October 23, 2002 Recent News
The new product game: why targeting women is the key
Salty snack market growing in France
Cup-Holders Aren't Just for Beverages Anymore
FDA to Require Trans Fat Content on Food Labels
Snack Makers Targeting Trans Fats Nutrition
Scientists unlock mystery behind food cancer scare
Federal government warns Oregon about labeling GM foods
The new product game: why targeting women is the key
Women are an important target audience for the food industry. Women outnumber men in the US by a wide margin, they spend twice as much time a week shopping, and they spend 15% more on average than men per shopping trip. About 82% of supermarket shoppers are women according to the Point of Purchase Advertising Institute. Women also prepare 68% of all meals in the home. With more women in the work force, convenience becomes more important, and with the growth of smaller households, smaller portions of processed foods are gaining in popularity. Changing ethnicity is noted as one important consideration. Developing trends are seen as: more breakfast items targeting ethnic women, beverages positioned as meals, meat snacks positioned for women, healthy soy snacks that focus on taste and dairy products being promoted as valuable healthy foods for women. Yogurt from soy will become popular and there will also be more warm-and-eat bowl meals targeting women who eat at the office.
(Extracted from the Food Industry Newsletter: Supplement Sept 1 2002)
Salty snack market growing in France
France may be an attractive market into which US food companies could export innovative salty snacks. The combined sweet and salty snack market in France is currently about $4 billion and growing at about 7% annually, with expectations of reaching $8 billion in five or six years. Eighty percent of French consumers snack, and over 80% of all snacks are purchased at supermarkets. French customs statistics place sales of US snack foods to France in 2001 at $6.8 million. The author of this article suggests, "Innovative US chip, biscuit and confectionery products could make significant inroads in the fast-developing French snack food market, despite strong competition." French consumers are open to new products, French supermarkets are interested in developing the snack market and US exporters with high-quality products could find niche markets to fill.
(Extracted from Snack Food & Wholesale Bakery 1 July 2002)
The Foodservice Watch
New products introduced in the foodservice arena tell us a lot about the overall consumer food trends and purchase patterns. It was assumed that this year foodservice sales would drop off due to the recession and grocery stores sales would grow. In reality what has happened is a change in restaurant choice. Consumers are still eating out, but at less expensive restaurants. It is now predicted that restaurant sales will increase 3.9 percent over 2001. Fast casual chain restaurants with upscale trendy food cooked to order in a counter service environment are the big winners overall. Some correlate this growth to baby boomers who grew up with fast food and now want more food choice in a fast food style restaurants made to very busy lifestyle and a need for quick service. Consumers also believe that the fresh ingredients and made-for-you preparation at these restaurants translates into healthy-for-you food. Twenty-four percent of meals are consumed through foodservice. One of the current trends in food service is on-display cooking. At the same time foodservice operators are asking their suppliers to provide more value-added further prepared foods that will help with the labor shortage in restaurants. The trick here is to provide value-added products, which can still appear made from scratch in an on-display kitchen. Upscale restaurants are still the leaders in innovation. When these restaurants are introducing new menu items out of their normal range, they look to their suppliers to help develop these items. To help in new menu item development suppliers really need to understand the identity and personality of the restaurants and how new menu items fit into this image.
(Extracted from New Products Magazine, September 2002)
Cup-Holders Aren't Just for Beverages Anymore
Several snack manufacturers and 7-Eleven are using cups to package snacks. Now that many cars have more cup holders than seats the snack industry has recognized that cup holders are not just for beverages anymore. With more than 60% of 7-Eleven's customers purchasing beverages to go, 7-Eleven executives saw an opportunity to package more snacks in cups to go. Foods now packaged in cups include cookies, crackers, candy, soup, cereal and chips.
(Extracted from PR Newswire, 25 Sept 2002)
FDA to Require Trans Fat Content on Food Labels
The FDA announced in August that it would require trans fat content to be included in the nutrition facts label on foods. This rule was supposed to be issued over a year ago. Now it looks as though the rule will be issued in early FY 2003, which begins for the FDA on Oct 1. However, implementation will probably take a few more years. This rule will require national brands and private label brands to be tested for the level of trans fats in each product. Trans fatty acids are liquid vegetable oils that have been processed to be firm at room temperature and can be found in many processed foods as they extend shelf life. They are not truly saturated fat, but have been shown to raise the LDL or "bad" cholesterol while lowering the HDL "good" cholesterol. "Food manufacturers thought they were doing something good," said Jane Andrews, corporate nutritionist for Wegmans Food Markets, Rochester, N.Y. "They thought that if they altered them to behave like shortening or lard, it would be healthier than either of those fats." A new report issued by the Institute of Medicine, part of the National Academy of Sciences, on July 1, 2002, "claims that about 2% of the calories in the American diet is supplied by trans fats."
(Extracted from Supermarket News 5 Aug 2002)
Snack Makers Targeting Trans Fats Nutrition
Nutrition experts are very concerned with the "partially hydrogenated" fats commonly used in most prepared foods. These semi-solid fats are desired for their shelf life and less greasy flavor. The concern revolves around the trans fats they contain that can cause higher levels of the LDL or bad cholesterol. Early next year it is expected that the FDA will require the listing of trans fats on nutrition labels. Experts for the National Academy of Sciences' Institute of Medicine believe that trans fats are not essential to our diet and provide no health benefit. They also believe there is no safe level of trans fat. In light of these concerns the snack and fast-food companies are working on new alternatives to trans fats. Frito-Lay will produce trans fat-free Doritos, Cheetos and Tostitos by early 2003. Ruffles and Fritos have never contained trans fats. They will be using corn oil as opposed to partly hydrogenated soybean oil. McDonald's announced earlier this month that they would change their frying oil to a new blend of corn and soybean oils created by Cargill for McDonald's.
(Extracted from the Los Angeles Times 30 September 2002 and www.mcdonalds.com)
Scientists unlock mystery behind food cancer scare
Separate teams of scientists at the University of Reading (UK) and at the Nestle Research Center have published an article in the October 3 issue of Nature in which they discuss how acrylamide is formed in some foods when they are cooled. They say the culprit may be asparagine, a protein building block abundant in potatoes or other foods, which when heated to the browning point, interacts with sugars to form acrylamide. Acrylamide levels vary widely among different brands of the same foods, such as potato chips, and the processes used by some companies may be healthier than others, an officer of the Center for Science in the Public Interest said. Pringle's potato chip maker Procter & Gamble has said it is looking for ways to reduce acrylamide in food, which it has found in roasted asparagus, banana chips, toasted English muffins, taco shells and pretzels. FDA officials say the chemical may be added to the US National Toxicology Program list of high priorities, leading to more studies on its dangers to humans.
(Extracted from Bloomberg News 30 Sep 02)
Federal government warns Oregon about labeling GM foods
The federal government has warned the state of Oregon that the imposition of strict labeling for genetically modified foods could make it extremely difficult for food manufacturers to market their products nationwide. Lester Crawford, deputy commissioner of the FDA, sent a letter to the office of Oregon Govenor John Kitzhaber. The letter stated the measure "would impermissibly interfere with the manufacturers' ability to market their products on a nationwide basis". If the measure passes, Oregon would become the first state to require such labeling.
(Extracted form Just Food.com 10 Oct 2002)
