Episode Transcript
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Phil (00:05):
Welcome to the Lempert
Report LIVE.
Just a reminder, don't forgetyou can get up to the minute
food news on SupermarketGuru.
com.
Just log on to the Food NewsToday tab, courtesy of our
partner Cision.
On today's episode, groceryDelivery's Big Story, CPG Not
Doing Too Well on the PesticideReport Card.
(00:27):
New York says put back thatSugar.
On #Food Not Phones, a sternwarning from John Legend.
And on the bullseye, It's allabout simple package design.
Let's get started.
So, Sally, last week we had thisannouncement that Ahold is
selling Fresh Direct, and Ithink that this is going to
(00:48):
really change a lot of the fooddelivery space.
First of all, they're sellingit to the turkey-based firm,
Getir.
Now Getir, keep in mind, andyou might remember, came to New
York in that 15-minute fastdelivery syndrome that we went
(01:10):
through.
That lasted about half a minute.
They had come to Boston, NewYork and Chicago and didn't do
all that well.
So what's curious to me iswhether or not they're going to
try to do the 15-minute deliverywith Fresh Direct or leave it
as it is.
The thing that I'm probablymost concerned about is Ahold
(01:32):
said that the reason thatthey're selling it is to focus
on Omni Channel.
So when I look at thedefinition of Omni Channel, it
means all channels, whichincludes delivery, obviously
digital and in-store.
So I'm not sure that that'swhat's going on behind here.
(01:53):
They also said that marketconditions appear to have
prompted the grocer to rethinkits strategy.
In, I think it was 2022, FreshDirect pulled back.
They had been in Philadelphiaand Washington DC.
They then cut that service.
They just focused on New York.
(02:14):
So I think that there's beensome stuff going on for a while.
Let's not forget that Aholdalso owns PeaPod and PeaPod Labs
.
They put them together wherePeaPod fell under Fresh Direct.
It's not clear whether Getir isalso acquiring PeaPod.
My presumption is that they are.
(02:35):
And also, when I look at Ahold,a lot has happened.
They're in Giant.
They closed three e-commercefulfillment centers and I guess
I'm just wondering is fooddelivery dead?
Is it over?
Certainly, during the pandemic,it reached double digits of a
(02:57):
percentage of population usingit.
It's fallen down.
We see what's going on withShipt laying off people.
We see Instacart's newdirection, moving away from
delivery into more services forgrocers and other retailers.
What do you think?
Is food delivery a thing of thepast?
Sally (03:19):
Well, I don't think it's
a thing of the past, Phil.
We do enjoy our delivery andhaving that convenience and that
service has really become apart of many people's lifestyles
.
But this is an indicator thatsomething is changing.
As you said, those deliverynumbers were really really high,
(03:40):
right around the pandemic, ofcourse, and now they have fallen
a little bit.
And with Ahold making thisdecision, I agree with you.
I was confused about OmniChannel, and so doesn't that
also include your delivery?
But they're saying they want tofocus on the in-person
experience as well as thedigital experience.
(04:01):
So, you know, are we seeingconsumers wanting to be in the
store more now?
It's also interesting thatGetir was doing ultra-fast
delivery, as you said, where youcould get that in 15 minutes,
which I believe we talked aboutwhen that was happening and our
question was do people reallyneed to get their food that fast
(04:24):
?
And now the company is sayingthat they are going to focus
more on conventional grocerydelivery, so we also might be
seeing that.
You know there aren't as manyconsumers out there that need to
get their delivery in 15minutes.
Phil (04:40):
Or even want to.
And when I look at the numbers,the ones who are winning here
are Door Dash and Uber Eats.
And again, the model isslightly different, because what
they're doing is they're justproviding delivery and letting
the grocer do what they do best,which is picking the foods.
(05:02):
Again, number one complaint onInstacart has been produce,
number two has been meats, andnow what we're doing is we're
putting the choice, theselection, back in the hands of
the grocers, which I think it'sgood, and let the delivery
people deal with delivery.
So a new report.
(05:23):
CNN has reported on this, hascome out where it talks about
the fact that reducingpesticides in food that many
major food manufacturers got agrade of F as in failing, and
they looked at 17 major foodmanufacturers with an average
(05:44):
grade of F and what they foundis a lot of these companies set
pesticide reduction goals for2025 and 2030 to appeal to their
shareholders, but they haven'tdone much.
And this report is calledPesticides in the Pantry:
(06:06):
Transparency and Risk in FoodSupply Chains.
