Posts Tagged ‘grocery’

America Leads in Pre-packaged Foods

Monday, April 5th, 2010

There is an interesting graph in the NY Times that shows how the US leads all other nations in pre-packaged foods.  This graph shows me three things.  First there is a tremendous opportunity for US based food producers to become global and export the convenience of pre-packaged foods to the rest of the world.  As the economic picture for citizens of many foreign countries continues to improve, just like the demand for cars is rising, so can the demand for pre-packaged food.  The second observation is that we should plan on seeing more foreign food producers entering the US market due to its size.  And the third observation is I think we will see continuing pressure from many areas, including the government, to improve the nutritional value of pre-packaged foods as the article also points out how many of these foods are loaded with salt, fat and sugar.  Read more here

In Store Research is Key

Tuesday, March 16th, 2010

More and more brands are discovering the value of understanding what happens at the point of sale with in store research.  Read more about the opportunities for cost effectively growing sales by focusing on consumers who are ready to buy in the article from Ad Age

Effective Marketing is Marketing that doesn’t feel like Marketing

Thursday, February 25th, 2010

 

Here’s an experience of mine that in it’s totality speaks to the new era of business and marketing.

1. So I log into Facebook at work.  Yeah, its a problem i’m working on, but look what happens…

2. My news feed tells me my friend “Sarah S. has become a fan of Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams.”  Oh!  I like I cream!

3. I click on the link.  It takes me to their Facebook page.  Oooh, I like their logo, it looks contemporary.  I like new things.  I think the word “splendid” was a good choice, its original, it resonates, it means something.  

4. I read their mission:  “Surprise and delight our customers and be engaged in our community.”  Better and slightly less presumptuous than the ” we make the world’s best ice cream.”  Their overview says “We make modern American ice creams, sorbets and yogurts.  We use local ingredients and responsibly grown exotics.”

5. I see they’re out of Ohio, says they’re a small company.  Holy cow they have 9,100 fans on Facebook!  For a small company that’s more than Breyers and Blue Bunny combined.

6. Their page is loaded with content from their fans, and they always respond to them.

What are the chances I would have ever heard of this company if not for Facebook?  I bet they don’t spend much on advertising.  If I walked into a grocery store and found Jeni’s, how much more likely am I to try them instead of my usual brand now that I’ve interacted with them?  How much did all this cost them?  

I’d like to be a customer of theirs.  Because they get it.  Because my friend recommends them.  I’ll bet their ice cream is great too, not that it has to be all that much better, I just like the way they do things.  Effective marketing is marketing that doesn’t feel like marketing.

Regional Brands Dying

Saturday, January 30th, 2010

An almost obituary like article from the Wall Street Journal shows how regional candy brands are disappearing.  This is the same fate of brands in many grocery categories as they are squeezed off the shelf by growing national and private label brands.  Many of these regional brands are family owned and they have given up the fight as they ride the cash cow down to the sad end.  A hopeful sign is in the beer category where many small independent brands are making life miserable for the larger national brands.  They do this with youthful enthusiasm, a willingness to take risks and a sincere belief that they just simply make a better product.