Convenience Retailer

Product of the day—Doritos Locos Tacos Chips

Building off last year’s wildly successful launch of Doritos Locos Tacos at Taco Bell and the more recent launch of Cool Ranch Doritos Locos Tacos, Frito-Lay has now introduced a line of Doritos Locos Tacos-inspired chips. Each bag contains two different flavors of Doritos chips, designed to mirror the experience of eating a Doritos Loco Taco. The new chips are being offered in two flavor combinations: Nacho Cheese with Crunchy Taco and Cool Ranch with Crunchy Taco. Taco Bell’s original decision to team up with Frito-Lay to create Doritos Locos Tacos has been credited with enabling the fast food chain to add 15,000 new jobs in the past year. Executives with the company have called the new menu offering the most successful product launch in the company’s history. Now Doritos is hoping that Doritos Locos Tacos’ legion of loyal fans will flock to stores to try out these new chips, inspired by the popular tacos. Doritos Locos Tacos chips will be available for a limited time.

Frito-Lay
800.352.4477
www.fritolay.com

Beverage Industry Report Reveals Flavor, Innovation Propelling Spirits, Wine and Beer Sales

With sales approaching a record $200 billion, the adult beverage industry continued on its growth path in 2012, despite the challenging economic environment. Total adult beverage volume grew 1 percent to 7.7 million gallons, while sales dollars increased 3.6 percent to reach $199.8 billion. This is according to Technomic’s recently-released Special Trends in Adult Beverage Report.

“Many factors drove the industry in 2012, but the real driver was and continues to be flavor,” said Eric Schmidt , Director of Research at Technomic. “In every category and segment of spirits, wine and beer, flavor is what attracts consumers and keeps them coming back. The impact is that the lines are blurring somewhat between the categories, making the industry more competitive than ever. This trend will intensify throughout 2013, and product innovation around flavor will continue to play an important role.”

In addition to innovations in flavor, the other significant trend revealed in the study is the somewhat surprising expansion of beer volume. For the past several years, beer sales have been declining. “It may be surprising, in light of the slow economic recovery, that the growth in beer occurred in the more expensive segments,” said Schmidt. “Again, product innovation and flavor provided the momentum.” The beer category experienced a 0.7 percent volume increase last year. The major domestic categories stabilized somewhat, while craft, imports, flavored malt beverage and cider each posted gains.

According to the Technomic report, spirits experienced the highest volume growth rate (3.2 percent). Spirits categories that experienced particularly strong growth include American whiskey, Irish whiskey, vodka, tequila and cordials/liqueurs. Imported spirits volume growth outpaced growth in domestic spirits.

Wine’s momentum slowed slightly. The industry achieved a 2.8 percent gain, growing to account for 10.5 percent of total adult beverage market volume. An explosion of new wine offerings in a range of varietals and styles designed to appeal to consumers seeking sweeter flavor profiles was on trend, with red blends, sweet reds, sangrias and Moscato remaining popular. In addition, wines infused with fruit, chocolate and other flavors also gained attention. Wine introductions comprised the majority of the new adult beverage products coming to market in 2012.

Restaurants, bars and other on-premise locations contributed to the adult beverage industry’s overall growth, with on-premise dollar growth slightly outpacing off-premise expansion (3.9 vs. 3.4 percent). This was driven by a combination of increased spending in the channel, consumers trading up in some categories and operators raising prices.

“We anticipate many of these trends continuing in 2013 and expect consumers to seek out new flavor experiences, experiment with new products and explore the various segments of the industry,” said Donna Hood Crecca, Senior Director at Technomic. “The entry of more millennials—who value authenticity and experience in their food and beverage choices—into the legal drinking age population will influence adult beverage on-premise and retail [sales], as will this year’s economic situation.”

The 2013 State of the Industry report includes a first look at total 2012 adult beverage metrics, as well as spirits, wine and beer information including category trends, on- and off-premise information, leading brands, new product introductions, import/export trends and projections for 2013 performance. For more information or to request a copy of the report, visit www.technomic.com.

Product of the day—Triscuit Brown Rice Crackers

Triscuit, the cracker with a century-long commitment to wheat, is launching a new line of crackers made from brown rice. Brown Rice Triscuits start with 100 percent whole grain brown rice and wheat, weaving in pieces of delicious sweet potato or red beans to bring a new taste to the cracker aisle. By introducing brown rice to its wheat cracker, these new Triscuit crackers offer a lighter texture with a crispier crunch. The crackers are baked with delicious real ingredients and seasonings and are available in five delicious flavors, including tomato & sweet basil, sea salt & black pepper, savory red bean, red bean and roasted red pepper and sweet potato with roasted sweet onion. “Triscuit is beloved and trusted for its commitment to simple, wholesome ingredients, but we know our enthusiasts are eager for variety in flavor and texture,” said Katie Williams, Senior Marketing Director at Mondelez International. “Brown Rice Triscuit offers a distinctive taste, accessible to everyone, using exciting, real ingredients like red beans and sweet potatoes.”

