The iconic Girl Scout cookies continue to fall on hard times. News outlets are reporting that some boxes smell “stinky” due to denigrating ingredients (although the cookies are safe to eat). Just this week I brought home my usual 3 boxes of Thin Mints (hey they freeze well) and couldn’t help wondering if the cookie had gotten even smaller. It seems like every year the box and the product inside is a disappointment. Any product developer knows that cost optimized iteration after iteration doesn’t measure damage from the original. At some point, your loyalists will push back and find the product unrecognizable and the eating experience unsatisfying. For me, I have just about reached that point with my beloved Thin Mints. It will be pretty sad if this iconic part of American culture falls prey to poor strategic vision and planning.
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March 6th, 2010
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Congrats Saints!
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February 8th, 2010
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You’d have to had been under a rock to not know that Steve Jobs introduced Wednesday what Apple hopes will be the coolest device on the planet: a slender tablet computer called the iPad. Apple is positioning the device, some versions of which will be available in March, as a pioneer in a new genre of computing, somewhere between a laptop and a smartphone. “The bar is pretty high,” Mr. Jobs acknowledged. “It has to be far better at doing some key things.” While admittedly cool looking, I am struggling with what exactly the iPad is (besides horribly named) and what need it could possible fulfill. What might very well be a precursor of success was the conversation I had last night. Two of my daughters already thought the iPad was the coolest thing on the planet. Apparently it was the talk of the lunch table at school as kids everywhere whipped out iPhones to show each other the iPad. Steve Jobs might be on to something after all. (more…)
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January 28th, 2010
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The average young American now spends practically every waking minute — except for the time in school — using a smart phone, computer, television or other electronic device, according to a new study from the Kaiser Family Foundation. Those ages 8 to 18 spend more than seven and a half hours a day with such devices, compared with less than six and a half hours five years ago, when the study was last conducted. And that does not count the hour and a half that youths spend texting, or the half-hour they talk on their cellphones. And because so many of them are multitasking — say, surfing the Internet while listening to music — they pack on average nearly 11 hours of media content into that seven and a half hours. Of course there is still the option of just saying no. (more…)
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January 21st, 2010
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Kraft’s purchase of Cadbury might be a sweet deal for the big food manufacturer but it leaves a sense of uneasiness among Brits that I share. I do hope the quality and heritage that are hallmarks of Cadbury remain despite Kraft’s past track record. I really don’t want anyone messing with my Fruit and Nut Bar. (more…)
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January 19th, 2010
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Brazilians feel the most pressure to be thin, the Finns are acutely aware of the dangers of obesity and Americans have the toughest struggle to lose weight, according to a global survey. About 1.6 billion people around the world are overweight or obese. The Reader Digest poll also revealed that Russians smoke the most to try to drop excess weight, and along with Germans and Indians they are most likely to blame genetics for their penchant for piling on the pounds. ”Our poll makes it clear that people around the world are struggling with their weight,” said Peggy Northrop, the vice president and global editor-in-chief of the magazine. (more…)
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January 15th, 2010
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Yup. Bon Appetit has declared meatballs the top dish of 2010. I guess it is a natural extension from hamburgers and on trend for comfort food. The foodie mag listed many recipes with an ethnic twist on this favorite food but at the end of the day I just don’t see it. If I had to call it strictly from a restaurant trend viewpoint, I would go with fried chicken. I guess we’ll see who is right.
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January 10th, 2010
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It is a nibble weird that a guy who describes his relationship to Christmas as “hostile” runs around greater Los Angeles in a floppy red Santa hat and answers his iPhone, “Merry Christmas, this is Scotty Claus!” But bummed as false merriment and gift obligations render him, Scott Martin — landscape architect and tree hugger in a literal sense — was unnerved by the sight of post-Christmas trees lying about like so much discarded sausage casing. What people really ought to do, he reasoned, was rent a Christmas tree, and return it, alive, to the nursery after the season. Mr. Martin’s idea, enabled by a rotten economy that made his free time greater and his potential labor pool deeper, is now manifest in his new business delivering live, potted Christmas trees that are taken away once the toys have been unwrapped. You can try anything here, and no one will tell you it’s a bad idea,” said Mr. Martin, who is 30 and grew up in the South Bay here, where as a teenager he delivered trees for a nursery. “California is more attached to the green movement, so they are more willing to try this service here.” (more…)
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December 18th, 2009
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Seasonal sales bumps are associated with products like sleds and air conditioners, but there is, oddly enough, an example in the cereal aisle too. About half of the total yearly sales of Chex occur in the final three months of the year. Looking to spice up sales and increase relevancy, General Mills is reinventing the classic party staple. While tossing together a few ingredients to bake for an hour may have seemed convenient during the Truman administration, it seems less so in the era of microwaveable popcorn. Besides, ready-to-eat Chex Mix, which was introduced in the snack aisle in 1987 and now includes more than a dozen varieties, is simplicity itself. So Chex has embarked on an effort to publicize new microwaveable recipes and, through a recipe contest, is adding spice, literally, to the snack. (more…)
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December 13th, 2009
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It might not just be the economy that’s holding back sales this holiday season — it’s also the lack of breakout products. Industry analysts and even retailers are hard-pressed to identify any must-have items beyond an $8 toy hamster. ”There’s no killer item this year. There is no XBox or item that’s out of stock that everyone has to have, and typically we benefit when that happens,” John Donahoe, eBay’s CEO, said at an investors’ conference this week. “There just simply … isn’t one this year. (more…)
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December 9th, 2009
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