British philosopher Alan Watts once said, “The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it and join the dance.” As the American retail landscape continues to change, it seems as though mass merchandiser chains are joining this “dance.”
With Oct. 19 being the final presidential debate of this election cycle, many might be looking forward to the closing of this election. However, the readers of Beverage Industry still remain active when voting for their favorite new products.
It’s October, which is by far the best sports month of the year in my opinion. Baseball playoffs are in full swing, the weekends are packed with collegiate and professional football games, and basketball and hockey start off their seasons. If you are like my husband and I, getting family and friends together for sporting events is a common weekend activity. Although we enjoy having people at our home or going to their homes, once in a while, it is nice to watch games at restaurant or sports bar among so many other sports fans.
American gymnasts Laurie Hernandez and Simone Biles might have made the balance beam look easy when they won their silver and bronze medals, respectively, at the 2016 Rio Olympics. However, achieving balance in eating, drinking and activity habits might not be as easy for consumers.
As health and wellness gains more attention from consumers, some food and beverage categories have faced new challenges. However, the bottled water market is one beverage category that has benefited from the increased prevalence of better-for-you products as more consumers strive to lead healthier lives.
Just as SKU proliferation has allowed consumers more choices for their food and beverage purchases, the retail channel market has seen its own proliferation of new stores for these products. Natural and organic retailers, also referred by some analysts as fresh format stores, are one channel that has presented competition to traditional supermarket share.
It’s no secret that consumers are living on-the-go lifestyles, but they also are looking for products that allow them to maintain a healthy lifestyle. The product that can fulfill both need states can be valuable to consumers as well as the readers of Beverage Industry.
When it comes to food and beverage development, healthy usually is among the top considerations. In Beverage Industry’s 2016 New Product Development Outlook report published in the January issue, only 14 percent of respondents listed convenience a low need/interest.
With the release of the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans earlier this year followed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s new Nutrition Facts label, many changes are instore for consumer packaged goods (CPG) manufacturers.
Although the main tasks of a warehouse are to produce and store products, warehouse managers have an even bigger day-to-day goal: safety. For the Industrial Truck Association, safety has taken center stage through its sponsorship of National Forklift Safety Day, which took place June 14.