International Fresh Produce Association’s Post

The January Retail Analysis for #freshproduce shows opportunity and challenges alike. Here is my take on some of the results and implications in the report by #IFPA.

Have you seen International Fresh Produce Association's Retail US Market Watch yet? Joe Watson, CPP shares his insights on key impacts and what they mean to our industry. We'd love your feedback! Remember, IFPA members also have access to our comprehensive retail sales reporting, powered by Circana. If you have questions about our research and insights resources, let us know! #retail #freshproduce #produce #retailsales #supermarket #inflation #data #retailmarketwatch

What's happening with #freshproduce and consumers at the #supermarket level? Check out this brief clip featuring our own Joe Watson, CPP looking back at January #fruitsandvegetables sales (video and visuals by AI, Joe is definitely real!).

The ninth closure of #Giant-branded #supermarkets may have sounded some alarm bells for investors of DFI Retail Group. However, analysts believe the move is little cause for concern, as the company embarks on a right-sizing strategy to improve profitability and turns its focus to its other grocery line Cold Storage Singapore. This shows that the supermarket retailer's management has a "willingness to downsize, divest and focus on improving shareholder returns", noted Jayden Vantarakis, Macquarie Capital's head of Asean and Singapore research (Macquarie Group). Zheng Feng Chee and Andy Sim of DBS Bank also weighed in. Read more in this news analysis by The Business Times:

- The average U.S. C-store shopper visits a convenience store more than three times a week. - 165 million daily C-store visits offer a prime opportunity to test new products and flavors. - Food service has overtaken cigarettes as the largest category in the store. #fmcg #cpg #convenience #retail #manufacturing #consumerbehaviour #markettrends

"🎯 Daily Harvest launches at Target 🚀 The expansion into 250 of the mass merchant’s stores comes as the DTC food brand builds out its wholesale footprint with retailers like Costco and Wegmans. 🛒🥦🍓 #DailyHarvest #Target #RetailExpansion #HealthyEating #DTC" by Retail Dive about Target

DWF Trending with Independents! Read the Better Retailing snippet below on how the #costoflivingcrisis is affecting the wholesale/retail frozen food industry. Mo Maroufi & Simon McCullagh Full article available at www.betterretailing.com

We asked ~4,750 people what they thought of Australia’s biggest retailers. The answered showed a trend – premium and value players are taking off, while the middle-market falls behind. Take premium supermarket Harris Farm Markets and the value player Costco Wholesale for example. Despite servicing different markets, each has jumped up three spots in our product quality rankings to take out 1st and 2nd place. What does this mean for retailers? Brands must take positions higher or lower on the premium to value scale, or risk being lost in the middle. Read our full report to find out more: https://bit.ly/42mAQAp #retailstrategy #premiumretailers #valueretailers #Australiangrocers

I’ve now seen the most bearish signal for the consumer. Costco Wholesale's famed rotisserie chicken is noticeably smaller. While its been long rumored that Costco planned to move away from its large bins to bags to reduce plastic, the change to a smaller bird is a surprise. I thought I was the only one but reddit boards confirmed the suspicion “Old Costco chicken was 5-5.5lbs. The greasy leaking bag chicken is 3lb.” Yet this phenomenon, of smaller portion sizes for the same price, I’m noticing is becoming more widespread in big CPG. Chip bags feel a bit lighter. Chocolate bars have fewer squares (even before the issues with cocoa inventory). In times of inflation, with difficulties in raising consumer prices, CPG brands look for creative ways to increase margins. Yet consumers are still spending which is going to put even more inflationary pressure on the system. What I wonder is who is going to win this game of chicken?

Oats Overnight recently secured wholesale deals with Whole Foods Market, Target, and Walmart. So, we asked Nina McKinney, their Chief Strategy Officer, what tips she had on picking the right retail partner. Here's what she shared: 1️⃣ Choose your wholesale partner as carefully as you'd choose an investor: What are you getting from the relationship? What can you provide them? 2️⃣ Partner with a retailer who shares their learnings – especially around how your products perform across their many locations. 3️⃣ Use your existing DTC presence to illustrate the value you'll bring; after all, your customers likely will buy more than just your product when they shop in-store. 4️⃣ Optimize your DTC products for wholesale (for instance, opt for packaging that stands out on the shelf from your competitors). For more proven wholesale strategies, check out the full conversation featuring Nina, Graza Senior Director of Finance David Sooch, and Little Sesame Co-Founder & CEO Nick Wiseman below: https://lnkd.in/eJmBfCaH