That's, who really measured allthis and what they found is
studies, you know, find that thehighest amount of pesticides in
some of the most popular foodsare what kids eat berries and
apples, in particular breastmilk.
(06:28):
Umbilical cord blood has beenfound where pesticides are in
there from in utero.
Long-term exposure topesticides link to cancer,
asthma, anxiety, parkinson'sdisease, depression, attention
deficit and hyperactivitydisorders.
And you know EWG environmentalworking groups 2023 Shoppers
(06:53):
Guide to Pesticides and Produceis out.
They used to call it the DirtyDozen.
That's come under a lot ofcriticism, so now the new guide
is called Shoppers Guide toPesticide Produce.
There's two columns.
One is Dirty Dozen, the otherone is Clean 15.
So in the Clean 15, avocados,sweetcorn, pineapples, onions,
(07:16):
papaya, sweet Peas, asparagus,honeydew, melons, kiwi, cabbage.
The Dirty Dozen number one isStrawberries, two is Spinach,
three is Kale, collard andMustard Greens, four is Peaches,
five is Pears, six areNectarines.
And what they also found is theproduce item that has the most
(07:37):
amount of pesticides 103 typesof pesticides Kale, collard and
Mustard Greens.
And you know I never liked Kaleto begin with.
Here's another reason for menot to like it.
What do you think about this?
Are we obviously not pushingthese companies far enough to
(08:01):
reduce the amount of pesticidesthat they're using?
Sally (08:05):
Well, it certainly is
very important and very
important for consumers to havethis information and, as we have
seen with some of our reportsrecently, about how these
companies are doing on workingon making changes to more
sustainable practices, to betterfarming practices, things that
are in line with how we aredealing with climate change and
(08:28):
how we have to change as asociety.
So it is disheartening to seethat not more effort has been
made to reduce these pesticides,especially, as you're saying,
these are a lot of foods thatchildren eat, and also some
children are starting from birthwith these pesticides in their
system because it is gettinginto the mother's womb.
(08:50):
So this is really reallyimportant information, and the
other side of this, too, is that, while we can recommend the
consumers go for those organicproducts, which does limit the
possibility of you being exposedto pesticides, it's not
affordable for a lot of people,so it is something that we want
(09:13):
to see these companies workingtowards.
It also is very much wrapped upin climate change.
We're hearing about pesticidesbecause of the super storms that
we are having, that pesticidesare being used more, because the
more that top soil comes off,then the less effective these
(09:34):
pesticides are and they have toadd more.
We're also hearing that thesepesticides, because of these
super storms, are getting intoour water resources, and so now
we've got pesticides in thewater that we drink, and so this
is a big concern.
Phil (09:50):
It is in, and I want to
build on two points that you
made.
Number one very important tonote what Sally said, that the
use of organics limit the amountof pesticides, but there's over
100 pesticides that areapproved for use in organics, so
that's not a total solution.
Number two is this climateissue is not being discussed.
(10:15):
We talk about climate change.
We talk about all thegreenhouse gases, the methane
gases and so on, but you'rebringing up a really important
point about as climate changehappens, we are going to be
using more pesticides.
The rising soil temperaturesdegrade the pesticides, decrease
(10:38):
their effectiveness.
They require greater amounts ofchemicals to maintain crop
yields.
The water, as you talk aboutbeing more contaminated than
ever before, and also hotterweather, actually increases the
pests metabolisms and that meansthat they increase their
consumption of crops.
(10:59):
So what we really really needto do and this report, as you so
, is a very important report forall the manufacturers of food
products as well as retailers topay attention.
So General Mills earned a B in2021.
This year, they were ratednumber one with a C rating.
(11:24):
ADM, Archer Gent Daniels,Midland and Pepsi got C minuses.
Conagra and Campbell Soupreceived a D.
Lamb Wesson and Nestle receiveda D-, those companies that
received an F.
And again, this is just aboutpesticides, so let's limit the
scoring to that.
(11:44):
B and G foods, Cargill, Danone,Del Monte, General Mills,
Kelanova, Kraft Heinz, Mars,Mondelez, P ost Holdings and
James Smucker they all got Fs,and one quote that came out of
this report as you.
So this shows time and timeagain that farmers who use
(12:07):
regenerative agriculturepractices are increasing the
retention of soil, preventingcrop loss from storms,
increasing the nutrient densityof soil and ultimately creating
more nutritious food.
So we really want to supportthose companies, those farmers
that are using regenerativeagriculture.
(12:27):
A lot of great things going onon the farm.
