Tom Vierhile

Tom Vierhile is vice president strategic insights, North America for the Netherlands-based Innova Market Insights and has more than 20 years of experience in new consumer packaged goods reporting and analysis. Tom holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing from St. Bonaventure University and a MBA from the State University of New York at Buffalo. Follow him on Twitter at @TomVierhile.

Articles

ARTICLES

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STATE OF THE INDUSTRY

New Bakery Product Numbers are Down but Creativity Rises to the Occasion

Enthusiasm for home baking did not translate into robust new product launch activity in 2020
Tom Vierhile
March 1, 2021
Bakery foods, especially baking ingredients, were one of the first categories to experience COVID-19-induced consumption gains in 2020. Last spring brought shelter-in-place orders and they unleashed a once-in-a-lifetime stampede for home baking supplies.
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Pop-Tarts Pretzel
2020 RETAIL NEW PRODUCTS ANNUAL

Bakery Foods Take Aim at Health Trends, Indulgence

A survey of significant bakery launches
Tom Vierhile
March 6, 2020
Launches grew at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of less than 1% from 2014 to 2018, per the Innova Market Insights database. Unfortunately, last year's tally will not advance the cause. Yet plenty was happening if you knew where to look.
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Ferrero USA Kinder Joy
Retail State of the Industry | Snacks & Confections

Snacks, Confections Grow with New Forms and Flavors

The popularity of hot and spicy flavors has not been lost on snack and candy makers.
Tom Vierhile
July 19, 2019
Confections and snacks both vie for the same "share of stomach," but the fortunes of the two camps have moved in opposite directions in recent years with snacks ascending and confectionery reeling.
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Heinz MayoMust Combines Mayonnaise with Mustard
Retail State of the Industry | Sauces, Dressings & Spreads

Flavor Innovation, Clean Ingredients Boost Spreads, Sauces & Dressings

Categories such as ketchup and mayonnaise have become centers of innovation for major food companies.
Tom Vierhile
July 17, 2019
In recent years, "big food" has lost ground to smaller challengers in many food categories including sauces, dressings, and spreads. These are areas with few barriers to entry and they are especially welcoming to flavor innovation.
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Wildscape Chef-inspired Frozen Meals
Retail State of the Industry | Meals & Entrées

Consumers Warm to Frozen Entrée, Meals in New Forms, Flavors

The Frozen Chosen: Sales of frozen entrees grew at more than two and a half times the pace of overall packaged food sales through the midway point of 2018.
Tom Vierhile
July 9, 2019
Instead of giving up on once moribund sectors like frozen meals and entrees, industry innovators have built their own "Field of Dreams" in the form of better, cleaner products. And for the first time in nearly a generation, consumers have responded.
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Post Consumer Brands Cereals
Retail State of the Industry | Cereals & Snack Bars

Cereals Embrace Nostalgia, Snacking; Bars Power Up

General Mills added a Limited Edition Peach flavor of Cheerios; Kellogg a Banana flavor of Kellogg’s Raisin Bran; and Quaker Oats a Strawberry flavor of Life Cereal
Tom Vierhile
July 2, 2019
A wave of new presweetened cereals inspired by popular baked goods and desserts including donuts, cookies, and ice cream populated store shelves in 2018.
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