October 19th: What's new in the industry this week?

Featured Trend

How much is too much caffeine?

?? The FDA cites that a person should consume no more than 400mg of caffeine daily

? Though coffee and tea have been popular ways to get a little pep in your step, energy drinks are also a common choice these days

?? Newer brands and more neutral marketing have broadened the consumer segment for energy drinks

?? Energy drinks used to be typically consumed by partygoers, laborers, athletes, and gamers but these days it’s common to see an office worker reach for a Celsius, maybe even two

?? Though the energy drink space may seem saturated, only a handful of drinks in this space use natural sweeteners while many still use sucralose – a bit of a difference when compared to the functional beverage or soda space

In the meantime, here’s what we’re reading:

Latest Webinars

• 2023 Mid-Year Trends: Meat & Dairy
• 2023 Mid-Year Trends: Center Store
• 2023 Mid-Year Trends: Beverages
• 2023 Mid-Year Trends: Plant-Based
• 2023 Mid-Year Trends: Industry & Retail Trends
• 2023 Mid-Year Trends: VMS
• 2023 Mid-Year Trends: Pet

Latest from SPINS

• State of the Industry (VMS) – Deck
• Food For Thought: Injecting Excitement Into Stagnant Categories - Deck
• Superbowl Retail Insights – Deck
• New Years Retail Insights - Deck
• Winter Retail Insights - Deck
• Innovation Lockdown: The Pandemic’s Impact on Retail Launches - Deck
• Thanksgiving Retail Insights 2023 - Deck

General Industry News

• Shoppers say inflation will impact their Halloween candy spending
• Costco CEO Craig Jelinek to resign
• Grocers, brands lean hard into the benefits of free samples
• What’s ahead in grocery M&A?
• Walmart aims to take inflation off the Thanksgiving table
• Aldi unveils Thanksgiving price reductions of up to 50%
• Pardon the Disruption: 2023 has made the case for Kroger-Albertsons
• General Mills and Walmart team up to accelerate regenerative agriculture on 600,000 acres
• Back to Basics: How to operate a successful private label brand
• Albertsons Sees Government Benefit Cuts Impact Grocery Spending
• Self-Checkout Is a Failed Experiment
• Hy-Vee builds in-store digital media experience with Samsung
• Target COO and chief external engagement officer announce retirements
• Tomorrow’s Grocery List: 6 Supermarket Concepts Worth Watching
• Those Doritos Too Expensive? More Stores Offer Their Own Alternatives.

Snack & Beverages

New in Snacking

• Lenny & Larry’s adds wafer bars
• Ferrara to purchase candy maker Jelly Belly for undisclosed amount
• Sugar shortage isn’t causing spike in Halloween candy prices: Wells Fargo analyst
• Frito-Lay debuts Cheetos Pretzels

New in Beverages

• Slideshow: Consumers reach for customizable coffee choices
• Intent Brands Revamps With Gamer-Positioned Functional Drink
• Coca-Cola Company and Pernod Ricard partner on Absolut Vodka with Sprite
• Eat the Change Raises $14M as Tea Biz Grows
• Going With The Flow: Joyburst Finds Co-Packing Partner

Center of Store

New in Center of Store

• JM Smucker selling 4 condiment brands to TreeHouse Foods for $20M
• Tia Lupita secures $2.6 million seed funding
• Hormel Foods sees growth in Foodservice 3.0

New in Baked Goods & Bread

• BBU’s Thomas’ to debut new croissant bread
• SuperPretzel rolls out soft pretzel sticks
• Joseph’s Bakery launches Heart Friendly pita bread

New in Frozen

• Rudi’s Bakery rolls out frozen Texas toast
• Celebrity chef debuts frozen entree brand

Plant, Protein & Dairy

New in Protein

• JBS rolls out new look
• HPAI reported in South Dakota, Minnesota turkey flocks
• Flavored bacon keeps on sizzling
• Grass-fed beef diversifies its product offering as demand grows
• Kellogg’s, Big G and others get their day in court over alleged egg-fixing scheme
• Tyson Foods partners with insect ingredients company
• Meat proteins… in plants? Moolec Science raises $30m to expand molecular farming operation
• UNLIMEAT: “It’s the Perfect Time to Enhance the ‘Deliciousness’ of Alternative Meat”
• PURIS Petitions Against Cheap Pea Protein Imports from China Threatening Domestic Market

New in Cheese & Other Dairy

• Sartori adds cheese spreads, dips
• Organic Valley Partners Up on Seaweed Feed

Non-Food

New in Vitamin & Supplements

• Seasonality returns to the immune support category
• Taking charge: What women want in health, wellness, and supplements
• Personalisation for sports nutrition: enhancing adherence for optimal performance

New in Personal Care

• Masstige Skincare Brand Beyou Is Quietly Making A Big Splash At Target And CVS
• VC-Backed Daye, The British Femtech Startup Out To “Use Tampons As A Broader Drug Delivery Platform,” Launches In The US
• DeoDoc Launches Menopause Care
• The Good Patch Launches Skin Care Patches

New in Pet

• Study shows grain-free diets not linked to DCM
• Will pet food prices in the US keep falling?
• The state of pet obesity (spoiler alert: it’s not good)