We need to pay attention tothat and also I'm sure that
environmental working group islooking very carefully at that.
So some interesting good news,in my opinion, is good news.
I'm not sure everybody wouldagree.
In fact, I know everybody's notgoing to agree with this, but
(12:49):
the new dietary guidelines maysoon warrant against ultra
processed foods.
This would be the first timethat the guidelines committee is
looking at the science onobesity and ultra processed
foods, ultra processed beingdefined as industrially
manufactured foods that haveunusual combinations of flavors,
additives and ingredients, manyof which are not found in
(13:13):
nature, products like chickennuggets, sweetened breakfast
cereals, boxed mac and cheese,frozen dinners, potato chips and
obviously fast food.
And to have the committee fordietary guidelines looking at
this, I think is a huge stepforward, because the science
we've talked a lot about thathere on Teal, our Live the
(13:36):
science shows that people whoconsume a lot of ultra processed
foods have higher rates ofweight gain, obesity,
cardiovascular disease, cancer,diabetes, other chronic diseases
.
And the dietary guidelinescommittee comes under a lot of
criticism all the time, everyfive years when they come out,
(13:59):
and it's a changing group.
But we've reached.
We've reached a point, apinnacle, if you would, in my
opinion, on ultra processedfoods, on the foods that we're
allowing in our food system.
If you look at the school lunchprogram, the school lunch
program you can include Domino's, picha, lunchables, cheez-its,
(14:22):
those kind of products, and Iremember when we were working
with Michelle Obama and Sam Kasson the on the school lunch
program, I mean they were veryadamant about trying to get
these foods out.
When the Obama's left the WhiteHouse, change in administration
took all that back and you knowschool lunch, you know, got a,
(14:47):
got a bullet, if you would, withall these products that are
over processed.
In one case the turkey in a boxof Lunchables, just the turkey,
contains 14 differentingredients, including additives
for texture, flavor and shelflife.
Why turkey has to have 14different ingredients?
(15:11):
For me, turkey is turkey.
It should be one ingredient.
Yeah, you have a little salt init, a little brine, but 14
ingredients in turkey and that'snot the whole Lunchables
package.
When you include, you know,whatever the starch is in it,
whatever else it just, you know,compounds it to probably having
(15:31):
50 different ingredients.
So good news.
But the industry is fighting it.
The industry is saying, youknow, dietary guidelines should
not be talking about ultraprocessed foods.
Number one there are a lot oftrade organizations that are
saying ultra processed have arole in people's diets,
(15:54):
regardless of all the signssince there.
What do you think?
Sally (16:00):
Yeah, it's a very
important topic, you know, as we
are hearing more and moreresearch about the negative
effects of ultra processed foodsand, as we discussed on the
show recently, you know thateven some experts are.
We're finding that they haveties to some of these food
companies that are telling usthat ultra processed foods are
(16:20):
okay.
So it can be confusing forconsumers, I think, because
there are a lot of processedfoods that consumers rely on
because they are affordable andthey need to buy those lower
cost items to feed their family.
But also they may see that aproduct is fortified with
something, you know, withingredients and and there be
(16:41):
some confusion there of was itgood for me or is it not good
for me.
So it is definitely aconversation that we need to
have, and I'm really glad thatyou brought up kids in school
and the school lunch program,because I think that that is a
really great place to reallystart with this, because, if we
think about all you know, somany children in the country
(17:02):
rely on nutrition that they getfrom a school meal a lot of them
, you know, facing foodinsecurity and sometimes that
being the most well rounded mealthat they get every day at
school.
So it is.
It is very important that atthat age that we are giving
proper nutrition to kids inschool, but also that we are
(17:24):
training their palates to wantto eat real food.
Phil, you know these, theseultra processed foods that have
salt, sugar and additives andall of these things, and you
know, if we're eating those on aregular basis, then those are
the types of foods that we'regoing to crave, instead of those
whole foods like an apple orjust turkey, like you said.
Phil (17:47):
Right.
And also, you know, besides allof that, in addition to all of
that, we're ruining our kidstaste buds, and I would even say
, from baby boomers on down,we've ruined our taste buds to
really think about sugar, saltand fat, and that's what we
(18:08):
think food should taste like andit doesn't.
FDA has also proposed banningBrominated vegetable oil.
Now, this is a particularingredient that's found in
fruity and citrus flavored soda,and you know they have a big
concern over the animal studies.
There's clear adverse effects.
(18:29):
The FDA says the ingredient ispotentially harmful to the
thyroid, liver and heart and itcould cause neurological
problems.
