Mintel in the Media – this week's highlights

Another week snowed under with work and too busy to even read the papers? Don’t worry. Mintel in the Media is your weekly review which brings together the hottest press stories, including data and analysis by Mintel. And this issue includes not only one, but the last two weeks of news.

Again this week, we achieved great international media coverage on a number of business and consumer stories: Yahoo!News in the United Arab Emirates quoted our research on suncare in a piece on the “top 10 worst male health habits”: while in France, Germany, Spain and the UK, an average of 52 per cent of women use sunscreen, only 37 per cent of men do so, despite the importance of using UV protection when heading outside. The same story also appeared in Yahoo! News South Africa and Yahoo! News India.

Continuing to showcase our recognised knowledge into the Chinese market, our Director of Insight Food and Drink, Marcia Mogelonsky, was asked by China Daily to comment on the Chinese food and beverage giant Hangzhou Wahaha Group and its run for the acquisition of United Biscuits: “There are many companies in the West that have processes to guarantee the safety of food processing from start to finish. Chinese companies would benefit by seeking out Western companies with high-quality traceable food safety systems,” Marcia said. She also added that another reason why Wahaha may be interested in KP Snacks is due to the fact that it would “give Wahaha Western products to sell to urbanized Chinese, who are interested in Western snacks”. Moreover, the China Daily (Chinese edition) also covered our study on Western fast foods outlets in China, story which also appeared in RTHK, the national broadcasting service in Hong Kong, ??? in China, Yahoo! in the Philippines, Yahoo! News in Singapore and The Malaysian Insider.

Meanwhile, the expertise of our Senior Food and Drink Analyst, Alex Beckett, was yet again featured, this time by The Independent in a piece on the next trend from Asia, bubble tea. According to Alex, there has been a strong growth in teas with health benefits such as green and herbal tea. The Independent also used our research in another piece this week by Simon Calder on the number of all-inclusive holidays sold in the UK, which increased by one-third in the five years to 2009. Next, our dedicated Food Analyst Chris Wisson was interviewed by Bloomberg TV on a new “skinny” chocolate formulation. While our Director of Innovation and Insight, David Jago, was reported by CNN on palm oil and our Head of Leisure Research, Matt King, commented for the Huffington Post on goals soccer centres shareholders rejecting Canadian takeover bid.

More on health issues, our latest findings on low/no/reduced sodium product development, were featured in the Daily Mirror and the dedicated food outlet Food Manufacture. While the International Herald Tribune quoted Mintel in a piece on winemakers tailoring their marketing campaigns for mothers and young women and more on wine, AOL Money mentioned our latest research on sparkling wine in the UK, where Champagne sales slumped, from £1bn in 2007 to £690m in 2012, while Prosecco has soared 50%.

Also of note, our study on the baby food market in the UK received massive media attention and media highlights included: The Daily Mail, The Independent, Daily Mirror, Scotsman and Which?. And a comment piece by our Global Food and Drink Analyst, Sarah Theodore, on the 30th birthday of soft drink Diet Coke keeps grabbing the media attention, this week being referenced in  ??????CMRA and ???. More on kids, the Sunday Times referenced our research in a piece on “kidult” chic and on parents making their children wearing clothes that reflect their grown-up taste. While The Daily Mail referenced our data on the children’s clothing market, worth £5.3bn a year in a piece on the rise of catwalk for kids. And The Daily Telegraph in a piece on term-time holidays: “49 per cent of parents would consider taking their children on holiday during the school term as a way of saving money” according to Mintel.

Meanwhile, our Director of Retail Research, Richard Perks, had an early start to the day being interviewed by BBC Radio 5 Live – Wake Up Money programme – on the retailing experience of the future and on the British retailer M&S’s plan to open a mega store in Chester. And in other news, BBC Radio 4, You and Your Programme used our consumer research, which found that between 2010 and 2011 the number of people who didn’t feel going to the cinema was value for money rose, for an episode dedicated to the cinema industry in the UK alongside .

