Blog
Learn about big data technology and trends for the consumer packaged goods (CPG) and retail industries.
We recently announced that we were granted our second patent. The patent is titled “Information Management System for Product Ingredients” and covers our “method for deconstructing, analyzing, and confirming the information on consumer products using technology”.
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In times of rapid change and intense competition — like in grocery retail today — we think it is essential retailers do two things: reflect on how they're reacting to shopper demand while at the same time, differentiate themselves from the competition.
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Label Insight News | Press | SmartLabel™
Conagra Brands is transforming the way it operates to fulfill what consumers want in a smart, simple way. With approximately 17,000 employees and $11 billion in annual revenue, Conagra Brands is modernizing its iconic food brands, leveraging fresh opportunities and adapting to a changing landscape. In the spring of 2016, Conagra experienced greater demand for increased product attribution. This demand was coming from three different needs for the company.
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As the summer sun finally triumphed over the clouds that plagued the Midwest all spring, the FDA released a timely proposal that may change regulations on a summertime necessity: sunscreen. In 1978, the FDA began instituting guidelines designed to keep up with the ever-changing research on sunscreen efficacy and safety. At that time, the ceiling for recommended SPF labeling value was set at 15, a world away from the sky-high numbers we see today. The FDA believes that these excessively high advertised SPF values are misleading to consumers because, against conventional wisdom, SPF 100 does not protect twice as well as SPF 50. Consequently, one of the main points of the new proposed rule is to cap SPF labeling at 60+, although the sale of products prepared with SPF values up to 80 will still be permitted as to not stifle beneficial research and innovative formulations.
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Product Data Management | USDA | regulation
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is globally recognized as being at the forefront of food composition analysis for decades. This week they launched their latest compositional analysis tool - FoodData Central - bringing the USDA and the research community closer toward unlocking data unification at the federal level with reference to food and beverage composition databases.
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Sales | high-order attributes | off pack attributes
Four out of five global respondents said that it is “extremely” or “very” important that companies implement programs to improve the environment. And 30% of consumers are willing to pay a premium for products that deliver on social responsibility claims.* Sustainability has a myriad of meanings to consumers. And there’s a broad spectrum of practices that encompass what it means to be sustainable in their eyes.
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“Did you know that ketchup has more sugar than ice cream?” You may have heard claims like this thrown around, but they aren’t entirely true. Yes, most often, if you eat a spoonful of ketchup and a spoonful of ice cream, you’d be getting more sugar from the ketchup, but who eats a spoonful of ketchup? It’s a questionable comparison. Luckily, the FDA has standard sizes for different types of foods called Reference Amounts Customarily Consumed (RACCs).
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We start this week with an interesting article that points to how search can directly influence how products are conceived (and category management). Yet another example of how we need to look to how changing consumer behavior will disrupt the industry. Following that, we include some articles about changes in the retailer space, and then we finish with some self promotion with an announcement of our product development with Topco, and how we're hoping to move the industry forward. As always, we hope this helps you kick start your week. The Amazon algorithm spawned a skin care line called Belei - vox.com A moisturizer isn’t just a moisturizer anymore. People have become a lot savvier, thanks to forums like Reddit’s /r/SkincareAddiction and Instagram, and robust media coverage of the intricacies of skin care. Affordable brands like Deciem’s the Ordinary have helped democratize skin care and increase ingredient awareness. As a result, shoppers are looking for hyaluronic acid, retinol, vitamin C, and peptides now — they expect brands to talk to them about ingredients. Product descriptions often include these keywords and tout the benefits. (curated by @joe100books)
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This week we've got a bit of a deep dive video. Titled: "Tomorrow's Category Management Today, The Future of Online Category Management", the video makes the argument that most growth in the foreseable future is going to come from online channels and that this is going to change the way we think about Category Management. “e-commerce is shopped one item at a time; every product detail page must stand on its own" – Danny Silverman, Clavis Insight The video is a deep dive, lasting 45 minutes, but is worth the time if you have any interest in the future of grocery, and in particular if you are in the category management function. Of particular interest, I found the way the video discusses the difference in customer needs between the "Push" of Brick and Mortar versus the "Pull" of e-commerce, and also how Brick and Mortar is more of a compromise for customers who take the brand that is available on the shelf, whereas e-commerce becomes a more discerning environment. If any of this is true, the demand for transparency and experiences that support better decision making is only going to increase. Hope you get out of it as much as i did. Have a good weekend.
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Sometimes, the ingredient declaration is just not enough to answer the long asked consumer question, “what’s in our food?”. Now, more and more people want to know what ingredients are and why they are being used in addition to the statement of their presence. However, it can be difficult for them to find reliable information. When searching for an ingredient, there can be an overwhelming amount of results, some of which are not reliable, but may appear above other more reliable resources. Obviously, this information is too much to print on a package, so it can be difficult for brands to provide this information in a manner that is easy for customers to find.
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