Private Label

Roundy’s Supermarkets, Inc. is kicking off a new “Breakfast Blitz” limited-edition breakfast cereal this week to celebrate the esteemed Green Bay Packers 90th anniversary.

Despite economic hardship, global consumers weren’t ready to merely accept the recession’s doom and gloom. A new report from Chicago-based Mintel has found that many sought to lighten their moods and secure financial safety with a focus on playfulness, simplicity and trade-offs.

In head-to-head blind taste tests held by Consumer Reports, 23 store-brand foods were rated as tasting as good as -- or better than -- their national-brand counterparts, out of 29 food products.

The pear harvest is officially underway in Washington state, and Stemilt Growers is enthusiastic about the high-quality pears that will fill store shelves this season. In addition to consumer favorites such as Bartlett and d’Anjou, the supplier expects specialty varieties, like Asian pears, to provide retailers with a sales boost this fall.

Not only is Green Bay Converting, Inc.’s Ever-Green® a soft, absorbent two-ply bathroom tissue made from 100 percent recycled fiber, but the item also comes in a 100 percent recyclable carton and is shipped in an eco-friendly way.

With $20 billion to $30 billion in sales and an estimated growth range of 8.5 percent to as much as 20 percent annually, the functional foods market presents huge growth opportunities for potential investors who have the right education and perform the necessary due diligence, according to “Leveraging Growth in the Emerging Functional Foods Industry: Trends and Market Opportunities,” a new report from PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC).

According to a recent report from U.K.-based global research firm IGD, 90 percent of manufacturers have altered their strategies to deal with the economic recession, and 88 percent have taken action to reinforce their products’ value.

When it comes to all-natural and organic foods, today’s consumers are wiser to the differences than most marketers might think and eager to purchase them if the price is right. More than three-quarters of respondents in a recent survey said they’d prefer to purchase organic and all-natural goods if those items were comparably priced with other leading brands.