Bryon Wiebold does self-checkout at the supermarket, self-check-in at the airport and self-banking at ATMs.
And last year, when the 43-year-old McKinney resident discovered self-service DVD rentals for $1 at Redbox kiosks, he was all over that, too.
"Anything I can automate, I do for the sake of time," Wiebold said. "It's not that I want people totally eliminated, but I appreciate the option if I'm in a hurry or in a bad mood."
Do-it-yourself customer service continues to creep into everyday life via kiosks, smart-phone applications and the Internet. Consumers are using touch-screens everywhere from supermarket delis to hospital check-in stations. There are even machines that give vision exams and scan feet to produce custom insoles.
Kiosk transactions are expected to surpass $775 billion this year, up from $607 billion in 2008, according to IHL Group, which tracks the self-service industry. The total could hit $1.6 trillion by 2013.
It's not surprising that kiosks are rapidly taking hold in the movie rental business. Six years after the first Redbox test in Denver in 2004, kiosks could account for nearly 30 percent of the U.S. market in 2010, according to NPD Group. Dallas-based Blockbuster Inc. said this month that it would close as many as 960 unprofitable stores by the end of next year and install 10,000 kiosks in their place.
The tipping point for kiosks came in 2001, when Kroger and Home Depot installed self-checkouts, said Lee Holman, lead retail analyst for IHL Group. "After some hand-holding, consumers have embraced it. Now there's a perception ... that 'I can do this quicker.' "
In a 2008 IHL survey, almost 90 percent of consumers said they used self-checkout "even if they don't like it," Holman said.
But it took a long time for Americans to make the leap, starting with ATMs and paying at the pump in the 1980s.
Airports were next. Today, 77 percent of Southwest Airlines passengers obtain their boarding passes online – 13 percent via airport kiosks and 64 percent from southwest.com as they turn their own computers into kiosks.
Hertz first put a kiosk, fluent in several languages, at Orlando International Airport in 2007, and now about 80 percent of the car rental firm's transactions there take place at kiosks. More and more, consumers are coming to prefer self-service, say retail anthropologists.
"People want control, and self-service gives it to them," said Marcia Crossland, who uses her doctorate in engineering psychology to tell kiosk maker NCR Corp. whether people will use a technology.
Kroger has installed 10 kiosks at Dallas-area deli counters. Consumers use a touch-screen to select the product, thickness and quantity, then keep shopping until they're ready to pick up their items. On average, about 400 people per store use the service each week, said Gary Huddleston, a Kroger spokesman.
"It's awesome," said Mary Skyrde, 40, of Irving, a busy mother of three.
For stores, the self-checkouts cut costs, with one associate able to monitor up to six scanning counters, Huddleston said.
To be sure, self-service options are adding to the millions of jobs already lost to automation. The average Blockbuster store has 10 employees, so the mass closures will have an impact, even if the company shifts some workers to other locations.
More broadly, U.S. statisticians forecast that ticket agent employment will rise only 1 percent from 2006 to 2016, even as a growing population travels more. And they expect the number of cashiers to decline 3 percent over the same period as online shopping and self-checkouts increase.
'Human judgment'
United Food and Commercial Workers spokeswoman Jill Cashen said the effect on cashier jobs is gradual.
"As cashiers retire, their positions aren't being filled," she said.
"We believe human judgment can't always be replaced," she said, citing scrutiny over whether minors are using self-checkouts to buy alcohol.
Before companies can benefit from self-service, consumers must accept it. Women tend to lead the way, said Paco Underhill, shopping behavior expert and chief executive of the research firm Envirosell Inc.
"The ATM was embraced by the pink-collar woman as a way to save time over the lunch hour," he said. "Putting a kiosk holding basically the new-release wall of a Blockbuster in the front of the supermarket saves time and money."
Dining next?
Dining self-service counters and tables could be the next frontier.
It's a rare family whose members all want to order from the same vendor at a food court, so NCR is pushing touch-screen tables that let each person order from a different eatery. The family then picks up all the food and pays in one transaction at one place in the food court.
