The rate of new product development is increasing quickly

The rate of new product development in this sector is increasing quickly, consumer awareness of nutrition has grown, and value and volume sales of diet foods have risen over the past five years. However, there are still currently more than 1bn overweight adults worldwide and we find ourselves in the midst of an obesity "blame game" - with the food industry bearing the brunt of this criticism.

It is now imperative for the food industry to demonstrate a proactive rather than a reactive role in the health trend, in order to answer its critics and tackle obesity long-term. If this approach is successful, just-food predicts the diet-related food and drink market to grow by 3.1% in Europe and 3.6% in the US between 2006 and 2012.

With dieting already an integral part of our eating habits, this report analyses growth strategies to optimise future opportunities and delves into new product development in key markets such as the UK, Europe, the US and Asia-Pacific. The study considers the main drivers and trends in the major food categories in order to better understand the future direction of the weight management market and its current role in the global health megatrend.

Market forecasts are provided to 2012 and brand case-studies are included throughout the report, as are comments from relevant industry executives at companies such as Weight Watchers, Nestlé and Kraft Foods.

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Internet Marketing Techniques

The Internet offers many means of affordable marketing, often with full-color imagery to go along with text. And multimedia components add some spice to the mix and increase online visitors and purchases. Here are some top Internet marketing techniques to help increase your sales and income.

• DIRECTORY - Create your own directory on a specific industry topic, placing your own ad or banner along the top. Then invite others to add their website links via a link exchange program, listing themselves in your directory. This will result in lots of free advertising for you as your directory expands with links across the World Wide Web. Enter “link exchange software” into your favorite search engine for help with setup.
• TEACH A COURSE – Write out a simple step-by-step instructional class in your area of expertise. Then break it up into smaller segments and set them up in an autoresponder as email messages with your ads included at the top and / or bottom of each message. Invite website visitors to sign up through on online form or email subscription address offered through the autoresponder service. Then as people sign up, they will learn more about you and your products and services.

• EZINE EBOOK – Forget about small daily or weekly ezines. Try publishing one large monthly e-zine as an e-book format, preferably an Adobe .pdf file. Include a large number of articles with each issue and regularly featured areas like inspirational quotes, industry tips, favorite sites and advice from the pros. Also insert full-color graphics, multimedia components like audio file links, if you like, and ads. Then you can charge a monthly rate, with an annual discounted package purchase, and sell advertising spots.
• TIP OF THE DAY – Set up your own Tip of the Day targeting your own area of expertise, relating to your own products and services. You can set it up on your website in a targeted box, via autoresponder, a blog, an RSS feed, an audio file or others means of communication. Add your own ad along with your tip for whichever product or service you want to target or maybe even your own online store for all. This will gently remind your target audience where to go to learn more. In summary, by using Internet Marketing techniques customized to fit your own products and services, you can reach out and increase your website traffic and purchase opportunities. Internet marketing can mean a more affordable way to grow your business.