FMCG Innovations and Trends by Sophia Nadur

Like much of the developed world, t he UK has an obesity problem . 60% of the population is overweight or obese from eating too much and exercising too little. Reducing portion sizes a proven intervention that changes health behaviour and helps to reduce obesity There have been numerous studies since the early 1990s that show reducing  portion sizes  of the food & drink we consume would help reverse the obesity epidemic. BBC health editor,  James Gallagher , reported in 2015 [ link ] the findings of research based on 6,711 people that took part in a wide range of clinical trials. Professor  Gareth Hollands  (among others) found that eliminating " large portions could cut up to 279 calories a day out of people's diets " [ link ].... equivalent to an extra kg of fat to contend with every month. Research in the British Medical Journal states that  reducing portion sizes  becomes easier when there is availability of smaller pack sizes  ...

"Consumers want to eat more healthfully, but they can't do it alone. They need help from food & drink manufacturers to formulate products with good-for-you ingredients. They need help from retailers to stock right-priced healthful assortments."  Nielsen 2016 Global Health and Ingredient Sentiment Survey. In North America, " Groundhog Day " is the day when the groundhog is said to come out of its burrow at the end of hibernation. If the animal sees its shadow—i.e. if the weather is sunny—it goes back into its hole, which signals 6 weeks more of winter weather. If it's cloudy and he doesn't see his shadow, spring is not far away! "Groundhog Day" has another, more colloquial, meaning. When someone says " It's like Groundhog Day " today, they mean the day is one in which people say the same things and do the same things over and over. I had a " Groundhog Day " moment earlier this week while waiting on a train ...

Today, store shelves are filled with drinks that entice us with sugar and empty calories.  Even drinks that claim to be good for us are all too often high in sugar or filled with artificial ingredients.  Worse, many “new age” drinks come from unfamiliar and unsustainable sources.  And as for the drinks that really are healthy? Sadly, many of them do not taste great. This is what drove Hua & I to create Tg green teas in London, in 2015.  With our own savings, a few grants and buckets of passion, knowledge and tenacity, we developed a range of drinks that are tasty and low in sugar, so low in sugar that each drink wears proudly a "green" nutritional traffic light.  We also based our drinks on green tea, a leaf that has been refreshing and nourishing folks for thousands of years. It's no surprise I guess that we have already won a number of UK & international innovation, quality, and design awards for our drink concept.  Awards are ni...

What is Pokémon Go? Really, you don't know? Pokémon Go is a free smartphone app that was developed by Niantic Inc ., a San Francisco software development company that started life as an internal startup at Google . Since July 6th 2016, it's been downloaded by millions of folks all over the US, Canada, UK, Europe, Australia and New Zealand with launches in new countries happening weekly. In Pokémon Go , you take on the role of a Pokémon trainer in the search for 700+ Pokemons (fictional characters created in a mid-1990s Nintendo game for GameBoy ) to train to battle each other for sport. The augmented reality game uses your phone’s GPS location to place your character and other game elements in a map of of your current location. By changing your location (through walking, running or.....ahem....driving), you can virtually "catch" wild Pokémons that are near you, train them to make them more powerful, and later battle your Pokémons to take control of local gyms...

China a huge food & beverage market China is the world’s largest food & beverage market worth over £360 billion ($550 billion / €440 billion). Increasing disposable income and urbanization, an improving logistics system, growing concerns about food safety as well as an expanding taste for foreign foodstuffs are positive indicators for exporters wanting to capture a share of this exciting market. Of course its fragmented distribution infrastructure and growing local competition present a host of challenges to UK food & drink brands, however partnering with local experts and taking care to respect & nurture "guanxi" will go a long way to encouraging success.  Will the Great British Food Unit help turbo-charge UK exports? In 2015, UK food & drink brands exported £238 million ($357 million / €285 million) worth of tea, pork, processed milk and other food stuff to China, making the country a top 10 export market for the first time. Still, that o...