The restaurant industry includes both fast-food chains, which offer limited service, and full-service establishments with sit-down table service. This includes burger joints like McDonald’s, coffee houses and bakeries like Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, and Panera, as well as pizza places and other chains serving up international culinary favorites like Tex-Mex, Mexican, and Asian foods.

In 2018, Amazon’s global net sales reached $233 billion, and its impressive growth continues to rattle the retail industry.

Amazon is on a path to become the largest retailer in the U.S. — and is expected to overtake Walmart by 2022, according to data from a recent market research report by Packaged Facts titled Amazon Strategies and the Amazon Shopper, 2^nd Edition. Amazon’s U.S. gross merchandise sales will contribute nearly half of U.S. e-commerce sales by 2022, up from 43% in 2019 and 28% in 2015.

The global breakfast cereal market is expected to grow 3% per year to reach $40 billion in 2023, according to new research and analysis from Packaged Facts, a leading market research firm and division of MarketResearch.com.

Breakfast cereal is a highly penetrated category in mature markets such as the U.S., but there is plenty of room for growth, particularly in Asia, Africa, and the Mideast, as Western diets become more common across the world.

The U.S. beverage industry is competitive with many large, mature categories. Finding new growth opportunities is a key concern for beverage companies large and small.  

With the global population reaching 9.8 billion by 2050, the demand for animal-based foods is expected to increase by more than 70% of the total demand in 2019. This has posed a great challenge for the agriculture and food industry to provide adequate and nutritious food for the growing population, without negatively affecting the environment.

The food industry has many large, mature categories, but the competitive landscape is far from static. Food marketers and retailers are constantly strategizing how to profit from the hottest market segments, update their product lines and service offerings, and reel in the most lucrative consumers.

The total weight loss market is now worth more than $72 billion, and a growing share of it takes place online and digitally. Technology and increased usage of the Internet and smartphones have changed the way Americans lose weight, and how they access weight loss programs. New companies like Noom have entered the market with apps in attempts to “disrupt” long-established players like Weight Watchers, NutriSystem, and Jenny Craig.

Single-use plastics have been in the news a lot lately, and the news isn't good. Once vaunted for their convenience, disposable plastic products have come under fire in recent years as evidence of the environmental damage they can cause piles up – sometimes literally.

The total U.S. weight loss industry hit a new peak in 2018, growing 4% to $72 billion. The largest diet companies are shifting direction and changing ownership as Weight Watchers rebrands itself to its new name WW and focuses more on wellness, Jenny Craig is up for sale, NutriSystem gets acquired by Tivity Health, and Slim-Fast is acquired by Glanbia, a multilevel marketing firm.

With the holiday season in full swing, there's still plenty of time and opportunity to savor a sweet treat or two before the year is out (and the New Year's diet resolutions kick in). 

Often, this indulgence occurs in the form of candy – and not only during the holidays, but year-round. So it should come as no surprise that the chocolate and non-chocolate candy industries are poised to grow 2.8% and 3.7%, respectively, through 2022, according to statistics from Chocolate Candy: U.S. Market Trends and Opportunities, 12th Edition and Non-Chocolate Candy: U.S. Market Trends and Opportunities, two new comprehensive reports from Packaged Facts.