Whole Foods is one of the more remarkable success stories in the retail food industry. A little over 40 years ago, John Mackey opened Safer Way Foods in Austin, Texas and began a storied run that reshaped the American supermarket industry. By 1999, Whole Foods
No industry is safe from the rise of the digital natives, including the death care industry. Founded by former Nike executives, Solace is a newcomer ready to disrupt the death care industry with digitally-driven, end-to-end cremation and death care services. Innovation in funeral services and death
In 2008, I published Greentailing and other Revolutions in Retailing. I posited that Greentailing 2.0, defined as “conscientious retailing built on environmentally sustainable, socially responsible, and economically profitable business practices” would become the new norm for retailers. I built a model around what it would
Millennials are driving changes in shopper attitudes globally, as demonstrated by a brand-new global consumer report from the global alliance of retail experts Ebeltoft Group. The report shows that consumers, and especially Millennials, are ready to interact digitally in-store, emphasizing their cross-channel behavior. 70% of
During the recently concluded Ebeltoft Group conference in Milan, I had the opportunity to hear from Franco Manna, President and Founder of Rossopomodoro, an international pizza chain that is also the exclusive pizza restaurant within Eataly globally. He focused on the five key ingredients that
A match made in heaven? Only time will tell. Birchbox, the company known for their beauty boxes and subscription program that changed the beauty industry and influenced a new segment of retail, is now accessible to more customers at 11 Walgreens stores. The Birchbox partnership
Purpose and responsibility are paramount in the shifting set of consumer values, and define the term Activism, one of the four trends set to dominate the retail industry this year. The four trends are highlighted in depth in our book Global Retail Trends & Innovations
New York-based beauty brand Glossier has joined the ranks among the growing list of startup unicorns. What started as a beauty blog by then Vogue fashion assistant Emily Weiss, is now valued as a $1.2 billion company after recently raising $100 million in Series D funding led by Sequoia
Sure, novelty robots are cool, but if your customer experience is broken, putting an army of them in stores to attract shoppers is a bit like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. There is no doubt that innovative technologies (such as robotics) are changing
Last week I had the pleasure of attending the Natural Products Expo, otherwise known as Expo West in California. The growth of natural foods and the movement towards healthier alternatives is making waves in food retailing today. It is important for brands to find their
