Your feedback is important to us. Click here to email us your feedback.

NCA SmartBrief

April 19, 2012

Market Trends

M&M's Pretzel a top 2011 launch
In a SymphonyIRI ranking, M&M's Pretzel ranked fifth in dollar sales for products launched in 2011, with $58.4 billion in sales. Among New Product Pacesetters for food, candy and gum accounted for 19% of sales, said the report. CandyAndSnackToday.com (4/19)

Shoppers want same price and convenience when buying green
In a survey by RetailMeNot and Ipsos Public Affairs, 46% of respondents said they prefer products with an environmental claim, but 60% said they won't pay more for them. Meanwhile, 43% said they don't think about environmental impact when making a purchase, and 40% said they buy products with environmental benefit if they cost about the same as comparable products without the claim and are readily available. Drug Store News (4/18)

Diet & Health

Awareness of food cravings may help regulate appetite
Participants who responded more to food images during functional magnetic resonance imaging scans were the ones who gained weight in the next six months, a study in The Journal of Neuroscience revealed. Researchers said awareness on how certain triggers affect food cravings may help control appetite. The Daily Mail (London) (4/17)

Association News

NCA provides guidance on new food safety regulations
Recently, NCA held its third quarterly food safety forum to update NCA's membership on the Food Safety Modernization Act, and last week NCA's Laura Shumow gave an overview at the joint PMCA/NCA Food Safety Course. A main topic of these presentations was FDA's new inspection program. As mandated by FSMA, FDA has significantly increased its inspections of both domestic and foreign facilities.

What happens if your data is breached?
Does your company take orders over the Internet? Do you store your customers' credit card information? Do you store your employees' Social Security or driver's license numbers? Are you able to determine and what your financial exposure would be if this data fell into the wrong hands? The NCA Insurance Program has access to the leading markets and a proprietary policy for network security liability coverage with affordable coverage for today's confectionery manufacturers, distributors, and brokers. Contact Bonnie Gauerke at (800) 222-4664, ext. 1635, or blg@telcominsgrp.com for a quote today.

Science & Technology

Report: Plastic packaging weathered recession
A report from PlasticsEurope notes plastic packaging for food and drinks did not suffer a downturn during the recession because it is used in "everyday products which are less influenced by economic fluctuations." The report sees opportunities in trends including lighter weights for bottles and technologies such as biosensors and RFID tags. FoodProductionDaily.com (France) (4/19)

International

Tangerine to make chewier version of Vimto Bon Bon line
Tangerine Confectionery has signed a licensing deal to manufacture a chewier version of the Vimto Bon Bon brand. The candy was previously manufactured by Milar McCowan's, which was purchased by Tangerine. The new, softer formula goes along with a market trend for "softer eating confectionery," according to Tangerine. Manchester Evening News (U.K.) (4/18) ConfectioneryNews.com (France) (4/16)

SmartQuote

Things alter for the worse spontaneously, if they be not altered for the better designedly."

--Francis Bacon,
British author and statesman