The Publisher’s View
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I wish I could be as optimistic about
the health of our economy. I have
heard from a number of people that
there seemed to be a summer slump
in sales this year, but everyone is still
optimistic that we will have a good holiday season. The NASFT just released
a report that found that 59 percent of
consumers report buying specialty food
this year, which was a slight decline
from last year. The report also found
that half of the consumers surveyed
were buying smaller portions of specialty foods to keep expenditures down.
Even more interesting to me was that
81 percent of those surveyed indicated
that they were cooking more at home
to conserve money, which bodes well
for housewares demand in the coming
months.
I urge retailers not to get caught out in
the cold this holiday season by waiting
until the last minute to stock up for the
season. I think there are enough positive signs to indicate our industries will
fare quite well. With suppliers keeping
inventories tight, you may find that if
you sell through your inventory quicker
than you anticipate, there will not be
sufficient supply left when you return
to buy more. Plan early and stock up
on the items that you have the most
confidence in selling to ensure that you
don’t find your shelves bare before the
holidays are over and done.
David Spencer
Publisher, Gourmet Business
President, HousewaresDirect, Inc.
dspencer@gourmetbusiness.com
This month we focus on an
important category of prod-
uct that arguably has a direct
impact on the efficiency of our
work force ... coffee. If there
was ever a recession-proof
business, it has to be the
products that are an absolute
necessity for the enjoyment
of coffee. The Coffee Statistics
Report states that Americans
consume 400 million cups of
coffee per day, which add up
to a whopping 146 billion cups
over the course of a year. That
makes the caffeine-crazed
U.S.A. the leading consumer of coffee in the world.
Even though 75 percent of the total caffeine consumed in
our country comes from coffee, let’s not forget about the
importance of tea. American tea drinkers have become
quite sophisticated, and as a result, the variety of loose-leaf
teas available in our country is becoming astounding, and
the purchase of specialized equipment necessary to carefully prepare specialty teas has steadily grown. Much of the
growth in demand of loose-leaf tea can be attributed to the
gradual understanding of the health benefits of tea drinking
by American consumers.
The gradual awareness amongst Americans of the health
benefits of various foods, in fact, has led to an explosion
of growth in the natural products industry, evident during
our recent visit to the Natural Products Expo East held in
Baltimore. Let me tell you, being healthy has never tasted
so good. While many Americans, until recently, turned their
noses up at the thought of sacrificing taste for health, the
taste barriers are slowly fading away. There are many natural food producers who are dedicated to proving that eating
healthy doesn’t require us to ignore our taste buds any longer, and they are winning me over. The important take-away
for retailers is that all products that have an easily explained
and direct impact on healthy living are hot right now.