I'm not sure that drinking oneof these sodas is worth having
neurological problems.
The FDA has also said that alot of these companies have
already reformulated theirbeverages to replace it.
(18:52):
California was the first stateto ban it in October, which
means that a lot of foodcompanies and again, california
is the biggest state in thenation.
So you know these foodcompanies are not going to have
two different formulas for theirsodas, with and without.
(19:12):
You know California and not, soI think that it's going to be
great.
This ingredient has alreadybeen banned over in the European
Union and in Japan for a whilePepsi good for Pepsi got rid of,
you know, bdo back in 2019.
(19:33):
So that's terrific for them,but the reality is that, you
know, fda has to move faster onthis because there's a lot of
consumers who have beenconsuming these products.
In the case of people thatmight be drinking two, three,
four sodas a day, this really,you know, opens up a delt of you
(19:59):
know, health problems for them.
So let's get rid of this.
And talking about sodas, NewYork City just passed a bill
with mandatory warnings on highsugar items in restaurants.
It's a three tiered phase inprogram.
Soda package, snacks anythingpre-packaged needs to carry a
(20:23):
warning label as of June 2025.
Then, in December 2025, thepolicy expands to foods with
identical pre-packaged versions.
That's really about fountaindrinks.
And then phase three, the citywill require a high sugar icon
and warning on menus, which isreally interesting.
(20:47):
And you know the question iswhether or not, when you start
doing this in major cities likeNew York City, whether or not it
expands to the rest of thenation, because we know we have
a sugar problem.
There's no question that wehave a sugar problem.
So, you know, I applaud NewYork.
(21:08):
I'm sure that they're gonnacome under a lot of criticism
that, whether it's the sugarcompanies, whether it's the
lobbies or trade associations,are gonna try to ban the ban
from happening.
We've seen that before.
When Bloomberg was mayor of NewYork and he was trying to put
things in, a lot of the foodcompanies went at odds with him.
(21:32):
But I think it's a great move.
When we look at eliminatingbrominated vegetable oil, when
we look at labeling sugar we'veseen that in Mexico before with
very good effects.
This is something we should bedoing, isn't it?
Sally (21:50):
I agree, Phil, with the
health related issues that we
have in this country, withdiabetes and obesity and heart
conditions.
We clearly do have a problemwith our diets at, particularly
related to sugar.
There's a lot of sugar in ourfood and you know it is
(22:11):
important to make sure thatconsumers are aware how much
sugar is in the food thatthey're getting.
It will be interesting to seehow logistically this plays out,
what that means for those chainrestaurants.
How are they gonna implementthis with those foods that are
not prepackaged and having thecorrect information to share
(22:34):
with their customers?
But you know something elsethat I think will be interesting
to see, particularly when wetalk about soda, phil, is that
you know, if this happens in NewYork City and if we were to see
it happen in other places inthe country, I wonder if these
restaurants might consideroffering, you know, more
(22:54):
alternative beverages to soda,like sparkling water is really
popular right now.
You know why can't we put somesparkling water, different
flavored sparkling waters inthose soda machines you know are
offering?
You know different types ofunsweetened iced tea, green teas
you know drinks like that thatare not these sodas that have so
(23:14):
much sugar in them.
Phil (23:16):
Yeah, between the sugar,
between the brominated vegetable
oil, all that, it's just a pathof destruction.
On #Food Not Phones today, wewanna talk about John Legend.
So you know, Sally, what isJohn Legend's take on social
media and what is herecommending for us?
Sally (23:37):
I love this, Phil, and I
love John Legend.
You know if you don't, if youare listening, you don't know
how who John Legend is, but heis a singer-songwriter that has
12 Grammy Awards and he'sreceived 33 Grammy Award
nominations.
So a lot of people know whoJohn Legend is.
And then that he has beenpretty open about struggles with
(23:59):
mental health and anxiety, andone of the steps he's taking is
you know he's said that I'mgoing to take a break from
social media for my mentalhealth.
He's talking about how it's notjust the process of posting on
social media for people, whichhe primarily does on TikTok and
Instagram, I believe is what hesaid.
He also said that he believes Xis very, very toxic, so he
(24:22):
won't be doing that at all.
But it's not just the posting,it's all of the stuff you're
taking in.
When you go onto that socialmedia app and you start
scrolling, you're taking on alot from the world.
Everybody is giving you alldifferent kinds of information,
with different emotions, ortrying to sell you something or,
you know, making feel a certainway, and it is a lot to take in
(24:46):
.
