On-the-Go Foods Grab Research Attention
Giant food companies are betting on you multi-tasking with your mouth full, and are introducing more foods that meet growing consumer demand for speed, convenience and portability, reports Reuters. Companies as diverse as Dean Foods Co., Kellogg Co. and Hershey Foods Corp., are putting more research and marketing behind foods that travel, are premixed or pre-bundled, taking the leg work and complexity out of shopping, food preparation and dining.
“Convenience is going to continue to be a pervasive trend,” said Ken Harris, a partner with food consulting firm Cannondale Associates Inc. “People are feeling they have less time and they don’t want to spend it doing conventional cooking and preparation.”
Moderator Comment: Is a price promotion strategy enough
to convince consumers to shop for their on-the-go needs in big box format stores?
What needs to be done?
Mass merchants and supermarkets (drug stores for that
matter) should not and cannot afford to cede the on-the-go market to convenience/gas
stores and fast feeders. [George
Anderson – Moderator]