Weekly Roundup – Week of 1.16.2023
January 20, 2023
Find notable food and beverage news stories in this week’s roundup – all curated by our team of strategists and food enthusiasts:
The Impact Of The Avian Flu Continues Into 2023
The U.S. egg industry will experience volatile price swings and availability challenges well into this year, according to three industry analysts. Eggs Unlimited Global Trade Strategist Brian Moscogiuri shared that “the egg industry lost over 42 million egg-laying chickens since February 2022, and 13 million layers have been lost since September.” Repopulation efforts were underway to increase layer counts; however, another crop of outbreaks slowed these efforts toward the end of 2022. Price increases have also been a factor. Karyn Rispoli, an analyst with Urner Barry and editor of Egg Price Current, tells The Food Institute, “Egg prices saw nine weeks of consecutive growth in the period leading up to December 25, reaching a record high of $5.46 per dozen for large eggs in the Midwest.” She adds, “As we start the New Year, the market is undergoing a correction. Over the past two weeks, prices have plummeted $1.13/dozen (as of January 10), and based on negotiated trade values in the spot market, there’s still quite a bit of adjusting that needs to take place.” As we look ahead into 2023, Kevin Bergquist, Wells Fargo Sector Manager, Food and Agribusiness Industry Advisors, indicates that while the USDA is exploring a vaccine, it will not impact the current outbreak and there are many different strains of the virus (similar to flu in humans) and “thus a vaccine for one strain may be less effective on another strain.” In addition to the avian flu, Moscogiuri appends that producers are still “dealing with other inflationary factors”, and it’s “hard to predict when we will see retailers running ninety-nine cent ads again given the uncertainty around avian influenza in 2023.” Read Article.
Don’t Discount Discount Grocers
At times of economic uncertainty, discount grocers such as Aldi and Grocery Outlet, are a favorable choice for consumers who opt for trading down and reducing overall household spending. If fact, Coresight Research expects them to grow at twice the rate of grocery as a whole through 2026. Sujeet Naik, grocery industry analyst at Coresight Research, shares that “discounters’ limited product ranges actually become an advantage when shoppers are working under a limited budget.” Impulse purchases remain low as discount shoppers tend to only buy items on their lists. Naik provides a few discount grocers’ key strategies that traditional grocers can adopt in their operation. One is driving volume through slimmed-down ranges, which is essentially buying larger volumes of limited SKUs. Another strategy is growing private label business to help offset the loss of margin due to investments in other areas. One area discounters cannot compete in is e-commerce as they struggle with added costs of employees fulfilling online orders. Find More Strategies Here.
Vegan Shrimp Could Improve Unethical Global Shrimp Production
According to the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch, approximately 90 percent of the shrimp that’s sold on the U.S. market is imported from countries such as Ecuador, Honduras, and Thailand. Commercial shrimp fishing has increased significantly over the past few decades, resulting in the major depletion of the world’s natural resources, including mangrove forests. The recent Fast Company article states that an estimated one-fifth of mangroves, globally, were destroyed to make room for commercial shrimp farms in brackish coastal areas, according to the U.N. Not only are mangroves highly sought-after locations for fishing shrimp, they also absorb the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide and act as life-saving barriers which protect coastal lands and people from natural disasters, the article informs. What’s the good news? Vegan seafood alternatives have surged over the past couple of years and the quality and taste have improved as well. Companies like Sophie’s Kitchen and Plant Based Seafood Co. have developed vegan shrimp options already in the market. And Singapore’s Shiok Meats and South Korea’s CellMEAT startups received funding to increase the production of their cell-cultured shrimp. Americans’ appetite for shrimp remains strong and it appears the industry is making positive waves of improvement for more ethically-sound measures of production. Learn More.
Will Starbucks Delivery Service Expand Across The U.S.?
The coffee giant, Starbucks, entered a partnership with DoorDash last Fall allowing customers to order Starbucks from select city locations for delivery through the DoorDash app. Since then, availability has expanded across more markets, and the latest announcement reveals a commitment to deliver across all 50 states by March. “Our partnership with DoorDash allows us to provide our customers with another convenient way to enjoy Starbucks wherever they are,” Brooke O’Berry, Starbucks senior vice president of digital experiences, said in a statement. Customers will use the DoorDash app instead of the Starbucks app to place delivery orders and customers will still be able to customize their drinks, choosing the amount of syrup and type of sweeteners and milk variety, etc. Along with satisfying individual coffee lovers’ cravings, businesses could utilize this service for group office orders and meetings, too. Read More.
New Product News
Notable brands and innovative new companies are adding excitement to the CPG industry. The FDA has recently approved increasing levels of vitamin D in cereal products and grain-based bars, and Kellogg is leveraging this new opportunity to restore its market share in the cereal category, along with expanding its portfolio across other categories. Kellogg said it will now “utilize higher levels of vitamin D in cereal and bar products, as well as new better-for-you Pure Organic Crackers made with cheese and vegetables that provide 10% of the daily value of vitamin D through mushroom powder.” On the beverage side, Richard’s Rainwater has successfully collected millions of gallons of rainwater, safely purified it, and then packaged it in bottles and cans for consumer purchase and consumption. The company explains that rainwater is caught before it hits the ground, preventing the need to add chemicals such as chlorine, fluoride, or ammonia, and is 100 times cleaner than the strictest bottled water standards even before it’s purified. And lastly, Post, another prominent cereal manufacturer, is celebrating the 100th anniversary of Disney with two limited-edition breakfast cereals now available nationwide – a Mickey House head-shaped fruity cereal and confetti cake flavored cereal. Consumers will also be able to purchase special edition confetti cake cereal in Mickey-Mouse-themed metal tins for $40, exclusively at Walmart.com.
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