Efficiency aside, some will always prefer people to kiosks, Underhill said. "That face-to-face interaction is a way that many deal with loneliness. Getting a newspaper from a vending machine may not be as satisfying as buying it somewhere that you can say hello."
Some of the new restaurant technology will reduce, but not eliminate, human contact.
Dallas-based TableTop Media is testing a "Ziosk," an on-table device that allows casual-dining patrons to read the news, order dessert and pay with a credit or debit card.
"We're trying to support the server," said Jack Baum, chief executive. "One of the most frustrating things to people is when they want to pay" and the server isn't around.
Almost 900 self-service kiosks selling everything from iPods to skin care products to language instruction software have popped up in airports and malls since 2005.
Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport has 15 ZoomSystems Inc. kiosks, with more coming as the San Francisco company adds categories and brands.
ZoomSystems founder and chief executive Gower Smith said kiosk sales have grown even as airport and mall foot traffic have fallen by up to 25 percent.
Mini-electronics stores
Macy's Inc. uses ZoomSystems' kiosks in about 400 stores to sell electronics, including PlayStation Portable gaming consoles and Sony eBooks. Branded as eSpots, the kiosks put the chain in the electronics business in 28 square feet per store, said Roger Zuberbier, corporate merchant over the kiosk business. Kiosk transactions have risen as overall sales have declined.
But Smith admits that not all merchandise is right for kiosks.
And Underhill, the shopping behavior expert, agrees."It can't just be technology in search of a customer," he said. "Saying, 'We can do this, and isn't it cool?' alone won't work. It's not ready if it doesn't result in money or timesaving."
Staff writer Karen Robinson-Jacobs contributed to this report.
SELF-SERVICE NATION
THINGS YOU CAN DO AT KIOSKS
•Check in for a mammogram at Centennial Medical Center in Frisco or Lake Pointe Medical Center in Rowlett.
•Weigh a letter or package and buy postage at the post office.
•Call home or play a video game after a day of soldiering in Iraq and Afghanistan.
•Turn a piggy bank's contents into a gift card at a Coinstar machine.
•Get a free vision exam and eye-care referral at one of SoloHealth's EyeSites.
•Buy movie, ski lift, museum, train and bus tickets.
•Apply for a job at Walmart or Target.
•Print documents at Staples.
•Browse additional, off-premises inventory at some J.C. Penney stores.
•Research and buy a camera at a Macy's eSpot.
•Pay utility bills at 7-Eleven.
•Rent a car from Hertz.
•Reload prepaid phone cards.
•Flash a prescreened passport after entering the country at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.
•Buy and load a game card at Dave & Buster's.
•Get directions and a directory at a mall or office building.
•Check out at a grocery store.
•Rent DVDs.
•Get cash or deposit a check at an ATM.
•Pay at the pump for gas.
MORE USES ON THE WAY
•Best Buy and Walmart are testing kiosks that will buy used video games.
•Blockbuster plans kiosks that will rent video games and DVDs.
•Sam's Club is testing a kiosk that scans feet and either produces or orders custom insoles.
•Google and OnDemandBooks are teaming up on paperback printing/vending machines.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Monday, September 28, 2009
Cupcakes are trendy in the Middle East
As a young student at the multinational Aramco school in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, Fadi Jaber, a son of Palestinian refugees, always preferred his American classmates’ cupcakes, brownies and chocolate chip cookies to his mother’s pastries: knafah, qatayef and baklawah.
But when he tasted a vanilla-frosted vanilla cupcake from the Magnolia Bakery in Greenwich Village in 2004, it changed his life. He quit his marketing job at Unilever and used his savings to enroll in a baking and culinary management program at the Institute of Culinary Education in Manhattan.
And after an internship at Billy’s Bakery in Chelsea, he was ready for his next move: In July 2007, in Amman, Jordan, he opened Sugar Daddy’s, the shop that brought the cupcake craze to the Middle East.
Cupcake shops have become as ubiquitous as hot dog stands in some American cities, and have spread to Rome; Istanbul; Berlin; Seoul, South Korea; and Sydney, Australia. Now Mr. Jaber has proved that even the Arab world is not immune to such a Western frivolity.
