RFFR - Category Reviews

Deli Drivers

The supermarket deli is becoming an increasingly attractive protein destination.

Dips, Salads and Spreads Poised for Rapid Growth

Consumer trends, the economy and new product introductions provide opportunity for category gains.

Pizza Pushes Pizzazz

Newer varieties, better flavor are triggering sector growth.

Seafood Harbors Opportunity for Retailers Who Address Key Issues

The Gulf oil spill spotlighted issues surrounding seafood supply, but health and value remain advantages retailers can leverage.

Sweet Goods Gain from a Little Attention

Sales of traditional sweet goods are slipping even as other dessert categories
advance and regaining them will require concerted, consistent support.

Yogurt Enjoys Sweet Success

Thanks to gains in the health and specialty segments, yogurt sales are up, but low per capita consumption leaves plenty of room for growth.

A Rising Sector

Consumer lifestyle changes are creating new frozen bread opportunities.

Price Trumps All in Frozen Meat

Wellness, animal rights issues and cooking convenience have an influence on some consumers, but price still is the main engine driving frozen meat sales.

Fine Fettle and Flavors Favor Refrigerated Beverages

Super nutrients and new taste sensations are driving interest in beverages merchandised in the dairy case and, increasingly, beyond.

Snacks Morph into Meals

Mozzarella sticks for lunch? Pizza rolls for dinner? Cash-strapped consumers are using frozen snacks as the basis of mini meals, which helped drive a 5.0% gain in sales over the past year.

Fun Factor Boosts Dips, Salads and Spreads Year ‘Round

Promoting the category as festive for all occasions can be the basis for building everyday sales.

Frozen Pizza Delivers Abundant Opportunity

As it continues to set sales records, frozen pizza will provide retailers and manufacturers with additional chances to build on creative product development, merchandising and marketing.

Value-Added Options Reel in Seafood Fans

Frozen seafood sales were up almost 14% over 2009's last 12 weeks, thanks to the introduction of easy-to-prepare restaurant-quality alternatives.

Time Is Right To Secure Bread Gains

Consumers welcomed frozen bread in the recession, but to invite additional sales, retailers must remind them of its comforts.

Wellness Key to Ice Cream and Frozen Novelties

As consumers balance indulgence with health, frozen yogurt, portion control, natural ingredients and alternatives such as sorbets will become more important to the category.

Organic Hits a Speed Bump

Affordability is the new buzzword in better-for-you, prompting a shift toward store brands and other lower-priced all-natural products.

Swimming in Sales

One-third of U.S. consumers report increased consumption of frozen seafood over the past two years — and broader gains might be available for retailers willing to work for them.

Meat Substitutes Sizzle

Up 6.5% during the third quarter, the meat substitute category continues to attract new, often non-vegetarian consumers simply interested in eating healthier

Dips, Salads and Spreads Gain Ground

Dips, salads and spreads are building on a healthy reputation and lively flavors to keep category sales momentum moving forward.

Baby Stepping

Even if it’s tiny, retailers who recognize potential aren’t overlooking the frozen baby food category.

Hungry for Bargains, Shoppers Revisit Frozen Meat

An increase in at-home dining due to the recession has spurred consumers to look for value-priced comfort foods, enabling frozen meat and poultry items to continue scoring sales gains.

Consumers Keep Smiling on Gourmet Cheese

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Mamma Mia! Pizza’s Hot

Many cash-conscious consumers can no longer indulge in weekly dinners at the local pizzeria, but frozen pizza manufacturers have made it easy to enjoy restaurant-quality flavor at home for a fraction of the price. And shoppers are jumping at the chance.

Ice Cream and Frozen Novelties Conquer in Contradiction

Nearly all of the dynamics at work in retail frozen and refrigerated food sections come together at a busy crossroads that will set ice cream and frozen novelties off in an interesting direction over the next year.

Indian Food Gains on Multiple Charms

Elsewhere, Indian fusion, a blend of Indian cooking techniques and flavors with American food favorites, can be found on display in New York eateries such as Grayz, offering crisped calamari with honey chutney, and Tabla, providing braised duck samosas, and acting as the basis of a product line from Web-based grocery delivery retailer FreshDirect.

