Mintel in the Media – this week's highlights

The NY Giants weren’t the only big winners this week, as Mintel’s all-star analysts were featured in many prominent articles across the globe. First up, David Browne was interviewed for a story about Frank’s RedHot in Bloomberg News where he pointed out that the brand has a loyal following in the condiment market. In his second interview of the week, Browne’s insight was highlighted in a Scranton Times-Tribune article about a restaurant relocation in Scranton, where he stated that “consumers in outlets that cater to younger and more-affluent adults are increasingly aware of and interested in gourmet, small-batch artisanal products.”

Meanwhile, last week’s press release about the single-cup coffee market continued to receive media attention, and was used for a high-profile story that appeared on Reuters, CNBC, the International Business Times and El Economista in Spain. In yet another Bloomberg article this week, data from last year’s Ethnic Foods report appeared in a story about a popular Indian restaurant and growing consumer interest in Indian cuisine.

Other big stories included pieces in Forbes and Marketwatch that referenced Mintel Comperemedia’s 2011 direct mail credit card solicitation figures and an article in American Banker – also with Comperemedia data-about credit card mail offers that include the option to sign up for payment protection plans.

Moreover, Smart Money used our soda sales figures for a story about the carbonated beverages industry that was also picked up by MediaPost Marketing Daily and the Houston Chronicle included our outlook of the gluten-free foods market in 2012 for a story about “natural and specialty” – retailers in Houston that are catering to consumers who prefer gluten-free options.

In the UK, our latest research on the rise of the brown sauce market in the UK created a real stir in the media, with The Independent, Daily Mail, The Grocer and AOL dedicating extensive articles on the brown vs red sauce divide, and among ketchup and brown sauces lovers on Twitter. You can read the press release in full here.

In the meantime, the severe cold hitting Europe brought with it a great story about sales of vests with the The Independent talking about vests being the latest fashion trend. Across the UK, the men’s vest market has grown from £49m in 2005 to £54m in 2010, according to Mintel. Sales of women’s vests are rising too, with lingerie – excluding bras, pants and hosiery – increasing from £325m in 2005 to £368m in 2010. More on fashion, the latest trend in the UK it’s called OAFs (Old Age Fashionista) – as seen on the Daily Mail: ” According to Mintel, British women aged 50 to 69 buy more designer fashion and luxury goods than any other group, probably because the over-55s also control about 80 per cent of the country’s wealth – a pot that is estimated to grow to £6.4 billion by 2014.” And talking about not acting your age, the Italian news website FastWeb referenced Mintel’s trend named “Agelessness”, which shows how today’s forty and fifty somethings, the so-called Boomer generation, don’t exactly look like typical midlifers.

Mid week, our pet insurance research got some great coverage on prime time BBC including BBC News and BBC Breakfast. While Mintel’s beauty data was the subject of interest in the Daily Mail in an article titled “Why I loathe the creepy cult of pampering.” Despite the recession, Mintel estimated that Britons spent more than £13 billion on beautifying themselves last year, with trips to tanning shops, hairdressers, beauty salons and nail parlours up 50 per cent in the past decade.

This week, we are proud once more of our international recognition with our Senior Leisure Analyst, Michael Oliver, who was interviewed by the German national Die Welt on the financial situation of Fitness First – the health club chain.

On the hot topic of pensions, latest research from Mintel on the SIPPs market in the UK had some fantastic high profile coverage in the Financial Times. The article focused on the Mintel SIPPs report suggesting that, while currently under-represented in the Sipp market, a significant proportion of savers with comparatively low household incomes could eventually build up enough assets to be worth consolidating into a SIPP.

On to food, Food Manufacture reported on the success of prebiotics in Asia and further afield, Yahoo! Philippines and MSN Malaysia quoted Mintel in an article on healthy snacking.

Last but not least, the Economist investigated into male attitudes towards beauty treatments, referencing to our research which shows how sales of men’s beauty products in France, Germany, Spain, Britain and Italy rose by 8% between 2005 and 2010, despite the recession, and will grow another 8% by 2014. While the Scotsman talked about how ‘Brits aren’t giving up their filaments without a fight, quoting Mintel ‘s lightening research.