ONLINE GROCERY SHOPPING TO TRIPLE BY 2023

Published September 27, 2013 in Food Product Design

Posted in News, Business, Consumer Preference, Convenience Foods, Costs, Demographic, Frozen / Refrigerated Foods, Frozen Foods, Refrigerated Foods, Healthy, Healthy Foods, Market Research,Market Trends, Natural, Nutrition, Organic, Quality, Retail, Science & Research, Fruit, Fruits / Vegetables,Vegetable

BARRINGTON, Ill.—A recent report found online grocery shopping, lead by wealthy and young shoppers, will expand to 11% of total U.S. grocery spending by 2023—a significant increase from the current 3.3%, as reported by the International Business Times.

The report, "Six Degrees of Digital Connections," by Brick Meets Click, surveyed  more than 22,000 shoppers across six retail brands, and identified wealthy and young shoppers are fueling the adoption of online grocery shopping, who represent about one-fifth of all grocery shoppers. Currently, 10% of U.S. grocery shoppers regularly buy food and produce online.

The report concluded wealthy shoppers opted for online shopping for rare natural, organic and artisanal products to save time, while young shoppers are already accustomed to online shopping for other purchases. Young shoppers, however, will be more sensitive to added delivery costs since they spend the least per month on groceries.

Amazon.com, Inc., was reported the most popular single source for online grocery purchases, serving 39% of online shoppers, compared with 28% by all other grocery retailers.

Brick Meets Click Principal Bill Bishop told IBTimes in order to sway the remaining population to shop online for groceries, supermarkets must keep the cost of online grocery shopping no more than 10% over traditional shopping cart totals. Current price difference in larger cities, like New York, range from 15% to 20% more due to complex delivery and distribution models.

In certain markets prone to be more tech-savvy, like San Francisco, online grocery shopping is already higher, accounting for 6% percent of total spending, according to Bishop. New online grocers in San Francisco include Instacart, Good Eggs and ventures from Safeway, Inc.

Although one-tenth of the market migrating to online groceries may not seem like much, Bishop said the impact on notoriously thin profit margins in the industry could be severe. “There will be markets that will experience significant disruptive impact, if online goes over 10%," he said to IBTimes.

Other changes on the grocery shopping front include a consumer preference towards warehouse clubs and other retail channels like drugstores, dollar stores and limited assortment chains.

Check out my latest e-book entitled: "Social Media Marketing in Agri-Foods: Endless Profit and Painless Gain"

The book is available on Amazon and Kindle for $4.99 USD. Visit amazon/Kindle to order now:
http://www.amazon.ca/Social-Media-Marketing-Agri-Foods-ebook/dp/B00C42OB3E/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1364756966&sr=1-1

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5 Trends spotted at the 2013 Summer Fancy Foods Show

Jul. 3, 2013by Kelsey Blackwell in New Hope 360 Blog

From the bevy of new natural and organic products to the sweltering humidity, the Summer Fancy Food show was hot, hot, hot.

It's easy to love NASFT's Fancy Food Shows. The atmosphere is cocktail-party festive, suited men with accents abound (the Italian pavilion was a favorite this year) and natural and organic products sparkle like jewels on the show floor. This year was no exception. Look for my gallery of favorite products coming soon. Trends ranged from the typical gluten-free and Non-GMO Project labeling to the completely unexpected. Here are a few themes that caught my attention.   

1. Tropical twists

From guava jam to hibiscus coolers, products explored a new fascination with the tropical. Is this an extension of the coconut craze? I suspect it's an easy way to add a touch of sweet (since these fruits tend to be higher in sugar) and the sparkle of exotic ingredients. In particular, look for foods with acerola cherry. The Brazilian fruit is noted for its high antioxidant content and delightful sweet/tart flavor.        

                                                                 Acerola Berries       

                                                            

                                                                       Acerola Dessert

2 High-end pints

Not everyone will be willing to drop $6 for a pint of ice cream, but the newest gourmet pints aren't made for the everyday consumer in mind. Using only the highest quality ingredients (think, farm-raised goat's milk) and small batch production, ice cream goes luxe with gourmet-focused flavors that spell indulgence. Perhaps their none-too-modest price will encourage calorie control? Yeah, I don't think so either.

3. Pitch perfect pouches

The BPA-free pouch enjoys its day in the sun (and rightly so) for offering convenience and being able to hold, well, anything. Pouches throughout the floor offered soups, sauces, snacks, Jell-o-like desserts and beverages. Next up? I'm ready for a truly sustainable, recyclable option.

4. Sugar awareness

Stevia may be an acceptable option in the natural channel, but in gourmet (where taste is everything) its saccharine sweet aftertaste just won't cut it. Rather than formulating with a stevia blend, manufacturers are opting for healthier coconut palm sugar and nectar. The sweetener offers a caramel like-flavor, lower glycemic load and (big bonus) Dr. Oz endorsement.

5. Organic opt out

As we're seeing in the natural channel, brands are choosing not to pursue organic certification in favor of Non-GMO Project Verification or their own (sometimes fairly inaccurate) growing story. One brand told me that though their product does use pesticide in the field, because the fruit is allowed to ripen on the vine and is picked at its peak it naturally pushes out any of the pesticides it was sprayed with. The juice they were selling was essentially "biodynamic" because of this process. Organic campaign, where are you when we need you?