Mondelez International
www.mondelezinternational.com

Product of the day—ABSOLUT MEXICO Vodka

Continuing its long history of rich and creative collaborations, ABSOLUT® VODKA recently announced that its limited edition bottle design, ABSOLUT MEXICO, will soon be available in the United States for the first time. The bottle made its debut in Mexico last year. ABSOLUT MEXICO pays homage to Mexican culture and to the country’s multicultural heritage. This limited edition was developed in partnership with Oaxaca-based artist Dr. Lakra, one of Mexico’s most renowned contemporary artists and tattooists. The work of Dr. Lakra, also known as Jeronimo Lopez Ramirez, has been featured in exhibitions and museums around the world, including the Museum of Modern Art, the Hammer Museum and the Walker Art Center. For the ABSOLUT MEXICO bottle art, Dr. Lakra combines three legendary icons from ancient Mayan culture—Hurricane, Serpent and Jaguar—bringing them to life on the bottle through a modern artistic lens that represents Mexico today. In addition, the bottle’s colors in shades of orange, green, blue and yellow make the product not only a delicious libation, but a stunning visual sight as well. 

Pernod Ricard USA
www.pernod-ricard-usa.com

ServiceSource Delivers, Analyzes Customer Data to Increase Recurring Revenue

Global recurring revenue management company ServiceSource® recently introduced major new enhancements to Renew OnDemand™, the only service as a solution application built specifically to maximize recurring revenue.

Renew OnDemand leverages the principals of “Fast Data” and “Big Data” to analyze large, rapidly changing data sets and provide analytics that drive business decisions. The spring 2013 enhancements deliver Renewal Ready Data that aggregates, enriches and quality checks renewal data from multiple systems. Also included are advanced business analytics with 15 new recurring revenue-specific metrics and dashboards, as well as integration with Salesforce.com for an easy-to-access view of potential new and recurring revenue sales opportunities for each customer.

“Customers have relied upon our expertise in maximizing recurring revenue for over a decade. Sitting at the intersection of Fast Data and Big Data, Renew OnDemand is the only cloud application built to help companies make money from the customers they’ve already won,” said Mike Smerklo, ServiceSource Chairman and CEO. “Customers understand that recurring revenue typically accounts for 50 percent of their profit, and traditional approaches to renewal sales leave highly profitable revenue on the table every year due to failed execution, excessive churn and missed opportunities to up-sell and cross-sell.”

Unlike information for new sales, which is typically housed in one CRM system, maximizing recurring revenue often requires extensive data from five to seven different systems. Renewal sales teams can spend 30 to 40 percent of their time pulling this data together, taking away from time that is better spent selling. Renew OnDemand imports needed data, including asset, customer contact, contract entitlement and offer history data, from a myriad of systems. It then merges and enriches that data to create renewal-ready customer records. Renew OnDemand also scores data quality and identifies questionable data, quarantining it for corrective action by the customer or by ServiceSource’s expert data analysts.

ServiceSource pairs Renew OnDemand with Data Services provided by a team of data management experts. With extensive experience managing data from the largest companies in the world, these teams specialize in understanding customers’ business and systems. They assess and monitor data quality and develop systematic approaches for ensuring the highest ongoing levels of data integrity.

Renew OnDemand’s advanced business analytics deliver recurring revenue metrics and dashboards that enable sales managers and executives to make informed revenue-generating decisions. With 45 recurring revenue-specific metrics, including 15 new metrics, Renew OnDemand provides intelligence to help users understand which customers have churned and why, and how sales are trending by product, channel and region. Based on ServiceSource’s best practices, these analytics are proven gauges of recurring revenue health.

By adding recurring revenue insight into Salesforce.com and other ERP and CRM systems, Renew OnDemand provides sales teams with a truly integrated view of new sales opportunities and contracts up for renewal. To learn more about ServiceSource, visit www.servicesource.com.

Product of the day—Hood Greek Frozen Yogurt

Hood®, the leading dairy brand in New England, has introduced a new Greek Frozen Yogurt, combining low-fat frozen yogurt with delectable ingredients like raspberry swirls, granola crunch and chocolate chips. Made with live and active cultures, each serving of Hood Greek Frozen Yogurt packs five grams of protein. Different from traditional frozen yogurt, Greek Frozen Yogurt features a richer and creamier texture and taste to match its higher protein content. Available in quart size containers, Hood Greek Frozen Yogurt is available in four different flavors, including blueberry, double chocolate chip, honey vanilla and raspberry granola. “Greek Frozen Yogurt is an exciting addition to the Hood family of frozen dairy products,” said Sarah Barow, spokesperson for Hood. “With the popularity of Greek yogurt continuing to grow, we think consumers will be eager to try this refreshing new frozen treat. Hood’s rich and creamy Greek Frozen Yogurt offers delicious lowfat flavors that are high in protein, giving New Englanders a smarter way to indulge.”

Hood
800.662.4468
www.hood.com

Lil’ Drug Store Leads Health and Beauty Care Product Growth in Convenience Channel

Lil’ Drug Store Products, Inc., a global consumer products company and top health and beauty care product supplier to the convenience channel, ended 2012 as the top HBC supplier to the convenience channel.

