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By Ian Quinn2020-12-18T00:01:00+00:00
Source: Unsplash
Boing! That’s the sound of soup bouncing back. Having been in the doldrums last year, the category is in value growth again.
Ambient has been the big winner, of course, adding £35.5m after shoppers stockpiled tinned soups for the first lockdown. The sector grew by 9.4% in volume this year with market leader Heinz Classic the biggest success in absolute terms, now worth an extra £13.5m.
Almost all the leading branded ranges enjoyed double-digit percentage growth, however – further boosted by a decline in promotions initially – but own-label soups outperformed brands. “The consumer reaction to the coronavirus crisis was a dash to the supermarket to stock up on store cupboard essentials,” points out Gordon Sloan, category & shopper development controller at Baxters. “The industry had to respond quickly to unprecedented consumer demand, reinforcing the incredible pace of our industry to adapt and change.”