Category: Marketing

January 15, 2019

Podcast: Walmart’s Consumer Strategy

In this episode of the Oliver Wyman Health Podcast, Sam Glick, Partner in the Health & Life Sciences practice at Oliver Wyman, chats with Marcus Osborne, Walmart’s Vice President of Health Transformation, about consumer purchasing behavior.

KEY TAKEAWAY
Marcus Osborne @Walmart: “What a consumer just wants to know is, ‘Is this healthy or not?’”
Walmart’s Findings on Healthcare Waste
Marcus says a third of what’s spent on healthcare is wasted, maybe not needed, and perhaps even harmful. “We’re spending 18 percent of national GDP on healthcare, which means 6 percent of our entire national GDP you could go out and set on fire,” he adds.

January 4, 2019

Life in the Fast Lane with Private Brands

Private brands have become full-fledged brands in their own right, as evidenced by 69 percent of consumers saying it’s very or somewhat important to have a good assortment of private brands in food and beverage. These own-brand products continue to make strides and hit an upward growth trajectory again.

As consumers continue to explore new products based more on attributes and less on the brand providing them, retailers are quickly positioning their own brands to differentiate as a competitive strategy. The FMI Private Brand Leadership Council stays on top of these trends with the second release of the Power of Private Brands research. To dive deeper into private brand topics and insights throughout the year, the council broke up the research into four separate releases:

December 16, 2018

Developing a Strong Broker Network to Grow Your Sales

Building and Maximizing Your Broker Relations to Increase Your Sales

We recently sat down with three seasoned broker professionals to get their wisdom on building an and maximizing broker relationships. Here are some pearls of wisdom:

November 15, 2018

B Corp: Are You Already One and Just Don’t Know It Yet?

B Corp: Are You Already One and Just Don’t Know It Yet?

The most recent Deloitte Millennials survey found 40 percent of respondents said the second most important goal of business should be to “improve society” – right after “generate jobs.”

Meg Barnhart’s experience with her 6-year-old business is that the survey results are accurate.

A year ago she and her partner, Jane McKay, opted to go through the process to obtain B Corporation certification for their company, the Zen of Slow Cooking, which produces and sells spice packets to make meals with slow cookers.

The B Corp movement is a group of 2,600 companies worldwide that have committed themselves to social and environmental goals beyond simply meeting financial targets. It is one way to satisfy consumers and employees who want to buy from and work for companies that share their commitment to social responsibility. While the consumer has been comfortable good product seals or certifications for years now, we need to recognize that the desire to interact with products from good companies is alive and well. 

If You Think Your Customers Don’t Care About Accurate Product Knowledge—Think Again

Remember the good old days when shoppers would bump into you with their carts while you were restocking because they were walking around searching for what they wanted?

Now, of course, shoppers are just as likely to bump into you because their noses are buried in their smartphones, looking for more information about products on your store’s shelves that they want.

Here’s some news: When shoppers are at home, they’re often staring at their computer screens to get information about the products they want BEFORE they hit your food retail aisles.

October 30, 2018

Wafflepreneur Values FMI Emerge

My partner Kyle Rood and I knew we had a great product – nutritious, easy-to-prepare frozen waffles – but we were having trouble figuring out how to turn what we thought was a brilliant idea into a real business.

We were fortunate to connect with FMI Emerge because, in the brief time we’ve been working with the FMI Emerge team, they and the people they have led us to have really helped us move Start Right to the next level. The Emerge staff and the connections we have made are now extensions of our small but mighty team.

First, we were able to talk through our situation with Emerge mentors who helped us understand that we still needed financing to improve our business processes, production, and distribution. With the help of Emerge, we have built a significant network of investors and mentors in distribution and marketing to help us continue our growth.

October 25, 2018

Insights on Maximizing Broker Relationships

As your emerging brand gains sales velocity, your distribution network evolves, and broker relationships are emphasized.

Join our live panel discussion on Tuesday, November 13th, 2 pm EST to learn how the old model of finding and working with a broker has changed, and how redefining the manufacturer-broker relationship is key to managing sales and costs control. Register Today!

September 22, 2018

5 Food Innovation Trends At Expo East

At Natural Products Expo East last week, it was a pleasure to meet inspiring innovators and entrepreneurs who are at the cutting edge of food retail today.

I had the chance to connect with product innovators who are generating new ways to combine ingredients and to create better-for-you snacks, drinks and meal solutions. And, at a show where most exhibitors are category disruptors, it was great to talk with entrepreneurs spearheading new distribution systems and market opportunities for farmers and new supply chains.

I was also thrilled to meet with some of our awesome FMI Emerge Mentors. Over the past few months, I’ve made vital connections between the mentor network experience and the needs of the subscribers in our program. If you are an emerging brand or know a company growing their retail sales, we hope you will consider supporting FMI Emerge.

With so much to see and so little time, I headed straight to the “Hot Products” pavilions! 

September 20, 2018

Listen & Learn – Learning to Use Your Label and Ingredients for Sales Growth

Beyond the Label: Learning to Use Your Label and Ingredients for Sales Growth
Free Webinar, Wednesday, October 10th.
Consumers increasingly make purchase decisions based on product information online and in-store. If your emerging brand fails to deliver the right attributes then you lose shelf space, visibility and sales.
In this free fast-paced interactive webinar, you will gain the understanding on how to take your product content to the next level. We will focus on both core and enhanced product attributes.
You will gain an overview on GS1 Certifications, SBA Packaging Guidelines, SEO and organic search considerations and SmartLabel® implementation.
Register online today.

September 11, 2018

Distribution or Velocity – Insights from a FMI Emerge Mentor

How many stores, shelves, doors, are you in or on? In some form, that is the most frequently asked question of a founder of an emerging brand. In my opinion, that question perpetuates the wrong strategic focus. I will admit, I have a strong opinion on this issue. Chasing ACV, getting sucked in by the allure of store count, can kill a brand before it ever really gets started.