Mintel in the Media – This week’s highlights

Mintel in the Media is a weekly review, bringing together a selection of the most high profile press stories showcasing Mintel’s data and analysis from around the world. Highlights from the past weeks include:

UK

Economist: A risky business. Ladbrokes will close 50 premises in 2014 after average annual profits per shop fell from £82,000 to £58,000. Mintel, a research firm, thinks the betting-shop business will decline 7% by 2019.

Economist: Down tools. Expect this trend to continue. Homeowners in their 20s and 30s are the most enthusiastic DIYers, says Richard Perks at Mintel. Rising house prices mean there are fewer of them, leaving owner-occupiers as a more elderly bunch (see chart). The old have less energy for plastering and painting and more money to pay for professional help. That’s bad news for DIY shows, though.

The Independent: Stevia wonder: The plant that’s a super sugar alternative – and free from calories and carbs. Laura Jones, a food science analyst at Mintel, said: “Stevia is the one to watch. It’s still early in the innovation process, but it will become more appealing as new variants are released.”

The Guardian:  ‘You don’t earn as much money as the girls’: The idea of a stable of male supermodels equivalent to Naomi, Kate, Claudia and Christy seems remote, sure, but men’s fashion is on the up. Estimated to be worth £10.4bn in 2013, it’s grown 12% in the past five years, and a study by Mintel suggests this will continue, with growth to 2017 predicted at 11%.

The Guardian: E-cigarette television advertising to be investigated. According to Mintel, the market in e-cigarettes ballooned by 340% to £193m in 2013.

The Guardian: Ladbrokes promises to calm row over problem betting. The machines have become important moneyspinners for betting chains such as Ladbrokes, William Hill and Gala Coral. The 33,000 fixed-odds betting terminals in the UK account for about £1.6bn of the industry’s in-store takings of £3bn, according to research group Mintel.

The Guardian: Lego builds yet another record profit to become world’s top toymaker. A toy analyst at market research firm Mintel said Lego’s recovery had been fuelled by its investment in quality and design.

The Daily Telegraph: The unpalatable truth: the colour has drained from our bathrooms. Mintel, the market researcher, says that as recently as 2008, 20 per cent of consumers said matching colours with decor was “one of the most important factors when buying household paper products”.

The Daily Telegraph: English cheeses lose out as Brits go continental. Heidi Lanschützer, food and drink analyst at Mintel, said: “Britain’s love for Cheddar still continues to dominate the market, accounting for over 50 per cent of value and 53 per cent of volume sales in 2013. However, the fact that the segment failed to keep pace with the overall market in 2013 reflects both its maturity as well as the fact that consumers are turning to speciality cheeses, notably continental, recipe and blue cheese.”

BBC News: E-cigarette ban for Los Angeles. The use of e-cigarettes in the UK has increased rapidly. According to data research company Mintel, the market is now worth £193m.

ITV: Sales of e-cigarettes ‘booming’. Mintel senior personal care analyst Roshida Khanom said the rapid growth could be explained by the number of smokers using them to quit: “Although e-cigarettes are largely marketed as an alternative to smoking, smokers have been using them to cut down or quit smoking.”

Marketing Week: E-cig ad rules welcomed but issue of classification still burns on. Research from Mintel found the UK market for e-cigarettes increased by 340% last year to an estimated £193m.

Brand Republic: French’s Food Company to boost brand awareness with Phipps. French’s Mustard is the number one mustard brand in the world according to market research firm Mintel.

Elle Magazine: Be Pro Protein. Protein-rich breakfast are in the thing, according to Mintel.

Chinadaily Europe: Pengxin moves to expand holdings of NZ dairy with Synlait buyout. United Kingdom-based research firm Mintel Group Ltd said last year that the Chinese dairy market will reach 66 billion yuan ($10.8 billion) by 2017.

Money AM: £13m Equity Issue, £1m Open Offer and Notice …Consumer spending on OTC medications, including those for cough, grew by 10% over 2005-10, to reach GBP532 million in UK [source: Mintel].

Easy Jet: “I feel like I’m on another planet. I’m virtually hallucinating. It feels like every cell in my. Some 40-million Brits admit to stress and anxiety, according to a Mintel report from 2010: “A third have the weight of the world on their shoulders,” it says. Their main preoccupations? Money, friends and family, health and work – and there’s still a stigma associated with admitting problems, with only 6% seeking professional help.

