Cheap store-named brands that historically sacrificed quality for price have been replaced with innovative, upscale, premium and even classy private labels that are becoming esteemed in home cupboards. Creating a more competitive environment, these private labels of the 21st century deliver on quality, and are often priced effectively.

Whole Foods Graduates Go It Alone
February 28, 2007
When the first Whole Foods Market hit the scene in Austin, Texas, in 1980, it was one of a half dozen natural foods supermarkets in the U.S. Its immediate success and exponential growth over the next quarter of a century has been driven not only by consumers’ growing desire for natural and organic foods, but by the entrepreneurial style of the owners.

Tea's Time
November 7, 2006
You’ve heard it before, but it bears repeating: Tea is HOT.

Just a decade ago, the specialty tea industry struggled to shed its somewhat staid image and gain ground in a beverage category dominated by soft drinks, water and coffee. Now, according to NASFT’s 2006 State of the Specialty Food Industry report, specialty tea sales have reached $822 million. Specialty tea accounts for 29.2 percent of sales in the overall tea category, which was a $2.8-billion market last year.

Going Foodservice: The Restaurant Adventure
July 1, 2006
Specialty food retailers constantly search for the next method to expand their business. For many, opening a café or restaurant seems like the perfect extension, adding sales while increasing interest in the foods within their retail mix.

Supermarkets Go Specialty
May 2, 2006
The adage that the middle always gets squeezed is playing out in today’s hypercompetitive food retail landscape. Discount supercenters and upscale merchants are crowding conventional supermarkets’ territory with value pricing on one end and luxury, quality and service on the other.

Retail Technology: The Future is Now
March 1, 2006
Talking shopping carts, movement-triggered promotions and embedded tracking chips May sound A Bit sci-fi, but so did ATMs, email and automated tolls until they became a part of daily life.

In-store retail technology has taken a leap in recent years, with digital product locators, information kiosks and self check-out stands bringing advances to the customer side of the business. Meanwhile, technological advances continue to improve behind-the-scenes operations. For instance, now ubiquitous point-of-sale screens—where shoppers can see what is being scanned at the register—have undergone sophisticated upgrades, linking scheduling systems to the data to determine shopping lulls and increase labor efficiencies. Electronic marketing to shoppers, via in-store signage or through online purchases or loyalty card usage, is allowing retailers to tailor effective promotions based on purchase habits. In addition, wireless technology and growing RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) usage (see sidebar, p. 22) have made headway in helping merchants address inventory efficiencies in real time.

Specialty Food for the Powerful Twenty-Somethings
January 10, 2006
Coming of age with the Food Network, Starbucks and the Internet, twenty-somethings are being billed as the most food-savvy generation yet—poised to be the largest consumer superpower since the Baby Boomers.

Creating a Soundscape in Your Store
November 1, 2005
As shoppers enter a specialty food store, their brains instantly begin to analyze the environment. Their eyes are drawn to bright signs conveying valuable information; they pick up on visual cues that dictate the flow of traffic. Tempting aromas of freshly baked bread may draw customers toward the bakery while sampling stations create an interactive experience by inviting them to smell, touch and taste.

All too often, however, retailers focus solely on visual elements and neglect to engage the other senses. Many fail to give serious consideration to how shoppers experience a retail environment through their sense of hearing.

The Return of the Online Grocer
May 9, 2005
Remember WebVan and ShopLink? The rise and fall of once-promising and now-defunct e-retailing upstarts left the impression that the online grocery shopping concept was too ambitious or experimental to succeed. A combination of miscalculations shuttered early online grocers: aggressive expansion; related expenses of establishing warehouses and truck fleets; overly optimistic anticipated order volume; and complex websites.

Standing Tall Amongst the Category Killers
March 2, 2005
The image of the large-chain megastore as a predator out to annihilate what it deems vulnerable small business prey often feels true, especially to those about to be mauled. There’s no denying the proliferation—and success—of retailers such as Whole Foods Markets, Trader Joe’s or Wild Oats Markets. Collectively, these three behemoths alone comprise nearly 500 large-format upscale stores in the U.S., with more than 50 new openings slated for 2005. From coast to coast, they go head-to-head with smaller, often established specialty food retailers, shuttering some and driving down profits for many with competitive pricing and wide product varieties—earning the nickname “category killers.”

Giving Back: An Industry That Makes a Difference
January 17, 2005
Hundreds, maybe thousands, of businesspeople in the specialty food industry have met the challenge of running profitable businesses while giving back.

A Close Look at Specialty Confections
October 25, 2004
Confections have been enjoyed throughout the ages. Four thousand years ago, the Egyptians created a gooey sweet we know as the marshmallow. The ancient Arabs and Chinese, meanwhile, enjoyed treats made of honey, fruit and nuts. By the 20th century, both chocolate bars and flavored chewing gum had been invented. Today, American consumers indulge in all manner of chocolate- and sugar-based confections—7.1 billion pounds in 2003, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Money-Making Holiday Baskets
October 22, 2004
Holiday gift baskets can provide a high level of customer satisfaction while boosting seasonal sales. An assortment of tasty luxuries offers shopping convenience without the impersonality of gift certificates—and no return hassles for the recipient.

