Some say the Hispanic market may be the last true growth opportunity in food. Most U.S. firms have a major corporate goal to attract Hispanic consumers, given their tremendous demographic and economic importance. Some companies, such as McDonald’s, Budweiser and AT&T, spend significant resources to gain market share with Hispanics and are making inroads. But it’s not easy, says a Nielsen report issued last year.
A county-by-county analysis shows the impacts in a 10-state area of the highest crop insurance losses due to extreme weather. States affected include Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Indiana, Wisconsin, Kansas and Texas.
Pocket-sized bakery and snack products are more readily available than ever to cater to consumers’ on-the-go lifestyles and demand for portion-controlled foods.
Revenue in the U.S. bread-production market dropped at an annualized rate of 1% to $36.9 billion during the five years to 2013, including a 0.8% increase in 2013.
Global information firm NPD Group reports that every day, 28 million people in the U.S. eat a grab-and-go snack, accounting for billions of eating occasions each year. These buy-and-eat-within-an-hour occasions are 50% more likely to be performed while traveling or in a car, which make convenience stores a primary source for grab-and-go snacks. NPD’s snacking research also indicates that c-stores represent five times their fair share of grab-and-go snacking occasions, beating out grocery stores and even discount stores.
Clabber Girl Corp. issues the results of an independent research study by the Kansas State University Department of Grain Science confirming that using the company’s encapsulated fumaric acid in yeast bread recipes cut the amount of calcium propionate in half and yeast reduced by 10%, which can help reduce costs.
Food prices dropped by 1% in June as declines in sugar, cereals and dairy were more than enough to offset a rise in meat prices, according to the United Nations (UN). The UN’s Foodand Agriculture Organization (FAO) stated that the food price index, which measures monthly price changes in cereals, dairy, meat, sugar and oilseeds, averaged 211.3 compared with 213.2 in May, reported the DesMoinesRegister.com.