The 2010 Nielsen Convenience and Impulse Report suggests a ‘softened’ convenience and impulse market, with a modest sales growth of 3.3%, and sales down by 0.5% from the quarter to the same period last year. “While the usual suspects including carbonated beverages, ice cream, snack foods, cigarettes, cereals and nutritious snacks continued to perform well, the growth for these categories were off-set by major declines in communications, magazines/newspapers and fruit juices and... ...Read more »

Waitrose has announced that it will open its first smaller format convenience store this summer as part of its plans to increase its presence in the UK’s convenience sector.The first of the new format stores, which will offer shops with sales areas ranging from 2,000-4,000 sqft, will open in Fitzroy Street, Cambridge in early summer and create up to 40 new jobs. It will be the first of four initial trials of the format planned for this year and will become the first Waitrose shop in its core... ...Read more »

Peter Marks, the boss of UK retailer The Co-operative Group, yesterday (18 March) issued a “bring it on” rallying cry as the company prepares for competition from the likes of Sainsbury’s and Morrisons in the convenience sector.Speaking to just-food as the Co-op issued a 20% rise in annual profits this morning, Marks was unconcerned about the prospect of fierce competition in the UK convenience channel. Last week, Morrisons, which is opening smaller stores than it has historically... ...Read more »

Spar has won the global Convenience Retailer of the Year 2009 competition, which was awarded on last week in London. The success of Spar with the recently opened Hongtu Store in Dongguan City, China is the first time that the prestigious international award has been won by a store in China. The admissions for the award consisted of entries from leading international and local retailers across 4 continents. Spar’s Hongtu store has the emphasis on food-to-go items with a food island offering... ...Read more »

A yearlong shopper experience study currently underway in America has revealed a rise in consumers seeking convenience over price. Data shows a shift in consumer mindset from shopping around to save money, to spending more money in order to save time, according to The Integer Group and M/A/R/C Research. “There has been an eight per cent rise in consumers who are willing to spend more money at convenience stores if it makes their lives a little easier,” said Craig Elston, senior VP at... ...Read more »

The Chief Executive of the UK’s largest supermarket operator, Tesco, has given a message of hope for the future of retailers provided they adhere to the simple philosophy of reacting to the desires of customers rather than telling them what they want. “Now, more than ever, we must be the consumer’s champion. Deliver for the customer, and you will survive,” Sir Terry Leahy said in a speech at the British Retail Consortium’s Annual Conference last week. “Yes –... ...Read more »

The soft drink sector in the UK has shown resilience to the recession, with a marginal 1.1% decline in volumes last year as convenience, health and value trends ensure strong demand.Carbonates continued to claim the largest share, according to the research from Zenith International, increasing to 42.7% of volume. Still drinks also advanced their share to 8.5%, while dilutables in ready to drink form dipped slightly to 23.4%. Steeper declines were recorded by bottled water and juice/nectars, their... ...Read more »

Retail Food Group, a leading Australian retail food brand manager and franchisor, has reported that retail trade performance for the first two months of 2009 has seen momentum continue as consumers continue to demand convenient comfort food.Year-to-date performance has seen network sales growth of almost six per cent and similar growth in average weekly sales across their four franchise systems – Donut King, Brumby’s, bb’s Café and Michel’s Patisserie. Over contribution of... ...Read more »

First introduced in the 1980s, fresh-cut fruits and vegetables were targeted at restaurants, with washed, peeled, cut, portioned, pre-packaged produce are seen as a timesaver in the fast moving foodservice sector. But, the greatest growth prospects now lie in the supermarket aisle, according to a new report. Supermarket selection grows “Although foodservice is not to be ignored, retail is the major distribution channel for fresh-cut fruits and vegetables and offers the strongest growth perspectives... ...Read more »

In 2008, food and beverage claims classified as “Natural” – including all natural, no preservatives, organic and wholegrain – were the most frequently featured on new products globally, according to Mintel’s Global New Products Database (GNPD). Claims of ‘fortified products’, on the other hand, took a hit, while declarations of “low” (e.g. low-fat) stagnated. Almost one in every four (23%) launches last year had “Natural”, a nine per... ...Read more »