John Browning

From #NextGenBaker 📈​ During the American Bakers Association’s NextGenBaker Leadership Forum, held September 30 – October 1 in Washington, DC, Anne-Marie Roerink, president of 210 Analytics, LLC, shared three ways brands can grow sales during her presentation, “Bakery Playbook: A Deep Dive into Consumer Trends.”​ Read more ➡️ https://bit.ly/3UnlQ2H #bakingindustry

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US Foods is debuting its Fall 2024 Scoop, offering foodservice operators 24-on trend products that can help address inventory, labor and time management costs. 🍲 Learn more about the new Fall Scoop lineup 👉 https://brnw.ch/21wNovM #foodservice #operators #USFoods #ValueAdded #NewProduct

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📰 Snack Trends Alert! 📰 Dive into the latest article "Sizing Up Snacks" from CStore Decisions to uncover the hottest trends shaping the snack industry today. 🍿🍫 From healthy options to indulgent treats, this comprehensive guide breaks down what consumers are craving. With snacking habits evolving rapidly, staying ahead of these trends is crucial for c-store success.📈🍪 Read full article here --->: https://bit.ly/3S5Sww8

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💰💡 Latest in Funding, Acquisition, and Finance: 🍦 General Mills Mulls Over $2B Sale of North American Yogurt Business - In a strategic move, General Mills considers divesting its Yoplait brand and other yogurt assets in North America, targeting a deal upwards of $2 billion. 🌱 Edonia Secures €2M for Protein Innovations from Microalgae - French startup Edonia raises €2 million in pre-seed funding from Asterion Ventures and Bpifrance, propelling the development of umami-rich, plant-based ingredients. 🌎 Bezos Earth Fund Pledges $100M for AI-driven Climate Initiatives - With a focus on alternative proteins, the Bezos Earth Fund announces up to $100 million in grants for AI solutions addressing climate change and nature conservation. 🌿 Woodland Foods Acquires Idan Foods - Expanding its portfolio, Woodland Foods takes over New Jersey-based Idan Foods, known for its specialized food coatings, enhancing its offerings in plant-based ingredients. #Funding #Acquisition #Sustainability #FoodIndustry 💰🌿

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🍻 Did you know beer sales in the U.S. hit $116 billion? With nearly 10,000 craft breweries, sour beers and IPAs are leading the trend. As beer brands multiply, shoppers have become more selective. If their favorite beer isn’t available, they’ll likely head to another store. This creates a big challenge for retailers who must manage their portfolios while meeting picky shoppers' needs. Check out this insightful report by Jason Smith, highlighting the beer shopper and offering three key recommendations for retailers: 1️⃣ Introduce diverse beer types, flavors, and brands. 2️⃣ Optimize your assortment to fill gaps and minimize out-of-stocks. 3️⃣ Enhance shelf signage to help shoppers easily find what they want. Discover the full report through the link https://lnkd.in/e4REWZmQ #learningevolution #beer #shopperinsight #customers #cpg #grocery #nbwa

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Brandon Thurber, VP of NRS Insights, on RTD Market Growth: In his latest Food and Beverage Magazine feature, Brandon discusses the 35% growth in the RTD cocktail market, backed by NRS data from over 27,000 retailers. RTDs now represent 9% of spirits and 15% of wine sales, highlighting their growing market share. As consumers increasingly prioritize convenience and flavor, RTDs lead to a 60% higher spend per transaction. But with the market evolving rapidly, the critical question is—are you keeping up? 💡Marketers and media teams: curious about how your brands perform in this fast-paced environment? Let’s connect to explore strategies that will position your brand for success. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/exGMwvic #RTDCocktails #BevAl #RetailInsights #NRS #FoodandBeverageMagazine

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Yet, health-and-wellness inspired flavor expands beyond just the type of flavor, experts note. #BeverageIndustry #Health #Wellness #Flavors #BeverageTrends https://brnw.ch/21wKhfP

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When it comes to functional beverages, the energy and weight management segments are leading the pack, according to NielsenIQ's Jordan Moore, who spoke at ECRM's Center Store Sessions recently and was interviewed by Joseph Tarnowski on some key takeaways from her presentation. Overall, the functional beverage segment (which NIQ considers any beverage that makes a wellness claim) is growing 2 percent faster that RTDs. Energy beverages, which are already a $22 billion category, have seen 10 percent growth vs. a year ago, and weight management beverages, which include those beverages aimed at helping consumers gain muscle as well as speeding up their metabolism and losing weight, are up a whopping 22 percent. Interestingly, protein is making its way into an increasingly diverse array of beverages outside of traditional protein shakes, including coffee (like the new Instant Coffee with Protein by Fire Department Coffee, and the new Genepro Tea). Some functional beverage categories are declining, however. Those under the preventative segment, which focus on brain health, probiotics and immunity is down 8 percent and diabetes related beverages are down 6 percent. Not all is lost though, if you are in one of these segments. While the overall segment may be down, your specific category may be on the rise. A case-in-point is kombucha. While it falls under the preventative segment, the category itself is up 5 percent. Watch the full video below! #beverages #cpg #wellness #retail #ecrmrangeme Luke Schneider Jason Patton Jon Bryan Stacey Helbig Brian Parks Brian Haymaker

