Marketing has a profound affect on the foods we eat and the beverages we drink, yet most of that marketing is for products we should avoid. BMSG monitors the media to help keep advocates informed of the tactics food and beverage companies use to target children, communities of color, and other groups that are particularly susceptible to the health harms these products cause. Below are archives of our monitoring.
Source: Hispanic Retail 360 on September 24, 2012
For the third year, 7UP will sponsor "the biggest night of the year for Latin music." As part of its "Viva Latin Grammys" promotion, the company is hosting a competition that offers a private concert with popular Latino singer Enrique Iglesias as a prize.Source: Convenience Store News on September 24, 2012
The report, released during the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's annual legislative conference, is intended to "help increase the awareness of Blacks' consumer power." The findings offer marketers detailed information on the brand types and media outlets most that African-American consumers prefer, as well as the product types and advertising mediums they view as most relevant.Source: ABC News on September 24, 2012
The food industry says they've made improvements in child marketing. However, research from the Rudd Center shows, for example, that cereal companies recently increased child-targeted advertising for some of their least nutritious products. The report is due out later this year.Source: Forbes.com on September 24, 2012
Food Genius is a new restaurant and dish recommendation app. Its goal is to use big data mining technologies to capture consumer information and provide "actionable insights" to the food industry, like "what dishes to make, how to market them and how to price them."Source: Boston.com on September 24, 2012
Kellogg partnered with an international agribusiness to aggressively market cereal and other products in China, whose market for cereal is expected to reach $225M this year -- double that of five years ago.Source: Food Safety News on September 24, 2012
The food industry calls for "personal responsibility" and yet consistently blocks consumers' right to basic information. Industry opposition to Prop 37 and support for federal menu labeling exemptions are cases in point.Source: NBCNews.com on September 21, 2012
The Center for Science in the Public Interest's Litigation Project has filed a number of lawsuits against foodmakers over deceptive health, nutrition and ingredient claims.Source: FoodNavigator-usa.com on September 21, 2012
The FDA is expected to publish guidance about energy drinks (which are now considered "dietary supplements") after Senator Dick Durbin wrote a letter demanding regulatory action. However, the beverage industry analyst quoted in this article predicts that the guidance will be "murky" enough to allow for plenty of "wiggle room," especially given that the FDA may lose a lot of money in sequestration.Source: MediaPost on September 20, 2012
Using characters on packaging is a key strategy in marketing food to children, whether they are created by the brand or borrowed from movies or television.Source: Beverage World on September 20, 2012
The drinks are now 30 to 42% juice, up from 12 to 26%. The packaging now includes pictures of fruit, and Honest Tea is rolling out a 59-oz. version of the drink for home consumption.
