JustFoodERP

Mark Digiorgio VP of JustFoodERP Talks Food Industry Trends for 2011

Mark Digiorgio VP of JustFoodERP Talks Food Industry Trends for 2011

 

Mississauga, ON -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/01/2011 -- According to Marc DiGiorgio, Vice President, these are the items, the company is watching out for in 2011.

Food Safety
Food Safety is a hot topic and the feds have latched on to this one pretty well. The incoming Bill changes provide more legislative powers around recall as well as imposing food safety standards for imported goods, but in reality most food companies we have dealt with already have more stringent food safety programs and requirements that have been pushed down to them by their largest customers. But this is an important issue, and any attention is good.

Commodity Costs
Corn and Wheat commodities are likely to see price increases. This will obviously impact sub-segments that include large purchases of these raw materials, but in reality, a move on corn prices will push up all commodity prices as the agriculture industry reprioritizes crop growing to these commodities. This will have an impact on all food manufacturers and distributors. It may not be as disruptive as a few years ago, but the smart food company will have to be diligent in setting its prices. Same is true for energy prices, we know when we go to the pump that the prices seem only to go in one direction, up! Factor in commodity costs and energy costs and you basically have 50% or greater, the total costs incurred in food manufacturing.

Social Media
We have seen a lot of adoption in 2010 with mid-sized food companies looking to create loyalty with their consumers. Twitter, Facebook, Groupon, and other initiatives to connect consumer to producer. This will stay strong in the coming year, even stronger as there is more evidence and experience with these new marketing strategies. Food companies who create loyalties to their products may begin to enjoy more demand.

Ingredient Awareness: HFCS & Sodium
These are the new targets as consumers focus on healthy eating. HFCS has been a reliable substitute for sugar for a long time. A reliable and locally produced ingredient. It may not have much future as consumers begin to link it to obesity and like conditions. Sodium is the culprit for high blood pressure. Consumers may be willing to choose between two products based on the ingredient declaration and nutritional fact statements. This will force reformulation in a big way amongst food producers.

Watch out for the Brand Names
The big guys were slapped around a bit in the early part of the recession. As consumers focused their retail purchasing on value or extreme value based products, the big brands were not able to react as quickly. Consumers fell in love with private label products. Generally a good thing for the segment of companies that JustFoodERP does business with.

JustFoodERP (http://www.JustFoodERP.com) includes ERP business software for the food industry. This industry specific solution also provides support for other key requirements including food safety software, product lifecycle management, reporting software, and CRM software for food industry. JustFoodERP is food management software and food service software, which offers the necessary tools in order to improve business practices. By using this food industry companies are better able to save time and improve the quality of products and services.

JustFoodERP is a vertically focused software company providing software and services powered by the Microsoft Dynamics platform. The company has joined the prestigious 2010 Inner Circle for Microsoft Dynamics, an elite group of the most strategic Microsoft Dynamics partners from across the globe whose sales achievements rank them in the highest echelon of the Microsoft Dynamics global network of partners. Members of the Microsoft Dynamics Inner Circle have performed to a high standard of excellence by delivering valuable solutions that help organizations achieve increased success. JustFoodERP is recognized by Microsoft as one of the most successful business partners, deployed by over 150 customers in North America.

JustFoodERP
http://www.justfooderp.com
Michelene Maguire
pr@justfooderp.com
877-544-2706