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New product proliferation in 1994 has set records, and continues at an accelerated pace. As stock keeping unit (SKU) totals were running, more than 21,262 new items and brand extensions [...]

In the supermarket industry, change is fast-paced and compounded by nonstop shifts in consumer eating preferences and family lifestyles. To keep up, food execs are turning the first four days [...]

As we approach the middle '90s, changing consumer values, lifestyles and demographics are forming the trends which will impact the market into the turn of the century. Some of the [...]

Industry consolidation, along with a shrinking middleclass consumer base, is changing the way manufacturers and retailers do business. This week's International Housewares Show in Chicago, concluding Jan. 19, points up [...]

The American lifestyle is in flux. Nowhere is it more evident than in the trends among new products at the mammoth International Housewares Show, being held Jan. 16-19, at McCormick [...]

The holiday season is the time of year when almost everyone gets caught up in ... parties, gifts, food, friends, and more food. Many people, however, are concerned about the [...]

Don't play with your food' is admonishment many children receive. Yet, this table-habit appears to be what product developers had in mind for General Mills' Cheerios Toasted Oat Cereal version [...]

In the year's big fad, it all came down to the benefit. The American consumer has fickle tastes. Possibly the most fickle in the civilized world. The bandwagon starts rolling [...]

Consumers have had a fascination with gadgets for years. Many offer extra convenience in conducting daily chores Extra Hand Cutting Board, from Company's Coming, Minneapolis, provides a holding edge against [...]

Americans tend to think of barbecuing as a traditional American pastime, and one that we have been the masters of for many years. Barbecue sauce is an American staple, with [...]

In America, our insatiable appetite for new tastes keeps triggering product introductions with hotter and spicier flavors. Many recipes are derived from chile peppers, which are a good source of [...]

Always a highlight of the trade shows held in the United States, the Supermarket Industry Convention and Education Exposition - better known as the FMI Convention - is in full [...]

For centuries, women have been using oils and all sorts of exotic concoctions in a losing battle against dry skin. Throughout the years, the theory was that oil would seal [...]

Consumers Seeking Better Health Are Offered Old-Fashioned 'New' Ideas They're being called 'health functional foods,' 'prescriptive foods,' 'food/drug hybrids,' 'time-honored remedies,' or 'nutraceuticals.' The aim for consumers is better health [...]

Today's lifestyles are demanding and often stressful. Stress can rob the body of its natural energy reserves, leaving us fatigued and lacking energy. So it's not surprising that many companies [...]

It's never been completely clear to me just how air fresheners work. Do they simply cover bad odors with sweeter smells? Or do they actually, as some marketers claim, absorb [...]

Foreign competitors have challenged American marketers in many product categories, from cars to consumer electronics to beer. Other categories, to a great extent, have been spared this overseas competition. While [...]

Americans can act pretty goofy about their pets. And marketers can be just as goofy about pet owners. But behind the occasional silliness is a very serious market. The American [...]

For some time now, consumers have been trooping to their supermarkets for everything from ice cream to hair cream, from cooking oil to motor oil. However, in recent years supermarkets, [...]

Lots of attention has been focused on broccoli of late, and not just because of the President's well-known aversion to the vegetable. Broccoli is hot because it packs a considerable [...]

The salad days are apparently over for the makers of traditional dressings. These days, consumers not only want healthy foods, they want healthy foods that taste great. Analysts report that [...]

As the 'healthy' category continues its move into the mainstream of American retailing, it presents other niche opportunities to enterprising marketers. The concept of foods made from healthy, natural ingredients [...]

Crime and random gunplay are much in the news these days. Thus, it's little wonder that myriad new personal protection gadgets are being made available to consumers across America. For [...]

January is National Soup Month. This celebrates an industry which in the U.S. alone is worth more than $2.5 billion. It also coincides with the 125th anniversary of the founding [...]

There is growing concern that consumers are confused between 'interactive media' and 'interactive techniques.' You can't pick up a newspaper or ]isten to the news without hearing about the new [...]