Inside Housing: Mintel sounds warning over housing bubble. Analysts at Mintel have warned that the sustained improvement in the housing market could be hampered by any removal of government initiatives designed to prop it up.

HbD: Help to buy scheme boosts UK construction sector in the short term, but further measures should be taken to sustain growth – See more at. New research from Mintel reveals that the market for private housing is valued at £18 billion in 2013 – but is set for a further 8% growth in 2014 and 9% growth in 2015 as the scheme is taken up – to reach £21 billion in 2015.

Building Construction Design: Help to buy scheme boosts UK construction sector in the short term, but further measures should be taken to sustain growth. New research from Mintel reveals that the market for private housing is valued at £18 billion in 2013 – but is set for a further 8% growth in 2014 and 9% growth in 2015 as the scheme is taken up – to reach £21 billion in 2015.

The Daily Mail: Puffing away! E-cigarette sales soar by 340 per cent… but some are taking it up as a ‘healthier’ alternative to smoking. Data from consumer analyst Mintel finds that today, while sales of smoking quitting aids have slowed, the market for E-cigarettes is booming.

The Daily Mail: We’re all going on a summer holiday! More Britons booking trips as money worries fade. Mintel’s annual UK Holiday Review forecasts steady year-on-year growth in holiday sales over the next five years – although it adds that the travel sector is unlikely to replicate the boom of 2008.

Mirror: E-cigarette sales rise 340% in a year – beating nicotine patches, lozenges and gum for the first time. Analyst Mintel said youths could think it is a less harmful alternative. Spokesperson Roshida Khanom said: “With the growing popularity of E-cigarettes, there is concern that young people may take up ‘vaping’ as a less harmful alternative to smoking.

Men’s Health Magazine: 8 ways to upgrade your porridge. Recent research from market analysts Mintel found half UK residents regularly tuck in to a bowlful, with 23% getting their oats seven days a week.

US

Reuters: Bloated cost of a gluten-free diet is hard to digest. Overall, Americans will spend an estimated $7 billion this year on foods labeled gluten-free, according to consumer research firm Mintel.

Wall Street Journal: Should men have (exhausting) beauty regimines? Not that men seem all that intimidated by skin care: According to Mintel, a Chicago-based market research group, 63% of guys 25-34 report that they use moisturizer.

Bloomberg Businessweek: Food makers’ ‘natural’ claims draw scrutiny. The food companies like the label for its connotation of healthiness, which can command premium prices. According to market researcher Mintel, 62 percent of U.S. adults say that when they see products labeled “all natural,” they think they’re healthy. But Mintel also found that despite the natural label’s healthy halo, only 33 percent felt they could trust it. And “natural” is often confused with “organic.” “We have seen companies shift from the label “all natural” to the inherent benefits of what’s in the product,” said Lynn Dornblaser, an analyst at market researcher Mintel.

New York Times: After a fire sale, time to reminisce. According to a report last summer from Mintel, a market research firm, 46 percent of discount shoppers said they had visited T. J. Maxx and Marshalls over the last 12 months, while 20 percent had visited outlet stores like Last Call by Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue Off 5th. Only 2 percent reported visiting a Loehmann’s.

New York Times: Dove tells women to love their armpits. Despite the economic downturn and few nonusers to lure into the category, the deodorant market has grown steadily, with revenues increasing 9 percent in the United States from 2008 to 2013, according to the market research firm Mintel. Unit sales have been flat or down, but for so-called clinical strength varieties, which have higher concentrations of anti-wetness active ingredients, brands are charging about twice as much as for their regular deodorants.

CBS News: A gluten free diet, how much will it cost you? Overall, Americans will spend an estimated $7 billion this year on foods labeled gluten-free, according to consumer research firm Mintel.

CNBC: Theme parks ‘out of reach’ for some families, ‘worth every penny’ for others. During the last quarter, for example, sales at Disney’s theme park division rose 6 percent to $3.6 billion, while sales at Universal’s parks climbed 8.8 percent to $566 million. According to market research company Mintel, the U.S. theme park industry will likely reach a record-breaking $14.4 billion for 2013. “Annual price increases at the theme parks are kind of a given; the only thing unusual is that they announced them so early,” said Fiona O’Donnell, senior lifestyles and leisure analyst at Mintel. “But it’s not going to have much of a lasting impact on getting people in the door.”

