Food Tank’s Post

Whatever Happened to the Milkman? Grocery deliveries may be a modern convenience, but the service hearkens back to a bygone era when clinking glass bottles signaled the arrival of the milkman. The milkman (or milkwoman, though the job was usually held by men) is a cherished fixture of American history, as a prominent part of much of the 19th and 20th centuries. While milk remains a staple of the American diet, changes in consumerism and technology have made the once-ubiquitous milkman a relic of the past. The concept of the milkman emerged around the late 18th century. The earliest providers filled large metal barrels with fresh milk right from the cow, carrying them by horse-drawn cart to customers’ homes. Milk was ladled into whatever containers were available, including pitchers, jugs, or pails. This often meant that the milk was contaminated by debris — anything from hair to dirt to insects. The advent of the now-iconic glass milk bottles in the late 19th century was a major advancement for both the convenience and the hygiene of milk delivery. Early bottles often had glass lids held on with metal clamps and were embossed with the name of the dairy that used them. Glass bottles were replaced by single-use, wax-coated containers in the 20th century, but to this day, glass milk bottles remain a niche, nostalgic emblem of another time. Several factors contributed to the decline of the milkman. Following World War II, the U.S. saw a mass migration of people into sprawling suburban areas. This meant longer delivery routes and new logistics for milkmen, increasing their costs. The widespread availability of cars by this time also allowed more Americans to shop independently — and they could do so at an increasing number of one-stop-shop supermarkets, where prices were lower than the milkman’s rising rates. But perhaps the single biggest detriment to the milkman was the proliferation of refrigeration in households. Refrigerators were first introduced in the 1910s, and just 30 years later, more than half of American homes had one. By the 1960s, just about every home had a fridge, and families were able to store perishable items, including milk, easily and reliably — all but eliminating the need for daily deliveries. Milk delivery saw a sharp decline in the latter half of the 20th century. In the 1920s, if there was milk in the household, you could bet on it having been delivered. By the early 1960s, 30% of milk consumed was still delivered to homes. But by the mid-1970s, that number dropped sharply to only about 7%. Throughout the 1990s and mid-2000s, milk deliveries accounted for less than 1% of milk consumed in the U.S. Over the years, there have been signs that milk delivery is still desirable in the U.S. While the 2020 coronavirus pandemic led to a surge in home deliveries of all kinds — including from the milkman — deliveries were trending upward even before then... Credit: HistoryFacts.com

Hardly earth shattering but still worth monitoring, the latest supermarket price tracking did contain one surprise: basket composition. As consumer researchers, we reduce the complex into simple and talk of 'averages'; conveniently ignoring the variety and nuance of Australia's wonderfully diverse population. However, I still can't get my head around the items used in the price comparison. We've seen the latest Rabobank report that Australian vegetable consumption is declining, but this is ridiculous. The comparison grocery basket at all outlets was filled with 14 items, 12 of which were packaged products, either national brand or comparable supermarket brand/budget brand options (including beef mince and milk), with two fresh fruit and vegetable items (apples and carrots) completing the list: Apples Carrots Weet-Bix Sliced white bread Flour Penne White sugar Tea bags Tinned diced tomatoes Block of tasty cheese Full-cream dairy milk Frozen peas Beef mince Butter. I would love to meet the 'average' family who buys these items every week (and apparently nothing else!). Dr Jason Pallant Jo-Anne Hui-Miller Inside FMCG Professor Gary Mortimer Dr Louise Grimmer Brian Walker Anastasia Lloyd-wallis Professor Jana Bowden Richard Frost Karen Bowie Jon Manning Leanne Tyzzer Jason Blair #consumermarketing #pricing #pricecomparison #supermarkets #duopoloy #monopoly #grocery #packagedgoods #fmcg #shopperresearch #consumerresearch #costofliving #pricematching

Learn how to minimize the impact of disruptions on grocery store shelves and ensure a steady supply of essentials to customers. https://lnkd.in/dwvPmCtU #GroceryStoreManagement #SupplyChainResilience #FoodRetailing

Learn how to minimize the impact of disruptions on grocery store shelves and ensure a steady supply of essentials to customers. https://lnkd.in/dE25jr4Z #GroceryStoreManagement #SupplyChainResilience #FoodRetailing

Learn how to minimize the impact of disruptions on grocery store shelves and ensure a steady supply of essentials to customers. https://lnkd.in/dM4w8tJE #GroceryStoreManagement #SupplyChainResilience #FoodRetailing

Electronic shelf labels are to keep up with the fast pace of the eagle-eyed shoppers. It also helps with consistency between online and in-store pricing, ⬇️ the price-matching workload on cashiers. This could lead to time-adjusted pricing of perishable products (I.e. with sell-by date stamps) as they spend time on shelves - to open shelf space for the next shipment in a timely manner. Doing so will ⬇️ food waste as well. I have seen some startups developing the system for this, and found it very practical. #foodwaste #sustainability #foodsupply

Barnie’s Foods, a family-run bakery and fresh product supplier to different retail outlets, shops, large convenience stores and garages faced the daunting task of managing inventory, predicting demand, and optimizing shelf space to minimise wastage. See how RouteMagic van sales app helped them streamline their operations, resulting in a more efficient supply chain and ultimately a more profitable business. Read the complete case study here: https://shorturl.at/amAS9 #operationsmanagment #FoodandBeverages #vansales #routemanagement

Shopping when you are hungry is likely to cost you an extra $26.00 per trip on average, according to a U.S. consumer study. Dole Food Company commissioned the study in honor of #nationalbananaday. "The most common “must-haves” for every grocery haul are bread (54%), eggs (52%), meat (51%), milk or milk substitutes (50%), coffee (35%) and bananas (35%). But despite bananas’ popularity, 60% of respondents were unaware that bananas are the most-purchased grocery item in the U.S." https://lnkd.in/dFdU9-rd

In many rural and urban food deserts, dollar stores have come to double as grocery stores. With the announcement of 1,000 Family Dollar stores closing, customers living in those food deserts are more likely to experience food insecurity as shopping for essentials becomes more challenging

Frozen food is a hot category these days, but value-conscious consumers are impacting growth opportunities. Our latest installment on "How to Win in Frozen" lays out how to leverage price pack architecture to drive units and profit. Check it out now! #AFFI #alixpartners #cpg