Crushin'

On Thursday Tammy and I had a quick trip to Minneapolis for some ConAgra work, and the one thing that will probably stick with me the most had nothing to do with our project. It was our trip to the grocery. Byerly's to be specific.

I had never heard of this chain before (I think it only exists in Minnesota), but it was the model of an upscale grocery experience. And it was full grocery, not a specialty place like Whole Foods or Fresh Market.

Beautifully lit, airy, open, bright, with wide aisles, the environment encouraged browsing. Beautiful store brand packaging sat proudly next to national brand competition. A wide array of prepared foods was available, along with the expected pharmacy, meat counter, coffee bar, etc.

But things went from mild flirtation to full on crush at the checkout line. There, after more than a few minutes of confusion on our part, our groceries were bagged, put into grey plastic tubs and whisked away. Instead of the bags and our cart, we were handed two license plate-looking things. The cashier patiently explained to the out-of-towners that we were to pull our car around the side and our groceries would be waiting for us. Sure enough, down a little carousel came our tubs of groceries. We said put 'em in the back seat, the man did, and off we went. It was somewhat magical.

Since then I have joked with friends that it was enough to make me want to move to Minneapolis. That's probably an overstatement, but it was certainly memorable and based on just one trip I have been spreading the brand's message to anyone who will listen.

Kroger, you listening?

lundsandbyerlys.com

Pills you can drink!

In just 2 tablespoons a day you can get 5 servings of fruits and vegetables. Sound too easy? Juices that double as dietary supplements may be the next generation of functional beverages, but you won’t find them in the juice aisle. Drinkables is a line of liquid supplements that started off with traditional supplement products like joint health, calcium and multi-vitamins and now offers SKUs like Miracle Fruits From Around the World (high level of antioxidants) along with a Supermix of fruits and vegetables. At first it might seem strange to shop for your produce in the supplement aisle, but with today’s fast paced world and time starved consumers they might just be on to something. Some of the more power benefits include: full absorption, digestibility, nutrient quality, fast absorption and ease of swallowing.

*These products have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration!

Drinkables

Does Marketing Contribute to Obesity in African-Americans?

There is a body of statistical data suggesting that the black community has been left behind on the road to healthier-food marketing.

via Advertising Age

Want to live to 150?

More than 84,000 people in the US are at least 100 and the number is rising. This is due largely to cutting edge breakthroughs in our understanding of how our body ages. Would you believe that Red Wine might hold one of the secrets?

Resveratrol is the antioxidant found in red wine that helps rid the body of free radicals that attack and damage our cells (aka cause us to age). Consuming large quantities of this antioxidant is thought to be one of the main reasons that French people are relatively unaffected by their high-fat diets. Because of its powerful benefits, beverage companies are looking for new ways to offer this “fountain of youth” to consumers. One such product is Resvinatrol Complete, marketed as the red wine alternative.

Greetings from O'Hare!

Extra socks? Check. Toothpaste? Check. Canned pasta? Check. Friendly note from the TSA? Check.

Food Marketers Scrimp on Ingredients In an Effort to Fatten Their Profits

Hershey Co. is substituting vegetable oil for a portion of the cocoa butter traditionally used in some of its chocolates. Spice maker McCormick & Co. is now supplying food companies with cheaper spices and new flavor blends, such as Mexican oregano instead of pricier Mediterranean oregano, and garlic concentrate instead of heavier (and costlier to ship) garlic cloves.

Wall Street Journal

Chiquita's not just about bananas

To that end, Chiquita continues to focus on diversifying the long-time banana giant into something more - expanding into portable snacks and drinks while further growing the previous acquisition of prepackaged salad company Fresh Express.

Cincinnati Enquirer

Mars's Snickers Gets Olympic Lift

Mars has been steadily increasing advertising on its flagship candy in China, building on the success of Dove, another Mars brand, which enjoys top share here. But it wasn't until the company sealed a deal to make Snickers the Beijing Games' official chocolate that it gained traction.

Wall Street Journal

A Craving for Riblets and Change at Applebee’s

IN the back of a black Mercedes on a ride from the New York Stock Exchange to an IHOP in New Jersey, the woman they call the Velvet Hammer leaned in close.