Today: Theme parks ‘out of reach’ for some families, ‘worth every penny’ for others. During the last quarter, for example, sales at Disney’s theme park division rose 6 percent to $3.6 billion, while sales at Universal’s parks climbed 8.8 percent to $566 million. According to market research company Mintel, the U.S. theme park industry will likely reach a record-breaking $14.4 billion for 2013. “Annual price increases at the theme parks are kind of a given; the only thing unusual is that they announced them so early,” said Fiona O’Donnell, senior lifestyles and leisure analyst at Mintel. “But it’s not going to have much of a lasting impact on getting people in the door.”

Huffington Post: Price of a gluten free diet may be hard to swallow. Overall, Americans will spend an estimated $7 billion this year on foods labeled gluten-free, according to consumer research firm Mintel.

Yahoo! Finance: Credit card interest rates hold steady at 15.01 percent. According to data from the market research firm Mintel Comperemedia, card issuers sent out significantly more offers with 0 percent APRs in January than they did during the same time last year. They also lengthened the average amount of time consumers can take advantage of interest-free balance transfer offers after shortening them toward the end of 2013.

Prevention Magazine: Betting on GMOs: how the USDA is failing our food economy. According to Price Waterhouse Coopers, Mintel and other research: 46% of U.S. shoppers seek out organic and local food, says Pricewaterhouse Coopers, 45% of organic users have a household income under $50,000, Nearly 1/2 of African American and Asian American households with young children* purchase organic food, Nearly 1/3rd of Hispanic and Caucasian households with young children* purchase organic food.

Modern Salon: The power of texture education. According to a 2013 study by Mintel, a global market research company, relaxers account for just 21 percent of multi-texture hair care sales and have declined 26 percent within the past six years, in contrast with sales of multi-texture products, which continue to grow exponentially due to the increase of specialized shampoo, conditioner and styling products.

Minneapolis Star-Tribune: Food makers’ ‘natural’ claims draw scrutiny. The food companies like the label for its connotation of healthiness, which can command premium prices. According to market researcher Mintel, 62 percent of U.S. adults say that when they see products labeled “all natural,” they think they’re healthy. But Mintel also found that despite the natural label’s healthy halo, only 33 percent felt they could trust it. And “natural” is often confused with “organic.” “We have seen companies shift from the label “all natural” to the inherent benefits of what’s in the product,” said Lynn Dornblaser, an analyst at market researcher Mintel.

Tampa Bay Times: USF grad’s natural hair care products coming to Target shelves. Since 2010, sales of relaxer products have dropped more than 30 percent, according to a 2012 report by market research firm Mintel Group.

Omaha World Herald: Bacon jerky the latest addition as meat snack sales soar. Perceived health benefits are one reason meat snacks are a small but fast-growing portion of the salty snacks category, as measured by market researcher Mintel.

Food Navigator USA: Private equity and Hersey frontrunners for ‘stuck in time’ Russell Stover: analyst. Marcia Mogelonsky, director of insight at Mintel told us that private equity firm Brynwood Partners was a potential candidate for America’s number three chocolate player. “Brynwood may want it in order to turn it around, like they did with DeMet. Or some other private equity firm might see it as a good turnaround.”

Food Technology: Sauces satisfy and surprise. A new Mintel report titled Cooking Sauces, Marinades, and Dressings—U.S. says the market enjoys a healthy outlook, having reached $7.4 billion in 2013, and is expected to reach $9.1 billion by 2018. According to the report, dry sauces topped all segments of the category with an estimated $3.2 billion in sales in 2013, while dressings sold $2.6 billion, and liquid sauces sold $1.6 billion.

Brazil:

Valor Economico: sorvete gourmet e luxo acessivel. Ja o instituto Mintel mostra avanco medio de cerca de 20% em igual periodo.

O Estado de S. Paulo: Internet e crise ameaçam livrarias da Europa.Um estudo da empresa Mintel, de fato, confirma a projeção de Godfray. Mas insiste que o que mudou foram “os hábitos de compras de livros” por parte dos clientes. De acordo com um levantamento da companhia, mais da metade dos entrevistados diz comprar a maioria de seus livros pela internet.

