Shoppers enjoy the discovery process. We feel like everyday heroes when we bring home a new product or experiment with a new recipe for a family meal. Arguably, for food retailers, translating this same consumer experience to toothpaste or light bulbs doesn’t offer as much creative license. General merchandise and health and beauty care (GM/HBC) items often feel like an afterthought in the traditional in-store experience and are slowly losing share to other channels. So, should a traditional food retailer phase out GM/HBC items or is there hope for this category? Based on some new analysis, I believe it’s the latter.

We decided to look at the U.S. Grocery Shopper Trends2018 findings on Millennials verses Millennials with kids and see not only if our personal habits match the trends, but also how closely in-line our habits are to each other.

To kick off the fourth annual National Family Meals Month™, this new infographic with the message "More Matters at the Table and On Your Plate" appeared in Times Square on September 4. This represents a unique collaboration to combine the September celebrations of FMI Foundation's National Family Meals Month and Produce for Better Health's Fruit and Veggies- More Matters Month – a winning combination.

Introducing a new brand to the marketplace can be equal parts excitement and frustration. Joshua Dooley of QFC/Kroger shares his insights and advice on six common pitfalls for emerging brands that can make the difference between flourishing and vanishing. Joshua is one of many retailers and mentors who support the FMI Emerge community.