SupermarketGuru says everyone wants fresh, talks trends in all food sectors
January 20, 2015 |06:00 AM
LA QUINTA, Calif. — All sectors of the food industry want to create for themselves the image of freshness that the fruit and vegetable industry has had for decades, Phil Lempert, author of the SupermarketGuru newsletter, told the United Fresh Produce Association last week at this resort near Palm Springs.
“Everybody wants to be you — fresh,” Lempert said in a Wednesday speech to United Fresh’s leadership forum.
Phil Lempert
“It is all about fresh. You have been on target with consumers and supermarkets for many decades. It is important that produce does not get overwhelmed by all these other departments that want to steal your thunder.”
The processed food companies whose products are sold in the centers of grocery stores are trying to be fresh, Lempert noted, even though by definition processed foods can’t be fresh.
Produce has its natural advantages, Lampert said, but he also had some words of caution for the sector.
“Produce has colors, aroma,” Lempert added. “People stay longer in the stores that have a great produce experience.”
But he also noted that many shoppers find produce departments “beautiful and wonderful but confusing,” and suggested that produce managers should be able to tell them how to prepare the fruits and vegetables they may not know.
“It’s not about selling it cheap — it is about the produce manager talking to customer and cutting a piece of fruit and offering it to the customer,” he said.
Lempert also praised United Fresh’s decision to include a membership category for flower and plant producers. (See following story.)
Many stores are putting in floral departments that are taking an increasing amount of space, he noted.
Lempert discussed the impact of many trends across the food industry.
Whole grains, organics and locals are driving consumer purchasing habits, but Lempert warned that the definition of local has become so broad the term means “anything grown on the planet.”
In statements that sounded very similar to European advocates of labeling food by its geographic origin, Lempert said, “People understand produce has different characteristics because it is grown in different parts of the country. We need to explain to consumers about bioregions. We need to have them understand the impact of soil, water and temperature.”
The industry should tell consumers to buy produce in season because it is going to taste better and have more nutrients, he said.
“Do we really need produce picked before it is ripe and doesn’t have much taste?,” Lempert asked.
“Give kids produce in season and see their faces light up,” he said, adding that this “leads to relationship with food” that amounts to more than “shoving it in” their mouths.
Craft foods made of specialized local ingredients in small batches that are not sold nationally are another popular trend, he said.
One hundred years ago, Lempert said, there were ads for a sugar water concoction that would make adults “as fat as pigs,” and it was positive.
“Coca Cola and Pepsi wish that were still true,” Lempert said, but “consumers change, they evolve.”
Nutrition and health concerns are “not a fad,” but here to stay, Lempert noted, but said dieting for appearance and health “are two different things.”
More and more grocery stores have registered dieticians on hand to advise customers, and he urged the produce industry to work with the dieticians.
“As an industry we have to come together to talk about the truth when it comes to health and nutrition,” Lempert said.
People’s inclination to trust information on the Internet and on mobile devices is a problem, Lempert said, because some of that information on calories and content is based on averages rather than the product the consumer is testing.
There’s a mobile device that is supposed to tell whether produce is fresh if the device is placed close to the item, but Lempert said he can still tell better by “tapping it and smelling it.”
Cooking at home is rising generally, Lempert said, because restaurants face higher labor costs that are leading to price increases and a decline in quality, but there are different trends among the generations.
People over 65 are changing the way they eat as “they are screaming ‘I want to live forever.’”
“Grazing golden-agers or “golden grazers” are moving from three to six meals per day that are healthier, leading to a wider variety of healthier snack foods, he said.
The Millennial Generation, he said, have given the country food trucks, food raves and a sense that food has “cool hipness” because they were living at home, had no money and a high college debt.
Millennials also started the trend of photographing food in restaurants.
For this group, “it’s unthinkable to dine out and not record it. They never want to eat the same food twice in their lifetime.” Lampert showed a video called “Eat It Don’t Tweet It” that lampoons the trend. (See link below.)
Generation Z , the people born since 1995, want simple and healthy foods, Lempert said. For them fresh chicken is the No. 1 seller, followed by hot dogs.
“They are cooking and adding personal touches,” he said.
Most grocery shoppers dislike or hate grocery shopping, Lempert said.
Noting that he visits 15 stores per week. Lempert questioned why grocery stores have given the best service to the customers who buy the least by creating the express lanes.
“Moms with full carts get the worst service,” Lempert said, adding he believes grocery stores that established special services for those moms would see an increase in business.
Shoppers are shifting away from big grocery stores to smaller stores and other places where they can buy food now, such as drug stores, he noted.
Lempert also questioned the campaigns to build supermarkets in “food deserts.” Stores with 50,000 square feet of space closed in those low-income areas because people didn’t go to them, Lempert said. The better model, he said, is the food buses or trucks that go into these areas once a week.
Same day delivery is “not just for city slickers,” Lempert said, noting that the Uber transportation network is now promising to deliver more than 200 items in 10 minutes.
All the delivery services are changing food shopping patterns. Instead of shopping once a week, people now acquire food six, seven, eight times per week.
More and more grocery stores are putting in restaurants, he said.
Bars have now become a “destination” in some Whole Foods stores, Lempert said, adding he never would have imagined a store would put a bar in front of the dairy department and “hide the milk.”
For the future, Lempert said, stores should “cater to health and wellness and create a convenient and ‘wow’ shopping experience.”
But noting the current fad for kale, Lempert said the produce industry always needs to be looking out for the next trend and not be afraid to be innovative.
He cited the case of Frieda Caplan, “who changed produce with this weird fuzzy fruit” called kiwi.
“How do we bring that excitement back?,” Lempert asked.
▪ SupermarketGuru
▪ Frieda’s Inc.
