Mintel Group

Utz Brands has appointed former Clif Bar exec Jennifer Bentz its new executive vice president of insights, innovation and marketing services.

While the calendar often shifts diets towards seasonal produce, Mintel research has found that the seasons too are now defining beauty regimens around the world.

Looking ahead, Mintel's trends analysts Stacy Glasgow and Jenny Zegler discuss the four key US consumer trends identified by Mintel as the most impactful for 2015 and what this will mean for both consumers and brands in the year ahead. Read on to learn how Get Smart, My Wallet, My Way, Fight for Your Rights and Gender Agenda will impact consumers and brands alike in the coming year.

The first half of 2014 flew by, yet so much has changed. CGT stops time for a moment to recap the most-read news and trend stories on consumergoods.com from January through June. What does this short list tell us? Consumer trends, industry predictions and big data, of course, are the top-of-mind topics among our readers. And, it seems as though everyone is trying to figure out the next big thing.

After conducting high-level research into the into the strategies employed by Fortune 500 companies across the United States, Mintel singles out the top five trends in online consumer marketplace behavior this quarter some of which you may never have seen coming. Find out how social media-savvy brands, like Wawa, Apple, Amazon and Lay's, are realizing results by tackling these timely trends.

As 2014 begins, Mintel identifies four trends that are set to hit the American consumer market, examines the areas of commercial opportunity for brands and predicts what consumers will be buying this year.

The Internet, including social media, is increasingly at the heart of everything people do, changing the way consumers interact with one another and the commercial world around them. Expert social media analysts from Mintel announce the top five trends in online consumer marketplace behavior, including their impact on the current social media marketplace.

When times are tough, it is no surprise to find consumers opting for less-expensive products in order to save money. Equally unsurprising, lower-income households are more likely to trade down, but one group breaks the mold Spanish-dominant Hispanics.