John Legend is telling us I'mgonna pause from social media
and you know he is hoping to seesome results, with his anxiety
being reduced as a result ofthat, and that's what we have
been talking about with our#Food Not Phones Initiative for
our next event that is coming up, Thanksgiving Day.
We just wanna encourage peopleto join us in this initiative
(25:08):
and to take a look at yourscreen time behavior, your phone
use behavior, and maybe pausefrom that phone use when you are
sitting around the table havingdinner with family and friends
and focusing more on our humaninteraction, our face-to-face
connection, which is soimportant.
And let's see what happens.
Phil (25:27):
Absolutely and coming up
next week, what we're gonna do
on Food, not Phones is we'regonna reveal our survey that was
done courtesy of Acosta, withtheir consumer panel, and lots
of surprises coming in to thatsurvey about how people are
using their phone, who's usingtheir phone while they're eating
(25:48):
, why they're using it.
So be sure to join us next weekfor Food, not Phones, where we
take a look at the Acosta survey.
Thanks, ali.
On today's bullseye,minimalistic package design in
the food industry has emerged asa significant trend.
It reflects broader shifts inconsumer preferences and market
(26:09):
demands.
Now this trend is characterizedby simplicity, clean lines, a
focus on essential elements andoften leads to a more elegant
and modern aesthetic.
Marking professor Lan Anh Tan,the Texas Christian University
professor, along with colleagues, took to explore whether
(26:31):
shoppers actually preferminimalistic package design and
they analyzed over 1,000 CPGbrands, including foods and
health and beauty products.
What they found was that thesimpler the packaging, the
higher the retail price.
Their conclusion that shoppersare willing to pay more for
(26:53):
simple design.
The reasons that they found wasthat the pared down design sent
a subtle message of purity,which made the survey
participants assume that theproducts had fewer ingredients,
less preservatives, added colorsor artificial flavors, whether
or not it was actually true.
Let's dig a bit deeper.
(27:14):
Minimalistic packaging oftenuses fewer colors, simple
graphics and clear typography.
This approach makes it easierfor consumers to identify the
product and, frankly, understandwhat it offers, and it
simplifies their decision-makingprocess.
In today's supermarket, withover 40,000 products, shoppers
(27:37):
are saturated with visuallycomplex designs and therefore
minimalistic packaging standsout.
Now.
This distinctiveness helpsbrands position themselves as
unique and, as we see, premium.
For brands that go acrosscategories, these minimalistic
designs can adapt more easily todifferent product lines,
(28:00):
enabling a cohesive brand imageacross diverse offerings.
Now there are also otherbenefits for the brands that go
well beyond attracting shoppers,and those relate to cost.
These simple designs often useless ink and simpler materials,
which can be moreenvironmentally friendly.
This aligns with the growingconsumer preference for more
(28:23):
sustainable products.
Simple packaging often meansless material use overall
contributes to waste reduction.
These simplified designs can beless expensive to produce and
benefiting the companies throughlower production costs.
Fewer design elements can meanfaster and more efficient, and
therefore less productionprocesses.
(28:46):
More products are being soldonline and too often the digital
versions of packaging are lessthan appealing, especially for
those shoppers who have laptopsor older monitors.
Minimalistic packaging can bemore effectively showcased in
online retail environments.
They pop out.
Simple designs tend to displaywell on these digital platforms,
(29:09):
which is really very importantfor competing in this flat
e-commerce platform Talkingabout online.
With the rise of social media,visually appealing, clean
designs are also more shareableand can easily adapt to digital
marketing strategies.
But there could be a downside tothis trend as well.
The risk is that too many brandmanagers will review this
(29:33):
research and jump to adoptingminimalistic designs, and that
could lead to a lack ofdifferentiation in the
marketplace.
The trend and the shift towardsminimalistic packaging in the
food industry is a multifacetedtrend.
It's influenced by consumerbehavior, environmental concerns
(29:54):
, economic factors andtechnological advancements.
Be cautious while the designtrend certainly offers many
benefits, it also presentschallenges that brands need to
navigate to effectively leveragethis trend.
And let's remember, designtrends constantly evolve.
It adapts and then impatures.
(30:16):
What's hot and packaged designtoday might not be so hot
tomorrow, but for now it'sclearly a winner.
Sally (30:26):
Be sure to visit
SupermarketG uru.
com for the latest marketinganalysis, issues and trends, and
don't forget to join us backhere next Monday at 2:30 pm
Eastern for more.