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How do you know what people will want to buy next? Time magazine asked Kraft boss Irene Rosenfeld in the spring but only published the answer this week. "One of the best ways is by studying restaurant menus," she replied. "That's typically a leading indicator of what consumers are eating." As a local shop operator, you need to be aware of two things: what local restaurants are selling and what the next big things will be. This can help guide which parts of your store you promote and which promoted products you select. A second question was waht do you see America eating more of? Her answer split in two. Snacking is where the greatest growth is - both in quick-meal products and confectionery. "I think that is indicative of the fact that people continue to be on the go and are looking for quick treats". But she remains on-message by adding that lower-sugar, lower-fat versions of Kraft's products are "experiencing very attractive growth r...

Humans can't live without salt, but most Americans could do with far less of it, says the latest issue of Time magazine. As local retailers know, the regulators have prepared foods firmly in their sights. It costs the US $24 billion a year in health care costs and 150,000 lives. These statistics, as we know from efforts to stamp out tobacco use, will be hammered into the public arena again and again. (Surely that $24 billion includes lots of jobs in hospitals and medical centres and lots of profits for big pharmaceutical companies!) Back to Time, it helpfully notes that salt "often lurks where you don't expect it. A dollop of cottage cheese, for instance, can pack twice as much of the mineral as a palmful of salted peanuts." And this takes us back to the discussion about portion sizes and disclosure. How big is your dollop? Talking about disclosure, I am looking at a Sainsbury's museli packet that invites consumers to recycle the cardboard and simultaneously claim...

Regulation is a big threat to business success and because treats are a major part of most local shops' sales regulation means politicians want a say in how your business works. In response, you need to influence as many politicians as possible and that means you need to take part in trade associations to get your message across. Last week, PepsiCo announced it would cut salt and sugar in its products by a quarter over the next 10 years. It wants to sell more of its "good for you" products. This appears to meet the needs of regulators. However, you have to question what is likely to happen. Surely, over time, big food companies have perfected recipes that shoppers enjoy. As the cost of food has fallen in real terms, shoppers then enjoy too much. In the European Union, a big debate has been running about what size a portion is. Agreement on the size is needed so that regulators can say how much sugar and salt is in the food that the consumer is about to eat or drink. But o...

For corner shopkeepers there are some signs that the major grocers are having a tough time in growing their share of the grocery market. While this does not mean that the pressure on your business will lessen, it does suggest that if you focus on your local market you will be able to combat the pressure. "It only took 48 years," was the FT's pithy comment on Walmart's first ever quarterly sales decline. Its UK arm, Asda, had a poor final quarter of the year, blaming snow which discouraged people from driving to its superstores. Asda's response will be to renew its focus on every day low pricing (EDLP) to, in the words of chief executive Andy Bond, "save our customers money on every basket each time they spend". Last year, Mr Bond suggests shoppers were hoodwinked by its competitors with their high-low pricing strategies. In an online briefing he illustrated this by using a chart showing the price of a tube of Pringles in Asda, Sainsbury, Tesco and Mor...

Six months ago an Asda survey of 2,500 shoppers showed that 40% were going to the hairdressers less fequently and sales of do-it-yourself hair dye had jumped by a third. "Frivolous is out, frugal is cool", said Asda boss Andy Bond. For many shoppers the best way to be thrifty is to stay at home. However, a few bad hair days and saving money by home dying will go out of fashion. Cheap fun treats may be frivolous but many shoppers will want these to relieve the boredom of thrift. This is an opportunity for local stores.