CPGMATTERS - Best-Selling Brands of 2013 Delivered Health Benefits, Convenience

Some 190,000 new UPCs and 9,500 new CPG brand launches were placed on store shelves in 2013 to tempt picky consumers to toss them into their shopping carts. So which ones were the most successful? 

According to research by Information Resources, Inc., most of the winning products offered health benefits and convenience in both food and non-food categories. The top products ranged from Greek yogurts and energy drinks to conveniently-packaged laundry detergent and coffee.  

IRI’s 2013 New Product Pacesetters report is an industry-recognized benchmark analysis of exceptional first-year CPG sales success for newly launched products.    

“Manufacturers are always striving to create breakthrough innovation. Our impressive list of the 2013 Pacesetters, which earned an average of $35 million in their first year, is no exception, as these products fuel accelerated growth and serve as catalysts for excitement in the CPG arena,” said Larry Levin, executive vice president and practice leader, IRI. 

Susan Viamari, editor, Thought Leadership, IRI, said, “Innovation in 2013 is all about healthier-for-you products. ‘Healthy’ is truly everywhere. From food and beverages to hair care, skin care, and even pet food and cleaning products, consumers not only want to look and feel their best, but they want improved wellness to extend to their homes and pets, too.”

A whopping seven of the top 10, and 73 of the top100 food and beverage products launched in 2013 offered a healthier-for-you benefit. 

Consumers are still seeking a healthy, convenient way to become or stay light and fit, so three yogurt lines made the “top10” ranking this year, with Dannon Light & Fit Greek capturing the top spot. Overall, the most prevalent “add” in 2013’s Pacesetters brands was fiber and/or whole grains, which was/were found in 42% of the new launches. In addition, the report underscores that “dieting” has evolved into “nutritional management.” Consumers are looking for products that remove or limit less desirable attributes, so products offering lower calories, less sugar and fewer ingredients are hitting just the right note. 

Here are the top ten: Dannon Light & Fit Greek, Yoplait Greek 100, Kellogg’s Special K Pastry Crisps, TOTTITOS Cantina Tortilla Chips, Bud Light Lime Lime-a-Rita, Müller Yogurt, Eight O’Clock K-Cups, Pepsi NEXT, Kellogg’s Special K Flatbread Breakfast Sandwiches and Atkins Frozen Meals.   

In the non-food arena, average year-one dollar sales for the top100 brands were $34 million. The best-selling launches of 2013 demonstrated the power of promising healthier, worry-free expectations and experiences, as well as of providing economical options.

Earning $2 billion in aggregate year-one launch sales, 48 out of the top100, non-food Pacesetters deliver wellness. And, for the first time in recent Pacesetter history, three home-care products achieved top-10 status, including Tide Pods, Ajax Triple Action and Downy Infusions. Hair-care marketers are also “going big” with results, experiences and value, with L’Oreal’s Advanced Haircare and Vidal Sassoon Pro Series securing top spots. 

Here are the top ten: Tide Pods, L’Oréal Advanced Haircare, ZzzQuil, Vidal Sassoon Pro Series, Clear Scalp & Hair Therapy, Downy Infusions, Ajax Triple Action, Always/Tampax Radiant, Secret Outlast and Puffs Basic. 

In the convenience-store arena, average year-one sales across the top10 IRI New Product Pacesetters were an astounding $94 million.

“The power of consumers’ pursuit of health and wellness is even seen in the convenience channel, with neuro Drinks landing a top-10 ranking,” said Levin. “However, ‘grab and go’ indulgence is still top-of-mind for consumers, so beer, liquor, tobacco and energy drinks still dominate this channel’s best-selling launches.” 

Here are the top 10: Monster Energy Ultra, Red Bull Total Zero, Marlboro NXT, NJOY, Bud Light Lime Lime-A-Rita, Budweiser Black Crown, neuro Drinks, Pepsi NEXT, DORITOS JACKED, and Starbucks Refreshers.  