Members of Jordan’s royal family stop by the shop in jeans and sweatshirts, ordering boxes of cupcakes while their bodyguards wait outside. It is rumored that Queen Rania is a fan.
Since December 2008, the shop, which also sells cheesecakes and brownies, has been in the well-to-do neighborhood of Abdoun, which is thick with embassies and upscale restaurants. Mr. Jaber has also opened a Sugar Daddy’s in Beirut and in Dubai.
Most of his clientele (95 percent are women, he estimates) were familiar with cupcakes from living or studying abroad. Others knew them from the TV show “Sex and the City,” which has been shown on regional satellite stations for a few years. One customer asked him to draw lips on every cupcake. When he asked her why, she replied, “Because that’s soooo ‘Sex and the City.’ ”
Nabil al-Rabaa, Mr. Jaber’s partner in Beirut, where the shop opened late last year, said that while most customers had encountered cupcakes before, there was initial confusion. “There were a lot that would say, ‘I’ll take that muffin, and one of those muffins,’ ” Mr. al-Rabaa said. “Please, these are cupcakes!”
Kamal Mouzawak, a food writer and founder of Lebanon’s first farmers’ market, said that the chain appeals to the region’s historic sweet tooth.
“We’re also very keen on imported successes, and following food fashions,” said Mr. Mouzawak, who has a weakness for the carrot cake.
Dalila Mahdawi, 23, a journalist based in Beirut, said that cupcakes were a symbol of prestige. “Arabs who have money like to spend it on luxury items, and these are very creative and carefully presented,” she said.
At about $2 each, the cupcakes are indeed a luxury in Lebanon and Jordan, where per capita gross domestic product is $11,100 and $5,000 respectively, according to The World Factbook of the Central Intelligence Agency.
Karim Mikati, 20, was one of the few men at the Beirut branch on a recent night. He bought a carrot cake cupcake for himself and a red velvet one to surprise his girlfriend. He said that when he gave cupcakes to his male friends, they were enamored of them. He also comes in for the colored cupcakes.
“They’re amazing,” he added.
Along with such all-American favorites, Mr. Jaber, 31, also caters to regional tastes, offering specialty items like Blind Date, a sticky date cupcake with cream cheese frosting, and Ramadan cupcakes in flavors like pistachio with orange-blossom frosting.
Cupcakes have also bridged the most contentious divide of the Middle East. In the last year, three online cupcake stores opened in Israel, all in Tel Aviv.
Danielle Levy, who emigrated from England, founded I Love Cupcakes
(ilovecupcakes.co.il) with her South African business partner, Hayley Rabie.
“We had both enjoyed cupcakes throughout our lives,” she wrote in an e-mail message. “In the past few years we have seen tasted and enjoyed them more and more with the rise of their fashion — in our own lives, film, fashion and TV.” Chocolate and vanilla are Ms. Levy’s most popular flavors.
Debbie Stein, a founder of TLV Cupcake Company (tlvcupcakes.co.il), also saw a niche in Israel.
“Many of the people living in Tel Aviv know about cupcakes either because they are immigrants from countries where the cupcake is popular or they have spent time abroad and were introduced to the cupcake then,” Ms. Stein, who is originally from Minnesota, wrote by e-mail. “Second, we saw Tel Aviv as the perfect place to introduce such a product because cupcakes are gourmet and fashionable.”
Along with chocolate and vanilla, Ms. Stein offers local flavors such as halva, chocolate citrus, and Pink Velvet, which is red velvet with pomegranate juice instead of food coloring.
Ofer Yeger’s Cupcakes (cupcakes.co.il) also opened in Tel Aviv.
Mr. Jaber, who hopes to expand further, insists his product is immune from anti-Americanism in the region.
“These desserts have such a universal appeal,” he said.
“Not to mention,” he added, “walking into a party with a box of cupcakes in hand is trendy.”
But when he tasted a vanilla-frosted vanilla cupcake from the Magnolia Bakery in Greenwich Village in 2004, it changed his life. He quit his marketing job at Unilever and used his savings to enroll in a baking and culinary management program at the Institute of Culinary Education in Manhattan.
