Kate Laufer Gorenstein

Tequila!   Many large players such as White Claw, and The Boston Beer Company (maker of Truly) are expanding their offerings and releasing tequila-flavored ready-to-drink (RTD) cocktails as consumers are increasingly turning to tequila offerings in the beverage alcohol sector.   I had the opportunity to share my insights and thoughts on this surging trend with The Food Institute. In the article, I emphasized how innovations in ready-to-drink (RTD) formats, including tequila-based seltzers and margaritas, are meeting consumer demand for novel flavors. Additionally, I pointed out that tequila production has remained stable despite global supply chain disruptions and highlighted the increasing consumer preference for high-quality artisanal spirits.   Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/gB9f-3Ci   #Tequila #BeverageIndustry #MarketTrends #ConsumerInsights #RTDCocktails

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latest Snaxshot are you even ready?! 🌶 Momo-fuk-u takes everything back, best naive acting goes to Momofuku and marguerite mariscal just agreeing to everything, WOW! 📈Boisson retail is no more but NA continues to grow 🛒 Erewhon's RTD is apparently debuting in over 100 stores in SoCal 🍻Liquid Death, Not Beer and the vice-fication of water 👀Dr Smood Group's doubling down in CPG CURATION OF NEW BRANDS + MORE! immi's ramen-ventions: a category outlook

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In the April 23 issue of Food Business News read about The J.M. Smucker Co. capitalizing on consumers eating at home, Mary's Gone Crackers, Inc. adding capacity, and #fiber and #protein increasing GLP-1 in the body.

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Consumer tolerance is running out for #food and #beverage companies raising prices to offset #inflation, based on volume and sales declines reported by several large CPG manufacturers in the latest round of quarterly earnings calls -- prompting #retailers and #CPG #brands to re-evaluate their #marketing strategies to remain competitive. In the latest episode of FoodNavigator-USA's #SoupToNutsPodcast, Ben Reich, the CEO and co-founder of Datasembly, shares tips for brands to optimize their #promotionalstrategies and hit the right price points so they an better engage with consumers without unduly sacrificing margins or sales. Listen to the #podcast to learn more: https://lnkd.in/ebUU7j8e

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An interesting idea from SmartBrief Food & Beverage: Do you have food and beverage industry insights to share? SmartBrief publishes original articles about food and beverage news and trends on our Latest Articles page. Submitting guest posts is a great way to share your perspective and strengthen your credibility. 📝 Details below: ⬇

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Climate change is changing our agriculture landscape and therefore the cost to consume our favorite things- especially coffee, which is why the work we are doing around organic cultivation with climate resilient varietals like robusta coffee is more important than ever. Thanks WSJ for speaking with me about this important work!

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Full volume recovery for #packagedfood could take upwards of 18 months as consumers struggle to adjust to higher prices due to #inflation -- requiring #CPG companies to be more flexible and reinvest in their brands as they did during the pandemic, and forcing shareholders to practice patiences, warned General Mills CEO Jeff Harmening at Bernstein's 40th Annual Strategic Decisions Conference late last month. "#Investors have been waiting with bated breath and maybe more than a few members of management teams as well" for volumes across the packaged food landscape to recover after falling alongside rising prices in recent years and after cutbacks in #SNAP spending in March 2023, he said. And, they likely will need to wait a bit longer .... https://lnkd.in/eCjKu7z7 #foodnews #foodandbeverageindustry #CPGindustry #sales

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I can think of no better trend than culinary professionals, influencers, and tastemakers finally saying out loud that high-quality processed foods are as good, if not better, than made-fresh-from-scratch ingredients. Just as I don't expect others to agree with me on politics, books, and movies, I don't expect everyone to enjoy repetitive cooking tasks. What I find meditative and satisfying others find tedious, boring, and pointless. Fair enough! We need high-quality processed goods so that everyone can enjoy exceptional food every day for every meal. IT IS POSSIBLE! It's time to demand that our food processing infrastructure deliver fresh, flavorful, nutritious ingredients that are both affordable and save time. https://lnkd.in/gCcwZBPY

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Despite the prevailing gloom and doom in the trade press, there's a silver lining for many adult beverage brands. They're not just surviving; they're thriving with double-digit growth and more! This article examines adult beverage brands' strategies to thrive in the current market. https://lnkd.in/gFS2xgi9

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Despite the recent setback of Boisson, the alcohol-free cocktail market is booming! With over $162B in revenue, it's clear that the demand is there. https://bit.ly/3UFvvRj #RetailStrategies #BusinessLessons #MarketTrends #AlcoholFree #Mocktails #BeverageIndustry #Boisson