Since 1974, LDSP’s unique business model has revolutionized the sale of HBC in convenience retail locations with the innovative idea of making premium over-the-counter and personal care products available to consumers in conveniently sized and easy-to-use packages. The company continues to be the leading HBC product supplier to the convenience channel. This reflects LDSP’s innovative products, impeccable service and data-driven solutions to the challenges of this complex product category.

A number of innovative strategies kept LDSP at the top of HBC convenience retailing in 2012. The company nearly tripled its sales of its own LDSP-branded products, with Lil’ Drug Multi-Symptom Sinus in particular becoming one of the top category performers. LDSP also expanded its line-up of popular brands, including the recent additions of Crest Complete, Colgate Total, Germ-X, and Emergen-C. In addition, the company formed strong partnerships with national brands like Carmex lip balm and Ricola cough drops, also establishing a new exclusive distribution partnership with Rayovac to supply the popular battery brand to the c-store channel.
Another strategy that helped LDSP succeed in 2012, was its development of a successful merchandising program with EZ Bins and EZ OTC. EZ Bins is a new merchandising system for popular personal care items in travel sizes for on-the-go shoppers. EZ OTC is a collection of popular OTC formulas available in mid-size packages designed specifically for convenience store shoppers.

“LDSP helps retailers manage their HBC, general merchandise, and automotive needs effectively and efficiently through a combination of innovative retailing solutions and a diverse portfolio of over-the-counter drug, personal care, general merchandise and automotive items which are brought to market by our strong distribution and marketing network throughout the country,” said Paul Rossberger, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Lil’ Drug Store Products. “We’ve built a strong reputation in the convenience channel by being flexible and responsive in ways that enhance product and service excellence and will continue to offer our customers and partners the kind of collaboration and forward thinking that enhances their sales and profitability.”

Product of the day—Outshine Coconut Waters Bars

The newest product innovation from the Edy’s parent brand is Outshine Coconut Waters bars, the first national coconut water-based frozen fruit bars to reach retail shelves. The new Coconut Waters bars provide a blast of fruit goodness in every delicious bite. Each flavor has 60 calories per bar, and consumers can enjoy a refreshing, wholesome snack that is both non-fat and non-dairy and offers the hydrating benefits of coconut water. The new product line includes two refreshing flavors: Coconut Waters with Banana is infused with sweet, creamy banana puree blended with real young coconut water for a smooth frozen treat. Coconut Waters with Pineapple combines young coconut water with chunks of real pineapple for a tropical twist. “The popularity of coconut water has exploded with more than 23 million U.S. consumers enjoying coconut water-based beverages,” said Kerry Hopkins, Outshine Brand Manager. “By blending delicious young coconut water with refreshing fruit, we’ve created a totally invigorating snack for coconut lovers everywhere.”

Nestlé Dreyer’s Ice Cream Company
888.590.3397
www.outshinesnacks.com

Product of the day—UV Candy Bar Vodka

Phillips Distilling Company recently unveiled the world’s first candy bar-flavored vodka, UV Candy Bar. Infused with all-natural milk chocolate, velvety caramel and peanut butter flavors, UV Candy Bar is a sippable sweet indulgence. UV Candy Bar is the 17th flavor in the growing UV Vodka flavor portfolio. Sales of UV Vodka’s wildly successful dessert flavored category, including UV Cake, UV Chocolate Cake and UV Whipped, have increased 81 percent over the last year. “Originality is the core of our brand,” said Pedro Caceres, President and CEO of Phillips. “UV Candy Bar provides consumers with a one-of-a-kind flavor profile, bold, unique and sweet. We look forward to unprecedented success as the demand for our confectionery flavors rise.” UV Vodka is distilled four times for premium quality and activated carbon-filtered to ensure the highest level of purity and the perfect pH balance. UV Candy Bar is available in all bottle sizes with a suggested retail price of $12.99 for a 750mL bottle.

Phillips Distilling Company
612.362.7500
www.uvvodka.com

Product of the day—Funky Monkey Snacks

Funky Monkey® Snacks, the Fruit That Crunches®, recently joined forces with Marvel for a superheroic new line of kid-friendly freeze-dried fruit snacks. The powerful lineup, themed after some of Marvel’s most popular and renowned superhero franchises, features five fruit varieties packaged in larger, resealable bags. This alliance further broadens the family appeal of Funky Monkey Snacks as one of the most delicious and nutritious snack foods on the market. Funky Monkey Snacks’ new Marvel product line includes Ultimate Strawberries, featuring Spider-Man, Incredible Pineapples, featuring The Hulk, Mighty Bananas, featuring Thor, Legendary Cinnamon Apples, featuring Captain America  and Invincible Strawberry Bananas, featuring Iron Man. All Funky Monkey Snacks in the Marvel line are 100 percent real fruit, nutritionally equivalent to their fresh counterparts. Each is 100 percent all-natural, fat-free and gluten free, with absolutely no additives. The products are vegan, kosher, made in peanut-free facilities and packed exclusively in the United States. Funky Monkey Snacks’ new Marvel product line is available at a suggested retail price of $3.99 to $4.99.

Funky Monkey Snacks
800.783.1326
www.funkymonkeysnacks.com