Social media use is on the rise, but are consumers using sites such as Twitter, Facebook and Cafemom.com to make food decisions? According to a recent study, the answer is not very often. The Knowledge Network survey found that 83 percent of the “Internet population” ages 13 to 54 uses social media, but only 3 percent said they “regularly” turn to social media sites to make decisions about restaurants and only 2 percent use it to make decisions about groceries. Another 21 and 13 percent said they “sometimes” use social media to make the same decisions, respectively.
Source: Knowledge Networks

Do consumers need more education about whole grains and fiber? According to FIBER-pe-dia: A comprehensive look at fiber, a Kellogg Co. survey, close to 70 percent of American adults said they are making an effort to increase the amount of fiber in their diet by eating more "whole grains." But 75 percent said they assumed a package labeled “whole grain” indicates the product is a good or excellent source of fiber. Kellogg said this is not always the case and that the amount of fiber in a whole grain product can vary greatly. This suggests that consumers are confused about fiber content in whole grain foods.
Source: Kellogg Co.

Supermarkets are responding to consumers changing needs by supplying lower cost foods, according to the Food Marketing Institute’s State of Food Retailing 2009 report. Approximately 78 percent of retailers say they are emphasizing low prices as a competitive strategy this year, and 93.3 percent of retailers said they will increase their private label products in the coming year. Private label products already account for 9.7 percent of items carried in a typical store, up from 8.1 percent last year.
Source: Food Marketing Institute