News and Trends

  retailanalysis.igd.com The COVID-19 pandemic proved to be a challenge, but also an opportunity to accelerate development for discounters. In several markets with high penetration of online, such as the UK, the lack of ecommerce proved to be a weakness for the discount channel. However, the value proposition of the channel resonated well with increasingly savvier shoppers, ensuring footfall and sales remained strong. Overall, 2020 challenged discounters to take some time to stop and review their strategies. In the second half of the year, we saw several test and learn strategies emerging around store concepts, assortment and online services. These will continue into 2021. We recently published our discount trends for 2021 report , looking at what will shape the channel globally this year. As expected, the online and digital transformation made it to the list, but this won’t be the major trend in 2021. Championing value and physical retail first will be the major trends shaping...

August 28, 2020   Hot Off The Vegan Press ,  Market & Trends ,  Studies & Numbers European Newsdesk A recent study carried out in Q3 of this year reveals that a total of 11% of global consumers are vegetarian, 20% are flexitarian, and 3% identify as vegan, signifying that one third of consumers around the world are following a diet that is based around the moderation or elimination of animal produce. The FMCG Gurus Foodservice survey was carried out in 26 countries amongst 31,000 respondents, and centred around the subject of foodservice and consumer satisfaction therein. The results found that when questioned, vegans are significantly less likely to be satisfied with menus within the foodservice sector compared to vegetarians and flexitarians. This indicates that more plant-based food and drink should be available in the channel, especially as they will appeal to other consumers looking to limit intake of animal produce. © Wolfgang K...

  At some point, everyone breaks down and decides to indulge in a sweet treat. And when they do, baked goods often find themselves in salivating consumers’ sights. The impact of COVID-19 Even before the pandemic, consumers were changing how they satisfy their sweet tooth. In-store impulse buys were shrinking, and planned indulgence was increasing, necessitating longer shelf life. Increasingly, consumers were valuing the experience of eating those baked products at home.[1] Now, in light of COVID-19, market intelligence firm Mintel found that consumers are interested in better-for-you sweet baked goods that still taste great. Consider that: 32% of consumers in the U.S. say they would be interested in cookies with low sugar. 74% of cake consumers in Spain think sugar should be reduced in cakes. 40% of consumers in India say they would pay more for biscuits that contain healthy ingredients. And, if you can use functional ingredients or claim to provide an immunity boost, that’s e...

  From doughnuts to danishes, sweet baked goods offer something for almost everyone—and the relationship runs deep as these products invoke images of home, family and comfort. As consumers’ attitudes about health and eating evolve, so too have their notions about what makes a memorable muffin or an indulgence-worthy cookie.  For bakery product developers, the category now requires walking an increasingly tricky line between taste, nutrition, indulgence and innovation. Traditionally, sweet bakery products have lagged behind the curve in the rapidly changing food and beverage world that has pushed to meet the demands of numerous consumer trends, including label-friendly ingredients, low sugar, gluten free, plant-based and convenience. But this is changing . . . and innovations in the bakery category are giving rise to better products with friendlier labels, gluten-free claims, and plant-based enhancements that are just generally “better-for-you.”  All this is driving excite...

www.hospitalityandcateringnews.com Accor eye a rebrand move on Travelodge UK The Travelodge Owners Action Group, representing the majority of UK Travelodge landlords has set up AGO Hotels, exercising their break option from Travelodge following last month’s CVA deal. The move to create AGO Hotels is in association with Accor. Accor made this move, recognising an opportunity to more than double its British and Irish portfolio by rebranding the majority of Travelodge hotels in the UK. Travelodge earlier this year adopted an aggressive strategy to force landlords into agreeing no rent for the second three months of 2020. A bitter row followed, and Travelodge placed itself into insolvency proceedings using a company voluntary arrangement. Landlords accused Travelodge of using the Covid-19 crisis as a thinly veiled excuse to realise cost reductions. US hedge funds that are major investors in Travelodge UK were cited as developers of a strategy designed to take advantage of the crisis, hopi...

www.kantar.com 10th June 2020 Persistent safety concerns, financial pressures and sticky new behaviours mean consumers will not return to pre-pandemic behaviour any time soon . Marketers will need to pivot to finding growth in recession; delivering increasing value in the short-term to address growing economic concerns while innovating their way to sustained relevancy as behaviours and priorities change long-term. These are the findings from the fifth wave of Kantar’s COVID-19 Barometer , the largest global study tracking people’s attitudes, behaviours and expectations across more than 50 markets. Post-pandemic recovery delayed Only one third of people (37%) expect to return to non-essential consumer behaviour before 2-3 months. Even as many countries relax lockdown laws and commercial businesses reopen, across the world 66% of people say they will continue to avoid busy places , meaning a drag on physical retail environments.  Beyond mandated hygiene and social distancing measu...