Food Firms Cook Up Ways to Combat Rare Sales Slump

Fast moving consumer goods? Now not moving so fast:

In the last quarter of 2008, consumer spending on food fell by an inflation-adjusted 3.7% from the previous quarter -- its steepest drop in 62 years, the Commerce Department said. So, food giants are racing to adapt to what they believe is a lasting shift in eating and shopping habits.

Kraft Foods Inc. recently launched an application for Apple's iPhone. Called the iFood Assistant, it allows people to search for recipes and manage their shopping lists. Nestle SA is pushing hard its popular Lean Cuisine frozen entrees, offering five for $10 in some stores. Campbell Soup Co. is creating more sophisticated recipes that mimic restaurant offerings, such as Braised Beef with Shallots made with the company's Swanson beef stock.

Wall Street Journal

Wal-Mart Relaunches Private-Label Line

Country's largest -- no lie -- food brand redesigns, refreshes and relaunches. And at a most opportune time:

Wal-Mart says its research shows that 75% of shoppers say the economy is affecting their decisions about whether to buy to national or grocery store brands--with 30% of shoppers saying they are buying more private-label products than a year ago, and 77% agreeing that store brands they buy "are as good as, if not better than, national brand products."

MediaPost

Hellow Tesco, Goodbye Wal-Mart?

Even with their new snazzy logo, is Wal- Mart gonna be second place in the U.S.?

"British retailer Tesco entered the U.S. market only last year but already it has managed to put Wal-Mart (WMT), the world's No. 1 retailer, on the defensive. Tesco (TSCO.L) fired the first salvo, in a battle that retailing analysts expect will intensify, by launching Fresh & Easy, a chain of 10,000-square-foot convenience stores, in cities across California, Nevada, and Arizona in November 2007. "

via businessweek

Foodmakers come up with 'Smart Choice' label to denote healthier fare

The label, dubbed "Smart Choices," will be featured on products made by General Mills, Unilever, Coca-Cola, Pepsico, Kellogg and Con-Agra, as well as Kraft. Wal-Mart, the nation's leading grocery retailer, also played a role in developing the program, though the label will be carried on products sold at all grocery stores.

Chicago Tribune

Stores' Brand Identity Is In The Bag!

"For Walmart's identity, these bags make perfect sense--they are a great value, and they fit right in with the store's image of not wasting money," says Erin Read Ruddick, client services director for Creating Results, a strategic marketing company in Barrington, RI. "Not wasting things is just good Yankee thrift, and it goes to the core of the chain's identity."

Media Post

Wal-Mart aims small in San Diego

Wal-Mart is starting to explore alternative growth strategies in the US as the growth of its network of highly profitable Supercenters starts to approach saturation point. But the small store format also presents new challenges to its union-led opponents, who have regularly used public planning processes required by large stores to slow the retailer’s plans in California, as well as in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago.

Financial Times