“We own riblets,” Julia Stewart confided. “Ninety-five percent of the world’s supply, we’re picking up.”

New York Times

Starbucks, PepsiCo, Unilever in beverage licensing agreement

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Starbucks Coffee Co., PepsiCo Inc. and Unilever have entered a licensing agreement to manufacture, market and distribute Starbucks' Tazo Tea beverages in the U.S. and Canada, said the companies in a joint statement late Tuesday. Tazo's ready-to-drink line will be integrated into the Pepsi/Lipton Tea Partnership, expanding the joint venture between PepsiCo and Unilever. Financial details of the deal were not released.

Market Watch

Chiquita sells subsidiary

Fruit grower Chiquita Brands International today said it had closed on the sale of its German distribution subsidiary Atlanta AG for $92 million.

Cincinnati Enquirer

With A Plan Like Smucker's, Sales Have To Be Good

As for marketing once Folgers is in the fold, co-CEO Tim Smucker confirmed the company's intention to "continue to be the No. 1 spender" in its categories. He noted that existing brands are already being "marketed much closer together," and stressed the greatly expanded cross-marketing opportunities represented by Folgers.

Smucker intends to stick long-term with a core message that he summed up as: "The best way of starting your day is Folgers in your cup and Smucker's on your toast, and the best way of ending your day is Folgers in your cup and some Pillsbury."

Marketing Daily

More joe per bean lets costs stay lean

He likened roasting coffee beans to preparing a frozen Thanksgiving turkey.

"If you didn't thaw the turkey completely first and you tried to bake it, you would either end up with the outside being completely done and the inside raw, or the inside cooked well but the outside being overcooked," he said.

Cincinati Enquirer

General Mills unloads Pop Secret

General Mills on Wednesday announced the sale of its Pop Secret Popcorn business to California-based Diamond Foods Inc. for about $190 million in cash.

Star Tribune

Supermarkets' own brands filling more shopping carts

As budgets get tighter and food gets more expensive, American shoppers are increasingly switching to store brands -- even upper-income consumers who may not have been inclined to give them a try before.

LA Times

Kraft Tries to Get Its Mojo Back

Since taking the helm, she has revamped the marketing effort, something that stagnated under Altria's thumb. "Coming out of Altria, the problem was an under-investment in the brand," says Cliff Remily, associate portfolio manager of Thornburg Investment Income Builder fund. "Rosenfeld said that in order to realize value, you have to reinvest in marketing and improve brand equity."

Kiplinger.com

Tea Time

No longer just for grannies and stuffy Englishmen, tea is an important beverage to incorporate into a healthy lifestyle. In fact, after water, tea is the most consumed beverage in the world—and it possesses a host of health benefits. If you haven't joined the crowd, here's what you need to know before pouring a cup: Tea is made from the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant, and the processing of the leaves results in different types of tea.

Men's Fitness

Recall Leads Whole Foods to a Change

Whole Foods Market said Monday it would tighten oversight of its suppliers to keep substandard products out of stores, after recalling ground beef that apparently sickened customers in two states.

NY Times

Supermarket Chains Narrow Their Sights

Some supermarket chains are allowing farmers’ markets to take over part of their parking lots on certain days; others have put a farmers’ market right inside the store.

But not all chains are there yet. “The whole commercial value of local is just now being appreciated by retail,” said Bill Bishop, chairman of Willard Bishop, retail marketing consultants in Barrington, Ill. “It’s a little bit behind the curve.”

New York Times

Mars Takes M&M’s Out of Their Shell

“Some of the first creative I saw was very serious and indulgent, and treated the product like this very rich new M&M thing,” Ms. Credle said.

But she believed that M&M’s candy was supposed to be fun. She revised the ads so that they parodied typical premium chocolate ads, and brought in a character — a sexy green M&M — that had been used in much of the traditional M&M’s advertising.



