Aimée Dardaman’s Post

In a slowing market, success isn’t just about lower pricing—it’s about the value you deliver. Consumers today are more discerning, focusing on the quality and experience you offer. Contrasting quarterly fortunes of Chipotle and McDonalds show that even in tighter economic conditions, customers are ready to spend more when they perceive real value. Focusing on value creation rather than just price competition is key to thriving in these times. eX&P Strategy can help you differentiate in a crowded market, with true value. Ask us how... #Retail #ConsumerTrends #ValueCreation

Target’s initiative to lower prices, especially in the grocery segment, began late last May. 🛒 The Grocery & Gourmet Food segment seems to be benefiting from these price decreases aimed at alleviating inflationary pressures on customers. Click to see the full note on #TGT https://lnkd.in/eYt8VuZG #Target #Retail #Grocery #Inflation #SalesGrowth #equityresearch

Ahold Delhaize USA's Jonas De Maere, PhD and category managers from the retailer's banners hit ECRM's On & Off Premise Adult Beverage Session last week to seek out the latest innovations in wine, beer and spirits. In this video interview with Joseph Tarnowski, he discusses some of the trends that are guiding their search, and how they have leveraged ECRM Sessions to uncover brands their shoppers will love. Ahold Delhaize USA operates several banners in the Eastern U.S., including Hannaford Supermarkets (ME, NH, VT, MA & NY); Stop & Shop (NY & NJ); Giant Food (PA, DC, VA and MD) and Food Lion (NC, VA, SC and GA). There are regional differences in trends among each banner's shoppers. For example, Northeast consumers are more sophisticated and open to try new things, while mid-Atlantic to the Southeast shoppers are more traditional looking for established value. According to De Maere, at ECRM Sessions, he and the various category managers always come away with unique brands that were not on their radar, and at this Session in particular, they found a lot of innovation among RTDs and non-alcoholic adult beverages. His advice to suppliers preparing for a meeting with them: Do your homework on each of the retailer's banners and markets so you can tailor your pitch accordingly and take trends into account to anticipate where consumers are headed. #beer #wine #spirits #cocktails #foodservice #retail #cpg #ecrmrangeme Amanda Tomsik Sarah Davidson Kurt R.

Check out this week's Consumer Staples Report where we discuss consumer preference for fast food meals, the rough patch that dollar stores such as Dollar General and Dollar Tree Stores are going through, as well as the massive Procter & Gamble's Tide Pods recall and trends within the Beverage Industry. Also, comment your email address to be a part of our mailing list! Analysts: Sheil Patel & Dilpreet Singh

Is there anything grater than a grilled cheese sandwich? They’re so gouda, we’d like to eat one every day, but you really cantal, which makes us a bit bleu. Cheese puns! Yay! That’s our way of celebrating National Grilled Cheese Day, which was April 12th. We also prepared this analysis of cheese out of stocks at Walmart, Target and Kroger.  Check it out to see where and when OOS rates were highest. Are you waiting to see if we’ve got any more cheesy puns? Don’t worry, we stilton have one left: Remember any cheese that isn’t yours is nacho cheese. Data Impact by NIQ. A new generation of ecommerce analytics. #ecommerce #brand #fmcg #cheese

Forecasting Flavor: Amazon US Grocery & Gourmet Food Category Anticipated to Grow 8.9% in 2024 🥨 Momentum Commerce's Amazon Sales Forecast Dashboard predicts the Grocery & Gourmet Food category to hit $20B in 2024 sales, with a promising outlook across its subcategories. Page through the forecasts below and check out the link in the comments for further insights! (Stay tuned each week as we project a new Amazon category using our Amazon Sales Forecast Dashboard.) #amazonsalesforecast #grocery #ecommerce

