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  Thursday, 25 Apr 2013 | 5:44 PM ET

Coffee Buzz: Where Dunkin, Starbucks Aim to Expand

Posted By:
Adam Jeffery | CNBC

While Dunkin Brands expands in the U.S., Starbucks is pushing for greater growth overseas, the CEOs told CNBC in separate interviews on Wednesday.

There's plenty of room for both companies in the U.S., Dunkin Brands CEO Nigel Travis told CNBC's "Closing Bell" on Thursday.

"We don't think of Starbucks as our direct competitor," Travis said "They're very much about coffee. We're about breakfast sandwiches and the bakery. We can both continue to do extremely well."

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz said they don't really see Dunkin as competition either.

»Read more
  Thursday, 25 Apr 2013 | 2:29 PM ET

America Rejoice! Twinkies Back on Shelves in July

Posted By: Amy Langfield, NBC News
Getty Images
Hostess Twinkies

Stand down Twinkies hoarders, you can start eating your secret stash.

Twinkies will hit store shelves nationally by late July, Michael Cramer, executive vice president of Hostess Brands told NBC News on Thursday. "We expect to be making and selling in July," he said. "Probably the later half of the month before the product hits the stores."

All of the classic Hostess snack brands will return, some making their return in August and September. Hostess Donettes and some of the snack cakes will be among the first to return. And "Twinkies for sure," Cramer said.

»Read more
  Wednesday, 24 Apr 2013 | 2:38 PM ET

Best Buy CEO 'Pleased' With Samsung Shops' Early Results

Posted By:

It went from an idea to reality in five short months.

Best Buy CEO Hubert Joly said it was just last December when he and Samsung Electronics CEO J.K. Shin first met to discuss the idea of putting "Samsung Experience" shops into Best Buy locations.

Today more than 200 of these shops are already open. By June, 1,400 Best Buy locations will have them.

To officially launch the concept, the two executives spoke Wednesday to a small group of reporters in Best Buy's Union Square location in New York City.

"The feedback is extremely positive in the early results, and in terms of sales, it is also positive. Too early to quantify in definite, but we are pleased with what we're seeing," Joly told me when I asked how the shops that are already open are performing.

Good news for both partners, as the release of the new Samsung Galaxy S4 smartphone is just around the corner.


»Read more
  Monday, 22 Apr 2013 | 1:40 PM ET

Beer Choice Matters for Seattle Mariners' Fans

Posted By:
Source: Safeco Field
Safeco Field offering craft beer to patrons.

The Seattle Mariners may not win Major League Baseball's Western Division this year but there is one category where they can challenge any team in baseball: beer variety at the ball park.

Thanks to the efforts of Safeco Field stadium concessionaire Centerplate, fans attending a Mariners game can choose from more than 50 different varieties of beer sold on draft, in bottles and even limited-release, 22-ounce "bomber" bottles. —

The beer list at Safeco is simply a reflection of the culture of the Pacific Northwest, Centerplate said. The Mariners play in Seattle, and Washington State has more than 150 different breweries.

"We have a unique demographic that's very highly educated about beer," said Steve Dominguez, Centerplate general manager. "They tell us what they are looking for and we seek to meet that demand with the right variety of flavors."

While a beer list boasting more than 50 options for any one game is impressive, dig a little deeper and it's clear just how serious the Mariners and Centerplate take their beer offerings. As the weather changes during the months-long Major League seball season, so too do the beer offerings.

»Read more
  Saturday, 20 Apr 2013 | 11:46 AM ET

Bring on the Bling: Over-the-Top 'I Dos'

Posted By:
George Pimentel | WireImage | Getty Images

Something lavish, something diamond, something Hollywood — and many things new.

Such is the refrain of today's outrageous weddings, where celebrities and heirs to vast fortunes marry in over-the-top nuptials with price-tags in the millions.

"This is definitely something that could be perceived as a publicity stunt," said Anja Winikka, site director at the wedding website TheKnot.com. "There's celebrity spending on nuptials as compared to average couple spending, and then there's these outrageous weddings that spend over-the-top amounts of money. You have to ask yourself why spend that much?"

(Read more: Most Outrageous Weddings)

»Read more
  Saturday, 20 Apr 2013 | 11:44 AM ET

Bring on the Bling: Most Outrageous Weddings

Posted By:

Most Outrageous Weddings

Erik Isakson | Rubberball | Getty Images

Something lavish, something diamond, something Hollywood—and many things new.

Such is the refrain of today's outrageous weddings, where celebrities and heirs to vast fortunes marry in over-the-top nuptials with price tags in the millions.

