Market Trends

This year, the California Milk Processor Board (CMPB), creator of the highly successful “Got Milk?” and “Toma Leche” (“Drink Milk”) promotions, will launch an integrated advertising campaign comprising multiple media touch points as part of its “More than Just Milk” (Mucho Mas Que Leche) initiative aimed at Hispanics.

Supervalu’s Chicago-based Jewel-Osco subsidiary is cutting 110 store director positions amid a realigned store leadership model to become more efficient and competitive in the marketplace.

Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market opened four new stores last week in California and Arizona, and will open for more stores this week in California, including a site in South Los Angeles.

Whole Foods Market and its nonprofit arm, Whole Planet Foundation, have teamed up with TastingTable.com to empower the poor through microcredit loans.

“The Global Powers of Consumer Products Industry 2010” report, recently released by New York-based Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, found that total sales for the Top 250 consumer products companies neared $3.2 trillion in 2008, up from $3 trillion for 2007’s Top 250.

While the world’s largest retailer posted a profit in the fourth quarter that beat Wall Street’s expectations, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.’s same-store sales declined 1.6 percent vs. a 2.4 percent increase the prior year, during the all-important year-end holiday period ended Jan. 31, 2010.

In anticipation of peak artichoke volume this spring, Ocean Mist Farms has introduced a range of point-of-sale (POS) materials to help grocers share artichoke information with consumers.

During the National Grocers Association’s (NGA) Convention last week, health and wellness took center stage with consumers as the results of the NGA’s 2010 Consumer Survey Report showed nutrition jumped six percentage points as a “very important” store trait for nearly four out of 10 consumers (37 percent).