“Consumers are looking across CPG aisles for opportunities to make their homes, menus, bodies and minds healthier,” concluded Viamari. “CPG innovators have a significant opportunity to help consumers live well for less. Brands that provide powerful results and exciting experiences are sure to capture attention and excitement, accelerating share of spending into 2014 and beyond.” 

Article written by Rose Anthony for CPGMatters.com - Original post can be found here: http://www.cpgmatters.com/Products-Solutions0314.html

CPG MATTERS: What Trends Will Affect Trade Marketing in 2014?

The past year has pushed manufacturers and retailers to work at a much higher level of technology sophistication in trade promotion management. Executives familiar with TPM  say trends that contributed to this development will continue in 2014, but with more intensity

“Sophisticated strategies are required for this road ahead. To spend trade dollars more effectively, they are going to have to embrace this technology for the coming year,” says Joel Cartwright, trade promotion management solution engineer for AFS Technologies. 

Based on feedback from customers, the company recently staged a webinar that presented 10 predictions for 2014. They are: 

1. Economic growth will continue to be slow and steady.

There is no post-recession bump. Based on plans AFS is discussing with its clients, they don’t see a downturn, but neither do they see a big increase. There is heavy competition for shopper dollars, and TPM spend is being closely scrutinized. In contrast, supply chain is already heavily optimized, but trade spend is more of a gray area. It’s looked upon as an opportunity for more streamlining.

2. Manufacturers will continue to bear the burden of increasing costs.

Retailers are seeking specific cost certainties, which means they have to push overall margins back to manufacturers to increase competitive dollars for the shopper basket. Consumers have created purchasing options to help save money, so retailers need to further broaden that basket. As the cost of goods increases, trade dollars are going to have to offset this to maintain margins. The biggest enemy here for most CPG companies is private label: how to compete at pricing from a private label standpoint; that is, how to stretch trade dollars while not necessarily going toe-to-toe with pricing, but promoting brands to make them more viable than a private label.

3. The evolution of the “smart shopper” will continue.

Shopper insights are critical here. Consumers desire a more personal shopping experience within the grocery store, and this will show up in a specific post-promotion analysis. Manufacturers want to get away from doing one-off post-promotion analyses regarding the smart shopper, and want to look at an overall plan to entice the shopper. It is not necessarily a matter of looking at single promotions for the back-to-school event or the Fourth of July event, but rather how they can encompass the smart shopper across an entire plan.

4. Manufacturers who master the “app world” will gain the competitive advantage.

Consumers seek out mobile apps to empower their shopping strategy. The personal experience the shopper has with the retailer through one-on-one marketing is becoming a reality, so point-of-sale type events and interactive apps are becoming critical to manufacturers. They are seeing this not only on the marketing side of the business, but on the trade and sales execution sides. 

5. Old school is not ready to give up its shelf space just yet.

Traditional grocery is still backed by big dollars. There is a lot of emphasis on technology, but major manufacturers are competing with natural foods and organics. They didn’t bury their heads in the sand in doing this, and they got creative. There will be more of that creativity seen in the coming years. There will be many more new item launches and line extensions. Meanwhile more non-traditional food manufacturers are coming into the TPM space. There are also more companies from the durable goods side coming into the TPM space, as well.

6. Trade promotion spend will be spread even thinner.

The annual operating plan is going to come to the sales organization as a call for increased top-line growth with minimal additional budget for the trade plan. For example, they may need to grow the top line 3% while keeping their trade budgets flat year over year. Meanwhile retailers want to expand their baskets and cover margin costs, and are pushing the cost back on manufacturers. Only 

24% of AFS’ clients will spend more on trade promotion in 2014 compared to 2013, so the majority will be doing more with the same or less dollars.

