My earliest memory of market research takes me back to Christmas shopping with my mom twelve years ago. We were paid ten bucks to give our opinions on our preference between Coca-Cola Classic and Pepsi (For the record, yours truly is a Coca-Cola Classic man). I did not have the slightest idea how to obtain business intelligence, but I did know what made a tasty beverage.

Given that 20 percent of all meal occasions are snacks, accounting for 25 percent of all calories consumed, it’s no surprise that more healthful snacking will be a major focus area for many food companies and food service operators this year.  Among other weight management trends causing Americans to rethink eating habits, there is growing recognition of the nutritional benefits of fruit and nuts. 

Market research indicates that this nutritional trend will continue to propel consumers' use of nuts and other natural foods as leading snack products. Food producers and retailers are responding by offering a greater range of tasty and convenient products, including nut and fruit bars and trail mix.

You know the summer movie season has arrived when half the commercials on television feature costumed adventurers, speeding muscle cars, computer-enhanced animal characters that are voiced by celebrities, or a combination of all three.

Introduced in April 2010, the iPad quickly zoomed to the top of the global electronics consumer market, and instantly earned millions of zealous users in America. Even the most jaded tech aficionados were mesmerized by the sleek, 1.5 pound, keyboard-free device. Thousands of Americans stampeded to Apple Stores coast to coast to purchase the iPad; more than 300,000 units were sold in the first few days of release.

Food industry trends have led Federal agencies including the Food and Drug Administration and some politicians including New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg to push for reforms to nutrition standards and to manufacturers' labeling of America's food supply.

While this development has been long in the making, it also coincides with a weight management trend that is gaining steam rapidly: Growing numbers of American customers are letting manufacturers know that they are concerned about health and wellness and that they want the food they purchase to meet their dietary expectations.

In the healthcare IT industry, two of the driving goals that are often at odds with one another are controlling costs and improving the quality of medical treatment.  Telemedicine is one of the practical concepts that truly has the ability to do both at once.  Despite being called telemedicine, this group of technologies is used in hospitals, nursing homes and other care facilities, just as much if not more that in a home care or remote setting.

Currently, telemedicine focuses largely on remote patient monitoring, but it also includes the use of videoconferencing for medical purposes as well.

President Obama signaled a newly collaborative spirit during his recent visit to Mexico, and emphasized strong focus on the Administration's agendas for immigration reform and the Drug War.

Economics are subtexts to both immigration reform and to the two nations' shared stake in ending the sales of and violence around illegal drugs. In the cities and towns of the U.S., far from the pomp of State visits, many Mexican-American immigrants also are likely to be especially concerned about another aspect of U.S. - Mexico relations that directly affects their lives:

The challenges they face in making Internet-based payments from the U.S. -- known as remittances -- to business partners, family-members or friends in Mexico.

Restaurants are increasingly adding healthy eating out options into their menus these days. What is key about current menu trends at restaurants are that they are in sync with a wide variety of contemporary healthy eating styles, including low-carb and locavore, paleo and probiotic. Ultimately, restaurants are getting savvy about how to satisfy nutritional trends and an ever-expanding range of niche diners who are interested in healthy and delicious food.

From the rise of digitized health records to the increasing trend toward patient tele-monitoring, it is clear that a healthcare technology revolution has taken place in nearly every stage of the healthcare system.

In the food and beverage market, health-conscious Americans are driving big changes in food production, packaging, distribution and service. This is especially evident in supermarkets and in restaurants, where companies are under pressure to provide clearly-labeled packaging and menus that list calorie amounts.