Emerging Trends Changing Grocery Marketing

© 2015 Ignited, LLC. Proprietary and confidential.
CURIOUS TRENDS
THAT ARE CHANGING
GROCERY MARKETING

2
INTRO: TRENDS THROUGH THE
GROCERY LENS
Earlier this year, we curated 15 key trends for 2015 from the most relevant
and interesting end-of-year predictions. While the trends themselves are
thought-provoking, what’s more exciting is how brands can use them to keep
their brands relevant in an ever-faster changing world. With this in mind we
revisited the trends, looking at them through the lens of how they can be used
to benefit the grocery market brands. Selecting 14 we feel are most appropriate,
we have developed concepts for the category that bring these trends to life.

3
SECRET AND SUDDEN
People are drawn to mystery and have a desire to explore
the unknown.
Create a line of packaged food called the “Mystery Meal Box.”
Feature various ethnic cuisines from around the world and
provide consumers with only one clue as to what this meal
might be: the country of the recipe’s origin. Create an
“adventure scale” per country, in which consumers can
choose a meal based on the exoticism level of ingredients.
For those bakers out there, create a similar concept with a
“Mystery Baking Box.”
Here’s a chance to keep your consumer curious. This
could be a good reason to get customers to frequent a
grocery brand more often than another.

4
BRAND SERVICE BLENDING
A large movement towards being healthier and eating more
organics has grocery shoppers seeking and demanding tools
and services that will assist them in living a healthier lifestyle.
With health and wellness being a priority, grocery brands could
partner up with an established and reputable nutrition brand to
provide an integrated app that allows shoppers to find meal
recommendations, healthy food advice, and step-by-step
cooking tips, based on produce shoppers can find right there
in the aisles they are shopping.
Add some smart filters like calorie count and cost per meal
and you have an invaluable tool that both encourages
shopping and wellness.
Shoppers will appreciate the collaboration between
nutritional and grocery brands that provide instant and
convenient advice.

5
JOYNING
In this ever expanding sharing economy, consumers are
no longer afraid to share spaces and experiences with
total strangers. They are actually seeking serendipitous
encounters that open their minds and world.
With this trend in mind, grocery brands could create an
app that uses loyalty card information to connect
shoppers with similar food interests and set up shared
cooking experiences. Instead of leaving consumers alone,
grocery brands could encourage connectivity around what
these consumers love to do: cook.
By positioning themselves as brands that care about
people and their relationships with each other and
food, grocery brands could attach a deeper, collective
sentiment towards shopping for groceries.

6
SINGLETONS
Divorce rates are rising, people are waiting longer to get
married, and delaying parenthood has become the norm.
This has led to a rising cohort of single, unmarried
individuals, and consequently, the decrease of children.
Grocery shopping alone can be depressing and singles will
oftentimes bring another person with them if they can. By
partnering with an ever popular dating service like Tinder,
grocery brands could have a “Grocery Market Mode” on the
app, using the products shoppers’ baskets as the criteria to
find the perfect match. New “couples,” or friends, could then
shop and cook together, making the grocery chore all the
more bearable and even exciting.
Grocery brands could position themselves as modern
and unique for attracting young singles to meet at
their stores.
Source: http://www.supermarket-dating.co.uk/

7
META MARKETING
The marketing-savvy Millennials are at it again, forcing yet another
rewrite of the marketing handbook. Discontent with over-the-top
marketing campaigns that have long been the status quo, they are
calling for brands to “drop the act” and “get real” with more
“authentic” communication.
Why not change a grocery brand standard. Create witty labeling that
accurately defines how consumers feel about products. Next to organics,
label “The good stuff,” next to regular products, label “won’t break the
bank.” Ultimately, revealing how people perceive these items.
Replace private labels with the “Just range,” after all, if it’s not branded,
it is “Just Beef” or “Just Pasta Sauce.”
Honestly signpost produce nearing its expiration date e.g., “Yeah, we put
this here because it expires tomorrow” or “I’m dented, not damaged.”
Embrace these supermarket truths because consumers truly
appreciate honesty.

8
NEW SEMANTICS
New languages, words, and visual means of communication
are entering our lives. Our social vernacular is changing to
include more stickers, emoticons, emojis, and slang in our
daily text conversations.
With this trend in mind, grocery brands could create their own
branded dialect by going beyond simple expected language,
and creating a new standard in the grocery dictionary.
Grocery brands could create mashups that eloquently
describe supermarket struggles that all consumers face. For
example, forgetting to pick up milk, but remembering midway
through the line could be called “itemnesia.”
A grocery brand that creates their own branded food
language in the form of mashups could differentiate
themselves and tap into a major cultural trend.

9
ESCAPE ARTIST
People are craving heightened escapism: chasing excitement and
daring exploration. They are fleeing the 9-to-5 humdrum through
active, thrilling and adventurous experiences.
The millennial mega generation are known for their love of all things
culturally diverse, which has driven a love of new and exotic cuisine.
Making use of shopper data, Grocery brands could randomly select
and surprise a shopper of ‘interesting ingredients’ with a trip to ‘Find
out where their food is from’. For instance, Saffron – ‘the spice beyond
price’ costs more than gold, but why? To find out, a grocery brand
could take a ‘saffron’ shopper on ‘the trip of a lifetime’ to see the
crocus fields of India. Give them a camera and let them create a film
about their experience to publish on social channels.
Grocery shopping is not commonly considered exciting or
thrilling, despite the evident passion people have for food. The
idea suggested, has the potential to inject a sense of adventure
to the humble shopping experience, inviting shoppers to try
more adventurous cuisine.