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Is Hormel Foods prepared to tackle the challenges of inflation, supply chain disruptions, and shifting consumer preferences? Jim Snee, CEO of Hormel Foods, offers insights on the company's strategies to navigate these issues. Learn how they are adapting, building partnerships, embracing sustainability, and leveraging technology in this volatile landscape. #FoodIndustry #SupplyChain #ConsumerPreferences

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Two hot topics within the current beverage alcohol industry are Gen-Z and Ready-to-Drink (RTD). According to Circana’s State of the CPG Beverage Alcohol Industry report, RTD reached $10.3 Billion in 2023. Part of that growth is due to Gen-Z members' strong preference for higher ABV offerings and unique packaging. But what are the top RTD cocktail brands among Gen-Zers according to Circana? 🔥 Buzzballz, LLC / Southern Champion 🎵 BeatBox 🍸 LIQS Cocktail Co. 👑 Crown Royal & Whiskey Cola 🍹 Monaco Cocktails 🥃 Jack Daniel’s & Coca-Cola Read more about the State of the Alcohol Industry here: https://hubs.li/Q02xggvP0 #ReadyToDrink #GenZ #BeverageAlcohol #Circana

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Working in the spirits industry for 24 years, I've had the pleasure of being the voice that amplifies many highly desired bourbon brands. This insightful piece from Food & Wine gives more background on allocated bourbons, and also contains one of my favorite quotes ever, "Buzz doesn’t hurt either. These days, listing the technical details of a great whiskey simply is not enough,...𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗣𝗥 𝗱𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗲. Of course, these whiskeys are going to be great, but if bourbon influencers start to go nuts over a new product, then true demand does tend to balloon much more." 𝗜 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝗦𝗘𝗘𝗡! #bourbon #publicrelations https://lnkd.in/eakiFrjY

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From Dairy Foods to Fortune Business Insight, experts agree: the RTD dairy beverage market is on the rise. With milk, tea, coffee, aseptic juices, and bottled juices leading the charge, dollar sales are increasing year after year. While some may see a decline in unit sales, the exception lies with canned juices, whose dollar sales spiked 8.5% and unit sales saw a 2% rise. And the global market shows no signs of slowing down, projected to reach over $1 trillion by 2032 thanks to urbanization and busy lifestyles. Don't miss out on the opportunities in this growing category!" #RTDbeverages #dairy #growthopportunities

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Energy drink sales in convenience stores are on a tear, and c-store operators and beverage experts expect more of the same for the remainder of the year — although they are concerned about how anticipated price increases could impact demand. Convenience stores should brace for higher prices but can use deals, variety and sizing flexibility to draw in customers, experts say. https://lnkd.in/eDaPiHFf

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Customer-centric (customer-centered, customer first) was a corporate buzzword that littered mission statements, marketing slicks, slogans, emails, etc., but lost its impact due to corporations' repeated failures to deliver on the promise. I fear the same fate for "Innovation," which is used everywhere but seldom delivered consistently. The "Innovation Gap" discussed in Adam Melonas article published by Forbes Business Council below must be solved before "Innovation" becomes another hollow buzzword. Innovation, not Renovation, is what will drive profitable, volume-led growth for CPG companies. Critically, the innovation, from idea to shelf, must be in months, not years.

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Latest insights: The decline of alcohol consumption among U.S. consumers continues to benefit the non-alcoholic beverage sector. A recent report from market research firm Circana shows key non-alcoholic beverage categories have gained dollar share of overall packaged beverage sales in the U.S., while alcohol categories such as beer and spirits have lost share. https://lnkd.in/egme4XQq

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Rubix Foods has its finger on the pulse of the hottest flavor trends and brings those trends to life for roughly 70% of the top QSR and FSR restaurant brands in the nation. On the newest episode of Forktales, we’re joined by Shannon O'Shields, VP of marketing for Rubix Foods, for a sneak peek at how the company helps restaurants stay one bite ahead of the competition. FULL EPISODE: www.forktales.co #marketing #marketingpodcast #branding #brandingpodcast #restaurantmarketing #restaurantbranding #restaurantstrategy #restaurantgrowth #advertising #marketingpodcast #forktales #forktalespodcast #vigor #FlavorTrends #RubixFoods

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As a foodservice distributor committed to delivering the best to our clients, we’re excited to celebrate National Organic Month this September! This is an excellent opportunity to highlight why organic products are an important part of the food industry and how they can elevate the snacking experience for everyone. Here’s why incorporating organic options into your SKU is a win-win for everyone: Exceptional Quality and Flavor: Organic ingredients are grown with care, often resulting in superior taste and quality. By offering organic options, you can provide your customers with fresh, flavorful dishes that stand out. Health-Conscious Choices: With increasing consumer awareness around health and wellness, organic foods are in high demand. They are free from synthetic pesticides, GMOs, and artificial additives, making them a healthier choice for your patrons. Sustainability: Organic farming practices are better for the planet. They help conserve water, reduce pollution, and promote soil health. By choosing organic products, you’re supporting sustainable practices and contributing to a greener future. Brands like Lundberg Family Farms Farms are great partners to work with in terms of sustainability. Support for Local and Small-Scale Farmers: Many organic products come from local or smaller-scale farms. By incorporating these into your offerings, you’re supporting these businesses and fostering a more resilient food system. We get our organics fruits from Buda Juice Canada! Enhanced Brand Image: Offering organic options can differentiate your establishment and appeal to eco-conscious diners. It demonstrates your commitment to quality, sustainability, and customer satisfaction.

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