7. Manufacturers will focus heavily on getting the most out of their trade spend.

For the 76% not spending more on trade dollars, improving trade promotion effectiveness is the biggest business challenge. To accomplish this, accurate lift analysis is mandatory. When clients analyze their promotional activity, much of the guesswork comes in the lift analysis. They can’t make that connection between the consumption data lift and back to the shipment data lift. They are going to have to shift dollars based upon performance. Many manufacturers are going to a tiered trade strategy based on what customers can drive the biggest bang for the buck.

8. Manufacturers will master their data.

Big data is here and everybody has to get on board. There are tons of data out there, and managing the big data is the big concern. Most manufacturer s are getting bombarded by data from multiple sources, such as syndicated data, shipment data, retailer point-of-sale data. They are able to sort it out, but they are struggling with the interpretation of that data. As a result, they are hiring external experts to build data evaluation programs to help them understand what the data is saying. The money for this is coming out of their trade budget. 

9. Underperforming TPM tools will be jettisoned.

Some manufacturers are finding that their 8-10 year old TPM systems are not evolving with the company’s growth, and 44% of companies in this space are looking to change their TPM tool in the next 12 months. The old solution can’t provide the visibility that is needed into their trade plans. They need that to see how their business is growing and where to apply all this data. Also, as manufacturers push more work onto their broker network, they need to be able to give the brokers that same visibility. 

10. Manufacturers will empower field teams with technology.

Technology is power. Manufacturers will be empowering field teams with key technology, such as smartphones and tablets, because the retail execution is greatest trade promotion challenge. Field teams will be better informed and positioned to make an impact, and provide very quick turnaround on events. Those field teams will be able to make promo deals on the fly. For example, they may be asked: “Can you participate in my back-to-school event because another company dropped out?” They can be right there with the buyer, pull out their tablet, and say, “Yes, I can do it. I can see where I am at from a spending standpoint, and I can afford to do it.”

In summary, the big focus in the year ahead will be on technology. “We haven’t seen a huge change in growth, but we do see that trends are evolving and becoming more amplified,” Cartwright concludes.

For more information: www.afsi.com. Written by Dan Alaimo for CPG Matters Website. Original Article can be located here: http://www.cpgmatters.com/TradeMarketing0214.html

RETAIL DIVE: Target taps top Pinterest “pinners” for design partnerships and lots of attention!

Dive Brief:

• Target has announced partnerships with popular pinners on Pinterest. The designers, who also run design blogs, are developing exclusive party-planning lines that will be available on Target’s site and in stores, the company revealed Monday.
• A Pinterest spokesperson hailed the move, saying that Target’s tapping of “everyday pinners” shows that the site inspires people to find and share things they love and do something with that.
• The effort debuts March 16 with a party decorating line by Joy Cho, whose blog “Oh Joy!” boasts more than 13.6 million Pinterest followers, compared to Target’s less than 150,000.

Dive Insight:

Retailers have heard plenty about using sites like Pinterest to connect with customers, but Target has taken things up a notch by tapping popular “pinners” to design products for them. The move is reminiscent of the retailer’s early collaboration with top fashion designers, something that some observers at the time doubted would succeed. It not only did succeed, but started a trend among other downscale retailers like J.C. Penney, and this too seems destined for a win. After all, Joy Cho, the design blogger who will be first in Target’s Pinterest experiment, has about 90 times the Pinterest followers of Target. Pin that!

Recommended Reading:

Mashable: Target Taps Top Pinterest Influencers for Design Collaboration

FOODBEV NEWS: Nestlé to invest a billion dollars in Mexico

Nestlé is to invest a billion dollars in Mexico, building two new factories in the country, which is the sixth largest global market for the company.

The announcement was made by Nestlé CEO Paul Bulcke during the World Economic Forum in the Swiss resort of Davos.

The five-year investment will fund a new infant nutrition factory in Ocotlán, in western Mexico's Jalisco state, and a pet food factory in the city of Silao, in the central Mexican state of Guanajuato. It will also be used to expand Nestlé's cereal factory in Lagos de Moreno, also in Guanajuato state, with state-of-the-art technology, making it the company's largest in the region.

