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.”
By Alice Leader2020-12-18T00:01:00+00:00
Source: Unsplash
As Covid-19 took hold in the spring, shoppers frantically stocked up with products they believed would strengthen their immune systems. Yoghurt sales rose, interest grew in functional food, and sales of vitamin C supplements more than doubled in March.
Own-label fruit juice benefited too. After a rotten 2019, when The Grocer reported a slump of almost £28m, private label has added a refreshing £7.7m. Volumes are up by 3.6%.
And yet the category has suffered 2020’s fourth-biggest decline by absolute value: £50.2m. Own label’s gains have been consumed by the vast losses of brands. They’ve shed £57.9m and sold 23.4 million fewer litres.
By Rob Brown2020-12-18T00:01:00+00:00
Source :Unsplash
Amid all the huge stories of 2020, it might be easy to dismiss as trivial the news of a dietary landmark. That is, for the first time, Brits have spent more money on rice, noodles and pasta than they’ve spent on fresh potatoes.
That the spud is no longer king of carbs is a milestone that matters. Because the move towards other options marks the culmination of the trend towards convenient and exotic food. And it also shows an abrupt swing from fresh produce to store cupboard items, driven by the pandemic.
By Harry Holmes2020-12-18T00:01:00+00:00
Oat milk has grown ahead of soya, lactose-free and nut milks
To succeed in free-from, you could do far worse than to position yourself somewhere between “good and f ing fearless”. Or at least, so claims Oatly. The message came from CEO Toni Petersson, who gave employees a lesson in how the brand could distinguish itself from its rivals soon after his appointment in 2012.
The rest, as they say, is history. This year, Oatly delivered the largest absolute gain on this list – £40.7m – to become the number two brand. Its 110% rise in value is well ahead of the healthy 12.7% overall growth in the free-from category, which was bolstered by the panic-buying of this year.
In a year of home baking and little to celebrate, value went flat
Cake’s going stale. In a year of home baking and little to celebrate, value went flat. Own-label lines, usually the star of the show, suffered a near £20m decline. And while some big brands grew in value, much of that was down only to higher prices.
The home baking revival was a key reason behind the poor performance, says Scott Snell, customer VP at McVitie’s owner Pladis. “With shoppers trying their hand at homemade cakes and bakes, this had a knock-on impact on cake category sales.”