Being able to keep pace with these increasingly diverse and demanding segments will require marketers to have a detailed view of what ethnic households buy as well as how they consumer media across TV, Internet and Mobile.

For years, retailers, manufacturers and marketers have been clamoring for a single benchmark that would facilitate comparisons of healthy eating patterns by key regions and time periods.

U.S. retailers continue to make progress in offering store brand products with health claims relevant to shoppers looking for healthier food choices

One common misconception heard frequently is that healthy eating has become too expensive—that the struggling economy has driven U.S. families to make poor nutritional choices.

It’s the economy! Organics enjoyed stratospheric growth in four of the last five years, but the economic crunch took a bite out of that trajectory in 2009.

Consumers in the U.S. might be trimming the fat from their budgets and diets, but contrary to predictions, they continue to demonstrate a healthy appetite for foods featuring health and wellness claims.

New retail formats, unique service offerings and differentiated products will drive growth at retail in 2010. And as consumers continue to bunker in-home, a greater focus on eating right will lead to healthy results.

With consumers looking to stretch their money as far as possible, it’s no surprise that they might be attracted by promotions and sales at their local grocery store.

The number of drug stores in the U.S. has declined by more than 2,000 in the last 7 years (to 37,700 outlets), as independent pharmacies close.  And in the last decade, the percent of U.S. households shopping in drug stores has dropped from 89 percent to 81 percent.  But the drug store channel generates more than $43 billion in sales, excluding prescriptions, and the nation’s leading chains are continuing to innovate to grow their share of the consumer’s spend. 
So what are the top selling categories in the drug channel? Six …

If, when walking or driving around town, you’ve thought to yourself that it seems like there are a lot of new convenience stores that have sprouted up over the last few years, you’d be right.  Since December 2001, more than 20,000 new locations have opened, bringing the total to almost 145,000 such stores in the U.S.  But facing high gas prices last year as well as competition from groceries and mass merchandisers and the effects of the economy, C-Stores have actually been pulling back.  Since the end of 2007, more …