Supermarkets have been at the forefront of Food Dive’s coverage recently - especially with Tesco and Bi-Lo's leadership developments, Instacart's latest funding, Tesco's Google Glass app, and Albertsons-Safeway news toward the end of last year. But beyond the impending food retailer heavyweight fluctuations and other news, what’s in store (pun intended) for supermarkets and the food they display?
Tesco chocolate
Aside from the larger corporate reports, there’s a bit of Tesco news that will have sweets lovers potentially scratching their heads. It will no longer have candy at any checkout (cue gasps).
“Our customers told us that removing sweets and chocolates from checkouts would help them make healthier choices, so from today our checkouts will be sweet- and chocolate-free zones. We hope this will make our customer's lives easier, as taking sweets and chocolates off the checkouts will really help parents with young children,” Tesco’s David Wood said.
As for the U.S., the Center for Science in the Public Interest certainly has been wanting the same deal in place, and there’s now someone new at the helm for the “Let’s Move” campaign.
But will removing the sweets really work? Not according to this piece from the candy industry, though its vested interests are obvious.
Speaking of this health notion, this BBC piece discusses a variety of ways that supermarkets may possibly be able to give healthier products an opportunity to shine.
Forget 2015, think 2065?
Is a “pop-up” supermarket coming? A Supermarket News piece highlighted Studio Industries’ plans for such a place “that envisions a grocery store in the year 2065.”
As exciting as possibilities like this may be, perhaps the industry might be better off focusing on ways to fix more pressing concerns to consumers that could have a more reliable timeline.
I want perfect food right this instant
One way to fix this could be dealing with consumers’ current cravings.
Wendy Erickson, a Cargill technical service manager, says in a Food Business News article, “Today’s consumers want made from ‘fresh-from-the-farm’ ingredients prepared in a way that delivers the fullest taste experience at home or in their favorite restaurant.”
The article notes that culinologists will have to rely on food science developments over “ingredients used by chefs or grandmothers.” to keep up with consumers’ tastes.
Emphasis on the individual
Perhaps what supermarkets really need is a way to access their consumers at all times - introducing Grid Dynamics’ Omnichannel eGrocery Solution, which, according to Progressive Grocer, will give “a 360-degree real-time view of customer behavior.”
This type of thinking certainly goes along a grocery prediction we collected at 2014’s close. “Technology has caught up with our desire and Google Express will put just about every food retailer in the same-day delivery business,” according to Phil Lempert, founder and editor of SupermarketGuru.com. “These advances will change the way we shop. No longer a shopping trip to a store once or twice a week will be acceptable; now it shifts to us thinking about each meal – going online to order it and then having it delivered. Lunch to the office, a sack full of ingredients based on a recipe we find online delivered with the correct portion of ingredients for five and delivered within 10 minutes of getting home. Fast gets even faster, more precise and more customized."