And after an internship at Billy’s Bakery in Chelsea, he was ready for his next move: In July 2007, in Amman, Jordan, he opened Sugar Daddy’s, the shop that brought the cupcake craze to the Middle East.
Cupcake shops have become as ubiquitous as hot dog stands in some American cities, and have spread to Rome; Istanbul; Berlin; Seoul, South Korea; and Sydney, Australia. Now Mr. Jaber has proved that even the Arab world is not immune to such a Western frivolity.
Members of Jordan’s royal family stop by the shop in jeans and sweatshirts, ordering boxes of cupcakes while their bodyguards wait outside. It is rumored that Queen Rania is a fan.
Since December 2008, the shop, which also sells cheesecakes and brownies, has been in the well-to-do neighborhood of Abdoun, which is thick with embassies and upscale restaurants. Mr. Jaber has also opened a Sugar Daddy’s in Beirut and in Dubai.
Most of his clientele (95 percent are women, he estimates) were familiar with cupcakes from living or studying abroad. Others knew them from the TV show “Sex and the City,” which has been shown on regional satellite stations for a few years. One customer asked him to draw lips on every cupcake. When he asked her why, she replied, “Because that’s soooo ‘Sex and the City.’ ”
Nabil al-Rabaa, Mr. Jaber’s partner in Beirut, where the shop opened late last year, said that while most customers had encountered cupcakes before, there was initial confusion. “There were a lot that would say, ‘I’ll take that muffin, and one of those muffins,’ ” Mr. al-Rabaa said. “Please, these are cupcakes!”
Kamal Mouzawak, a food writer and founder of Lebanon’s first farmers’ market, said that the chain appeals to the region’s historic sweet tooth.
“We’re also very keen on imported successes, and following food fashions,” said Mr. Mouzawak, who has a weakness for the carrot cake.
Dalila Mahdawi, 23, a journalist based in Beirut, said that cupcakes were a symbol of prestige. “Arabs who have money like to spend it on luxury items, and these are very creative and carefully presented,” she said.
At about $2 each, the cupcakes are indeed a luxury in Lebanon and Jordan, where per capita gross domestic product is $11,100 and $5,000 respectively, according to The World Factbook of the Central Intelligence Agency.
Karim Mikati, 20, was one of the few men at the Beirut branch on a recent night. He bought a carrot cake cupcake for himself and a red velvet one to surprise his girlfriend. He said that when he gave cupcakes to his male friends, they were enamored of them. He also comes in for the colored cupcakes.
“They’re amazing,” he added.
Along with such all-American favorites, Mr. Jaber, 31, also caters to regional tastes, offering specialty items like Blind Date, a sticky date cupcake with cream cheese frosting, and Ramadan cupcakes in flavors like pistachio with orange-blossom frosting.
Cupcakes have also bridged the most contentious divide of the Middle East. In the last year, three online cupcake stores opened in Israel, all in Tel Aviv.
Danielle Levy, who emigrated from England, founded I Love Cupcakes
(ilovecupcakes.co.il) with her South African business partner, Hayley Rabie.
“We had both enjoyed cupcakes throughout our lives,” she wrote in an e-mail message. “In the past few years we have seen tasted and enjoyed them more and more with the rise of their fashion — in our own lives, film, fashion and TV.” Chocolate and vanilla are Ms. Levy’s most popular flavors.
Debbie Stein, a founder of TLV Cupcake Company (tlvcupcakes.co.il), also saw a niche in Israel.
“Many of the people living in Tel Aviv know about cupcakes either because they are immigrants from countries where the cupcake is popular or they have spent time abroad and were introduced to the cupcake then,” Ms. Stein, who is originally from Minnesota, wrote by e-mail. “Second, we saw Tel Aviv as the perfect place to introduce such a product because cupcakes are gourmet and fashionable.”
Along with chocolate and vanilla, Ms. Stein offers local flavors such as halva, chocolate citrus, and Pink Velvet, which is red velvet with pomegranate juice instead of food coloring.