10
FLATTENING SOCIAL NORMS
Norms are changing, resulting in a homogenization of culture,
gender, and family views. We live in a grayscale world, and
this year we will see a major increase in the blurring of
cultural borders.
It’s time to discard the shopper stereotype. Present the world
as we want to see it rather than as it is. Consider whether
featuring the “traditional” family and presenting grocery
shopping as a woman’s responsibility is really creating an
image that has appeal.
Brands that embrace this trend will appear more in touch
with today’s world and could leave a lasting impression
in consumers’ minds. DOWNY “RIP YOUR CLOTHES ON”
Downy dared to shake up the entire Laundry category with a
campaign that didn’t feature a mom joyfully doing the laundry.
The provocative spot showed that ripping your clothes on can
be even more irresistible than taking them off, a far cry from the
traditional mom campaigns that dominate the category.

11
GEN Z TAKEOVER
The 0–18 demographic, aka Generation Z, are the next recruiting
sweet spot for brands. Similar to their millennial counterparts they
like all things fresh, only to a greater degree.
Reports from NPD* suggest that this emerging generation is eager
to make meals using fresh ingredients and are neither interested or
contented with ready-to-eat or microwaveable food. With all that
said, this generation is just as time pushed and impatient as the
previous two.
Grocers can appeal to this rising generation by sourcing and
creating quick assembly meals, that indulge their penchant for all
things fresh, while also catering to their fleeting attention spans.
At currently 23% of the U.S population, Gen Z is a sizable
audience, especially when we consider their influence on their
parents’ purchase behavior. In the short term grocers should
look to leverage this influence and in the long term they should
plan to satisfy their ‘fresh’ fetish and cries for convenience.
Source: *NPD

12
LOCAL LOVE/’SMALL IS THE NEW BIG’
In a trend called ‘Local Love’ consumers are looking for brands to be
more directly involved and connected with them by showing effort locally.
It’s related to a trend we saw surface in 2014 called ‘Small Is the New
Big,’ where consumers seek brands who are transparent, authentic, and
honest, qualities they are finding from small/local businesses.
When large format grocery brands open their doors in a community,
a near catastrophic effect on traditional local commerce often follows.
The closure of butchers, bakeries and fishmongers, who have long
been part of a fabric of a community, is met with a sense of sadness
and despondency.
Grocery brands could consider a scenario where instead of competing
with beloved local retailers, they partner and take them into the new
branch as a specialized supplier.
This type of initiative would help integrate them into the community,
demonstrate an honest desire to support local commerce, and from
a pure strategic play, give them a ready-made customer base from
day one.

13
BEING REAL, AND EVEN FLAWED
Society doesn’t reward defeat, but there is a growing
understanding that failure is one of life’s greatest teachers
and a necessary stepping stone to later and greater success.
All food is precious, even if it is nearing its expiration date.
Grocery brands could be transparent on how much food goes
to waste daily. Create a tracker on social media to monitor
and update the extra electricity usage and food wastage that
goes on in stores daily. Consumers strive to be much more
conscious of waste today and so it would be wise of grocers
to link near-expired foods with promotions, encouraging
consumers to help brands in a shared effort for sustainability.
By being honest in its sustainability efforts, grocery
brands could appeal to consumers who care about the
environment as well and build brand loyalty with them.

14
PURSUIT OF BETTERMENT
We are taking control of our personal well-being, looking for
ways to break free from poor lifestyle habits in pursuit of
betterment and self-improvement.
Grocery brands should consider how they can support this trend,
set to stand the test of time. For instance, why not tap in to
existing health initiatives like heart month in February, with a
promotion of items that aid in the prevention of heart disease,
e.g., walnuts, plums, and chickpeas. This could be part of a
wider ‘Pursuit of betterment’ initiative.
Pushing products that promote a healthier lifestyle shows
the world that grocery brands are directly supporting health
and wellness.

15
JOMO & DIGITAL DIETING
There was a time, not so long ago, when people suffered from
FOMO, the fear of missing out. But today, we see people willingly
withdrawing from social-media engagements and realizing JOMO,
the joy of missing out.
With this trend in mind, grocery brands could launch #jomoweek;
a week-long campaign that encourages eating in and enjoying the
company of friends and family in the traditional sense, without
being distracted by the digital world. Grocery stores could provide
an assortment of healthy, easy-to-prepare recipes and meal
boxes for each day of the week.
By incorporating #jomoweek, grocery brands could
re-prioritize the importance of spending uninterrupted time
with others in this digitally-distracting age.

16
PHYGITAL
The convergence of the digital and physical worlds is nothing new,
however marketers are still only on the cusp of fully embracing
this phenomenon.
As consumers become increasingly accustomed to shopping online,
Grocery brands could take advantage of their lessening need to
touch and feel produce, while still catering for the need to have their
groceries instantly.
Consider the benefits of a Phygital retail presence, one where the
shelves of a traditional grocery store are stocked with virtual products.
Shoppers browse the store as they would normally, but place virtual
products into a virtual basket via an app. At checkout, they simply
make the transaction on their app and pick up their groceries, which
have been already packed for them.
This evolution of the grocery store format would allow shoppers
to get in and out quickly, while still being able to browse the
aisles, maintaining the prospect of impulse purchases. The
removal of physical produce, baskets and trollies reduces
process, freeing employees to concentrate on customer service.

THANK YOU
If you'd like to learn more about our experience with Fresh & Easy
and other retail brands click here or call us directly.
Bill Rosenthal
310.773.3120
2221 Park Place, El Segundo, CA 90245
www.ignitedusa.com

Emerging Trends Changing Grocery Marketing

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