To counteract this, more stores and bottle shops have been using special pricing to try to get consumers to buy certain brands. 33% of shoppers say that "they would be encouraged to go for a good 'offer' on a brand of beer that was not their first choice," almost double the percentage from last year. As a result, beer is sold in increasingly larger packaging, and although the bottles are smaller, to give the impression of value. The same applies to wine, where consumers look for promotions and money-off deals when making their purchases.

Although cranberries have long been a favorite part of the holiday meal, it seems like craisins have finally come into their own. The sweet, dried cranberries are popular year round, although 80% of sales are still around Thanksgiving and Christmas. Craisins, made by Ocean Spray, are probably the single biggest brand of dried cranberries and account for most of the sales. Their sales have doubled in just the past two years, prompting Ocean Spray to plan the opening of a new factory for processing them. The berries are first dried and, unlike some other brands of dried cranberries, they have the juice removed and it is later injected back into them, creating a slightly sweeter final product that helped the catch on with fans of sweeter raisins and other dried fruits. Craisins go well in salads, baked good and with main dishes, in sauces or on their own, and company executives say that the sales are split evenly between retail consumers and manufacturers of cereals, baked goods and other products. They also attribute their continued popularity to the fact that consumers are constantly seeking out snacks that are at least as portable, but healthier than some of their less good-for-you favorites.

Last year, the HJ Heniz Company received a score of 91 points out of a possible 100 on the American Consumer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), a ratings system based run by the University of Michigan and independent consulting firms, which tracks American consumer preferences and overall satisfaction. It was the highest rating in the history of the index and there was some small speculation that the company could not sustain that level of performance. But this year, for the seventh consecutive time, Heinz is coming out on top of the ACSI list again. Their score did dip slightly to an 87 out of 100, but a spokesman said "the survey results illustrate once again, that Heinz offers high quality food products to our consumers" - and that the customers are clearly satisfied.

Heinz may have some real competition next year, though. They only narrowly beat out their three closest competitors on the ACSI list - Hershey, Kraft and Mars - each of which scored 86 out of 100.

But the trend isn't fading everywhere. Upscale groceries, where consumers are already paying premium prices, are continuing to stock their shelves with organic options and consumers everywhere are still showing interest in buying organic meat, dairy and produce. Perhaps part of the problem is an overuse of the label. In unprocessed goods, such as produce and dairy, shoppers can see and taste the difference in organic products. In processed foods, most people only see the price difference and the word "organic" but only a few, if any, can taste the difference in the product.

So, organics might not be on the way out; they market is merely being refined as consumers become more educated about what organics are and more likely to overlook a potentially overpriced product that only has a small portion of organic ingredients in it.

In contrast to American consumers, who regularly request that the nutritional information be presented in the absolute simplest form possible, European consumers are now saying that they would prefer to have the calories in foods on their nutritional labels. The reason for this is not that they have some deeper understanding of nutrition than Americans, but that energy-based labeling is the most widely understood system and that many consumers would like to see an EU-wide system that does not vary from place to place. The US system seems to be their model, with the most recent drive being for foods to have "front-of-pack and back-of-pack nutrition labeling, based on a uniform list of nutrients, nutrition information per serving and the introduction of Guideline Daily Amounts (GDAs)." Once a standard is in place, then simplifications can be made or additional labeling systems added, but you can't simplify what isn't there, so shoppers will have to wait for a basic system first.

In Washington DC, a group of 10 consumers have filed a lawsuit on behalf of all the citizens in the district who are lactose intolerant and don't know it. They are demanding that the defendants in the case, which include supermarkets like Safeway, put warning labels on milk cartons, stating that milk could cause health problems in people who are lactose intolerant.

This seems fairly obvious, but the plaintiffs insist that most people don't know that they are lactose intolerant - the onset is gradual and can occur any time in life - and continue to experience negative side effects from the ingestion of dairy.

