Articles by Tom Vierhile

Ferrero USA Kinder Joy
Retail State of the Industry | Snacks & Confections

Snacks, Confections Grow with New Forms and Flavors

The popularity of hot and spicy flavors has not been lost on snack and candy makers.
Tom Vierhile
July 19, 2019
Confections and snacks both vie for the same "share of stomach," but the fortunes of the two camps have moved in opposite directions in recent years with snacks ascending and confectionery reeling.
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Heinz MayoMust Combines Mayonnaise with Mustard
Retail State of the Industry | Sauces, Dressings & Spreads

Flavor Innovation, Clean Ingredients Boost Spreads, Sauces & Dressings

Categories such as ketchup and mayonnaise have become centers of innovation for major food companies.
Tom Vierhile
July 17, 2019
In recent years, "big food" has lost ground to smaller challengers in many food categories including sauces, dressings, and spreads. These are areas with few barriers to entry and they are especially welcoming to flavor innovation.
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Wildscape Chef-inspired Frozen Meals
Retail State of the Industry | Meals & Entrées

Consumers Warm to Frozen Entrée, Meals in New Forms, Flavors

The Frozen Chosen: Sales of frozen entrees grew at more than two and a half times the pace of overall packaged food sales through the midway point of 2018.
Tom Vierhile
July 9, 2019
Instead of giving up on once moribund sectors like frozen meals and entrees, industry innovators have built their own "Field of Dreams" in the form of better, cleaner products. And for the first time in nearly a generation, consumers have responded.
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Post Consumer Brands Cereals
Retail State of the Industry | Cereals & Snack Bars

Cereals Embrace Nostalgia, Snacking; Bars Power Up

General Mills added a Limited Edition Peach flavor of Cheerios; Kellogg a Banana flavor of Kellogg’s Raisin Bran; and Quaker Oats a Strawberry flavor of Life Cereal
Tom Vierhile
July 2, 2019
A wave of new presweetened cereals inspired by popular baked goods and desserts including donuts, cookies, and ice cream populated store shelves in 2018.
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Hershey's Gold Peanuts & Pretzels Bar
Retail State of the Industry | Snacks & Confections

2018 Snacks Trends: Sweet & Tart

Confections and snacks share usage occasions—but not the same growth prospects
Tom Vierhile
March 15, 2018
Confections and snacks often share usage occasions, but one thing they do not share is rosy growth prospects. While confectionery has struggled, snacks have gained.
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Kellogg's Special K Nourish Cereal
Retail State of the Industry | Cereals & Snack Bars

2018 Cereal Trends: Morning Maneuvers

Cereals and bars angle to provide hearty, wholesome meal and snack solutions
Tom Vierhile
March 12, 2018
The ready-to-eat breakfast cereal category's hopes of innovating a way out of its sales slump largely were dashed in 2017. New product launches were plentiful, but none are likely to register as blockbusters.
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Hostess Butterfinger Brownies
Retail State of the Industry | Bakery Foods

2018 Bakery Trends: Oven Lovin'

New bakery foods range from indulgent treats to healthful tastes and textures
Tom Vierhile
March 8, 2018
Perhaps it's just how the cookie crumbles. But when it comes to food trends, there are few food categories like bakery foods that illustrate the large gap between what consumers say—and what consumers actually do.
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Plentils Lentil Chips
Retail Product Trends Annual | Confections & Snacks

2017 Snack Trends: See a Need. Fill a Need.

Snacks, sweets tout flavor, health in bold new applications
Tom Vierhile
March 14, 2017

Confections and snacks compete for the same share-of-stomach, but are considered separate categories. 2016 saw the lines between the two areas blur as confection innovation picked up taste, texture, and ingredient cues from snacks.


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Very Berry Cheerios
Retail Product Trends Annual | Breakfast Cereals, Snack Bars

2017 Breakfast & Bars Trends: Make a Clean Break

Breakfast cereal and bar makers push new formats, clean label with few ingredients
Tom Vierhile
March 14, 2017

One of the original convenience foods, breakfast cereal is no longer seen as convenient by younger consumers increasingly inclined to avoid milk and cereal in the morning.


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Mondelez seizes growth in savory crackers with its new Triscuits
Retail Product Trends Annual | Bakery Foods

2017 Bakery Trends: Flavor and Function

New bakery foods products push both indulgence and health
Tom Vierhile
March 13, 2017

Bakery food innovation in 2016 was a study in opposites with new product action focused at two extremes. There are indulgent products focused on taste as well as and healthful products with added functionality or fewer objectionable ingredients.


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