Ofer Yeger’s Cupcakes (cupcakes.co.il) also opened in Tel Aviv.
Mr. Jaber, who hopes to expand further, insists his product is immune from anti-Americanism in the region.
“These desserts have such a universal appeal,” he said.
“Not to mention,” he added, “walking into a party with a box of cupcakes in hand is trendy.”
Saturday, September 26, 2009
News of the Week
Some 72% of consumers are more concerned with quality than price at the grocery store, while nine out of 10 claim that value and nutrition will be of equal or greater importance when the recession ends, according to an IBM survey. Almost 50% of respondents are shopping at more stores to get the best deal, 35% changed grocery stores to save money, 52% are reducing the volume of food they purchase from the grocery store and 45% of those making less than $20,000 want foods that keep them full longer. Meat, poultry, and coffee top the list of the one item shoppers do not want to give up, but they are willing to cut spending on prepared food and individual-sized beverages. Full Story
The Top 100 pizza chains had U.S. sales of $18.8 billion in 2008, up 2% over 2007, according to Technomic's 2009 Technomic Top 100 Limited-Service Pizza Chains Restaurant Report. The total limited-service pizza industry grossed $29 billion, with growth comparable to the total restaurant industry at 0.4%. Pizza Hut led the Top 100 chains with $5.3 billion in U.S. sales in 2008, up 3.9% over 2007; it also registered unit growth of 1.3%. Domino's Pizza and Papa John's followed with $3 billion and $2 billion in sales respectively. Despite flat sales in 2008 and into 2009 throughout most of the limited-service pizza industry, some pizza chain operators are finding success through a strategy of focused positioning. Full Story
A glatt kosher Subway restaurant opened in North Miami Beach, FL, one of only nine in the entire country. The only other national fast-food company with kosher stores in the U.S. is reportedly Dunkin' Donuts, which has more than 30 Kosher stores. "It's a niche opportunity,'' stated Ron Paul, president of Technomic. "It's a good idea because it gets the brand the good will of the kosher community. I'm surprised that others haven't tried it.'' While the kosher Subway stores are open fewer hours than a typical fast-food restaurant, they typically do sales as much as 25% higher, reported Miami Herald. Full Story (Free Registration Required)
About 48% of consumers claim that it is "very important" or "extremely important" that quickservice restaurants (QSR) participate in green initiatives, according to a a survey from M/A/R/C Research. About 34% of total respondents ranked green initiatives somewhat important, 10% not very important and 8% not at all important. Over half (51%) stated they "prefer" fast-food restaurants that care about green issues but will not go out of their way to patronize them, and 39% stated that green issues have no impact on their QSR choices, reported MediaPost's Marketing Daily. Full Story (Free Registration Required)
The U.S. market for children's food and drink will grow in value by 50% from $16.4 billion in 2007 to $26.8 billion within two years, according to a report from New Nutrition Business. The report, Marketing Kids' Healthy Beverages, identifies health drinks as making the biggest gains. Fruit juice, fruit-flavored water and dairy drinks are still areas that provide growth, reported Food Navigator USA. Full Story
West Bloomfield, MI-based brothers Tyler and Chris McVety launched Beyond the Shaker LLC, a line of 27 all-natural salts and salt blends, including Windy City Celery and Hot Habanero, reported The Detroit News. The line, which launched in July, is available in three retail locations. Full Story
Food chemist-turned-chocolatier Hanna Frederick developed a meat flavored chocolate. Ms. Frederick's venison chocolate truffles are made from dark chocolate and ground salty dried meat. The taste is reportedly a smokey opening followed by a strong chocolate taste, then a salami flavor to finish, reported Food Navigator. Full Story
New Product News: McKee Foods launched Little Debbie Chocolate Cupcakes. Full Story ... Windsor Foods Inc. and Jim Beam Bourbon are offering foodservice operators Jim Beam Chopped Barbecue Brisket, which is designed for menu applications from sandwiches to center-of-the-plate, reported Meat & Poultry. Full Story (Free Registration Required) ... Del Monte Fresh Produce Co. N.A. Inc. launched a vending line, featuring specially packaged bananas and fresh-cut fruit and vegetables, reported The Produce News. Full Story
