Tag Archives: beverage

Worst Food Trend Predictions for 2011

Posted on January 5, 2011 by Pavone Food

Over the past two years, Pavone’s food and beverage presentations have been seen by hundreds of marketing professionals from dozens of leading food and beverage manufacturers and retailers as well as producer and trade organizations.

As we finish digging through the piles of published trend reports, we thought we’d share both the best and the worst of our findings.  Again, none of these trends are included in Pavone’s food trend presentation but they are interesting and sometimes even amusing.

Our last post featured the best trend predictions we’ve come across and below, you’ll find those we’ve deemed as the worst.  As always, we’d love to hear your opinion!

WORST

Goat. “That’s right, the petting zoo staple will likely be served at your favorite restaurant in 2011. Some trend-spotters have ‘go[ne] out on a limb to say that goat will be the meat of the year. The flavor is wonderful and people should give it a shot.’”  Although goat is relatively common in authentic, regional Mexican cuisine (which we love), we have a hunch that its petting zoo context and cute factor will stand in the way of its mass appeal.  Read more...

Posted in General | Tagged beverage, food, trend predictions, worst trends | Leave a comment

Gift Worthy

Posted on December 21, 2010 by Pavone Food

As last-minute shoppers fill the malls in search of thoughtful presents and holiday meals are being planned, the Christmas season is the perfect time to consider the role of food, not only on the dinner table but also as the ideal gift!

Packaged Facts reports that yearly food gift sales total at least $18 billion and will increase to well over $21 billion by 2014  and those numbers don’t include homemade food gifts.  It’s noteworthy that online sales and direct marketing currently account for 53% of these sales.

It’s no surprise that consumers appreciate receiving food as a holiday gift as most tend to give items that they’d be happy to get.  Of course, there is an innate need for food–but it’s so much more than a way to nourish the body.  In fact, eating for sheer enjoyment is more common than eating to address hunger, especially when it comes to snacking.  (Link to snacking post.)  Consumers eat because they want to experience the taste, the flavor, the indulgence and even the memories of people and places that certain foods conjure up.  It has the ability to transport.  Read more...

Posted in General | Tagged beverage, Christmas, food, gift, holiday | 1 Comment

Guiltless Gluttony

Posted on November 23, 2010 by Pavone Food

Researchers at the University of Michigan and Koç University in Istanbul have proven the effects of portion distortion in a study just published in the Journal of Consumer Research.  They conducted five qualitative studies that included actual food consumption- all of which demonstrated that consumers will eat more of something if the serving size is identified as “small,”  regardless of how big it actually is.

They attached different size labels (small-medium-large) to large servings of various food and beverage products.  Inevitably, when people consumed a large serving labeled “small”, they felt less guilty.  The researchers identified this effect as “guiltless gluttony.”  This phenomenon leads to unintended and uninformed overconsumption, which is most demonstrated when consumers’ guards are down due to busy schedules.

These findings highlight the great extent to which consumers remain uncertain about appropriate food and beverage serving sizes.  They rely on marketers to attach subjective size labels—and they believe them.  What will you do with this power to affect consumers’ eating habits?  How have the serving sizes for your products changed over the years—or have they?

Posted in General | Tagged beverage, consumption, food, obesity, overeating, portions, serving, size | 3 Comments

Get Your Game On

Posted on October 22, 2010 by Pavone Food

The weekend is upon us and right now, across the country, sports fans are counting down the hours, passing the time by planning their game day menus, checking the latest injury reports and making sure that their lucky team jersey/underwear/socks are ready to go.

Whether you’re following playoff baseball, NCAA football or the NFL, chances are that food will be central to your festivities.  What we eat and drink to prepare for the game says a lot about us and who we’re likely to be cheering for.

Don’t ask a fan eating a Primanti sandwich (or drinking an Iron City Beer for that matter) what they think of Ray Lewis—unless there are no impressionable children around.  Don’t mention “America’s Team” to anyone eating a cheese steak, unless, of course, you’re mocking those clowns from Texas who like to refer to themselves that way.  Regional food and beverage icons are helpful in predicting team loyalties but they’re also an incredibly important part of the game day experience, especially for fans watching the game away from the stadium.  Read more...

Posted in General | Tagged beverage, food, sports, tailgating | 3 Comments