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Great insight from Kenji López-Alt, chef, author, and #FoodJournalist printed in the #NewYorkTimes. Kenji takes us on a journey through his experiments of salting #eggs before and after cooking them but lands on one philosophy- "just salt them whenever you darn well please." I am surprised that the type of salt he suggests didn't come up but perhaps that's a topic for another article. I'm no Kenji, but I suggest #Himalayan or #FlavoredSeaSalt, such as garlic/onion, porcini, or sriracha. What's your egg-salting method? #SeaSaltSuperstore

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Grateful to Agility PR Solutions for featuring my brand new book, 𝐁2𝐁 𝐏𝐑 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐆𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐬! "New Book from Influential PR Vet Michelle Garrett, B2B PR That Gets Results, Just Released" "I felt there was a need for this type of book that explains—in a straightforward fashion—the work of PR professionals and the challenges they face so that companies can get the most out of engaging with a PR consultant or agency and achieve their public relations goals." #B2BPRbook #newauthor #publicrelations

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At Expo West this year, the proliferation of dates in snacks, desserts and more represented the ongoing shift toward less refined sugar and more whole food sweeteners in packaged food and beverage products. But the more significant trend is about rewiring both consumers' palates and their expectations of how food should taste, opening up a world of unexpected flavors. Bitter! Sour! Indescribably delicious (and even sometimes the contrary)! On the latest episode of The Natural List, we discuss why reducing sweetness overall can be more impactful than simply swapping sweeteners. The flavor-curious Gen Z and Gen "Zalpha," along with the CPG industry's leading innovators, marketers and formulators, are driving this shift that I believe will support both healthier and more diverse products in coming years. What will we see at #NewtopiaNow?? #CPG #trends #thenaturallist

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“We’re just not as relevant as we once were.” When Cracker Barrel CEO Julie Felss Masino, said these 9 words the Faculty of Change Strategic Renewal alarm went off 🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨 Strategic Renewal is how established companies prosper from change. Practically, it involves taking what your company excels at and finding new customers or new markets where those skills are relevant. In their case, 65+ Americans are eating out less while younger Americans are eating out more. Their current customers are older Americans. This is the text book use case for ethnographic research. Matthew Pettit, PhD want to go sit on a rocking chair and eat some hash brown casserole? If you are looking to earn one more visit per current guest and and attract new customers by defining new occasions, you need a refreshed understanding of what matters to them. The current Strategic Transformation Plan lacks that customer driven reframe to make it hold together. A reframe is necessary here to regain the trust of shareholders, the analyst community and the team. When you think of preferences of younger customers, the integrated retail and food service mix resonates. Is Cracker Barrel Eataly? Stockholm's Urban Deli? It could be. Emphasizing "off premise" experience flattens what Cracker Barrel is best at and move them into competition with every other restaurant. With average unit volume of $4.9M, the centre of the business is the location. Driving up traffic and increasing spending is just a matter of aligning capabilities with unmet customer needs. (We take partial payment in biscuits)

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The opening sentence for this latest ✍ Coffee Intelligence has sparked some strong sentiments amongst readers. It wasn't used lightly, nor is the article about Mavam's gold espresso machine. The article is about how specialty coffee can reconcile its love of novelty - and need of it, let's face it - with fair business practices with coffee producers. The obsession with novelty comes all too often at the expense of coffee producers, and especially those most vulnerable. As Edward (Ted) Fischer perfectly expressed it (grateful for his excellent insights), "Chasing quality and jumping from producer to producer increases insecurity for those least able to bear that burden." Mavam's gold espresso machine is not a crime and this article is not a condemnation of a company's marketing practices - there are plenty of examples of outright shady practices out there I could name instead. It is, however, a visually unsettling reminder of opulence (shiny gold) versus lack of a living income in communities that subsidise an entire global industry. It is simply a useful metaphor. I find it curious that so many people take time out of their day to fly to the rescue of a successful brand that can rescue itself if it wants to. I would rather take time out of mine to point out some glaring inequalities that we are all aware of but, like many other ones, have simply become normalised and old news and continue mostly undisturbed. A special wink to Lee Safar and Alan Morales whose recent LinkedIn posts largely inspired this article, unbeknownst to them. Have a read below to see what all the fuss is about 😉

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Wealthy “robber barons” of the late 19th century like Andrew Carnegie, Cornelius Vanderbilt, and John D. Rockefeller were known for ruthless, unethical business practices. A new book describes how modern-day robber barons dominate America’s food industry. In Barons: Money, Power, and the Corruption of America’s Food Industry, agricultural and antitrust expert Austin Frerick tells the stories of seven corporate titans, their rise to power, and the consequences for everyone else. #industrialagriculture #monopolies

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