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A new survey by NielsenIQ highlights that while the holiday season is a time for celebration, it can be a financially stressful time for consumers, especially when it comes to trips to the grocery store.

“With the rising cost of food and other expenses, it’s more important than ever for CPG (consumer packaged goods) brands and retailers to understand what motivates consumers to buy and how it’s going to affect holiday grocery sales,” says NielsenIQ. “But don’t worry, it’s not all bad news. There are still plenty of ways to get the most out of holiday grocery shopping.”

Climate change has many ramifications across the world and is already affecting food production from coffee to wine to chocolate to corn and more.

“Agriculture has always been at the mercy of unpredictable weather, but a rapidly changing climate is making agriculture an even more vulnerable enterprise,” says the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future. “In some regions, warmer temperatures may increase crop yields. The overall impact of climate change on agriculture, however, is expected to be negative—reducing food supplies and raising food prices.”

The era of instant gratification is intensifying with shoppers expecting free and fast delivery, the ability to binge-watch all the episodes of their favorite shows in one sitting, and almost half of TikTok users finding videos longer than a minute “stressful”!

Food and beverage manufacturing, like all sectors of the U.S. economy, is facing uncertainty in 2023 with a looming recession on the horizon.

Plant-based foods have been an integral part of human diets since the beginning of civilization as the earlier humans were hunter-gatherers who lived on a diet of fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds.

While new plant-based foods such as tofu and soy milk made inroads in the 20^th century, a wide range of plant-based foods including vegan meat alternatives, dairy-free cheeses, and plant-based milks made from nuts, seeds, and grains, have become staples on many American dining tables over the first two decades of the 21^st century.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries released a draft of its National Seafood Strategy this month with a goal of getting more seafood on consumer’s plates thanks in part to using technology to modernize the supply chain and industry infrastructure.

“The strategy also responds to the unprecedented challenges facing the U.S. seafood industry, including climate change, the coronavirus pandemic, new technologies and other ocean uses, and significant labor shortages and aging infrastructure,” said NOAA Fisheries as it opened up a 30-day comment period on the draft.

Expiration dates are more important than ever as Americans look to stretch their grocery dollars as far as they can go as food prices outpace wages. Unfortunately, there are a lot of food myths around food packaging “best by” dates, and other label information.

“Among all rising costs, sky-high grocery bills have been especially painful,” reported CNBC on Feb. 5, 2023. “Over the past year, food prices overall have risen more than 10 percent. Egg prices, alone, soared 60 percent, butter is up more than 31 percent and lettuce jumped 25 percent, according to Labor Department data through December. As a result, consumers are looking for any – and all ways to save.”

The centerpiece of many holiday get-togethers is the food shared by family and friends.

Over the years what has been laid out on these merry holiday tables has changed with the prevailing food trends from the Depression Era stable Jell-O salad in the 1930s to innovative use of Spam in the World War II era to the “far out” fondue pots of melted cheese in the 1970s to recent opposites of bacon-in-every-dish to kale salads.

Turkey, the traditional star of the Thanksgiving meal, may be expensive and tough to find in 2022 as the bird flu and other issues are affecting the supply chain.

The September 2022 Consumer Price Index and Producer Price Index numbers show that food prices are continuing to rise month-over-month more than three times faster than the general U.S. economy inflation rate.