While Greek-style yoghurt in the US will continue to set the direction for the overall yoghurt market, US market research organisation Packaged Facts does not believe the category will maintain its recent rapid rise or growth pace. As of early 2013, Packaged Facts said price competition had caused some areas of sales growth in the US Greek yoghurt segment to slow, and that major players were beginning to “fight a zero sum game over market share”. The yoghurt market in the US underwent a “sea... ...Read more »

Limiting the sale of soft drinks to small sizes could actually increase consumption, rather than decrease it, says a new US study published on 10 April 2013 open-access academic research site PLOS ONE. The researchers from the University of California found that participants in a behavioural test study consumed significantly more soft drink when they were able to buy it in bundles of two servings. The study’s authors, Brent M. Wilson, Stephanie Stolarz-Fantino and Edmund Fantino, said that the... ...Read more »

Australian supermarket giant Coles has relaunched its ‘Coles Feed Your Family App’ for iPad. The app, which is available free of charge on the Apple App Store, features more than 400 recipes developed by Australian chef, Curtis Stone. Coles said the app provides free updates of the supermarkets’ weekly specials, and recipes to match, as well as step-by-step video demonstrations that feature Curtis Stone preparing his favourite ‘Feed Your Family’ recipes. The app also allows consumers to... ...Read more »

Australian supermarket giant Woolworths Limited will continue to focus on improving value within its stores, after announcing third quarter sales of $14.4 billion to the end of March 2013. The result is an increase of 5.7 per cent on the same period last year, or 5.2 per cent after adjusting for the impact of an earlier Easter. “The momentum of the first half has continued into this quarter as a result of sharpened focus on our core businesses and early results from work on our strategic priorities,”... ...Read more »

The outdoor advertising industry in Australia has had a good start to the year, recording 3.8 per cent growth, from an increase in sales revenue to $122.1 million, according to first quarter figures from the Outdoor Media Association (OMA). The first quarter 2013 sales revenue is up from $117.6 million for the same period in 2012. The Out-of-Home (OOH) industry ended 2012 with overall growth of close to 2 per cent and for the first time reached $500 million in revenue. “Growth in the first quarter... ...Read more »

Australia’s largest supermarket group Woolworths has launched a dedicated ‘beauty bar’ in its best-known supermarket in central Sydney. The launch of the ‘beauty bar’ at its Sydney Town Hall store signals a potentially wider new strategy for the whole supermarket group. The in-store ‘beauty bar’ will offer free beauty treatments, including make-overs, skin consultations and mini-manicures conducted by professional beauty consultants. The treatments, which will be available daily from... ...Read more »

New research has found that Australia’s love of the traditional meat pie with sauce is waning, as chocolates and lollies as convenient snacks gain popularity with consumers. Although the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) has meant less impulse buying, the research from Australian industry research group BIS Shrapnel showed that people are still willing to buy confectionary through convenience stores, milk bars and other ‘route trade’ locations. Overall, confectionary as a total product category... ...Read more »

Corner stores in Australia are continuing to disappear as service stations move towards having convenience stores within the station, according to research from Australian industry research group BIS Shrapnel. Service stations with convenience stores – defined as those with more than a very simple food and beverage offering – increased almost 10 per cent from an estimated 3,162 outlets in 2010 to an estimated 3,450 outlets in 2012. Service stations without a convenience store declined from an... ...Read more »

Sales of peanut butter in the UK are on the rise, according to new market research from Mintel, leading the global market research organisation to label the spread a ‘rising star’ in the sweet spreads market. While it seems that jam and marmalade are falling out of favour with Brits, sales of peanut butter have increased by 20 per cent in the last two years alone, growing from £47 million in 2010 to £56 million in 2012. Volume sales have also increased by 17 per cent over the same two year... ...Read more »

Data analysis is changing the way we manufacture food, track our diets and serve our dishes, having an impact on everything from food safety to trends in restaurants, according to US-based business analysis organisation Good Data. Writing on the Business2Community website, Good Data’s Ana Andreescu said the saying “you are what you eat” might have to be updated to “you analyse what you eat”. In the area of food safety, Andreescu said ‘big data’ is already being used by farmers to analyse... ...Read more »