by Kevin Payne | Aug 20, 2019 | Freshness Management, Retail Grocery, Uncategorized
Steve Lutz recently wrote an article about brand marketing for The Packer “Three Major Trends That Moved the Produce Industry.” In the article, Lutz writes that he believes, from a sales and marketing standpoint, there have been three key trends over the last 25 years: Generic commodities were replaced by new varieties, but proprietary brands will control the future. Growers have gone from being data blind to become full category partners with complete access to a suite of supermarket sales metrics. Bulk items are being...Continue Reading...
by Kevin Payne | Jul 23, 2019 | Retail Grocery
FMI recently published their Grocery Shopper Trends 2019 report (free to FMI members, $250 for non-members but parts are available for free on the FMI website). This annual review of what’s happening in the grocery industry contains a wealth of interesting insights. When comparing myself to their results, I found I was inline with some trends and an outlier for others. Are you in the mainstream when it comes to grocery shopper trends? Let’s take a look at some of the more interesting ones. How Many Stores Do You Shop at Each Month?...Continue Reading...
by Kevin Payne | Jun 10, 2019 | Freshness Management, Retail Grocery
Shelf-life variability can have a significant impact on customer satisfaction and loyalty to a grocery store. According to the Food Marketing Institute, the number one reason a shopper chooses a grocery store is because of “high quality fruits and vegetables” with 80 percent of people rating this as their primary motivation. Too many customers, however, have had the unfortunate experience of purchasing produce that looks good on the store shelf only to have it “go bad” at home shortly after they purchase it and before they consume...Continue Reading...
by Kevin Payne | May 21, 2019 | Retail Grocery
The grocery shopping experience continues to evolve. More than one third of U.S. grocery shoppers are now shopping online, according to Coresight Research. In their U.S. Online Grocery Survey 2019 that was recently referenced in The Supermarket News, 36.8 percent of those polled bought groceries online over the past year. This is up 23.1 percent from the previous year. They figure that this represents about 93 million online grocery purchasers, a gain of nearly 35 million from 2018. However, their research also showed that only 39.5...Continue Reading...
by Kevin Payne | Feb 5, 2019 | Retail Grocery
Online grocery shopping is supposed to be the future of how we buy food. But, are we there yet? Are we ready to give up brick-and-mortar stores and rely on someone else to select our fresh and perishable foods? A recent survey published in Supermarket News says, despite many online grocery shopping options, consumers still overwhelmingly prefer shopping for food in grocery stores instead of online. Why? According to the survey done by Vixxo, 87 percent of shoppers still prefer to visit brick-and-mortar stores for primarily two...Continue Reading...
by Kevin Payne | Dec 11, 2018 | Blockchain, Freshness Management, Retail Grocery, Supply Chain
The Best of Zest – 2018 In 2018, the Zest Labs Blog provided a timeline for what was topical in the fresh food supply chain industry. Google Analytics details which blogs most resonated with our readers. Our analysis reveals a few interesting fresh food industry trends in 2018. In the “Best of Zest” we offer you highlights from the year and some hints of things to look for in 2019. Fresh Food Industry Trend #1: Food Technology Is “So Hot Right Now” New food-related technologies, particularly blockchain for the fresh food supply...Continue Reading...
