The International Dairy Deli Bakery Association (IDDBA) show is the annual gathering of deli and bakery executives from a wide range of retail operations.\u00a0 The composition of the audience has diversified considerably beyond the traditional supermarket audience it has always drawn to include convenience stores, warehouse stores, supercenters and deli and bakery operations within foodservice venues.<\/p>\n
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Most of the product offerings and merchandising presentations are more mainstream products and merchandising applications as opposed to those focused on gourmet retailers or chef-driven foodservice venues. \u00a0Delivering a fresh and delicious consumer experience was at the top of most agendas this year.<\/p>\n
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Trends from the Floor<\/strong><\/p>\n Observations from show-goers about exhibits included:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Invisibly Healthy<\/strong><\/p>\n While overt health claims were almost invisible on the show floor this year, it was clear that many of the manufacturers exhibiting have been busy making subtle changes to their product lines to create a more healthful profile. \u00a0Manufacturers are responding to the demand for healthy in a less obvious way; making subtle substitutions that impact the nutritional integrity of products for the better.\u00a0 Examples include crackers made with lentils, deli salads made with ancient grains and Greek yogurt cheesecake.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Today\u2019s consumers expect to have healthful offerings available to them on demand and food manufacturers are responding with modified product formulations and expanded product portfolios.\u00a0 In a survey conducted by the Culinary Visions\u00ae<\/sup> Panel, 73% of deli consumers said that healthy options were important to them.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Over The Top Indulgence<\/strong><\/p>\n Outrageously indulgent products and merchandising concepts drew attention as the distinctive counter-trend to healthfulness.\u00a0 Apple pie baked inside a chocolate cake, ice cream cone doughnuts, truffle infused honey and cocktail inspired hummus dips are just a few examples from the show floor.\u00a0 The man cave exhibit in the Show and Sell Center featured a comically gigantic sandwich of two full size roasted chickens.\u00a0 But amidst the grins were destined to be popular items that were robust and decadent.\u00a0 Think saucier, messier, giant sized versions of chicken wings.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Sweeter Side<\/strong><\/p>\n Sweets are no longer limited to the bakery.\u00a0 In a recent study of over 500 consumers by the Culinary Visions Panel, 81% of consumers polled rated the sweet flavor profile as their most preferred flavor.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n It was impossible to walk more than an aisle or two without encountering another hummus offering. \u00a0Flavor profiles were bold and out of context for the traditionalist, especially new sweet offerings like four-berry, cinnamon raisin, mango and pumpkin. \u00a0These sweet-inspired hummus fusions were marketed as sweet finishes, but are more likely to be served as a healthier version of a sweet snack with graham crackers, apples and other sweet accompaniments.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Cocktail Inspirations<\/strong><\/p>\n As the mixologist has taken some of the star power spotlight from chefs, cocktail flavors in many mainstream foods were noticeable in a number of different categories.\u00a0 Cheesecake flavors like strawberry daiquiri, caramel macchiato, and mojito use these drink inspirations to take dessert to a new level.\u00a0 And more hummus flavor invention \u2013 Bloody Mary, White Russian and the dirty martini, incorporating hints of pepper and salty olives.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n What Next After Food Trucks?<\/strong><\/p>\n The 70% drop in membership in the food truck associations speaks to oversaturation.\u00a0 There was talk of the latest retail venue to gain notoriety \u2013 the shipping container as a retail venue.\u00a0 Examples included Starbuck\u2019s new format and a grocery store pop up created with shipping containers.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Creating a Point of Difference<\/strong><\/p>\n With dessert, cheese, meats, dips and spreads galore how do manufacturers and retailers break through the clutter?\u00a0 The Culinary Visions Panel asked in-store deli consumers what attributes were important to them, and the three that topped the list were quality, price and past experiences.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Some exhibitors in highly saturated categories created point of difference by featuring concepts made with their products. Rather than sampling cubes of cheese, Norseland featured made to order sandwiches with delicious on-trend ingredients.\u00a0 Even some of those who did sample cheese cubes showed them in take away cones for grab and go customers.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Offering a quality product with a story can help set the stage and give consumers a reason to buy.\u00a0 When a story is tied to a product or service, consumers are more receptive and tend to “try” new things.\u00a0 As a retailer, offering an experience, whether it is eat-in or take-out, makes the consumer feel that they are getting a value, and “special” offerings will encourage repeat business.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Show and Sell Center Highlights<\/strong><\/p>\n This exhibit never fails to captivate the imagination with ideas that are wildly over the top to some that inspire fresh thinking and are easy to execute. \u00a0This year\u2019s highlights include:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Taste Talk Tweet<\/strong><\/p>\n Digital chatter from IDDBA noted that minis are still huge in bakery and growing across product lines for certain manufacturers.\u00a0 Tweeters remarked about the ubiquity of falafel and the lightness of dessert-flavored crackers.\u00a0 Highlights from sessions revealed nuggets like the \u201cfree from\u201d market is booming and included stats on the average consumer, who scans 12 feet of shelf space per second. The next conference we will cover is the Foodservice at Retail Exchange, June 25-27.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Implications for Food Marketers<\/strong><\/p>\n Customer data is the new currency<\/strong> \u2013 understanding customers and micro niche marketing is building sales and loyalty for the long term.<\/p>\n Product Proliferation <\/strong>\u2013 products are being commoditized, services imitated, and traditional market barriers are collapsing. \u00a0Successful marketers will lead their customers, not just respond to them, by continually reinventing their value proposition.<\/p>\n The Role of Media in Modern Branding<\/strong> \u2013 brilliant strategy in paid media and editor outreach is only the beginning of the process to successful branding.\u00a0 Earned media is where consumers own the message and craft it as their own.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The International Dairy Deli Bakery Association (IDDBA) show is the annual gathering of deli and bakery executives from a wide range of retail operations.\u00a0 The composition of the audience has diversified considerably beyond the traditional supermarket audience it has always drawn to include convenience stores, warehouse stores, supercenters and<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[33],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/culinaryvisions.org\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/culinaryvisions.org\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/culinaryvisions.org\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/culinaryvisions.org\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/culinaryvisions.org\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=139"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/culinaryvisions.org\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":884,"href":"https:\/\/culinaryvisions.org\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139\/revisions\/884"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/culinaryvisions.org\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=139"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/culinaryvisions.org\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=139"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/culinaryvisions.org\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=139"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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