Onto beauty, the Express quoted our Head of Beauty Research, Vivienne Rudd, on the female passion for nail varnish: “During a recession we experience what we call ‘the lipstick factor’, where women indulge in expensive lipstick as an affordable treat. However in 2012 it’s become the nail factor instead.” The story also appeared in: Yahoo! News India, The Times of India,

Mintel’s data was also mentioned in the Spanish national El Pais in a piece dedicated to NY Mayor Michael Bloomberg and his crusade against sugary soft drinks, causing panic in a multi-billion dollar industry – with energy drinks alone worth more than $8,000 million in 2011 in the U.S. Also in Spain, the popular parenting portal Embarazo, Bebes y Mas quoted our research on food safety: “What factors do mothers analyze when purchasing different types of products for their children? How do we judge food safety? These are some of the questions that the consultancy Mintel wanted to answer with its recent study. This growing company with offices in places like London, Shanghai, Sydney and Chicago, has positioned itself as a provider of independent market information.”

In the meantime, in our Chicago office we kicked things off with some coverage in local favorite, the Chicago RedEye. Our sleep aid sales figures were included in a story about the stress that results from lack of a good night’s sleep, while our insight into Hispanic leisure preferences continued to have the media talking, this time appearing on AdNotas.com, HispanicAd and HispanicMPR. Senior Multicultural Analyst Leylha Ahuile and her presentation at the Hispanic Retail 360 Conference were also profiled in a Convenience Store News article about Hispanic c-store shopping habits.

Also of note, Foodservice analyst Kathy Hayden was quoted in QSR Magazine where she discussed consumer condiment preferences at fast food outlets and Crain’s Chicago Business included insight from David Browne about Quaker’s growth opportunities. Kathy was also quoted in this week’s press release that discussed the return of classic cocktails like the Manhattan and the Gimlet on restaurant menus. Both Restaurant Hospitality and Food Technology took notice of the insight.

Keeping with the trend of expert analysis, Ali Lipson, senior retail and apparel analyst was featured in a TIME Moneyland article about Lebron James’ new sneaker. Ali pointed out that “while there are certainly some sneaker enthusiasts who will pay the full amount in order to have the most coveted shoes and the status that comes along with ownership, this represents a small percentage of overall footwear buyers.”

And in tech news, Billy Hulkower, senior technology analyst at Mintel was interviewed and quoted extensively for a Media Life Magazine story where he discussed the potential of online advertising. It’s becoming so popular that revenue figures for that medium could surpass those earned via television by 2017. This prediction was also covered by Daily Finance.

Other great mentions appeared in the Tallahassee Democrat for a piece about finding the right facial cleanser and the Orange County Register, where our identification of blowout bars as a growing trend was featured, while MediaPost Marketing Daily used our body wash sales figures for a story about Axe’s new ad campaign featuring The Muppets and both the San Francisco Business Chronicle and Advertising Age quoted our energy drinks data.

Meanwhile, the New York Times highlighted our citrus intelligence for a profile of a lemon grower that’s encouraging consumers to use the tart fruit outside of the kitchen. Mintel research found that 13 percent of air freshener users choose orange scents and 18 percent select other citrus scents, including lemon, while 35 percent of candle users prefer citrusy smells. Our wine sales figures were also mentioned in a second New York Times article about a new ad campaign that aims to position wine as a respite from women’s many roles at home and in the workplace.

Our finance intelligence was also sought out this week, as Mintel Comperemedia data appeared in Deliver Magazine, where they used our direct mail figures to illustrate the surge in ‘plain vanilla’ credit card offers and CreditCards.com.

Additionally, last Thursday’s press release about the lack of brand loyalty amongst lotion users got the media’s attention as the story was picked up by Happi Magazine, MediaPost Marketing Daily, Drug Store News, Professional Beauty and GCI Magazine.

Closing out the week, Mintel data was featured in several Prepared Foods articles on a variety of topics, including functional beverages, cooking sauces and marinades, consumer attitudes toward sodium reduction, and healthy eating while our natural and organic personal care figures were used by Nutrition Business Journal for a profile of Burt’s Bees new baby line. Supermarket News and the Boston Globe both used Mintel consumer intelligence for stories about shoppers’ nutrition preferences.