Manufacturer News: German scientists identified two strains to produce amaranth-based sourdoughs, potentially opening the way towards new gluten-free formulations, according to a study published in the International Journal of Food Microbiology, reported Food Navigator. Full Story ... Stevia could soon be adopted by ice cream manufacturers, according to Firmenich and Danisco. The companies stated that their collaboration introduced stevia as a sucrose replacement in vanilla and lemon sorbet ice cream, furthering opportunities for the product, reported Food Navigator. Full Story
About 72% of retailers expect the 2009 holiday season to be the same or worse compared with 2008, according to a survey by consulting firm Hay Group. Over half of retailers (57%) reported plans to reduce their holiday workforce level, reported Bloomberg.com. Full Story
Younger white women with vitamin D deficiencies are about three times more likely to have high blood pressure in middle age than those with normal vitamin levels, according to a study presented at a meeting of the American Heart Association, reported Reuters. Full Story
New Store News: Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market opened a LEED Gold Certified Store in Cathedral City, CA. Full Story ... Little Caesar Enterprises, Inc. opened a location in Evansville, IN. Full Story ... Smashburger will open a location in Dayton, OH on Oct. 15, while a second University of Dayton location will open later this year. Smashburger will also offer a Buckeye Smashburger designed especially for the Ohio market. Full Story
The Top 100 pizza chains had U.S. sales of $18.8 billion in 2008, up 2% over 2007, according to Technomic's 2009 Technomic Top 100 Limited-Service Pizza Chains Restaurant Report. The total limited-service pizza industry grossed $29 billion, with growth comparable to the total restaurant industry at 0.4%. Pizza Hut led the Top 100 chains with $5.3 billion in U.S. sales in 2008, up 3.9% over 2007; it also registered unit growth of 1.3%. Domino's Pizza and Papa John's followed with $3 billion and $2 billion in sales respectively. Despite flat sales in 2008 and into 2009 throughout most of the limited-service pizza industry, some pizza chain operators are finding success through a strategy of focused positioning. Full Story
A glatt kosher Subway restaurant opened in North Miami Beach, FL, one of only nine in the entire country. The only other national fast-food company with kosher stores in the U.S. is reportedly Dunkin' Donuts, which has more than 30 Kosher stores. "It's a niche opportunity,'' stated Ron Paul, president of Technomic. "It's a good idea because it gets the brand the good will of the kosher community. I'm surprised that others haven't tried it.'' While the kosher Subway stores are open fewer hours than a typical fast-food restaurant, they typically do sales as much as 25% higher, reported Miami Herald. Full Story (Free Registration Required)
About 48% of consumers claim that it is "very important" or "extremely important" that quickservice restaurants (QSR) participate in green initiatives, according to a a survey from M/A/R/C Research. About 34% of total respondents ranked green initiatives somewhat important, 10% not very important and 8% not at all important. Over half (51%) stated they "prefer" fast-food restaurants that care about green issues but will not go out of their way to patronize them, and 39% stated that green issues have no impact on their QSR choices, reported MediaPost's Marketing Daily. Full Story (Free Registration Required)
The U.S. market for children's food and drink will grow in value by 50% from $16.4 billion in 2007 to $26.8 billion within two years, according to a report from New Nutrition Business. The report, Marketing Kids' Healthy Beverages, identifies health drinks as making the biggest gains. Fruit juice, fruit-flavored water and dairy drinks are still areas that provide growth, reported Food Navigator USA. Full Story
West Bloomfield, MI-based brothers Tyler and Chris McVety launched Beyond the Shaker LLC, a line of 27 all-natural salts and salt blends, including Windy City Celery and Hot Habanero, reported The Detroit News. The line, which launched in July, is available in three retail locations. Full Story
Food chemist-turned-chocolatier Hanna Frederick developed a meat flavored chocolate. Ms. Frederick's venison chocolate truffles are made from dark chocolate and ground salty dried meat. The taste is reportedly a smokey opening followed by a strong chocolate taste, then a salami flavor to finish, reported Food Navigator. Full Story
