Convenient, healthy, natural and organic characteristics dominate new products in 2008, according to a survey of more than 300 food and beverage product developers conducted by Troy, Mich.-based Clear Seas Research.

Although products with health attributes are top of mind as consumers become more health conscious, consumer "convenience" is still the price of entry requirement for processors developing new products.

"In 2007, a majority of processors reported that organic, energy-boosting, natural, ethnic and whole grains were the trends to pay attention to," notes Sarah Corp, Food & Pack ...

Russians have a saying - drinking is bad for you, but not drinking is much worse! reports BBC News.

And to encourage consumers to drink more vodka, a team of scientists at a Moscow workshop developed the world's first ever talking vodka bottle top, possible because of the latest microchip technology. A vodka genie repeats all the popular Russian toasts, and encourages taking a drink. Each time one takes the top off the bottle, the genie’s speech becomes more slurred.

"It's very easy, you just open the bottle, you hear the genie laughing, it gives you some time to pour your glasses, then it i ...

Reigniting their thrill for the grill, consumers are heading outside to enjoy mouthwatering grilled meals this May for National Barbecue Month (NBM) and all summer long. As revealed in the Arlington, Va.-based Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association's (HPBA) national consumer poll of 1,000 consumers, 76 percent prefer to cook outside on the grill than indoors on the stove, when entertaining during the warmer months.

"Throughout the warmer months, and really all year long, consumers love to take their meals outside to prepare on the grill," says Leslie Wheeler, HPBA communications director. " ...

According to the second annual cooking survey of 1,041 men and women from the Park Ridge, Ill.-based American Egg Board, 50 percent of Americans reported having a disaster in the kitchen at least several times a year, and 42 percent said they know someone in desperate need of basic cooking skills.

More than three-fourths of respondents (78 percent) believe that people today are worse cooks than people were 50 years ago. Howard Helmer, the Guinness World Records "World's Fastest Omelet Maker," wants to help by encouraging home cooks of all ability levels to embrace the kitchen and take the spa ...

Mother's Day, which falls on May 11, is the biggest eating-out day of the year, according to the National Restaurant Association (NRA). But this year might not be as rosy for moms, with consumers planning on slightly scaling back on expenditures, according to a poll of 8,180 consumers by BIGresearch to gauge consumer behavior and shopping trends related to Mother’s Day, sponsored by the National Retail Federation.

Last year, consumers spent more than $3 billion on a special Mother's Day brunch or dinner alone, and total spending this year is expected to reach $15.8 billion. But respondents to ...

Cinco de Mayo is celebrated in the U.S. on May 5. It is officially known south of the border as the Battle of Puebla Day, which is observed voluntarily to celebrate Mexico’s victory over France in the city of Puebla in 1862, when the outnumbered Mexican army rallied to the cause. As a matter of fact, Cinco de Mayo is actually celebrated more in the U.S. than in Mexico, mostly as a fun way to bring the Hispanic community together.

In the U.S., Cinco de Mayo is usually celebrated with party decorations such as streamers in the colors of the Mexican flag, piñatas, sombreros, and pin-the-tail-on- ...

Through a special arrangement with e-zine, CPG matters, Retailwire prints an article investigating the results of a two-year study examining 250 million shopping baskets weekly by Catalina Marketing.

The goal was to probe the gap between what shoppers say in surveys and what they actually buy, and it’s quite revealing. Fewer than three in ten (29.6 percent) consumers remained loyal to Sprite brand beverage from year 1 to year 2. A quarter (25.9 percent) became switchers, not loyal to any brand. Another 14.8 percent became loyal to competitors, and 29.7 percent left the brand entirely.

CPGs a ...

M&M's candy maker Mars Inc. has teamed up with billionaire Warren Buffett, to buy Wm Wrigley Jr Co., the world's largest chewing gum maker, for $23 billion, creating the world's largest confectionary company, reports Reuters.

The deal, which includes Wrigley brands such as Altoids, Extra and Eclipse and Mars’ M&M's, Snickers, Starburst and Twix, gives Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. a minority stake in Wrigley, which will become a separate Mars subsidiary. The combined companies will have a major presence in chocolate, gum and candy. Buffett has other food holdings include a stake i ...

Last week, Rep. John D. Dingell (D., Mich.), chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, circulated a draft measure to overhaul the FDA as part of the response to a spate of recalls of food and tainted medicine. Under the proposal, food producers would have to pay annual registration fees of $2,000 per facility, generating $600 million for FDA food-safety activities, more than doubling the current budget. Importers would have to pay an additional $400 million in fees.

Grocery and food producers told a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on Thursday that a proposal to impose fees to fund ...

An advance release of the Teen Topix study by OTX and the Intelligence Group finds that 81 percent of teens (13-17) say they are at least somewhat happy, and over a third are very happy, reports Mediapost.com.

Teens report to be happiest with their relationships with friends, their talents, their abilities, and their school performance. And more than three quarters are happy about how they "look" Online. In recognizing the importance of their physical appearance, 61 percent of tee ...