Welcome to another edition of In the Know,
ADS’ online source for timely consumer and industry trend information.

“A perfect summer day is when the sun is shining, the breeze is blowing, the birds are singing, and the lawn mower is broken. ”

This issue includes trends in: green living, grilling vegetables, American weight loss, consumer spending, and a peek at June's Recipe of the Month.

Please have a look at the following articles of interest:

Study: Being Green More Valuable Than Price
Progressive Grocer, June 4, 2009

According to a recent national survey by Opinion Research Corp. (ORC), a product’s "energy footprint" influences 77 percent of consumers' purchasing decisions, with 76 percent willing to pay more at the register for environmentally friendly products.

'Green' appeal carries over to the workplace, where the majority of U.S. employees believe organizations should take action to lead eco-friendly initiatives. Most of these green-minded workers would also be willing to support their organization's sustainable initiatives at the cost of a smaller paycheck.

"The study's findings seem to debunk a common perception that people will go green as long as it doesn't cost them," said Aaron Franklin, project director at ORC Guideline, which is part of the global firm Opinion Research Corp., in a statement.

To read more in Progressive Grocer, click here.

Fire Up the Flavor of Veggies On the Grill
USA Today, May 21, 2009

In a recent article, USA Today encourages readers to consider grilling vegetables to liven up a backyard barbecue.

The article states that according to the NPD Group, a market research firm, veggies are ranked low on the list of popular grilled foods; burgers are #1, followed by steak, chicken, hot dogs, pork chops and potatoes.

That's too bad, because grilling vegetables adds pizzazz to a meal, cooking experts say. According to the article, the grill brings out the best qualities of nutrient-rich vegetables by intensifying their natural flavors. And if you brush sauce or marinade on the top of them before, during or after cooking, you have three different opportunities to add even more flavor, interest and complexity.

Vegetable grilling tips offered in the article include:

• Toss asparagus with olive oil, salt and pepper and grill about six minutes.
• Grill corn on the cob in the husk with olive oil, salt and fresh herbs.
• Skewer zucchini with lemon wedges, and then when it's done, squeeze the lemon over the zucchini.
• Cook harder, denser vegetables, including potatoes, carrots and celery root, inside until just barely tender, then put on the grill.
• Use a grill basket for cooking cut-up vegetables outside, but pay close attention because they cook quickly.
• Make grilled veggies into a salad.
• Throw some lettuce on the barbecue.
• Set up a kebab table with meats and veggies and a variety of sauces and marinades for guests to make their own unique creation.

To read more in USA Today click here.

More Than Half of Americans Trying to Lose Weight
Supermarket News, May 22, 2009

In a recent article, Supermarket News stated most Americans are either trying to lose (53%) or maintain their weight (25%), by changing the amount of food they eat (71%); changing the types of foods they eat (65%); engaging in physical activity (62%); changing how often they eat (44%); and counting calories (19%). This is according to the “2009 Food & Health Survey, Consumer Attitudes toward Food, Nutrition & Health, which was conducted earlier this year by the International Food Information Council (IFIC) Foundation.

What hurdles do respondents have to overcome to stay on track?
Didn’t see results quickly
Lack of will power
Lack of time
Confusion about the relationship between calories and weight gain

The findings indicate educational opportunities for supermarkets. "Consumers crave consistency and they really want us to talk in positive terms about what they should be eating, instead of what they shouldn't eat," said Wendy Reinhardt Kapsak, director of health and nutrition for IFIC.

To read more, click here.

Financial Insights: The Return of the Consumer
Progressive Grocer, June 3, 2009

According to Progressive Grocer, the consumer is poised for an unexpected comeback. Despite declining employment, the household sector is better positioned to increase spending now than at any time in the past two years. The ultimate driver of consumer spending is household cash flow. While a great deal of emphasis is placed on employment, there are several other critically important sources of household cash flow that are often what kick-starts a consumer recovery:

Purchasing Power
As prices continue to fall across the board (energy, gas, meat, fruits, vegetables, dairy), an increase in consumer purchasing power is the result. And every penny decline in the price of gas gives consumers an additional $1 billion in purchasing power.

Falling Home Costs
Home prices have been falling for two years. The decline brings about lower rent and mortgage payments. And the boom in home mortgage refinancing is cutting mortgage payments by nearly 20 percent.

Tax Refunds
For many households, tax withholding is a form of savings. Tax refunds by the middle of April totaled $225 billion, up 15.8 percent from a year ago, giving households an extra cash-flow boost.

Tax Cuts
A critical element of this year's $787 billion American Recovery and Reconstruction Bill was tax cuts for households that went into effect April 1.

Savings
Households have aggressively increased their level of savings over the past year. The consumer savings rate has gone from essentially nothing to 4.5 percent. If consumers cut back on savings just 1 percent to 3.5 percent, another $100 billion would be added to consumer spending.

To read more in Progressive Grocer, click here.

Technical Meeting in Review

Unable to attend ADS’ Technical Meeting in Fort Worth? Take a look at what you missed!

ADS Recipe of the Month – Zesty Waterrmelon Salad

Click here to check out June’s recipe of the month.

Special thanks to Unilever for providing this recipe and photograph. You too can show off your company’s culinary genius and products! Contact Traci Gibson to submit your recipe of the month.

ADS Annual Meeting – New Dates!

October 10-12, 2009
Laguna Cliffs Marriott Resort & Spa
Dana Point, California

Look for more details to come your way soon...

Are You Linked to ADS’ Web site?
As we know, the internet is a powerful marketing tool, not to mention the ever-increasing use of social networking and Web 2.0 technology that specifically connects people and groups with common interests.

For those members already linked to ADS' Web site, you are getting many benefits for only $100 per link. For those of you who are not linked, take a look below to discover the many benefits of linking up:

ADS' position in search engines provides a door to your Site.
www.dressings-sauces.org (which sees an average of 17,000 visitors per month) is ranked #6 in Google (out of 1.6 million search results listings), #5 in Yahoo (out of 6.7 million) and #6 in MSN (out of 14.5 million) for the keyword "salad dressings". Being in the top five listings out of millions is an excellent place to be. ADS ranks #3, #1, and #2 respectively in Google, Yahoo and MSN for keyword "dressings".

ADS member company links drive traffic directly to member Sites.
Additionally, having ADS link to your Site also increases credibility. Google, Yahoo, MSN and other search engines analyze (among other items) your incoming links when determining where they might rank your Web site within search results. The more Sites that link to your Site, the better. When one of those links is from an industry organization such as ADS, you have internet "gold".

ADS is in the process of redesigning the Consumers’ Site Home Page to enhance search engine marketing efforts to increase traffic.
And you're not too late! Contact Jacque Knight at jknight@kellencompany.com to add your company to the ADS Web sites!