The consumer goods giant Unilever is known for its huge portfolio of major brands like Dove, Lipton, Axe, and many others. The conglomerate also owns several big names in the ice cream aisle such as Breyers, Klondike, Good Humor, Ben & Jerry’s, and more. But while these brands are well-known to many consumers, they’re about to become a lot less familiar to kids. That’s because Unilever recently announced that by the end of the year it would stop airing TV Continue reading
In 2017, the home goods company Brandless launched with a novel way to take on Amazon as well as other big-box retailers. The direct-to-consumer startup sold high-quality, organic versions of everything from toilet paper to beauty products in simple, no-frills packaging. Brandless claimed that this eliminated the so-called “BrandTax” levied by many companies, which could account for as much as 40 percent of the product’s actual cost. With little money spent on traditional marketing, Brandless initially charged just $3 for Continue reading
2019 was the year that the so-called “streaming wars” got serious. Disney+ and Apple TV+ launched in an effort to compete against Netflix while established broadcasters like NBC and HBO announced that their streaming services would go live in mid-2020. As the streaming marketplace grew increasingly crowded, industry insiders worried that media companies were offering too much content to consumers. According to research by the cable network FX, these fears could prove to be true: last year a total of Continue reading
Earlier this week, we took a look at how the nation’s two largest milk processors filed for bankruptcy due to declining demand and volatile pricing. But fluid milk isn’t the only sector of the dairy market that’s currently struggling. In 2019 U.S. yogurt sales dropped by more than three percent, continuing a downward slide that’s been happening since 2014. The introduction of Greek yogurt gave many hope that this protein-packed snack would save the industry. Unfortunately, though, Greek yogurt’s popularity Continue reading
According to the Census of Agriculture, from 2002 to 2017 Christmas tree production fell by 30 percent as artificial trees grew in popularity. American growers now harvest fewer than 15 million trees annually, down from 21 million in the early 2000s. Meanwhile, sales of artificial trees have steadily risen thanks to their affordability and convenience. Not only are plastic Christmas trees clean and reusable, but they’re also considerably safer than real trees that can quickly catch fire with a single Continue reading
Although gum companies like Wrigley have been in business for more than a century, today’s consumers aren’t nearly as interested in chewing gum as past generations. From 2010 to 2018, gum sales dropped by 23 percent in the U.S. and 4 percent globally. “Chewing gum is becoming less socially acceptable,” said Mondelez Foods CEO Dirk Van de Put. As the maker of brands like Trident and Dentyne, Mondelez and its competitor Wrigley are trying to convince consumers that gum can Continue reading
Yesterday, we looked at how video game companies earn billions of dollars annually by selling virtual products to an ever-growing market. Inspired by the success of this unusual industry, some clothing companies have started selling digital outfits that don’t exist in the real world. For instance, the fashion label The Fabricant recently sold a virtual dress for $9,500 to the wife of a San Francisco tech executive. Although she cannot actually put on her expensive new outfit, she can Photoshop Continue reading