Alyse Thompson-Richards

With the next headline bringing worse news than the last, many consumers are seeking enjoyment in any place they can. That means they’re turning to premium products, according to insights from FONA International.

In these unprecedented times, it’s comforting to stick to things you know and understand. New survey results from Toluna and Harris Interactive reveal consumers are trying to stay loyal to their favorite brands, but it may not always be possible given product shortages.

In April, the brand introduced Sweet Chews, its first innovation outside of the gummy category. While fans had been asking for a fruit chew product, the timing wasn’t ideal, with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pam Vieau and Marcy Goetz, mother-and-daughter owners of Chocolate Inspirations in Roselle, Illinois, didn’t originally intend to operate a chocolate business.

With governments issuing shelter-in-place orders and concerns over the coronavirus spreading in public, it’s not a surprise consumers are turning to the Internet to get what they need.

Chocolate offers an opportunity to indulge, but it also serves as a palette for flavor innovation and provides an entry point into where and how cocoa is grown, harvested and processed.

While food manufacturing has been deemed “essential infrastructure,” allowing it to continue, the COVID-19 pandemic has prompted Chocolate Chocolate Chocolate Co. to adopt even stricter safety protocols. There’s also the challenge of meeting payroll in the face of canceled or delayed product orders. 

As new non-imported cases of coronavirus decline, Shenzhen-based Amos Sweets faces challenges including changes in demand, increased difficulty in communication and the cancellation and postponement of industry events.

Playing on consumers’ memories and emotional connections to nostalgic flavors and products can spell success for food manufacturers, according to a new report from FONA International.