The Exploding American Palate: Ethnic Flavors Spice Up the Mix
July 6, 2004
There’s no end in sight to American consumers’ curiosity about ethnic foods. What once meant foreign tastes—or ethnic—now means flavor. Entire aisles devoted to international foods are found not only in neighborhood ethnic grocers, but also in specialty food stores and supermarkets across the country.

Organics and Specialty Food March Ahead, Hand in Hand
April 26, 2004
The march of organics into the specialty food market is giving consumers more of what they want: quality, variety and better-tasting food made with the highest standards. Retailers now have the opportunity to tap into this fertile soil of profitability.

Making Money with Specialty Sandwiches
February 27, 2004
Sandwiches are like the little black dress of a specialty food store’s wardrobe: Entirely essential, and you can totally dress them up with the right accessories.

Fair Trade: A Moving Force in Specialty Food
December 23, 2003
Before I learned about Fair Trade, my thoughts when sipping my morning coffee were, “Boy, this is good—I hope it kicks in fast.” Now that I know more, this internal chatter is interrupted by more serious questions, such as, “Did the coffee farmer who grew these beans get paid enough to eke out a living and afford food for his or her family?”

Eight Inventive Approaches
to Holiday Staffing
October 31, 2003
The holiday season can make or break most retailers—mentally as well as financially. Merchants who are not staffed adequately to handle increased traffic and sales risk ruin.

Today’s Specialty Food Trailblazers
June 18, 2003
Thirty-five years ago, Julia Child was encouraging home cooks to try out dishes like coq au vin and a handful of pioneering gourmet food retailers began to dot the landscape introducing “exotic” cheese like Brie. Today, food has its own television network and you can pick up cumin at the supermarket. Yet, the growth of food knowledge and availability of once-elusive ingredients doesn’t mean there is no terrain left to explore in the specialty food world. Quite the contrary, with the industry continuously becoming less esoteric, demand has encouraged a new crop of trailblazers—today’s pioneers. This fresh group of retailers—most born around the time of the first specialty food movement—are developing new markets and concepts out of hobbies or personal passions—helping them make a living out of their love of food.

Innovative Tips for Front-End Merchandising
May 27, 2003
It’s prime real estate. But, while you can’t beat the front end for visibility, you can ask for a lot more in terms of available space. Balancing visibility and availability for merchandising can be tricky. Stick to candy and a few gadgets and the look becomes stale and dull. Have too many displays vying for attention and you risk an overwhelmed customer heading to the door without really seeing, or purchasing, anything.

There are no concrete rules for merchandising the front end. Specialty food retailers who do it successfully have learned through trial-and-error to be both discriminating and creative. Specialty Food Magazine recently spoke to a group of supermarket and specialty chains and one-store operators to gather the following guidelines for profiting from the front end.

Specialty Stores vs. Mass Marketers:Wrestling Sales From the Big Guys
May 1, 2003
Perhaps you’ve seen the commercial of business executives sitting around their conference table with a magic lamp. One rub and a genie will grant them three wishes to magically transform their business. The real- world ending: There are no genies and no magic that will save a business—only good ideas and hard work. And that’s exactly the tack specialty food retailers need to take in the face of advancing competition from supermarkets, natural food stores and mass merchants who have discovered that their big and bigger stores have room for more than just Cheerios® and Tide®. From 5,000-square-foot natural food sections and heaps of specialty produce to full-service cheese departments and aisles of international foods, these tough competitors want to carry many of the same products already on your shelves. And, in the process, grab your customers.

Manufacturers That Retail: Friend or Foe?
April 2, 2003
You’ve faced competition before. But maybe not staring back at you from your own shelves. Yet, many specialty food manufacturers whose products you feature operate their own retail establishments. Their stores range from on-site markets to free-standing chains. Some sell only their own product while others carry a selection to rival your own.

Comfort Foods: Soothing the Soul, Filling the Cash Register
February 18, 2003
Comfort foods: They can be creamy, cheesy, heavy or hearty, but they are always filling—and fulfilling. From meatloaf to macaroni and cheese, from chicken soup to apple cobbler, consumers are flocking to these nostalgic favorites, tallying up sales for specialty food retailers in prepared meal replacements as well as in packaged ingredients for assembling at-home comforting dishes.

The Hispanic Influence of U.S. Food Retailing
January 7, 2003
With mangos mainstream and holidays such as Cinco de Mayo celebrated by a growing number of Anglo-Americans, the buying muscle behind the cultural surge of Hispanics and Hispanic products is everywhere.

For the American food industry, the influence is two-fold. The explosion in Hispanic shoppers presents an opportunity for increased sales for markets that cater to their shopping habits and food culture. Plus, the culinary influence of this minority group is dramatically affecting how all Americans, especially specialty food consumers, eat.