Significant global and local societal shifts marked 2018. Now more than ever, FMCG brands that clearly communicate their identity and what they stand for will win going forward. 29 Jan 2019
Uber Eats shares the most popular foods among its South African users for 2018, and the food trend it predicts for 2019. 29 Jan 2019
Apollo Brands, the official distributor of Under Armour in South Africa, has just launched connected fitness in South Africa. 29 Jan 2019
Global processing and packaging firm Tetra Pak has a new CEO. 28 Jan 2019
Bricks-and-mortar retail stores are under intense pressure from online competition. Feeling the most heat are clothes shops and department stores. 28 Jan 2019
Amazon is field testing a new delivery robot called Scout, which the company describes as a "fully-electric delivery system" designed to safely get packages to customers using autonomous delivery devices. 28 Jan 2019
Beer-lovers across the country will be celebrating the third South African National Beer Day on 2 February this year. Held annually on the first Saturday in February, the day sees a series of beer-related events being at breweries from Franschhoek to Woodstock, Pretoria to Rustenberg, Clarens to Nottingham Road, and more. 25 Jan 2019
United Kingdom - Christmas may seem like a distant memory, but retailers won't forget it in a hurry: it was the worst on the UK high street since 2008. Marks & Spencer and Debenhams saw sales fall, while the likes of specialist retailer Halfords and discounter B&M also struggled. Even that most Christmassy of stores, John Lewis, is forecasting a dive in profits after discounting to keep up with competitors. 25 Jan 2019
KFC, one of the world's largest quick service restaurant chains, has publicly committed to ensuring that all plastic-based, consumer-facing packaging across its global system will be recoverable or reusable by 2025. The goal supports the fried chicken brand's long-term plan to implement a more sustainable packaging strategy in its restaurants, by both developing and using sustainable packaging options. 25 Jan 2019
More than ever before in 2018 we saw sustainability playing a major role in shaping trends in the retail sector. Sustainability took the centre stage in Cape Town as it came close to being the first large city in the world to run out of water. We also saw the rise of global commitments on packaging improvements as well as phasing out of single-use plastic. 25 Jan 2019
Being vegan appears to be all the rage in Britain. The news that McDonald's has launched a new plant-based "Happy Meal" for children based on a vegan "wrap" would seem to bear this idea out. 24 Jan 2019
Hungry students at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California were recently introduced to Snackbot, the outdoor, self-driving robot delivering snacks and beverages from PepsiCo's portfolio of better-for-you brands, Hello Goodness. 24 Jan 2019
The focus of innovation in the conscious consumption space is certainly not trend based. The environmental and health issues facing the planet are now so interrelated and pressing that they are most certainly not going away. The core points of differentiation that the smarter companies will be focusing on are here to stay. 24 Jan 2019
In essence, the basics of retail have remained much the same for millennia but technology has given consumers more options and more power. Now, retailers, like all other businesses, must rapidly adapt to the changing needs of their consumers, or risk being consigned to the scrapheap of history along with Blockbuster Video and Kodak. 23 Jan 2019
Global beauty products maker and retailer L'Occitane International S.A., has agreed to buy beauty and skincare brand Elemis for approximately $900 million. The Elemis acquisition fitness into the Hong Kong-listed firm's strategy of building a "leading portfolio of premium cosmetics brands". 23 Jan 2019
FNB has introduced QR code payments for consumers and sole proprietor businesses via the FNB Banking App. The QR code payment capability is powered by Mastercard's digital payment service Masterpass, which is interoperable with most major domestic scan-to-pay services, representing a footprint of approximately 140,000 merchants and billers. 23 Jan 2019
The Oxford Dictionaries chose 'toxic' as its annual "Word of the Year". For 2019, the winning brands in South Africa and the rest of the world will be those that work to restore consumers' trust in a toxic environment and show that they are driven by a higher purpose than making money. 23 Jan 2019
United Kingdom - "Blessed are the cheesemakers", runs the famous line from the Monty Python film Life of Brian. But a recent court case gives the lie to the notion that manufacturers of cheese have fortune on their side, after the court that interprets EU law ruled that cheese cannot be protected by copyright. 22 Jan 2019
The Woolworths-Ubuntu Baba baby carrier incident had a significantly negative impact on public perception of Woolworths' ethics and reputation. This is according to an analysis of social media conversation by opinion mining company, BrandsEye. 22 Jan 2019
With two key retail periods - Black Friday and Festive Season - now behind us, retailers are looking for new ways to increase revenue, grow market share, and boost profits. With consumer spending expected to reach $2.1 trillion and the urban population expected to swell by 190 million people by 2025, Africa's retail sector is poised for explosive growth. 22 Jan 2019
Let's do Biz