Supermarket News
Consumers who choose healthy snacks will pay more for snacks they perceive as healthier, according to a study from market research company Lab42. The two main types of snacks they consider healthy are "all natural" snacks (87%) and organic (83%). A smaller, yet still significant, number was willing to pay for prepared snacks, like pre-cut carrot sticks, and pre-portioned snacks, such as 100-calorie packs (61% and 55%, respectively).
Chicago Tribune
McDonald's Corp. says it will offer side salad, fruit or vegetables instead of French fries as part of Value Meals. The announcement Thursday by the world's largest fast-food chain follows government and consumer pressure to address the global obesity epidemic. McDonald's said it would offer the option in all of its 20 major global markets by 2020. McDonald's also said it would promote only water, milk and juice in its Happy Meals.
NYSportsJournalism.com
Barry Janoff and Karl Greenberg were on hand when the 37-year-old Floyd 'Money' Mayweather hit New York with a scintillating wrist watch and a sizable (in every sense) posse. And his famous third-person self narrative. "In 20 years, I want people to talk about Floyd Mayweather the way we talk about Muhammad Ali, 'Sugar' Ray Leonard and Mavin Hagler today. It's not just the money. It's the history, the legacy," It's also the money: "If Nike or adidas want to put a patch on my [boxing] trunks for 36 minutes, it would be a seven-figure number. But the brand on …
San Francisco Chronicle
It's called "wardrobing." You buy an expensive set of duds for a party and then return it the next day and get your money back. Sure, if the return has obviously been used a retailer can refuse to refund it but retailers don't like that conversation. But they are learning to disrobe the $8.8 billion per year scam. Bloomingdales puts three-inch black plastic tags on dresses over $150. The clothes can be tried on at home without disturbing the special tag. But once a customer snaps it off to wear in public, the garment can't be returned.
Boston Globe
Sunday was National Coffee Day. And one chain gave out free coffee, sort of. Dunkin' Donuts gave coffee to people who downloaded their app. No app, no coffee. The app launched in the summer of 2012, and is free at the App Store on iPhone or iPod touch at iTunes or from the Google Play Store.
Burger Business
The 1% decline in customer traffic at lunch since 2008 is not just the result of a drop in consumer discretionary cash. NPD Group data finds that many of those customers have just gone to places like Wegmans, Walgreen's or Walmart to grab lunch. Since 2008, day-part customer traffic at retail stores (including grocery/drug stores, discount stores, price clubs, and others) has increased by 29% according to the report, The Retail Prepared Foods Market: Assessing the Competition.
Brand-e.biz
Gaming is a way to engage consumers as other channels offer premium no-ad services. Brands, advertising and products have been incorporated into games for decades but it wasn't a two-way street. Kristien Wendt, head of client services & business development, Proelios offers up a look back and a glimpse forward starting with the advent of the App Store in 2008.
Detroit Bureau
Truck sales are up, so General Motors is timing the reveal of its new mid-sized pickup trucks well. It also happens to work that it's during the press previews at the Los Angeles Auto Show in November. The company will show the new Chevy and GMC models as part of a broad offensive the Detroit maker hopes will take advantage of the sudden sales surge. GM recently launched the new Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra full-size models.
NYSportsJournalism.com
PepsiCo's Gatorade, which is a staple of sidelines in the NFL, is expanding its reach among football clubs worldwide via a three-year deal with Liverpool, making it the official sports nutrition marketing partner of the English Premier League club.
AllThingsD
According to sources, Ford CEO Alan Mulally is top of the list of candidates to become the new CEO of Microsoft. In an email to Kara Swisher of AllThingsD, he denied he would make the move. But people with knowledge of the situation said that while the 68-year-old Mulally - who has been CEO of Ford for seven years and is a well-known business star - was not seeking the job at first, he has become more amenable to the idea in recent weeks.