Will your menu items take center stage on your customers Labor Day table?
The simple question you should have been asking yourself two months ago is what
can I sell to consumers that they will want on their Labor Day table no matter
where they will be eating it?
According to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® meals and
meal components that can be mixed and matched into a perfect customized family
gathering meal either for indoor dinning or outside dinning will take center
stage if retailers market, message, and manage communication that empowers
customer choice while simplifying meal and menu prep time.
Once
again, this year Numerator continues
to track purchase data and survey verified buyers to understand shifts in consumer
behavior. Its 2023 Labor Day Intentions Preview identifies
consumers’ celebration, shopping, and spending plans for the holiday. Here’s
what was learned:
1.
60% of
consumers plan to celebrate this year, down from 75% in 2022
2.
55% of
celebrants plan to purchase alcohol for the holiday with the top options being
beer (74%), hard seltzers (34%) and wine (33%)
3.
61% of
celebrants plan to grill for Labor Day 2023 (the same as 2022), but other
celebrations are shifting away from attending or hosting a gathering/party (41%
in 2023 vs. 53% in 2022) to plans such as cooking/baking (26% vs. 20%),
recreational activities (21% vs 12%), traveling (19% vs. 13%), and watching
fireworks (16% vs 10%)
4.
89% of
Labor Day celebrants intend to buy food, including hamburgers (83%), hot dogs
(67%), chicken (60%), and steak (41%)
5.
42% of
consumers expect rising prices to impact their Labor Day plans,
and 86% of consumers anticipate taking money-saving measures for the
holiday, including buying items on sale (54%), preparing more budget-friendly
meals (35%), using more coupons (32%), switching to store brands (23%), and
visiting dollar or discount stores (20%)
Planning Matters
Do you want to Grow
Share of Stomach?
6.
Summer
2023 saw beer grow sales by 11.7% and share by 1.6
points compared to summer 2022. Beer brands that grew summer share include
Miller (+2.1 points), Coors (+2.1 points) and Modelo (+1.2 points). Bud
Light declined by 3.2 points
7.
Ready-to-drink
alcoholic beverages, which includes hard cider, hard seltzers, ready-to-drink
cocktails, and flavored malt beverages, saw sales increase
by 1.6% this summer compared to 2022. Nutrl (+195.3%), Beatbox
Beverages (+129.5%) and Absolut (+82%) saw the largest growth in pure sales,
while brands such as High Noon (+4 points), Twisted Tea (+2.1 points) and White
Claw (+1.1 points) gained the most share within the category
Mix and Match
meal component bunding is a hallmark of grocerant niche success and continued
growth. Are you looking a customer ahead? What resources are you utilizing to drive top
line sales and bottom line profits in November?
Are you ready for some fresh ideations? Do your food
marketing ideas look more like yesterday than tomorrow? Interested in learning
how our Grocerant Guru® can edify your retail food brand while creating a platform
for consumer convenient meal participation, differentiation,
and individualization? Email us
at: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us or visit: us on our social media sites by
clicking one of the following links: Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter
