IRI Growth Insights

The Future of Snacking

Snacking is a consumer barometer for mood, behavior or even how busy we are. While snacking helped us cope or stay entertained during the pandemic, now it reflects our return to active lifestyles. Darren Seifer, food and beverage industry analyst, shares insights on snacking trends, how different generations approach snacking and opportunities for snacking success.

Key takeaways:

• We snack differently depending on age. The youngest consumers’ snacking is controlled by their parents, who are looking for healthy options to tide kids over to the next meal.
• It’s not teens who are the heaviest snackers. It’s consumers in their 40s, but currently, those Gen Xers aren’t the biggest populations, so they’re not driving much growth.
• Immunity is less important now than during the pandemic, but digestive and calming attributes are still sought.

Fresh Pulse: Addressing the Challenges of 2023

Retailers and their CPG partners need to pull out all the stops in 2023 to acknowledge and support shoppers as they work to balance health, time and budgets. Promotional creativity and operational excellence should be foundational in building trust with shoppers. Jonna Parker, principal of IRI’s Fresh Center of Excellence, and IRI partner Anne-Marie Roerink, president of 210 Analytics, offer up strategies for winning in grocery in 2023 and beyond. 

Key takeaways:  

• Jonna Parker warns that “when you stand for everything, you stand for nothing” in today’s competitive grocery landscape.  
• Consumers are looking for solution support and education from grocers.
• With ongoing labor shortages and younger shoppers looking for new ways of shopping, the grocery industry is at a pivotal moment of change. 

Consumer Demand Revealed in Book Sales

According to Kristen McLean, Executive Director, Industry Analyst, NPD Books & Entertainment, books are “the idea market.” And given her view across 800 million units and 6,000 subject categories, she is capturing ideas at the intersections of discovery, consumption and purchasing. For the CPG and Gen Merch industries, the insights from book sales are a barometer for demand, but also a catalyst for innovation.  

 

Key takeaways:

• The TikTok generation, those aged 35 and younger, have outsized influence, recommending not only what we read, but how we spend our time and what we consume.
• Books provide insight into CPG consumption trends. Cookbooks focused on convenience and easy-prep meals are in, but there are also increasing sales of titles for baby food.
• Even though younger consumers are fans of sustainability and thrift, they also have room for premium and aspire to luxury. Opportunities – think licensing!

CES Podcast No. 4: How Tech is Enhancing the Consumer Experience

In the final CES podcast episode, NPD colleagues Ben Arnold, consumer technology industry analyst and Joe Derochowski, home and home improvement industry advisor, share their highlights from the big event, including how technology is enhancing – and enabling – the consumer experience.

 

Highlights:  

• Initiatives including the Home Connectivity Alliance work to bring smart appliances together for an easier and more robust consumer experience.
• More consumer health and wellness needs are being met with technology across new categories, including bathmats that read body composition and pillows that support quality sleep.
• Technology is also making greater enablement possible, from voice-activate kitchen appliances and customizable gaming consoles to beauty and personal care applicators.  

CES Podcast No. 3: IT and TV Highlights from CES

NPD’s consumer technology industry advisor Paul Gagnon and retail IT and B2B technology industry analyst Mike Crosby share highlights from CES in Las Vegas. The good news for tech buffs: Innovation is making a comeback after the pandemic years’ focus on operational efficiency and supply chain challenges.

 

Highlights:

• Performance and power are back, especially in support of gamers, with more efficient and powerful monitors that are also larger and have improved cooling. But consider them portable rather than mobile devices. 
• A lot of computer and TV purchases were made during the pandemic. Manufacturers and providers should be gearing up for the replacement wave that will occur in 2024-2025. 
• Integrating TVs into home décor is about the only new news for TVs, but connected TV platform competition is heating up. Now, it’s about the content, not the hardware. 

CES Podcast No. 2: Technology for a Better Life

Recapping their Consumer Electronics Show presentation, “7 Ways the Consumer Electronics Consumer Has Changed,” NPD colleagues Ben Arnold and Paul Gagnon illustrate the growing value consumers derive from technology and the opportunities for manufacturers and developers to meet changing consumer needs.  

Key takeaways:  

• Consumer technology holds a greater place in the household budget than it did prior to the pandemic – and it’s due more to the value of technology than to inflation.   
• Aside from foundational technology, application innovation enables convenience, productivity and even personal health.  
• Marketing of electronics is changing: It’s increasingly migrating to digital channels and focusing more on the value tech brings to how people live their lives.

C-Suite Conversations: Creating a Sustainable Industry to Nurture Future Generations

IRI's Growth Insights C-Suite Conversations feature notable leaders talking about the future of CPG, retail and media. Our newest installment focuses on sustainable protein and features the perspectives of Simon Limmer, CEO of Silver Fern Farms, New Zealand's leading producer and marketer of grass-fed beef, lamb and venison. He is joined by Joe O’Connor, president of Applegate, a leading producer of natural and organic meats and cheeses that was acquired by Hormel Foods in 2015.

In this exclusive interview, Limmer and O'Connor first share their personal definitions of sustainability. O'Connor talks about Applegate's sustainability journey, from antibiotic-free meats to organic meats and now regenerative agriculture. Limmer details Silver Fern Farms' unique business model for sustainable meat production. And both look at future sustainability trends, who the sustainable meat consumer will be in 2030, and the crucial role progressive farmers play in making sustainable protein products possible.

CES #1: Where Consumer Products Meet Their Future

The 2023 Consumer Electronics Show will showcase changes to the industry that put consumer needs and challenges at the forefront of technology and solutions.

Kitchen appliances large and small are now “smart” and help answer the ages old question: What’s for dinner? Find out where the meal falls short of the plate.

The pandemic dimmed the innovation light for many companies, but still, many advancements to existing products address relevancy and seamless integration into consumers’ everyday lives. The next question: How are manufacturers leaning into digital technologies to inspire consumers?

Key takeaways:

• Consumer products have a lot to learn at the CES, including how they fit – and should fit – with the way consumers live and behave today.  
• Examples of how technology continues to evolve to fit seamlessly in consumers lives. 
• Opportunities for technology to close the gap on some existing – and future – consumer needs.

Dairy Discovery

Like many departments, inflation is driving growth in the dairy case. But some categories are going strong on their own might, including frozen novelties, coffee creamer and natural cheese. Learn about trends and innovation occurring among the “Dairy 15” from John Crawford, leader of IRI’s dairy vertical and vice president of Client Insights, Dairy. 

Key takeaways:  

• Inflation has shoppers returning to private label offerings in the dairy case after the pandemic years saw name brand dairy products driving growth. Currently, private label products in 12 of the 15 dairy categories are outpacing sales growth of name brand products.  
• Key benefits consumers are looking for in the dairy case include immune defense, and pre- and probiotics. Lactose-free remains a strong growth segment. Despite inflation, consumers are willing to pay more for these added benefits.  
• Plant-based products are leading innovation in the dairy case, but dairy innovation is occurring with flavors and name brand licensing. 

Innovation Brightens the Outlook for Frozen Foods

Buoyed by the uptick in sales of frozen foods throughout the pandemic, retailers and CPGs are doubling down on the department’s expansion and availability throughout the store. They’re also focused on frozen product innovation for the future. IRI’s Sally Lyons Wyatt and Anne-Marie Roerink of 210 Analytics share the strategies in play and highlight the best opportunities for future growth.  

 

HIGHLIGHTS 

 

• Younger shoppers perceive frozen foods to be as good as fresh and see them as a source for inspiration and convenience.   
• CPG manufacturers get high marks for innovation around consumption lifestyles, sustainability and using packaging to communicate with shoppers.   
• One secret to continued growth is achieving the right balance of assortment, including entry-level price points through private brands and innovation in name brands.