▪ “Eat It, Don’t Tweet It” (video) by American Hipster + Key of Awesome — Lyrics
“Everybody wants to be you — fresh,” Lempert said in a Wednesday speech to United Fresh’s leadership forum.
“It is all about fresh. You have been on target with consumers and supermarkets for many decades. It is important that produce does not get overwhelmed by all these other departments that want to steal your thunder.”
The processed food companies whose products are sold in the centers of grocery stores are trying to be fresh, Lempert noted, even though by definition processed foods can’t be fresh.
Produce has its natural advantages, Lampert said, but he also had some words of caution for the sector.
“Produce has colors, aroma,” Lempert added. “People stay longer in the stores that have a great produce experience.”
But he also noted that many shoppers find produce departments “beautiful and wonderful but confusing,” and suggested that produce managers should be able to tell them how to prepare the fruits and vegetables they may not know.
“It’s not about selling it cheap — it is about the produce manager talking to customer and cutting a piece of fruit and offering it to the customer,” he said.
Lempert also praised United Fresh’s decision to include a membership category for flower and plant producers. (See following story.)
Many stores are putting in floral departments that are taking an increasing amount of space, he noted.
Lempert discussed the impact of many trends across the food industry.
LOCAL FOODS
Whole grains, organics and locals are driving consumer purchasing habits, but Lempert warned that the definition of local has become so broad the term means “anything grown on the planet.”
In statements that sounded very similar to European advocates of labeling food by its geographic origin, Lempert said, “People understand produce has different characteristics because it is grown in different parts of the country. We need to explain to consumers about bioregions. We need to have them understand the impact of soil, water and temperature.”
The industry should tell consumers to buy produce in season because it is going to taste better and have more nutrients, he said.
“Do we really need produce picked before it is ripe and doesn’t have much taste?,” Lempert asked.
“Give kids produce in season and see their faces light up,” he said, adding that this “leads to relationship with food” that amounts to more than “shoving it in” their mouths.
Craft foods made of specialized local ingredients in small batches that are not sold nationally are another popular trend, he said.
NUTRITION AND HEALTH, MOBILE DEVICES
One hundred years ago, Lempert said, there were ads for a sugar water concoction that would make adults “as fat as pigs,” and it was positive.
“Coca Cola and Pepsi wish that were still true,” Lempert said, but “consumers change, they evolve.”
Nutrition and health concerns are “not a fad,” but here to stay, Lempert noted, but said dieting for appearance and health “are two different things.”
More and more grocery stores have registered dieticians on hand to advise customers, and he urged the produce industry to work with the dieticians.
“As an industry we have to come together to talk about the truth when it comes to health and nutrition,” Lempert said.
People’s inclination to trust information on the Internet and on mobile devices is a problem, Lempert said, because some of that information on calories and content is based on averages rather than the product the consumer is testing.
There’s a mobile device that is supposed to tell whether produce is fresh if the device is placed close to the item, but Lempert said he can still tell better by “tapping it and smelling it.”
GENERATIONAL TRENDS
Cooking at home is rising generally, Lempert said, because restaurants face higher labor costs that are leading to price increases and a decline in quality, but there are different trends among the generations.
People over 65 are changing the way they eat as “they are screaming ‘I want to live forever.’”
“Grazing golden-agers or “golden grazers” are moving from three to six meals per day that are healthier, leading to a wider variety of healthier snack foods, he said.
The Millennial Generation, he said, have given the country food trucks, food raves and a sense that food has “cool hipness” because they were living at home, had no money and a high college debt.
Millennials also started the trend of photographing food in restaurants.
For this group, “it’s unthinkable to dine out and not record it. They never want to eat the same food twice in their lifetime.” Lampert showed a video called “Eat It Don’t Tweet It” that lampoons the trend. (See link below.)
Generation Z , the people born since 1995, want simple and healthy foods, Lempert said. For them fresh chicken is the No. 1 seller, followed by hot dogs.
“They are cooking and adding personal touches,” he said.
THE GROCERY STORE EXPERIENCE — AND DELIVERIES
Most grocery shoppers dislike or hate grocery shopping, Lempert said.
Noting that he visits 15 stores per week. Lempert questioned why grocery stores have given the best service to the customers who buy the least by creating the express lanes.
“Moms with full carts get the worst service,” Lempert said, adding he believes grocery stores that established special services for those moms would see an increase in business.
Shoppers are shifting away from big grocery stores to smaller stores and other places where they can buy food now, such as drug stores, he noted.
Lempert also questioned the campaigns to build supermarkets in “food deserts.” Stores with 50,000 square feet of space closed in those low-income areas because people didn’t go to them, Lempert said. The better model, he said, is the food buses or trucks that go into these areas once a week.
Same day delivery is “not just for city slickers,” Lempert said, noting that the Uber transportation network is now promising to deliver more than 200 items in 10 minutes.
All the delivery services are changing food shopping patterns. Instead of shopping once a week, people now acquire food six, seven, eight times per week.
More and more grocery stores are putting in restaurants, he said.
Bars have now become a “destination” in some Whole Foods stores, Lempert said, adding he never would have imagined a store would put a bar in front of the dairy department and “hide the milk.”
For the future, Lempert said, stores should “cater to health and wellness and create a convenient and ‘wow’ shopping experience.”
But noting the current fad for kale, Lempert said the produce industry always needs to be looking out for the next trend and not be afraid to be innovative.
He cited the case of Frieda Caplan, “who changed produce with this weird fuzzy fruit” called kiwi.
“How do we bring that excitement back?,” Lempert asked.
▪ SupermarketGuru
▪ Frieda’s Inc.
▪ “Eat It, Don’t Tweet It” (video) by American Hipster + Key of Awesome — Lyrics