Fiber, in the form of various bean-based products, is quietly invading the market in health food and gourmet foods. Stacked against oat, corn and barley, beans loom as a formidable [...]

'The best foods from around the corner and around the globe' were available for viewing and tasting at the 39th International Fancy Food & Confection Show in New York. So [...]

Summer is salad time! And what to decorate salads with in the way of dressings continues to intrigue manufacturers and consumers alike. According to Information Resources Inc., fresh salad products [...]

Germany offers a wide range of food and beverage exports, more than 800 specialty items representing 23 major categories. The German Pavilion at the National Association of Specialty Food Trade [...]

Trend: firms are taking licenses from relatively new character opportunities. Others are establishing potential licensing arrangements by developing all-new characters. 'As a medium-sized candy company, we cannot afford a Looney [...]

'If, according to FMI's 1992 Trends study, your customers are averaging 2.2 trips a week to their grocery stores, those trips usually involve a stop at the deli, produce, bakery, [...]

Regular packaged teas are experiencing an uptick in activity, relying in many cases on the introduction of exotic flavors and/or fancy packaging. And herbal teas are increasingly popular in conjunction [...]

Who would think the lowly prune would be a substitute for fat in home baked brownies, cakes and cookies making them virtually guilt free. 'Prune the fat,' says Sokol & [...]

'Made in USA' is a phrase heard more frequently these days, but consumers sometimes forget that, in addition to the contiguous 48 states, we have two distant states--Alaska and Hawaii. [...]

There are some new facts of life in 1990s America. One is that there are lots of things to be afraid of, from violent crime to environmental poisons. Another is [...]

When European immigrants flooded U.S. shores in the 19th and 20th centuries, they brought their native dishes with them. And as these groups were assimilated into mainstream society, their foods [...]

Sometimes change seems more dramatic when it's stated in bold, straightforward numbers. For instance, while all marketers know that the country's nonwhite population is growing at a breakneck pace, the [...]

Most Americans buy their bread already packaged, and those who prefer the fresh-baked kind usually go to a bakery. But home bread making, in many ways a victim of the [...]

What might be described as the earliest form of pasta-sauce marketing took place long ago in Naples. There, says the legend, 'ladies of the night' would make pasta sauce next [...]

As coffee consumption in the U.S. keeps going down, the gourmet and specialty sectors continue to be where the activity is. But while new formulations are still popular, convenience seems [...]

While the nation debates the state of U.S. healthcare, the vital signs for the natural products business are promising indeed. Since 1986 this market has grown 8.3% a year, and [...]

Getting kids to brush can be like pulling teeth. Parents have come up with lots of strategies, most of which involve pleading, thinly veiled threats or some ill-fated explanation about [...]

During the holiday season, everyone enjoys the general festivity and the warmth of renewed ties with family and friends. But there are other pleasures, too. Kids tend to revel in [...]

Innovation burns bright in the light bulb business, where consumers' fiscal fears and environmental concerns have combined to inspire a host of money-saving and energy-saving products. The category's most interesting [...]

When Pert Plus hit the market in the early 1980s, it fueled a revolution in hair care. Procter & Gamble's big hit followed the realization that shampoo-conditioners held great appeal [...]

Pork would not seem to be a natural fit with today's health-conscious consumer. In fact, 1990 consumption of the meat was down about 21% in poundage. But pork producers are [...]

Green marketing has become a jungle these days. Americans have grown weary of hacking their way through the proliferation of environmental product pitches. Such claims as 'good for the environment' [...]

The energy level at the recent National Nutritional Foods Association trade show in Las Vegas was most impressive, especially considering the 110-degree temperature. Maybe that energy is the best endorsement [...]

Getting a new dressing or sauce noticed by shoppers today can be a stiff challenge. These categories, like so many others in the supermarket, have become log-jammed. Weary consumers can [...]

Packaging and positioning-as much as new ideas in food itself-seemed to be the popular concepts at the recent National Association for the Specialty Food trade show in New York. While [...]