New Product News: McKee Foods launched Little Debbie Chocolate Cupcakes. Full Story ... Windsor Foods Inc. and Jim Beam Bourbon are offering foodservice operators Jim Beam Chopped Barbecue Brisket, which is designed for menu applications from sandwiches to center-of-the-plate, reported Meat & Poultry. Full Story (Free Registration Required) ... Del Monte Fresh Produce Co. N.A. Inc. launched a vending line, featuring specially packaged bananas and fresh-cut fruit and vegetables, reported The Produce News. Full Story
Manufacturer News: German scientists identified two strains to produce amaranth-based sourdoughs, potentially opening the way towards new gluten-free formulations, according to a study published in the International Journal of Food Microbiology, reported Food Navigator. Full Story ... Stevia could soon be adopted by ice cream manufacturers, according to Firmenich and Danisco. The companies stated that their collaboration introduced stevia as a sucrose replacement in vanilla and lemon sorbet ice cream, furthering opportunities for the product, reported Food Navigator. Full Story
About 72% of retailers expect the 2009 holiday season to be the same or worse compared with 2008, according to a survey by consulting firm Hay Group. Over half of retailers (57%) reported plans to reduce their holiday workforce level, reported Bloomberg.com. Full Story
Younger white women with vitamin D deficiencies are about three times more likely to have high blood pressure in middle age than those with normal vitamin levels, according to a study presented at a meeting of the American Heart Association, reported Reuters. Full Story
New Store News: Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market opened a LEED Gold Certified Store in Cathedral City, CA. Full Story ... Little Caesar Enterprises, Inc. opened a location in Evansville, IN. Full Story ... Smashburger will open a location in Dayton, OH on Oct. 15, while a second University of Dayton location will open later this year. Smashburger will also offer a Buckeye Smashburger designed especially for the Ohio market. Full Story
Friday, September 25, 2009
Cocoa as a dietary supplement may repress inflammatory responses
For several years, researchers have been interested in the value of Theobroma cacao in treating a variety of disorders. A new study presented at the International Headache Society's 14th International Headache Congress hosted by the American Headache Society (AHS) in Philadelphia, has provided the first evidence for the value of cocoa as a dietary supplement in repressing inflammatory responses within the trigeminal ganglia which are thought to play a role in migraine.
"It appears that a cocoa-enriched diet in rats can repress the proteins that are associated with the promotion and maintenance of inflammatory responses such as migraine," said Paul L. Durham, PhD of Missouri State University's Center for Biomedical & Life Sciences, an author of the study.
"Although this is an early animal study, it shows promise in helping researchers understand more about how migraine can be prevented and treated," said Michael Moskowitz, MD, President of the International Headache Society. "So much more research is needed in understanding this devastating disease that robs millions of Americans of a productive quality of life." Some 36 million Americans suffer with migraine, more than either diabetes or asthma.
More than 400 scientific papers and posters are to be presented during the IHC/AHS meeting which is expected to draw some 1,200 migraine specialists and scientists from around the globe. The meeting is the world's largest professional conference on migraine and headache-related diseases.
Source
International Headache Society
"It appears that a cocoa-enriched diet in rats can repress the proteins that are associated with the promotion and maintenance of inflammatory responses such as migraine," said Paul L. Durham, PhD of Missouri State University's Center for Biomedical & Life Sciences, an author of the study.
"Although this is an early animal study, it shows promise in helping researchers understand more about how migraine can be prevented and treated," said Michael Moskowitz, MD, President of the International Headache Society. "So much more research is needed in understanding this devastating disease that robs millions of Americans of a productive quality of life." Some 36 million Americans suffer with migraine, more than either diabetes or asthma.
More than 400 scientific papers and posters are to be presented during the IHC/AHS meeting which is expected to draw some 1,200 migraine specialists and scientists from around the globe. The meeting is the world's largest professional conference on migraine and headache-related diseases.
Source
International Headache Society
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