"This is definitely something that could be perceived as a publicity stunt," said Anja Winikka, site director at the wedding website TheKnot.com. "There's celebrity spending on nuptials as compared to average couple spending, and then there's these outrageous weddings that spend over the top amounts of money. You have to ask yourself why spend that much?"

Many times couples will rent out an entire property for their venue to ensure privacy and find a creative space. Others spend big bucks to pull off an elaborate theme such as the reported $9 million wedding that former Facebook president Sean Parker is planning for his June wedding, which will feature artificial waterfalls, bridges, ponds, ruins and a gated cottage, TMZ reports.

These pricey celebrations stand in stark contrast to the average U.S. wedding, whose budget was $28,427, according to the latest TheKnot.com survey last year.

Winikka listed several of the top trends at these extravagant weddings, including "lots of expensive flowers covering every surface," gold, diamonds, and brides that "tend to have very pricey dresses and many of them, as well as jewelry dripping in diamonds and the like."

Click ahead to see some of the more outrageous and over-the-top weddings.

—By CNBC's Katie Little. Follow her on Twitter @Katie_Little_

»Read more
  Saturday, 20 Apr 2013 | 2:47 AM ET

Drinking at Breakfast—Why Not?

Posted By:
FoodCollection | Getty Images

Everything you love on a breakfast menu—bacon, blueberry pancakes and glazed donuts—is now in a bottle, and packing a 70-proof punch.

Pernod Ricard has launched a new line of breakfast-inspired liqueurs under the Mama Walker's brand to take advantage of the rising popularity of flavored spirits.

"Consumers now are really flavor-seeking. Liqueurs have always been a flavor-driven category, but now so many other categories are involved with that as well," said Juli Falkoff, brand director for Mama Walker's at Pernod Ricard. Consumers' hunger for fresh experiences puts constant pressure on producers to launch new drinks.

»Read more
  Tuesday, 16 Apr 2013 | 3:55 PM ET

Budweiser Dresses Up Its Can With a Bow Tie

Posted By:
Source: Anheuser-Busch

Budweiser is turning to modern technology to emphasize a piece of its past.

The company is unveiling a bow tie shaped can that will mirror the brand's longtime bow tie logo. The can will be available in eight-packs nationwide beginning May 6 and is the result of several years of technological advancements and investments at the breweries can-making facility in Newburgh, N.Y.

"We explored various shapes that would be distinguishable in the marketplace but also viable from an engineering standpoint," said Pat McGauley, vice president of innovation for Anheuser-Busch. "Aluminum can be stretched only about 10 percent without fracturing, which requires that the angles of the bow tie be very precise."

Budweiser officials say creating the can requires a 16-step process—10 steps to form the bottom part of the can and the rest to form the top.

While the new design is the result of technological innovation, it is ultimately the result of consumer research.

»Read more
  Tuesday, 16 Apr 2013 | 12:00 AM ET

Where Has Loyalty Gone? Consumers Grow More Fickle

Posted By:
Stephanie Landsman | CNBC
Whole Foods

Fewer and fewer consumers are staying loyal to their favorite brands.

A new survey shows brand loyalty has dropped for the third year in a row. Deloitte's annual American Pantry Study out Tuesday shows nearly nine in ten consumers are substituting private-label, or store, brands for national brands they've regularly bought in the past.

The survey, which was conducted in January, also finds 94 percent of Americans indicate they will remain cautious and keep their spending for food, beverage and household goods at its current level despite the stronger economy and climbing stock market.

The last recession left a deep scar and many consumers are harboring a tremendous amount of remorse over prior careless spending habits, according to Pat Conroy, vice chairman and U.S. Consumer Producers Leader at Deloitte. He believes there has been a permanent shift in the way people shop.

»Read more
  Monday, 15 Apr 2013 | 10:55 AM ET

CNBC Beer Label Madness Champ Crowned

Posted By:
Source: Troegs Brewery Company
Troegs Brewery Nugget Nectar

In the end, there was no denying the fist full of hops.

Troegs Brewing Nugget Nectar took home the title of CNBC Beer News "Beer Label Madness" Champion after edging out Boulevard Brewing's Reverb by a score of 1,622 to 1,602 in an online poll.

The two-week contest pitted 64 different beer labels from 64 different breweries in a bracket-style contest to determine which label consumers loved the most.

»Read more

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From the products to the pitches to the people who buy them, we are a Consumer Nation. This blog focuses on all things consumer, taking the pulse of the attitudes that shape purchasing decisions, and providing insights that will help keep marketers, entrepreneurs and investors up-to-date on where trends are heading.

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