Todd Hale, Senior Vice President, Consumer & Shopper Insights
Last week, my colleague Tom Pirovano wrote about how the economic downturn has slowed the growth of organic products to almost a standstill.   Looking at the broader health and wellness category, we are seeing similar patterns.  Grouping health and wellness claims Nielsen tracks through its LabelTrends service into three tiers based on annual growth rates, retailers and manufacturers will notice some interesting developments.
Tier 1 (15% to 26% annual sales growth): Just one claim – omega – showed any dollar growth in the last four weeks, racking up …

Oprah Winfrey starts trends.  When her book club features a book, chances are good that it will be a bestseller.  When she mentions a product on her talk show, millions of viewers will check that product out.
Earlier this month, Oprah discussed healthy living with her regular guest Dr. Mehmet Oz, who presented his “Ultimate Health Checklist,” which included three points about eating:
Know the five ingredients to avoid (high fructose corn syrup, sugar, enriched flour, trans fat, saturated fats)
The healthy foods to add to your diet

Antioxidants (Dr. Oz recommends tomatoes, broccoli, …

Sales of private brands are up 10% this year — to $80.3 billion in the U.S., Nielsen reported Friday.
Private label dollar sales are being driven primarily by higher commodity pricing — especially in staple categories that are dominated by private brands. But in recent weeks, private label unit sales have also grown — a sign that consumers are starting to shift away from established brands in search of better deals.
Among private label food brands, flour (+35%), baby food (+33%), and fresh eggs (+28.2%) showed the largest dollar percent change during …