One of the things I try to do on a weekly, if not daily basis, is cull the specialty food, natural food and grocery industry publications to keep up to date on the newest developments in the business. I think this is really important because when you own a small business, it's really easy to get caught up in the day-to-day tasks of making product, filling orders and balancing the books (which, I should mention is the bane of my existence).
When we get really busy, I try to remind myself that we don't operate in a bubble and that we're part of a much larger industry. We have to understand the bigger picture, in order to to really know how our company fits into that picture and how we can continue to create a niche for ourselves.
The research highlight of this week was a great analysis of the The Cookie Market from the National Association for Specialty Food Trade, which you can check out here. I know, I know, trade publications sound boring, right? But not in our business! At least I don't think so. Here are some highlights from The Cookie Market research piece that I guarantee you will find interesting (not to mention delicious). For example, did you know the cookie and cookie bar market is currently valued at $5.2 billion? Now that's a lot of cookies.
The findings below are based on a study conducted by Mintel International.
- Women are somewhat more likely than men to experiment with types, flavors and brands of cookies
- Adults aged 18-44 are very interested in trying new cookie types and flavors, but interest fades after 45
- 58% of respondents eat cookies less than once a week. Consumption is highest for over-65s
- Based on households polled, sandwich, soft chocolate chip and vanilla wafers are the most popular types of cookies in the U.S. Cupola Cookies will supplant one of these types by next year.
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