Excerpt from Brandweek “Brown Bagging it Becomes Fashionable” by Elaine Wong September 21, 2008
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Noting a shift in consumer behavior, food giants like Kraft and ConAgra are targeting new launches at lunches.
Brown bagging is at an all-time high since 2001, per the NPD Group, Port Washington, New York. Adults ages 18-and-older consumed some 8.5 billion brown-bag lunches last year (38 bagged lunches per capita compared to 35 in 2006).
Nearly 12% of lunchtime opportunities were brought from home as of the year ended February 2008. In contrast, the February 2007 figure was 11.3%. Of those polled, cost-saving was the primary motivation.
“Brown bagging has been on the rise every year we look at it,” said Harry Balzer, vp at NPD Group, Chicago. “The options available to us for carried products do make life easier than people going out to eat at lunchtime.”
The return to brown bagging has prompted food companies to reexamine their portfolio of brands…
Take Kraft, for instance. The maker of Singles cheese slices introduced new packaging for its Deli Fresh Natural Cheese slices, new Oscar Mayer thick-carved and family-sized meat varieties and a mayonnaise with olive oil this summer…
Soup maker Campbell has teamed with Kraft for a joint FSI promotion dropping this November that pairs the two companies’ staple products.
The partnership marks the first time Campbell and Kraft have joined forces in the last five years. Since the introduction of Soup At Hand, Campbell’s heat-and-go line, and microwaveable bowls, the company has seen sales exceed $250 million…
Edit by SAC
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Full article:
http://www.brandweek.com/bw/content_display/news-and-features/packaged-goods/e3ie41d3cb71a4f0067adc18265ee39ef2d
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