The COVID-19 pandemic has hampered the ability of researchers to engage with participants in face-to-face environments, forcing many to shift to online forms of data collection. With face-to-face research still not permitted unless there’s an absence of any alternative method (MRS Code of Conduct 2021), both brands and agencies alike…
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Swedish brand Oatly is one of the most popular oat-based milk drinks in the UK, with its market share valued at £84.3m in January 2021. Despite some controversy in the Summer of 2020 due to investor Blackstone’s questionable sustainability credentials, the brand continue to grow in popularity and as such…
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Following the Mondelez’ acquisition of Grenade on the 22nd March for an estimated £200milion, Just Food’s Andy Coyne interviewed our very own Hamish Renton to ask about what he thinks this means for the future of the growing health snack category. Turning over £51.6m in 2019 (Companies House, 2019), Grenade…
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With Brexit now behind them, cost reduction is the flavour of the month in the retail trade at the moment On the one hand suppliers are being asked for either direct selling price reductions or increased ‘contributions’ to this or that. On the other, jobs are being removed from an…
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As glamorous as the beauty industry may be, it’s making a real statement on the global plastic crisis, with the industry found to produce a staggering 142 billion pieces of packaging each year (Zero Waste Week, 2018). Research also suggests approximately 95% of beauty packaging is thrown away after just…
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Whether you’re a new FMCG brand trying to break into a category, a long-time player whose sales have seen a slight decline, or someone in-between, gaining insight from your consumers is vital to succeed. Conducting a quantitative survey is a great way of gathering insight into the thoughts, feelings and…
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Literally, brighter days are coming. Not a moment too soon, as I don’t know about you but I have been struggling. It seems the country, the continent and the world has been under a leaden blanket. At home as many of you know, I’ve been juggling work with home schooling…
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Right before Christmas I was talking to a slightly feverish Supply Chain Director, he was sharing his current crop of logistical nightmares, looming in store availability challenges and staffing issues. In one way or another I’d been having the same conversation with so many people over the last three or…
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I don’t know about you but I feel we are way, way past the “Information Age” in FMCG. To coin a phrase, shoppers are now in the “Information Burnout and Disinformation Age”. So many views, ‘facts’, standards, opinions about what ‘healthy’ means in food and drink on pack claims, brand…
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I have to say that I am glad to be closing the chapter on 2020. There is so much I am not going to miss about the year almost gone. And yet, in the midst of the year’s challenges, new dynamics emerged that are shaking up the FMCG sector –…
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Freshly graduated from university, HRA’s newest recruit Jess shares a bit about herself outlining her experience, her excitement for the future and how her interest in FMCG began. What Has Your Career Path Been Up To This Point? Having graduated this summer from the University of Exeter with a BSc…
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The current mood in the trade is quite a strange mixture of emotions. It’s unlike anything I’ve seen in 20 years client side or for the last almost 10 years running HRA Global. With the UK heading towards an uncharted Brexit and entering into a new chapter of UK/US relations there…
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