Brain Food

What Kids Say Goes

Children under 9 years old wield substantial influence over the retail products purchased in their households, and thus represent a lucrative demographic for marketers in the food and beverage industry, according to Rockville, Md.-based research firm Packaged Facts.

Kids are more marketing-savvy and nutritionally conscious than those of previous generations, and have more input on the foods and beverages that their parents buy for them, according to Research Director David Sprinkle. Noting that lifelong dietary habits and brand loyalty are established early, he adds, “As any good marketer knows, the way to develop long-term customers is to hook them early in life.”

—Packaged Facts’ “The Kids Food and Beverage Market in the U.S.” report

Grocers Top Temkin

Congrats to H-E-B, Trader Joe’s and Publix for taking the top spots in the fourth annual 2014 Temkin Experience Ratings, a nationwide survey evaluating 268 companies across three areas of customer experience. “Fifteen of the 19 industries improved their average Temkin Experience Ratings since last year, and over half of the industries, including grocers, have improved in each of the last two years,” Bruce Temkin, customer experience transformist and managing partner, told Progressive Grocer. Other grocers that ranked high on the list include Aldi, Food Lion, Kroger, Piggly Wiggly and Sam’s Club.

Breakfast Boom

For the fourth consecutive year, restaurant breakfast occasions have increased in frequency among U.S. consumers, while lunch and dinner occasions have declined, according to Port Washington, N.Y.-based NPD Group. In 2013, consumers made more than 12.5 billion breakfast visits to U.S. foodservice outlets, a 3 percent gain over the year-ago period.
Quick service, which accounts for about 80 percent of total restaurant morning meals, showed the strongest increase in breakfast visits of all restaurant segments, with a 4 percent increase compared with the year-ago period.
—NPD Group