Fortunately for dairy producers, sellers and even milk drinkers, their case brought an unfavorable ruling by the US District Court that heard it, though the group plans to appeal. Dairy producers seem to think that labels would hurt sales, but if people are not put off by experiencing negative side effects such as abdominal pain and other gastrointestinal disturbances, it doesn't seem all that likely that most consumers would alter their buying habits when it comes to milk.

"Big soda" has been blamed for the obesity epidemic, but now they are trying to launch an even more insidious plan on the public: they want people to stop brewing coffee at home and buy prepacked, ready-made coffee drinks instead. And by "they", I mean Pepsi, the company that partners with Starbucks to put out bottled frappuccinos. Tracey Doucette, who runs the branch of the company that handles the partnership, said that their plan "is about converting users from the coffee form they have today to a new form that is ready to drink."

Many consumers welcome such a change, remarking that it would be faster and "less work."

The worst part of this is that studies have shown that consumers do not want to buy black coffee in a can, or coffee with minimal added sugar and cream. They want sugary "treats" - and by trying to make that the standard for coffee in the country, the companies really do seem to be promoting poor nutrition, in addition to the eradication of coffee as we know it.

KitKats have long been one of the top-selling candy bars in Britain since their inception in 1935 by Rowntree LTD. The brand has been owned by Nestle since 1988, and Nestle increased its global distribution, making it one of the most popular candies in the world. To appeal to different tastes in different markets, Nestle has been producing flavored KitKats for many years now. These have enjoyed great success, particularly in Asian and Australian markets. The Wikipedia entry lists more than 65 different flavors of KitKat.

After having success elsewhere, Nestle turned to these limited edition and exotic flavors in the UK, with releases that ranged from strawberries and cream to mango to "Christmas pudding" all over the course of one year. They flopped. And not only did the flavors not sell, but KitKat sales in general fell by almost 17%. Galaxy bars saw an 11% increase in the same time period, largely making up the deficit in the number of bars sold.

The problem was that the bars were "not what [people] expected" from KitKats and the novelty wasn't enough to sustain sales. People purchased the flavored bars and lost interest in them, as well as being slightly turned off the original because the market was so saturated with KitKats. The flavors have been discontinued and the company is going to refocus on making up lost ground.

Hershey's, which owns the rights to the candy bar in the US, has released very few limited edition flavors, sticking primarily to white chocolate and dark chocolate. The company is unlikely to try a wide variety of flavors in the US because candy bar sales are not nearly as strong as in the UK. The company is, however, planning a caramel KitKat towards the end of this year.

[via WSJ]

Starting today, the UK supermarket chain, Waitrose, is launching a new project that will promote the sale of  less-than-perfect seasonal fruits and vegetables, in addition to their standard produce. They will be offered at a discounted rate, 50p to £1 off from the original price, and marketed as being ideal for use in cooking. Supermarkets have long been criticized for only wanting to buy and sell totally unblemished products, a stance than has furthered farmer's efforts to produce hearty produce, sometimes at the expense of flavor or through an increase use of pesticides. With the new plan, not only will more produce be used, but consumers will gradually be introduced to the idea that not ever apple or tomato is always perfectly round or perfectly red.

Think of it as shopping at a discount store where the products have tags indicating that there is a manufacturer's defect, like a small run in the side or a crimp in the hem, because the principal is similar. The quality of the product will be the same, if not better, but the goods will not be quite as pretty. The range will include will include year-round fruits like rhubarb and Bramley apples, in addition to seasonal plums, cherries, pears and berries.

Not every strawberry can be without a slightly smushed edge from shipping nor can every pear be perfectly pear shaped. With a discount as incentive, Waitrose is hoping that its customers will see those things, too.

Beef consumption is down in many consumer groups, with people saying 'I like beef, but I already eat too much.' According to the USDA, beef consumption has dropped by 14% over the past 20 years while, for example, chicken consumption has risen over 60%. These are worrying numbers to the beef industry, who are constantly seeking new ways to combat negative consumer perceptions about red meat and bolster sales.

