Food Industry Glossary

Like every industry, the food industry has special terms we use to describe aspects of our business. This glossary can help newcomers learn terminology and help seasoned food industry experts keep up to date.

TERM DU JOUR

can code

The code identification on a can, indicating date, place and shift of manufacturer.

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  • profit and loss statement (P&L)

    A financial statement of gains and losses for a specific time period.

  • timetable

    The delivery schedule and requirements for a new product promotion.

  • attribute

    A product’s attributes are what makes it distinct from other products. Attributes include things like size, color, flavor, package type and other features that are relevant to the category. From a consumer perspective, these attributes are what determine the consideration set and influence the ultimate purchase decision. From a retail perspective, product attributes help define how aisles, departments and shelf sets are organized. Manufacturers use attributes to help define their products’ competitive set.

  • point of sale (POS) system

    An electronic register system that scans purchases and collects data.

  • volume decomposition (due-to) (volume bridge)

    Analysis that attributes a change in sales to various business drivers. It quantifies how much of a volume change was due to changes in many different of things that were taking place at the same time. The most common business drivers included in the analysis are distribution, pricing and merchandising. There is almost always an All Other bucket, too, that accounts for everything else not explicitly included. Other names for the same thing are: Volume Decomp, Due-To (because it tells you how much of the sales change is due to each of the drivers) and Volume Bridge (since it bridges the volume from one period to another).