Recently, I was looking through old files, trolling for recipe inspiration for a Twitter campaign. It was a revelation.

When you’ve worked in the food business as long as I have, you’re aware of the constant evolution, of course. We try to anticipate where food is heading and to catch the wave for our clients.

But it’s only by looking back over decades that the true magnitude of change becomes evident. Old recipes often called for bouillon cubes instead of chicken or beef broth. A daring cook added a bit of curry powder, garlic powder or a touch of paprika. “Parsley” meant curly parsley, not the flat-leaf Italian kind. Nuts were pretty exclusively for desserts and baked goods. [more…]

No time to blog, tweet or keep up with Facebook. My son and I are launching a new business and we have been traveling to meet people to form alliances, vet our ideas, and do on-the-ground research. Now we’re finalizing executive summaries and business plans, and doing outreach for funding.

Despite our heads down, nose-to-the-grindstone mode, I have come up for air to mourn the loss of Gourmet and the kind of in-depth food knowledge that is now getting dissipated. In this brave new world where everyone who eats is a food expert, it was comforting to know that editors at Gourmet were respected and appreciated for their decades of experience. [more…]

Some interesting stats culled from various news outlets, in no particular order. Food for thought.

• 32% - percentage of social network users who use the Internet to pursue their interest in food/cooking — Food Navigator, 7/17/09
• $57 million - value of savings shoppers could realize from coupons they printed in June from Coupons.com and the Coupons.com publisher network (130% increase over the year-ago period) — Progressive Grocer, 7/21/09
• 42.1% - supermarkets’ share of food retail dollars in 2008. Supercenters, warehouse clubs and limited assortment stores (such as Aldi and Trader Joe’s) continue to wrest share from supermarkets. — Mediapost, 7/7/09
• 56% - number of consumers eating dinner at home more often — Progressive Grocer, 5/14/09
• $81 billion - private label sales in the U.S. (up 10.2% over the past year) — Food Navigator, 6/22/09
• 52% - percentage of consumers who were “highly loyal” to consumer packaged goods brands in 2007 who became less loyal or shifted brand loyalty the following year — Supermarket News, 6/22/09
• 59 - number of shopping trips the average American household made to supermarkets in 2008 (13% fewer than in 2001) — Reuters, 6/29/09

INSIGHT: The retail food industry continues to evolve as the economy shocks consumers out of profligate habits. Bad news for some food marketers offers opportunity for others who have a compelling value message.

The 55th Summer Fancy Food Show at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New City ended on Tuesday. I spent two days walking the aisles, sampling judiciously and trying to get a handle on upcoming food trends. This is a big show — with more than 24,000 attendees and 2,300 exhibitors from 70 countries.

One day I walked the show with friends from a national magazine who were looking for food gift ideas for their holiday issue. The second day I walked with a friend from a leading foodservice magazine. It’s so much more interesting to traverse the vast halls with a companion and to see the show through another perspective. [more…]

Remember when food brands targeted women 25 to 54? Remember when we said nobody’s cooking so we can forget promoting food with recipes? How times have changed.

Recently, I found a darling Father’s Day card crafted by my son David when he was six. It was entitled, “Why I Love Dad,” and through pages of drawings, he counted the ways. In addition to the typical, “he takes me to the park,” David also added that “he buys us food” and “he does the laundry.” I’m sure his teacher wondered what mom was doing while dad did these chores. Sharing household responsibilities was an anomaly in that time. Not today.

Stephanie Azzarone in MediaPost asks, “Are dads the new moms?” We have been seeing this trend in newspapers, magazines and on TV. Sometimes it’s because mom prefers being in the workforce and is good at it, and dad takes the supporting homemaker role by choice. With more men out of work than women, dad may have lost his job and mom has become the breadwinner. [more…]

Recently, I went to a fabulous trends conference. I had always meant to join the Association of Consumer Trends and attend the annual Consumer Trends Forum. But I belong to so many organizations and attend so many conferences that it was just one too many.

This year, the conference was held in San Francisco so there was no excuse. No hotel, no airfare, just a quick trip to the Kabuki Hotel. I was glad I made the commitment. From the upbeat, high-energy keynote speech, Unlocking Cool and Exploiting Chaos, by Jeremy Gutche of TrendHunter.com; to the thoughtful talk from Slow Food USA’s president Josh Viertel; to the data-rich presentation by Lee Boyland of DYG Inc.; and the insightful look at Gen Y by Kara Nielsen, trendologist for the Center of Culinary Development; there was a lot to mull over and process following the two-day event. [more…]

Recently, I attended the International Association of Culinary Professionals’ conference in Denver. Attendance this year numbered 700, just half the usual expected for this major conference. The economy is taking its toll.

I was especially interested in a session called The Changing Food Section. With competition from blogs and Web sites, some newspaper food editors are going multi-media — producing their own videos, writing blogs and tweeting as a means of branding themselves. Imprinting a personality onto the community in multiple ways helps to make an editor a bit more indispensible to the newspaper. Imagine the uproar if the food editor who visibly and actively supports all community activities — even participating in a pancake eating contest (Flip videoed and linked to the newspaper’s Web site, of course) — is dismissed. Today’s food editors are covering the news and making themselves part of the story, 24/7. Good strategy for holding on to your job. [more…]

I have an age-coping mechanism. At the start of the New Year, when we all share a heightened awareness of time passing, I remind myself that I’ll be another year older. That way, when my birthday rolls around in August, I can happily enjoy the cake and ice cream without feeling morose.

Some people groan about growing older. I admit I do, too. But I am also grateful for that extra year to explore new foods and new trends. Most importantly, the years pay off in the kind of experience needed to be able to assess what’s really going on in the food world today and to put it in context. I’ve had a lucky head start, since I became an editor at a New York magazine at age 22. So I’ve been tracking trends for a good number of years. [more…]

Everyone who works in public relations plays an advocacy role. So you have to believe in your clients’ products. If your heart isn’t in it, you can’t promote with conviction.

Of course, sometimes the product may not be what you would care to cook or eat yourself. But if you know that it fills an honest need for some other segment of the population that’s okay, too. If I were only going to promote products I love, my next client would have to be a foie gras account, like my lucky colleague, Karsha.

One client product I’m personally crazy about is Kerrygold Butter. It is just plain unctuous — rich and creamy — with a remarkable natural golden color. The cows in Ireland are not confined to barns but get to roam free during the day, eating a diet of the greenest Irish grass (not grain). So the butter from these contented cows turns out a deeper gold color from the beta carotene in the grass. Not only is it a great table butter and butter for cooking, it’s the queen of butters for baking. [more…]

During the Great Depression, my grandfather urged his children to be farmers because everybody has to eat. Today, we might say the same about food marketing.

The difference this time around is that we have many more choices. So it’s not enough just to produce food. Marketers are battling for share of stomach. This is where niche marketing comes in.

The auto industry is suffering, but Smart Cars and Mini Cooper sales are booming. They’ve found just the right niche in this environment — small, but cool cars that are fuel-efficient at a fairly reasonable price point.

According to today’s Wall Street Journal, (subscription required) another industry looking for a niche is the $25 billion appliance industry. With the housing slump, appliance sales are declining. Consumers aren’t likely to upgrade for new features in this economy. But they just might — to accommodate a lifestyle change. [more…]