Their newest strategy is to target the one group whose beef consumtion hasn't flagged: Hispanics. According to the beef council, "Hispanic shoppers spend 33 percent more on beef than non-Hispanics" - a statistic that is worth taking notice of. In an effort to maintain these sales, campaigns will be launched in states including California, Texas, Colorado and Minnesota that are aimed at promoting beef to Hispanic buyers. And just like they have a website marketed at teens, the beef industry is developing one that will be marketed towards an Hispanic audience to promote the nutritional and taste benefits of beef.

McDonald's senor global supply chain manager, Gary Johnson, stressed the importance of establishing traceable beef programs worldwide. Consumers want to know where their food is coming from, he said, and consumer trust is of paramount importance to all businesses, especially those in the food industry. The call for action comes in light of the fact that the British beef industry is still recovering from the massive loss of consumer confidence it suffered following a mad cow outbreak in the mid 1990s. It is also, in part, due to the success of the Australian beef industry in implementing a system to track all beef cows back to their farm of origin. Johnson called for future programs to be modeled on the Australian example.

While there are some farms who take it upon themselves to offer traceable beef, many in the cattle industry oppose these measures, largely on the grounds that it would be too expensive to implement and maintain. If  a national or global plan were in place, however, consumers and businesses would rise to meet the price changes. "Any extra expense to introduce traceability today represents an essential investment in the security of the future safety of the food supply, [Johnson] said."

Starting next month, poultry providers will have to meet a new set of packaging standards for their products. For example, the labels will clearly have to state if the product needs to be cooked. Regulators say that there is a good deal of confusion among consumers, especially over frozen, raw poultry that may already be partially prepared with a stuffing or breading, so the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has devised this label: Uncooked: For Safety, Must be Cooked to an Internal Temperature of 165 degrees F as Measured by Use of a Thermometer. The new labels will be added to all frozen poultry products.

The FSIS is in the process of approving cooking instructions that will accompany all the chicken products, with guidelines that suggest consumers use traditional food preparation methods as opposed to the microwave. "A fundamental part of label evaluation is to ensure that labeling will be understood and followed by consumers," said the FSIS.

I wonder exactly how many consumers are "fooled" into thinking that their raw chicken is already cooked. Are the artificial grill marks and colorings, not to mention breading, so convincing as to actually make people think their raw chicken was cooked before being frozen? Are people so used to buying frozen, pre-cooked meals that the concept of a non-precooked item is foreign to them? I would certainly like to think not. It is possible the the labels will help consumers be more prepared should the bird flu suddenly pop up.

The British Food Standards Agency estimates that there are 3.5-million vegetarians and 250,000 vegans in the UK and, after consultation with both vegetarian and vegan groups, have decided to formulate labeling guidelines to food producers to follow. There is lots of confusion about the definitions of the terms among consumers, as well as manufacturers. Generally speaking, vegetarians refrain from eating meat products and vegans avoid all animal-derived products, including dairy and eggs. The purpose of introducing such guidelines is to prevent manufacturers from incorrectly identifying products as "vegetarian" or "vegan" when they actually contain meat-based or animal derived ingredients. To be sure all their bases were covered, the also defined the term "animals." With standards in place, consumers no longer need to worry that what they are picking up might contain undisclosed ingredients. The official guidelines are:

"Vegetarian: The term 'vegetarian' should not be applied to foods that are, or are made from, or with, the aid of products derived from animals that have died, have been slaughtered, or animals that die as a result of being eaten.

Animals means farmed, wild or domestic animals, including for example, livestock poultry, game, fish, shellfish, crustacea, amphibians, tunicates, echinoderms, mollusks and insects.

Vegan: The term 'vegan' should not be applied to foods that are, or are made from, or with, the aid of animals or animal products (including products from living animals)."

AriZona Beverage Co., which produces a line of popular iced teas, is experimenting with some new advertising techniques. The company already uses bright, eye-catching labels and graphics and is now experimenting with adding scent to its packaging. AriZona is working on embedding the smell of its products inside the cap of its bottles, but other companies are using other technologies to appeal to consumers, like scented inks. The Washington Post reports that the sales industry is frantically trying to come up with new ways to lure shoppers into trying their products, as television ads are shown to be increasingly less effective.