Welcome to The Grocery Trader’s August issue. We’ve seen Lord of The Rings and The Hobbit. Now another New Zealand cultural export is wowing consumers worldwide, but this time the culture involved is… yogurt, actually. EasiYo, the world leader in make-at-home yogurt, began life 23 years ago in New Zealand, then caught on rapidly in other countries, including here. Now the company is expanding its UK presence with the launch of a new version of its iconic yogurt maker going instore this month, backed by a high-impact marketing, PR and social media campaign. Read our exclusive interview in this issue with Brian Dewar, CEO of EasiYo.
Staying with the healthy theme, on our front page Big Bear Confectionery is introducing a new generation to its famous Fox’s brand with the launch of the Fox’s Candy Bear range, made to be enjoyed by as many people as possible. The new pack design uses a modern, cartoon character style take on the much-loved bear remembered in the old TV ads for Fox’s Glacier Mints. In what the makers claim is a first for a children’s gummy sweets range, the Candy Bear paw-print stamp on every pack tick-boxes the five key guarantees, namely that these products are gluten and nut free, and made with real fruit juice and no artificial colours or flavours.
Also in this issue our quarterly Back of Store feature brings you the latest stories from the leading suppliers of warehouse and logistics equipment, solutions and services about what they offer to help supermarkets, Co-ops and convenience store chains cope with the changing retail environment. To quote Laura John, the IGD’s Supply Chain Business Analyst, collaborative partnerships between grocery suppliers and retailers are underway in all the channels, and making a difference to performance. But as our feature confirms the supermarkets and their suppliers also need to restructure their warehousing and logistics arrangements at local level to keep up with their changing supply chain requirements.
According to Mintel’s March 2015 report on Babies & Children’s Personal Care Products, nappies and wipes declined 3% in value in 2014, as the baby boom slowed. Lack of NPD and reduced ad spends also contributed to the decline. On top of that, with half the parents who bought disposable nappies and wipes in bulk doing so on special offer, low prices were driving category value down further. Products for babies and children under five are still a major business booster for UK supermarkets, Co-ops and convenience store chains. But like other grocery markets, in these days of the discounters there is no place for complacency.
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