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Reflecting on 2018 in 280 characters or fewer: Part II

Nate Clark
Dec 11, 2018
Nate Clark

Reflecting on 2018 in 280 characters or fewer Pt. I and II

Last week, we used our Tweets to recap some of the most important food trends and industry news from the first half of 2018. Here, we continue our reflection with top headlines from July through November.

July

Moreover, industry bottlenecks threaten to significantly raise the cost of shipping waste from transfer stations to the landfill. Due to increased online shopping and other factors, there is a national shortage of qualified commercial truck drivers, which will increase hauling costs in the near term.

As diners increasingly make less-is-more food choices, we will continue to streamline and simplify our products by removing or replacing certain ingredients with preferred alternatives so what’s left is simply good food.

Food companies can and should be doing more to lead and drive positive policy action for the people who buy and enjoy the foods and beverages we make, the people who supply them, and the planet on which we all rely.

August

Our 2025 goals are a solid foundation that further demonstrate our global sustainability commitment. We are leading our industry with our CSR initiatives and by including specific long-term goals that align with our strategic business priorities, we are living our vision of becoming our customers’ most valued and trusted business partner.

The trucking squeeze has hit the food industry particularly hard, adding complications and costs to businesses already adjusting to changing competition and shifting consumer tastes. Food distributor US Foods Holding Corp. , cereal-maker Kellogg Co. , and Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc. all said higher transportation and logistics costs weighed on earnings in the most recent quarter.

Prime members shopping at Whole Foods can receive 10% discounts on certain sale items, and two-hour delivery and grocery pickup are available at some locations. In addition, shoppers can use Amazon's Alexa device to order their groceries by voice.

September

Inadequate infrastructure, a dearth of efficiency effort targeted a reducing loss and waste, little collaboration across the value chain and lacking regulations are all to blame for supply chains' slow progress in reducing food waste, according to a new report from Boston Consulting Group (BCG).
 

Shopper demand for transparency...is fed by the plethora of information available at a consumers' fingertips. Recent research has predicted that the food traceability market will be worth $14 billion by 2019 and the trend has radically changed the way food products are marketed, turning the focus onto the manufacturer's ingredients, processes and backstory instead of advertising alone.

Walmart customers deserve a more transparent supply chain. We felt the one-step-up and one-step-back model of food traceability was outdated for the 21st century. This is a smart, technology-supported move that will greatly benefit our customers and transform the food system, benefiting all stakeholders.

October

They will mostly apply to "serious recalls," those in which eating the food could cause "serious adverse health consequences or death to humans or animals" or in situations in which it's hard to figure out from the food's packaging – or lack thereof – if it's subject to the recall, such as deli cheese, nuts, fresh produce sold individually, rawhide chews or pet treats sold in bulk.

Due to the widespread nature of the power outages growers may not have functioning coolers or irrigation pumps, which means that secondary losses due to inability to cool and pack harvested product or to irrigate crops in the fields may climb.

For those concerned by the fact that such large quantities of edible food is still being wasted, leading to potent methane emissions that exacerbate the growing climate crisis, it may be good news to see that this can be a nonpartisan issue.

November

Analysts say this “see what sticks” approach is the result of an unclear understanding of what consumers want and are willing to pay as retailers try to make pickup and delivery a profitable slice of their business.

Leftovers are part of the fun and tradition of the holidays, and this may be a small step for individuals to feel less wasteful and socially responsible.

US Foods Holding Corp., Performance Foods Group Co., SpartanNash Co. and Sysco Co. all reported rising costs in their latest quarterly earnings. Operating expenses rose 6% at Sysco, the world’s largest food distributor, and 2% at US Foods.

Want more updates? 

Did this recap pique your interest? If you want to dig deeper, we have free downloadable Resources on our website, as well as case studies and an ongoing blog where we share learnings in bite-sized pieces. And in case you missed it, don’t forget to check out Pt. I of our recap in 280 words or fewer.

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