Week of October 16, 2023
Accelerate Your Insights is a weekly news recap of the top trends in CPG focusing on retailer headlines, key shopper behaviors, and industry events.
Click the sources links below each headline to read more
Industry News
Category Deepdive: September 2023
September serves as a valuable precursor to the upcoming holiday season. Brands can leverage category data to ensure their promotions are best positioned to accelerate store trips and boost sales volume during this crucial Q4 window.
Sustainable Beauty
Consumers are shifting their priorities beyond just clean beauty to sustainable beauty. Shoppers are more aware of their environmental impact and are looking for beauty products that help them make more sustainable choices.
Snackonomics: Uncovering a microcosm of grocery growth
The snack market may be understood as a microcosm of food consumption overall, with snacks-as-meals lifestyles altering shoppers’ habits and perceptions.
BREAKING NEWS: Fed to Consider Revising Debit Card Swipe Fees
Updates to the 12-year-old regulation have been long awaited.
How General Mills refreshed its fruit snack brands to fend off disruptors
Experiments in areas including sonic branding seek to give offerings like Gushers an identity fit for Gen Z, execs said at Advertising Week.
SPINS Product Intelligence Attribute Spotlight: Plant-Based Protein
As shopper values continue to drive marketplace evolution, plant-based proteins maintain their steady growth trajectory thanks to their robust nutrient profiles and diverse applications.
Edgewell, Ford on preserving an innovative streak in times of constraint
A willingness to accept failure and tapping into market trends abroad have helped spur innovation, execs said at Advertising Week New York.
Are You Prepared for the Next Total Solar Eclipse?
In April, an eclipse with a massive zone of totality will move from Texas to Maine.
Iconic Candy Companies to Merge
Ferrara Candy Co. to acquire Jelly Belly Candy Co.
Retailer News
Rite Aid: Taking Action to Accelerate Our Transformation and Support Long-Term Success
Rite Aid is taking steps to strengthen our company as we continue delivering the products and services our customers need to live healthier, happier lives.
Walmart Unveils Next-Gen Fulfillment Center In North Texas
Facility will help retailer reach 95% of the U.S. population with quick shipping service
GALLERY: Wegmans’ New Store Opens in NYC
Astor Place store boasts wide array of prepared foods, Japanese-style fish market, abundant meal solutions.
ShopRite Closing 5 Stores in Upstate New York Due to Disappointing Sales
"influx of food retailers" in Capital Region also named as contributing factor
How grocers are approaching delivery as the market evolves
Companies like Hy-Vee, Whole Foods and The Fresh Market have moved ahead with efforts to expand their e-commerce operations even as customer demand for online services has lost steam.
Whole Foods outlines 2024 food trends
The grocer predicts plant-based products with more vegetables, the use of buckwheat and brands that promote water conservation will be popular next year.
Amazon brings drone delivery to Texas neighborhood
Eligible customers in College Station can receive their prescription medication at their doors within an hour at no additional cost.
Kroger’s retail media business breaks new ground
The grocery giant plans to measure carbon emissions linked to offsite media campaigns and launch a programmatic offering amid an increasingly competitive retail media landscape.
Aldi unveils Thanksgiving price reductions of up to 50%
The German discounter’s savings on holiday staples will run from Nov. 1 to the end of 2023.
General Mills and Walmart team up to accelerate regenerative agriculture on 600,000 acres
The target represents the approximate amount of land the food giant relies on to source key ingredients for products sold at the retailer’s stores.
McLane Explores Long-Term Solutions Following Pandemic-Driven Challenges
CEO Tony Frankenberger says the industry must remain extremely agile, forward-thinking and better connected to meet any future disruptions.
Chevron to Buy Hess in $53B Deal
The all-stock transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2024.
What's In Store: Foxtrot, Love's Travel Stops & Royal Farms
Texas Born and TravelCenters of America also welcomed customers at new locations.
Albertsons: Sales up, profit down in quarter
Albertsons posted modest but declining gains in net sales and same-store sales in its second quarter amid deteriorating conditions for the supermarket sector.
Shopper News
How has CPG purchasing shifted since SNAP benefits were reduced?
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is a program in the United States that provides food benefits to low-income families to supplement their grocery budget. Benefits vary state-to-state but share the common goal of reducing poverty and food insecurity while stimulating economic growth.
How to turn green consumer intentions into sustainable actions
As pragmatism meets the realities of today’s world, a central question emerges: How can CPG and retail leaders bridge the gap between words and deeds in sustainable consumption?
Stable and spending: An update on the state of the US consumer
Consumer optimism in the United States remained steady over the summer, while consumer spending saw a modest uptick across most categories. Here’s the latest research from the ConsumerWise team.
Consumers' Push for Protein Reflected Across Grocery Categories
Higher-protein offerings expand well beyond the meat case and in offerings that span dayparts and formats