Check out my latest e-book entitled: "Social Media Marketing in Agri-Foods: Endless Profit and Painless Gain"

The book is available on Amazon and Kindle for $4.99 USD. Visit amazon/Kindle to order now:
http://www.amazon.ca/Social-Media-Marketing-Agri-Foods-ebook/dp/B00C42OB3E/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1364756966&sr=1-1

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Food Trends 2013 - a healthy Choice?

Here is an excellent uptake from goodfood.com posted on Style Weekly. Shopping at the butcher, the baker and the candlestick maker, wagyu beef burritos and share plates – these are some of the elements that will come together in the food bowl of Australia next year, according to a report on food trends released this week.

A survey of more than 1000 consumers and taste-makers around the country commissioned by public relations agency Weber Shandwick, found that artisan supermarkets, nostalgic menus and an "international flavor duopoly" between South America and Asia are among the trends set to turn up the heat in Australian kitchens in 2013.

There is now a generation of people who didn't necessarily grow up eating at the table every evening. They are comfortable with a kimchi pork burger from a food truck one night, to sitting up at the bar having a snack and a glass of wine the next. 

Viva Mexico and the Chinese revolution
It could be tacos topped with kimchi or wagyu beef burritos on menus next year, with South American and Asian flavours tipped to boom. "Korean, wagyu and Peruvian restaurants; spicy food from northern China; and kimchi – a fermented Korean dish made of vegetables" are among the flavours set to captivate the nation, the report, predicts.

Mexican food, the perennial polariser, is expected to become "an essential part in any Aussie kitchen", a trend seemingly confirmed by the Mexican wave that's engulfing Sydney and Melbourne.

The spate of rival restaurants opening on his turf has not escaped the attention of the chef and restauranteur Elvis Abrahanowicz. The co-owner and chef behind the Spanish tapas bar Bodega and the Argentinian restaurant Porteno in Sydney says Latin American cuisine is an obvious choice for Australia.

Return to artisan shopping
Consumers want personalised shopping experiences and even supermarket giants Woolworths and Coles are introducing bakeries, butcheries, sushi-chefs and pizzerias into stores, the report notes.

The gourmet food importer Simon Johnson points to the craze surrounding the high-end Italian food emporium Eataly in Europe and New York, which has individual retailers selling everything from breads and pastries to fresh fish, cured meats and handmade cheeses and pastas.

Consumers can't seem to get enough, Johnson says. "It's all about quality and . . . getting people off the bottom shelf of the supermarket and onto artisan producers."

He says the resurgence of artisanal shopping is largely driven by a return to the kitchen. "People are realising that cooking is enjoyable and everyone can be part of the experience. It pulls the family together."

Novelty dining
Food trucks, children's food for grown-ups and the "casualisation" of menus are the restaurant trends for 2013, with "entrees and mains a thing of the past", the report says.

Restaurant critic Terry Durack says the growth in popularity of share plates, tapas and meze-sized servings is speeding up the death of the "entree-mains-dessert" style of dining.

"We just don't need to eat that much any more and we don't have the time or the money for a three-course meal. It's more accessible and flexible to cover the table with small share plates and everyone has what they want, pays less, and leaves earlier."

But it's not just food on the run for the cheap and the young, Durack says. Flexible dining is also more fun.

"There is now a generation of people who didn't necessarily grow up eating at the table every evening. They are comfortable with...a kimchi pork burger from a food truck one night, to sitting up at the bar having a snack and a glass of wine the next."

As for children's food for grown-ups, that's just taking young, fun dining one step further. Besides, asks Durack, when did that ever go out of fashion?

"British restaurant critic Jan Moir once wrote a fictionalised review of a fashionable new restaurant called Baby, which served up food in baby jars, had nursery style lighting and attracted a roll-call of celebrities including Posh and Becks. Yes, it did appear on April Fool's Day, but that didn't stop hundreds of people from calling the number listed and trying to make a booking," Durack says.

His point is simple: "The appeal of ice-cream and jelly, party pies and sausage rolls is universal, not to mention being too good to waste on kids."

Back to basics
Sadly for the bratty kid in all of us, it won't all be mac 'n' cheese and chicken nuggets next year. Australians will breathe new life into staple ingredients, with vegetables becoming "the centrepiece of Aussie meals", Weber Shandwick predicts.

"Rising meat costs are contributing to vegetables taking centre stage, and more families are growing their own food and helping out in community and school vegetable gardens," food writer and Epicure columnist Jill Dupleix says.

She echoes the report in drawing attention to a genuine interest in native foods like the Kakadu plum and warrigal greens. "It's time we stopped living on imported ideas and techniques and claimed our own unique food as our own. How chefs as diverse as Kylie Kwong in Sydney and Ben Shewry in Melbourne use native ingredients is brilliant – it's the future of Australian food."

But while most of these trends have tongues wagging, mouths salivating and foodies panting in feverish excitement, there's one prediction that cuts a swathe through leading taste-makers: "novel foods from nature . . . will be gracing our plates; and we may even see a rise of edible insects like grasshoppers and locusts", the report says.

Original Article Posted: goodfood.com.au (Edited for Style Weekly)

Image Credit: enroute.aircanada.com