Sponsored

Food fights aren’t just for kids. Today’s food and beverage manufacturers and retailers are waging fierce battles for bigger and bigger pieces of the proverbial pie—and paying close attention to who’s buying what. And for good reason: what makes it into the shopping carts of the most powerful cohorts is the evidence they need to divine their business futures.

Parking lot shopping-cart wranglers might want to reconsider their job security as major retailers continue to focus on opening more small-box format stores. Wal-Mart and Target are just two companies racing to invest in small-box urban stores aimed not at stock-up shoppers but rather at quick-trip shoppers who are more likely to carry a basket–if they use one at all.

Considering the consumer clamor in recent years for all-things-natural, it’s no wonder that food and beverage manufacturers may occasionally stretch the boundaries of the term to apply it to their products.

It has been decades since expectant parents felt compelled to paint the nursery walls baby blue for boys and cotton candy pink for girls. But gender-specific marketing can be a huge turnoff for many shoppers–particularly Millennials and the cohort behind them, Gen Z. Both have proven to be the most gender-bending consumer groups to date.