Thursday, October 25, 2018

Grocerant Fresh Prepared Ready-2-Eat & Heat-N-Eat Success


Success does leave clues, one clear clue is that consumer demand for meals and meal components that are fresh prepared with the halo of ‘better-for-you’ continue to drive sales according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.
Here is but one example focusing on refrigerated dressings, dips and spreads that can be used in multiple dayparts when mixed and matched with other meal components in two of today’s hottest food consumption trends: healthful snacking and meal preparation made easy.
According to IRI, Chicago, sales of refrigerated dips reached more than $1 billionthis year (for the 52 weeks ending June 17, 2018), up 12.8% vs. the previous year. Sales in the category have been up for the past four consecutive years.
Spreads aren’t far behind, garnering more than $9.5 million in sales for the same time period, up 4.5% vs. a year ago. (For both dips and spreads, figures represent UPC only: refrigerated sold through all refrigerated areas in produce, dairy and deli.)
Supermarkets across the country are promoting healthful refrigerated dressings, dips and spreads paired with produce in a variety of clever ways designed to increase consumption edifying consumer demand.
Consider not reinventing the wheel use traditional spreads and other products with healthier ingredients (think avocados) is also top of mind at Calavo Foods in Santa Paula, Calif. It recently introduced Avocado Mayo, which is sold alongside refrigerated dips, positioned as a healthy alternative to traditional mayonnaise.

“As we visit major retailers across the country, they say they like the freshness, versatility and health benefits of avocados and guacamole,” says Ron Araiza, VP of Calavo Foods.  According to a national benchmark study conducted by Calavo that polled guacamole consumers using a web-based panel in all 50 states, “ease of use” was identified as the top reason why respondents who both purchased and made their own guacamole preferred to use premade guacamole. An overwhelming 78.6% of respondents cited the convenience of premade guacamole as the impetus for purchase.
Calavo also reports that total guacamole retail sales—including the produce and deli departments—was $328 million in 2017, with guacamole sales in produce outpacing deli guacamole sales 20.7% vs. 14.1%.
This fall, Calavo will introduce guacamole combos in a grab-and-go format that will feature various chip and guacamole flavor combos. Later in the year, Calavo will launch combos that pair pretzels and guacamole, as well as vegetables and guacamole.
“Retailers can’t get enough of these types of product,” Araiza says. Guacamole’s growth is 15%-20% per year, he says.
Also catering to the increasingly important on-the-go shopper, Good Foods Group of Pleasant Prairie, Wis., is optimizing packaging for its single-serve avocado-based products and introducing new items (such as Chunky Guacamole Spicy), as well as Guacamole and Avocado Mash, scheduled to hit stores January 2019.
“According to Mintel, about 83% of the U.S. is adding plant-based foods to their diets to improve health and nutrition.”  Don’t invent the wheel simply offer ‘cleaner cuisine’ according to our Grocerant Guru®.  Enabling success means giving consumer’s what they want when they want it. Today, that is authentic fresh food with fewer additives that can be mixed and matched into a customized meal.
According to Technomic’s 2018 Snacking Occasion report, 71% of consumers say that when they snack they are usually watching TV at home. But as for what they’re snacking? Compared to two years ago, 13% of consumers are consuming more sweet snacks and 13% are consuming more salty snacks; those numbers are slightly higher among younger consumers.
For consumers ages 18- to 34-years old, 20% are eating more sweets while 16% are reaching for more salty snacks. What does that mean for grocery stores? Simply that there’s ample opportunity to stock a wide range of sweet and salty snacking options.
Foodservice Solutions® specializes in outsourced business development. We can help you identify, quantify and qualify additional food retail segment opportunities or a new menu product segment and brand and menu integration strategy.  Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma WA is the global leader in the Grocerant niche visit Facebook.com/Steven Johnson, Linkedin.com/in/grocerant/ or twitter.com/grocerant

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