DCI: Indústria de esmalte nacional investe em linhas premium. Com um crescimento de 3,8% na receita do ano passado, o setor tem em suas maos um mercado de R$ 597,7 milhoes e, desde 2011, lidera o ranking de Desenvolvimento de Novos Produtos (NPD) na divisao de maquiagem. Nos dez primeiros meses de 2013, ele foi responsavel por 58% dos lancamentos, de acordo com dados da consultoria Mintel.

Mundo do Marketing: Quem sao os amantes de chocolates no mercado brasileiro Segundo pesquisa da Mintel, os consumidores que se dizem “amantes da iguaria” (um em cada quatro) são os mais propensos a passar a comprar chocolates de melhor qualidade.

D24 AM: Internet e crises econômicas ameaçam livrarias da Europa. Um estudo da empresa Mintel, de fato, confirma a projeção de Godfray. Mas insiste que o que mudou foram “os hábitos de compras de livros” por parte dos clientes. De acordo com um levantamento da companhia, mais da metade dos entrevistados diz comprar a maioria de seus livros pela internet

Viver Brasil: Pao de Queijo globalizado A empreitada chega ao ápice em 2014, ano em que o Brasil estará no centro das atenções do planeta, devido à Copa do Mundo. Estudo da consultoria britânica Mintel, especialista em comércio de alimentos e bebidas, nomeia o quitute como um dos produtos nacionais em alta na Inglaterra, ao lado de itens como açaí, água de coco e guaraná.

Doce Revista: Subita queda na producao e demanda interrompe a trajetoria ascendente do setor de confectionery Um estudo da consultoria Mintel sustenta, entra varias conclusoes, que o desenvolvimento do Norte/Nordeste do pais se insere como um importante foco do mercado. O relatorio Chocolate – Brasil 2012 observa que o aproveitamento das classes emergentes, principalmente dessas duas regioes tem se tornado um ponto essencial para a industria.

EMEA

Portalspozywczy (Poland): Mintel: To co “naturalne” będzie nadal przyciągać polskich konsumentów. Polscy konsumenci coraz bardziej dbają o swoje zdrowie, zwracając większą uwagę na codzienne wybory żywieniowe i poszukując produktów, które dostarczają korzyści zdrowotnych. Badania zachowań konsumentów prowadzone przez firmę Mintel pokazują, że w wielu kategoriach polscy konsumenci domagają się produktów korzystniejszych dla zdrowia.

Bankier (Poland): Los Angeles mówi “nie” e-papierosom. Za sprawą wzrastającej popularności e-papierosów temat stał się bardzo interesujący także w Wielkiej Brytanii. Zgodnie z ostatnimi badaniami, przeprowadzonymi przez firmę Mintel, rynek e-papierosów osiągnął już wartość 193 milionów funtów i ciągle rośnie.

LSA (France):  Les produits « made in Britain » cultivent (toutes) leurs origines. “Ces dernières années, le recul de la consommation a renforcé le sentiment d’héritage et de tradition” explique Richard Cope, analyste senior au sein du cabinet d études Mintel. “Un fort désir de nouveautés”.

Voice of Russia: Increasing appeal of e-cigarettes to smokers who want to quit. While once quitting smoking was a matter of patches, gum or tablets, now Brits are increasingly turning to e-cigarettes to beat the habit, according to research which shows that the market for e-cigarettes has more than tripled over the past year. We spoke to Roshida Khanom, who helped carry out the study for the research analysts Mintel.

Food & Drink Business Europe: Pressure Cooking For Young British Consumers. Latest research from Mintel reveals just 30% of those aged 16-24 feel confident in the kitchen, compared to 39% on average of UK adults.

APAC

Times of India: Plant-based sweetener with zero calorie catches on. A report by Mintel and Leatherhead Food Research predicted that the value of such products, would soar to $275m by 2017 from $110m in 2013.

The New Zealand Herald: The plant that’s a super sugar alternative. Laura Jones, a food science analyst at Mintel, said: “Stevia is the one to watch. It’s still early in the innovation process, but it will become more appealing as new variants are released.”

Campaign Asia: Expert opinion no room for complacency in unforgiving market. Mintel’s consumer survey data has found that chinese women generally avoid wearing colour cosmetics every day due to concerns over side effects, preferring cosmetic products with skincare benefits.