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CHICAGO — IRI on Tuesday released SilverLink, a new report that segments the U.S. population ages 50 years and older based on demographics; attitudes toward aging, health and wellness; shopping behavior; and lifestyle habits.

“The next generation of retirees will be the healthiest, longest lived, most educated and most affluent in history,” stated Robert Tomei, president of consumer and shopper marketing for IRI. 

CHICAGO — To help CPG manufacturers and retailers identify and leverage the varying shopper beliefs about health and nutrition, IRI has released the first NutriLink segmentation study, which classifies U.S. consumers into six groups based on their behavior and attitudes toward health, diet and nutrition, as well as their demographics, the firm announced Tuesday. 

NEW YORK — More Americans now say they are loosening the purse strings in advance of the holiday season, and fewer say they are tightening their belts, according to a recent Citi national survey released Monday. Only 35% said they would be spending less than last year, reflecting the lowest level of holiday budget cutbacks since the financial crisis. As many as 63% of Americans plan to spend more (11%) or the same (52%) on holiday shopping this year.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Mistic, a maker of electronic cigarettes, on Monday announced that Walmart has added Mistic's Ultimate Gift Set to store shelves across the nation.  

BOULDER, Colo. — Small and craft brewers contributed nearly $34 billion to the U.S. economy last year, according to a new analysis by a beer-brewing trade group.

The Brewers Association released the analysis Monday, showing that the total economic effect of beer brewed by craft brewers as it moved through breweries, wholesalers and finally retailers, as well as non-beer products sold by brewpub restaurants, was $33.9 billion.

DALLAS — MarketsandMarkets on Friday projected the global probiotics market would reach $23.9 billion by 2017. 

"[The] probiotics market has been one of the prime beneficiaries of the recent fad over functional foods," MarketsandMarkets reported. "Rising levels of health consciousness and aging baby boomer population are a few of the drivers helping in the growth of the market. 

CAMDEN, N.J. — A newly appointed executive at Campbell Soup will be responsible for establishing the company's strategic direction for advertising, media, global design, digital marketing and social media.

NEW YORK — Club retailers like Costco and Sam's Club may have some competition from Amazon.com, according to published reports.

USA Today reported Thursday that the Seattle-based online retailer was creating a new business called Pantry that would allow members of its Amazon Prime premium service to buy consumer packaged goods in large quantities in a box of a pre-set size. Members will be able to put in as many items as the box can fit, up to a certain weight limit, and Amazon will ship the box for a small fee, as long as everything fits and isn't too heavy.