New York Times

Folgers Roasts a Smaller Can

P&G, however, assured that it's not a case of "package shrink"—meaning it reduced the size of the product but kept price the same. "We're not reducing the amount of coffee. We've enhanced the roasting process," said Becker. "Think of it like popcorn. There's air [in the can.] It's puffier . . . We preroasted it with just the right amount of heat." Becker added that "improving the technology of roasting" has been in the works for 10 years, and that the 11.3-oz. still yields 90 cups coffee, while the 33.9-oz. yields 270 cups, as before the packaging was reduced.


Brand Week

Starbucks' Savior?

The Coffee Fix: Can the $11,000 Clover Machine Save Starbucks?

It's 10 am on a Thursday, and the line at Ritual Coffee Roasters in San Francisco snakes out the door. Inside, an espresso machine hisses like an angry tomcat as customers order their cappuccinos. But the real action is taking place a few steps away, where a scruffy barista stands at a stainless steel contraption, introducing the coffee he's about to serve to his rapt audience. "The Honduran is sweet," he says, "with a refined acidity and an excellent finish." He lets one perfectly measured scoop of fresh grounds shimmy deep into the machine, then goes to work, twiddling knobs, pushing buttons, and whirling a whisk in a chamber at the top of the silver box.

Wired

Safeway to Roll Out House Brands to Grocery Stores Nationwide

Early sales have been exceptionally strong. O Organics rung up an impressive $150 million in first-year receipts in 2005, well past the critical $100 million benchmark for new products. The product line, which consists of about 300 items in more than 30 categories, is expected to surpass $400 million in sales this year at Safeway's 1,700* locations alone. Eating Right products, engineered to provide specific health benefits, such as high fiber content, is expected to bring in about $200 million in Safeway sales this year.

Ad Age

Luther Burger Madness

One man. One burger. Two donuts. And a dream.




















Wikipedia

Eight O'Clock Coffee Wedding Friday; New Promo Launches

Eight O'Clock Coffee, which earlier this year pegged wedding a promotion around Friday's date, has launched a new program to ease the economic pain for coffee drinkers. "Accumul8 Rewards" is the first rewards program of its kind, per the company, for the brew-at-home category.

Marketing Daily

Doritos Collisions -- The battle for your tastebuds is on

Nutraceuticals May Be Nearing Tipping Point In U.S.

Nutraceuticals -- food and beverages that claim to enhance appearance, revive mental acuity and increase resistance to disease - have reached a tipping point in North America, according to new research from the Center for Culinary Development (CCD) and Packaged Facts.

Marketing Daily

MILLER (/Coors Logo) TIME

Pentagram has created the new Miller/Coors logo.

Pentagram

via Logo Design Love

Some Fake Coffee With Your Real News

Oooooooh, they’re calling out your name.

Two cups of McDonald’s iced coffee (BUY!) sit on the Fox 5 TV news desk, a punch-you-in-the-face product placement (BUY!) to chase down your morning news.

They’ve been on the Las Vegas station set for about two weeks, following the lead of a few TV stations across the country, and they’re still looking every bit as frosty and tantalizing (BUY!) as they were the first day you laid your eyes on them.

But wait, here’s the best part: They’re not real. . . .

via Las Vegas Sun

Good Food Podcast from KCRW

Your weekly treat from Evan Kleiman. By tuning in to Good Food, you can discover great restaurants that you've never heard of, the politics of consumption, explorations of cultures through their food customs and some of the most interesting people who devote their lives to various elements of the food supply.

Good Food Podcasts

Carcinogens to Be Reduced in Chips, Fries

California sued H.J. Heinz Co., Frito-Lay, Kettle Foods Inc., and Lance Inc. in 2005, alleging they violated a state requirement that companies post warning labels on products with carcinogens.

The companies avoided trial by agreeing to pay a combined $3 million in fines and reduce the levels of acrylamide in their products over three years, officials said.

Associated Press

Whole Foods Looks for a Fresh Image in Lean Times

Whole Foods Market is on a mission to revise its gold-plated image as consumers pull back on discretionary spending in a troubled economy. The company was once a Wall Street darling, but its sales growth was cooling even before the economy turned. Since peaking at the beginning of 2006, its stock has dropped more than 70 percent.

New York Times