened sense of ethical consumerism, and a greater propensity for Internet and coupon use are the new normal for a growing number of upscale... ...Read more »

Nearly six out of 10 Americans report they have had to cut back on the quantity or quality of food they buy because of increasing prices, according to The 2008 Hormel Hunger Survey, carried out by the Opinion Research Corporation.The study, commissioned by Hormel Foods Corporation, discovered most Americans (67%) believe that food prices have ‘increased a lot’ since last year, with 61 per cent suggesting that corn-based ethanol is at least partly responsible for higher food prices. Fifty-seven... ...Read more »