A recent TV commercial for a Chicago-area pizza chain has a long-time
customer summing up why the chain is successful in three words. “The
sauce – excellent,” he says.
Many Americans, prompted to cook at
home more because of the Great Recession, are saying the same thing when
they start planning their latest cooking adventures.
Sauces
ranging from simple tomato for pasta to hot sauces to barbeque and
ethnic variations are benefitting from the cook-at-home trend.
As baby boomers age, they are doing anything they can to hold onto their
youthful vitality, which in turn is helping drive increased use of
vitamins and other supplements in the United States.
Women also
will become a larger share of the U.S. population in coming years,
according to a 2009 report on vitamins and minerals from Mintel
International, Chicago. This also will benefit the category, since
women use more vitamins and minerals than men do, according to the same
report.
Until 2009, the organic market was on fire. It boasted double-digit growth as a result of broader exposure to the mainstream marketplace, as well as a consumer commitment to eat healthier foods. Mainstream retailers were dramatically — and quickly — expanding organic assortments and private label organic products captured a lot of attention from retailers and consumers alike.
Both manufacturers and brand owners face continuous challenges in ensuring product safety every step of the product manufacturing and packaging way, whether they self-manufacture or use contract services.
Class is back in session, not only for school children across the country, but for contract manufacturers and packagers as well. While the children study multiplication tables and the American Revolution, manufacturers and packagers are getting schooled in the ways of a recovering economy. It is time for them to start looking back on their notes from last year to see what worked, what didn’t work, and what they need to keep in mind to make this a successful year.
The value of food shipments in the food manufacturing industry was $538 billion in 2006, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. In 2001, it was $422 billion, which translates to a 27 percent increase in just five years.
For those involved in Purchase, N.Y.-based PepsiCo’s business, there’s far more expected than coming to work, getting the work done and doing it well. Working on 19 global mega brands as well as many others, there are more than 285,000 employees coming to work expected to deliver “performance with purpose” for the $60-billion food and beverage giant.
Americans may have been feeling frisky in 2007 when the country’s birth rate hit levels not seen since the post-war baby boom, but the past couple of years have been an entirely different story. Though consumers are staying home more often, they’re eating and entertaining, not, er, procreating, and thus birth rates are down, as are the sales of baby care products.
Brands are struggling for ways to manage costs. But instead of creative methods, many have been reducing product contents and, frequently, retooling packaging so the tactic goes under shoppers' radar.
