The Hartman Group’s weekly food and beverage industry newsletter delivers the latest data, insights and thought-provoking analysis about the trends and consumer behaviors reshaping todays – and tomorrow’s food and beverage culture.
We live in a world where the divisions between online and offline are increasingly blurred. Online grocery shopping represents a natural evolution in how consumers are living their lives simultaneously in both the physical and digital world.
More »Blaming Fresh & Easy's demise on a weak economy, slow ROI, and difficulty converting shoppers from large-format stores offers little explanation when compared with the success of retailers like Aldi, Trader Joe's, and innovators in the dollar and...
More »Boomers’ heightened interest in living healthier lifestyles is evident in the close attention they pay to food choices and food shopping experiences.
More »In the technology world, Steve Jobs was either revered or reviled. In the world of food culture, Whole Foods Market co-founder and CEO John Mackey is viewed in a similar vein.
More »Whereas the e-grocery business model failed miserably in the dot-com meltdown of the late 1990s, the drumbeat for a profound shift in how shoppers purchase groceries is sounding loudly today as several influences converge at once: whether it’s...
More »Shortly after Fresh & Easy opened their first stores in Southern California, our ethnographic analysts were on the scene alongside consumers, gathering their initial perceptions of the retail experience.
More »Legendary heavyweights Whole Foods Market and H.E. Butt Grocery Company hold prominent positions in the upper echelon of the top 75 food retailers in North America. Often cited among the supermarket industry's elite, Whole Foods Market and...
More »Barbara Kingsolver’s High Tide in Tucson is a wonderful meditation on the relationship between man and nature. No matter how messed-up we may be, there will always be the sun, the moon, the tides and the rain.
More »With hints of organics, locally sourced products and ingredients, health and wellness, and sustainability tossed into menu options, food retailers are trying to take advantage of a cultural shift toward higher quality experiences. While this has...
More »As leaders in the study of American food culture, The Hartman Group has been tracking how Americans shop for food since the 1990s. From one-stop shopping to multichannel shopping to online markets and click-and-collect, we continue to track consumers’ evolving perceptions, needs, habits and relationships with food retailers. New to the 2017 report is a special section on the expansion of the discount grocery channel, the emerging fresh-format channel and smaller-footprint retail formats.