While a few big gum and mint brands have the cache—and steady sales—to merit prime display space, hordes of newcomers are trying to snare a share of this valuable retail real estate. By Marilyn Odesser-Torpey, Associate Editor In its “New Product Pacesetters” report, research firm SymphonyIRI Group revealed that the gum and mint sector accounted…
Study Shows Online Targeting Grows In-Store Sales
“Premium online advertising can drive brick-and-mortar sales by both increasing brand loyalty and gaining new customers from competitors,” says cofounder of Legolas Media. Demonstrating the power of highly-targeted, online advertising to drive brick-and-mortar sales, a massive multi-brand study has found consumers targeted via premium Websites resulted in an 18% in-store sales lift versus non-targeted shoppers.…
Sweeten the Deal for Chocolate
Market researchers report that between 82% and 92% of Americans admit to indulging in chocolate candy. Even more important is the revelation that the majority of them do it at least once a month. By Marilyn Odesser-Torpey, Associate Editor. Americans aren’t eating out as much as they used to, but they are eating more chocolate,…
New Products, Variety Enhancing Salty Snacks
Salty snack sales are a surging category and retailers should be going along for the ride. “All chip segments have become accepted mainstream food and that’s not going to change in 2012, said Amer Hawatmeh, president of St. George Oil in St. Louis, operator of six Coast to Coast convenience stores. Part of the attraction…
Blischok Joins Booz & Co.
“Thom Blischok is a recognized expert in the grocery, drug, convenience store and mass retailing space, and we couldn’t be more pleased to have him on our team,” says Les Moeller, senior partner at Booz & Co. Booz & Co., a global management consulting firm, has announced that Thomas Blischok has joined the firm based…
Chocolate Sales Boost Confections
Despite the weak economy, consumers continue to indulge in candy. By Joe Bush, Contributing Editor. The confectionery retail market has grown across all trade channels, but convenience stores have outpaced the overall retail market. Iconic brands (Hershey, Nestlé, Mars) prowl the chocolate landscape and provide consumers an affordable indulgence in a bitter economy. According to…
Dissecting Private Label Trends
Private label performance is mixed across CPG channels; club and mass/super channels seeing strongest share growth. SymphonyIRI Group’s latest Times & Trends Report, “Private Label: Brand Positioning in the New World Order,” explores current and emerging trends around private label, as well as national brand efforts to protect and grow their position in the CPG…
Dealing With Tobacco’s Cloudy Future
For all the controversy surrounding cigarettes and increased local and federal taxes, cigarette sales fared well in 2010, according to SymphonyIRI Group. For the 52 weeks ended Dec. 26, 2010, cigarette sales totaled more than $53.5 billion, up 5.21% from the pervious 12 months. Units sold increased 1.52% to slightly more than nine billion. The…
Chocolate Sweetens Confectionery Sales
As the economy sputtered through 2010, confections emerged as the indulgence of choice for price-sensitive customers. The confections segment enjoyed a banner year with total chocolate sales increasing 6.89% to $2.1 billion. Units sold increased 6.3% to 1.78 billion. The average price held steady at $1.18, according to SymphonyIRI Group, for the 52 weeks ended…
Craft Sales Drive Beer
Following a solid 2009, the Brewers Association, the trade association representing the majority of U.S. brewing companies, reported strong 2010 numbers for small and independent craft brewers. Dollar sales were up 12% in the first half of 2010, compared to 9% growth during the same period in 2009. Volume of craft brewed beer sold grew…