Although U.S. consumers kept a recessionary mindset in the first quarter of 2013, they exhibited a cautious desire to spend money again, according to the Nielsen Global Survey of Consumer Confidence and Spending Intentions.
According to a study by The Integer Group and M/A/R/C Research, shoppers believe name brand products are slightly higher in quality than private labels with 51 percent of shoppers indicating that they continue to buy name brand products instead of store brand alternatives because they trust the name.
Private label continues to be a top seller in bottled water, bagged tea, ground coffee, juice and dairy alternatives, according to sales data from Chicago-based market research firm SymphonyIRI Group cited in this month’s State of the Industry 2012 report.
The first quarter of 2012 saw American consumers’ confidence in their personal finances beginning to return, according to Chicago-based SymphonyIRI Group’s most recent MarketPulse survey.
When it comes to category management, retail experts often agree that beverage manufacturers are on the leading edge of understanding assortment and placement of their products within retail outlets. Paul Weitzel, managing partner at Willard Bishop, Barrington, Ill., attributes part of the segment’s success to the direct store distribution (DSD) system used by many manufacturers.
The old adage goes that people drink to recognize both good and bad times. This, unfortunately for the beer, wine and spirits industry, is not the case. As with many other consumer packaged goods (CPG) segments, wine industry growth rates have dropped during the last three recessions (1991, 2001 and 2008-2009) and immediately after these recessions ended, industry growth resumed.
In a taste test of 10 full-calorie and light beers, Consumer Reports announced that Chicago-based MillerCoors’ Coors brand ranked No. 1 in terms of taste.
After receiving feedback from focus groups after the brand’s initial rollout, RealBeanz reworked its packaging, the shape of which was inspired by old milk bottles.