The investment would, he said, enable the creation of 700 direct and 3,500 indirect jobs, as well as bolstering the amount of raw materials purchased locally.

Source: Nestlé / Shaun Weston - Original Article: http://www.foodbev.com/news/nestl-to-invest-a-billion-dollars-in-mex#.UuKK_BAo7AU    24 Jan 2014

RETAIL DIVE NEWS: Sears to Close Chicago Loop Flagship Outlet Store

Dive Brief:

• Hoffman Estates (Chicago)-based Sears will shutter its Loop district location in April after liquidation and lay-offs beginning Jan. 26. The closing comes amid a campaign of selling assets and closing stores in the U.S. and Canada.
  
• Chicago is the retailer’s flagship city, where its name once graced the famed skyscraper now known as Willis Tower.
  
• Sears Holdings, the retailer’s parent company, has seen revenue decline since 2005. That year, billionaire hedge fund manager Edward Lampert, now Sears chairman and CEO, merged Kmart and Sears in an $11-billion deal.

Dive Insight:

It’s almost like renaming the famous Sears Tower to Willis Tower in 2009 was bad luck for the once seemingly larger-than-life retailer. Although many in Chicago still refer to the skyscraper as the Sears Tower, the truth is that the retailer is a shadow of its former self. It continues to close stores, lay off employees and shed assets in hopes of garnering cash as it struggles to compete with traditional department stores, big-box stores, and the likes of Walmart and Target. Chairman and CEO Edward Lampert is also putting money and muscle into the technology it will take to boost its e-commerce segment, which, if successful, could in a way bring the retailer back to its roots, when its catalog was the go-to place to order everything from work boots to houses.
Recommended Reading:
Chicago Tribune: Sears to close flagship Loop location in April

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Topics: Technology, Retail Trends, Operations, Markets & Policy

By Daphne Howland Jan. 22, 2014

Original Article: http://www.retaildive.com/news/sears-to-close-chicago-loop-store/218089

FOODDIVE NEWS: Target to Test Smaller "Express" Stores in major Urban Areas

Quick Fact Dive Brief:

• Target is testing a smaller, "Express" format for use in urban environments.
• The first of the new stores, which will be dubbed TargetExpress, will run 20,000 square feet and is slated to open in Minneapolis later this year, just a few miles from corporate headquarters.
• The stores will stock grocery and pharmacy items, as well as a small selection of clothes and home decor.

Dive Insight:

We're big fans of Target. Strangely enough, most city dwellers like us seem to be fans. On those rare occasions when we find ourselves in the suburbs with a car, we make a stop at Target and stock up on — everything.
Just how well that experience would translate if Target was right down the street and served primarily to compete against the local bodega, we cannot say. But perhaps we don't need to. It would appear that nothing is more endangered in America than the corner grocery store. There are a few left in neighborhoods across all of our cities. But they are rapidly being replaced by small-format versions of the monsters of suburban retail and urban versions of the convenience stores that dot rural America.
We're coming to think of the entire phenomenon as the rise of the corporate bodega.

Recommended Reading:
BrandChannel: Target Hopes to Bring Big-Box Experience to Acute Locales with 'Express' Stores

New York Times (subscription required): Target Tests Small Store for Urban Shoppers as Young People Pick Cities Over Suburbs

Convenience Store News: Target to Test Express Format Aimed at Urban Markets

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Topics: Research and Development, Retail

By Paul Conley Jan. 21, 2014

2014 TRADE CHALLENGE: Implementing Technology is only the First Step to Improving Trade Spending Visibility

Don't fear the beast - Take the next step: Join us in this Free Webinar and access to free resources from AFS Technologies and make sure your Trade Marketing Team is on the right path for 2014.

Start the New Year off right, with these top resources.  Simply complete the form and download away…it’s our gift to you! - See more at: http://www.afsi.com/top-2013-downloads/#sthash.YiwdB2Hp.dpuf