Adult tastes are influencing kids’ food like never before as parents want their children’s food to resemble their own in key ways, according to the Kids’ Food Culinary Trend Mapping Report from the Center for Culinary Development (CCD) and Packaged Facts. The report profiles “kid-adult fusion” trends that are behind product innovation in the growing kids’ food market. “From manufacturers of exciting new foods for babies and toddlers to restaurant operators... ...Read more »
Almost one-third of global shoppers are content to make up their mind as to which brand they buy in-store, according to a study released by the Ogilvy Group. The study, which highlights the potential of shopper marketing, was based on more than 14,000 shopper interviews conducted in 700 retail outlets across 24 markets worldwide. It covered pre- and post-purchase decision making in five retail channels across six product categories, to examine how shopper decisions differ across channels, product... ...Read more »
A pan-European study by the European Food Information Council (EUFIC), presents interesting information for the food industry - with food labels found to be widely understood and recognised. “While there are several nutrition labelling schemes across Europe, our findings show that people recognise them and generally know how to use them to make informed nutrition choices,” commented Professor Klaus Grunert of the University of Aarhus, Denmark, who conducted the study for EUFIC. “Nutrition... ...Read more »
Generation Y (those born between 1976 and 1990) is the largest, most culturally diverse demographic group in history. Until now, their food and beverage preferences were largely unknown. New American research from the Center for Culinary Development (CCD), a leading food and beverage product development company, discovers the culinary preferences of this powerful market. The power of Gen Y lies in its numbers. Generation Y, renowned for being savvy consumers that dine out more than any generation... ...Read more »
Australians love buying “house brand” cotton wool and sugar but baulk at the thought of deserting trusted brands when it comes to sunscreen and ice-cream. And, while private labels have been a strong growth segment for supermarkets over the past few years, there are a number of product categories in which Australians have tried the no-name option and come back to national brand favourites, according to business information analysts IBISWorld. Last year house brand sales accounted... ...Read more »
The CSIRO Food Futures Flagship has developed an automated instrument for accurately predicting glycemic index (GI) and resistant starch (RS) in food products. The prototype device is an in vitro (bench top) robotic machine that acts as an ‘artificial gut’ to process large numbers of food samples for a fraction of the time and cost required by the standard in vivo (human) method. The device has been validated as a rapid and reliable predictor of the GI and RS content of foods. Its principal... ...Read more »
Unilever has posted third quarter underlying sales growth of 8.3%, as they continue to reap rewards from investing in their brands. The global consumer goods giant managed to also increase volume by 0.6% for the quarter despite raising their prices. In Australia, where their prominent food and beverage brands include Streets, Flora and Lipton, they reported a better third quarter with “good volume growth and a greater contribution from price”. “In the first nine months of the year... ...Read more »
Kraft Foods Inc. has announced positive third-quarter 2008 results as the company executes its three-year turnaround plan. Strong organic net revenue growth of 7.1 per cent was, in part, driven by pricing actions to offset significantly higher input costs. Pricing contributed 8.4 percentage points, but an unfavorable mix reduced net revenue by 0.4 percentage points and volume was down 0.9 percent - reflecting the impact of significant cost-driven pricing actions. “Kraft had a strong quarter... ...Read more »
UK food and beverage manufacturers have pledged to continue to improve the nutritional value of their products despite reporting that economic concerns are beginning to weigh more heavily on their plans. Speaking at the ‘Tackling Obesity: Working Towards a Healthier Nation’ conference in London overnight, Melanie Leech, Director General of the Food and Drink Federation, outlined the ways the food and drink manufacturing industry is responding to the challenges of the UK Government’s... ...Read more »
Nestlé, the world’s largest food group, has announced growth of 3.4% beating forecasts and causing the Swiss-based company to enhance their full-year expectations. The growth came as they strengthened their position as a health & wellness company, gained greater traction in key developing markets and saw premium brands increase their market share. Their food and beverages division, which includes the Milo, Nescafé, Kit-Kat and Lean Cuisine brands, was credited as the driving force behind... ...Read more »