#Spottedinstore What location would set a Dessert Pizza up for success? The right answer is an end cap (to start). In frozen desserts, it could be subconsciously deselected because it isn't what shoppers would be expecting to find there. In pizza, it wouldn't fit the mission and mindset of the rest of the pizza products. Both placements could be problematic given category assumptions. End caps both generate engagement with shoppers and present products in a fairly neutral category, which is highly valuable when the product doesn't conform to category norms and assumptions. If the product is good enough post-discovery and trial, a shopper is more likely to build a habit around it, even if it means some category-generated friction. #fmcg #merchandising

Fast-casual chains continue to outpace the wider food industry in growth as value conscious diners demand affordable prices and experiences. Mediterranean chain CAVA beat Wall Street estimates Tuesday afternoon, with same-store sales jumping 18.1%, compared to 12.39% expected. The stock vaulted over $172 per share — an all-time high — on Wednesday, before giving up the gains and closing around $147. Shares of Cava are up 261% in 2024. "That value proposition [is] really beyond price," CEO Brett Schulman told Yahoo Finance. Schulman pointed to Cava's investment in digital and in-store experiences, people's shifting preferences for healthier food, and the company's efforts to keep the average bowl in the $13 to $15 range as factors in its success. TD Cowen analyst Andrew Charles, CFA wrote in a client note that Cava's price increase, of roughly 15% compared to 2019, "significantly trails" the 25% to 30% hikes by most fast-casual peers. In the quarter, the chain's foot traffic was up 10.3% year over year, while its steak option contributed to order prices increasing by 7.9%. Fellow fast-casual player and burger chain Shake Shack posted same-store sales growth of 4.4% in its latest quarter, while salad chain sweetgreen saw a 6% jump. More: https://lnkd.in/eNqGjAD9 #yahoofinance #finance #markets #wallstreet #stocks #investing #earnings #business #food #restaurants #money

Restaurant owners, what’s your growth plan for 2025? Are you adding locations? Boosting marketing efforts? Or… have you considered transforming your most popular menu item into a CPG retail product? Consumers already love what you’re known for—now let’s get it on grocery store shelves and drive a profitable new revenue stream. Let’s map out your 2025 strategy together. Book a call today using the link in my profile, and let’s talk about taking your restaurant brand to the next level. Schedule a time on my calendar today: https://lnkd.in/gK8kPzVH or email me at [email protected]. P.S. We handle EVERYTHING from R&D, packaging, manufacturing, distribution, brokerage and sales through our proprietary Menu to Market System. That means no added head count, no retail expertise required on your end.  #MenuToMarket #CPG #restaurants #growthstrategies #groceryindustry #grocerystores #grocery #cpgbrands #foodindustry #restaurantgrowth

Quality vs. Demand and Supply: The Tale of my Beloved Bread 🍞 Hello everyone, so I went out last night to get food to eat, and there's been a particular kind of bread I've been craving . This bread is incredibly delicious and satisfying, often leaving me unable to finish it within two days. Unfortunately, it's not always available at the bread vendor due to its popularity among both retailers and consumers. This often leads me to forego purchasing any other type of bread and opt for something else instead 🤷 However, on this particular night, luck was on my side as I spotted the coveted bread while on my way to buy something else. Excitedly, I purchased it and brought it home, eager to savor its taste once again. However, upon tasting it, I was disappointed to find that it didn't live up to my expectations and this is because there's a little quantity I take that satisfies me which isn't seen in other brands, but this time around, things don't seem to be the same anymore. I figured out that it is because this particular bread has been in such high demand which has affected its quality as the producers could no longer keep up with being consistent on the quality of their products. Isn't it right to say that an increase in supply of certain goods especially consumables can also reduce the quality of such goods? Factors such as labour, time constraints, finance e.t.c. might contribute to this decline. Therefore I think the increase in supply of a product can possibly diminish the quality of same product if appropriate measures are not taken to maintain it's quality or standard while trying to meet the demands of the market. I wonder how big organizations like McDonald's, KFC and other top companies maintain such product standard to a very wide population for years. Thank you. #storytelling #Economics #Demand #Supply