Saving a Little Dough

Shoppers have been a bit more enthusiastic about a new crop of restaurant-style artisan breads and rolls.

Shoppers Awaken to Breakfast Alternatives

Consumers are searching for convenience, value and quality in their frozen breakfast foods and don’t want to sacrifice taste.

Deflated but Not Defeated

In June, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported dairy prices at retail were down 7.1% from 2008 levels. But sales figures provided by Chicago-based Information Resources Inc. reveal significant variations from category to category.

Convenience, Price Propel Seafood

Because the notion of value-added frozen seafood still is relatively new to most consumers, manufacturers agree that at least part of the assortment should be merchandised in the seafood department alongside fresh options, not in the catch-all frozen food aisle.

Stomachs Rumbling for Frozen Snacks

Often, consumers are seeking to recapture restaurant experiences less expensively by bringing appetizers into the home meal experience.

Sweet Goods Gain as At- Home Treats

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Consumer Develop a Yen for Asian Food

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Oversupply Plagues Egg Segment

Egg dollar sales fell 16.1% to $723.6 million in supermarkets during the 12 weeks ending May 17, according to Information Resources Inc., a Chicago-based market research firm. Unit sales rose 3.8% to 373.1 million.

Breakfast With a Bang

Although consumers are not eating out as often, they still want high-quality, nutritious and tasty options when they shop for groceries. If consumers can find frozen bakery breakfast items reminiscent of restaurant breakfasts — with microwavable and “toast-worthy” options to enjoy at their own kitchen tables — they will buy them.

Shrimp Sales Soar

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Door-to-Door But Not Delivery

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Pizza $$ Rise in Supermarkets

Frozen pizza, spurred by gains in all segments and continued skyrocketing advances by private label, saw dollar sales rise 5.1% to $711.3 million in supermarkets in the 12 weeks ending April 19, according to Information Resources, Inc., the Chicago-based market research firm.

Appetizers & Snacks: Snacks & Appies Up 5.3%

Always popular with grazers, frozen and refrigerated snacks and appetizers are gaining popularity as side dishes in main meals.

Dips & Spreads: Hummus, Still Flying, Up 17%

Continued double-digit gains by hummus drove an 11.2% dollar increase in supermarket sales of refrigerated spreads in the 12 weeks ending April 19, according to Chicago-based Information Resources Inc.

YOGURT: Yogurt $$, Units Are Both Rising

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BREAD & DOUGH: Bread & Dough Still Rising

As consumers skip restaurant meals, they indulge in home-baked bakery products.

Beverage Report

OJ Pulls Juice Down

Sweet Goods

Dessert Sales Are Bittersweet

Meat & Poultry

Meats Sizzling Despite Sputtering Economy

Dips & Salads

Dips & Spreads Both Gain

Breakfast

Breakfasts Rise & Shine

Seafood

12 Keys to Better Seafood Sales

Seafood

In Search of ‘Heavy Users’

Seafood

Under 5% of Shoppers Buy Over Half of Seafood

Pizza

Premium & ‘Value’ Pizzas Drive Gains

Soup Trends

Time to Reheat Soups?

Natural & Processed Cheese

Cheese Dollars Up, Units Off

Ice Cream & Novelties

New Items Spark Ice Cream

Bread & Dough

Bread & Dough Still Rising

‘Novel’ Novelties Spark Sales

New items offering health, convenience and portion control are driving up sales of novelties, which are gaining share against traditional ice cream.

Shrimp, Fish Net Gains

Post-holiday is one of the best seasons for seafood sales. Now is the time to plan for the ‘season of repentance.’

Steam Power Drives Veggies

Steamed products, single-serve and ‘healthy’ items spark increases. Here’s how you can grow even more sales & profits.

Plenty of Pizza Potential

With fewer consumers going to pizzerias, there’s more potential than ever for frozen pizza in supermarkets — especially now that quality has risen.

Beverages: New Items Keep Juice Healthy

Well on its way to escaping ‘commodity hell,’ the category posts gains in both units and dollars — despite losses by orange juice.

Stay-at-Home Diners Go For Frozen

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Breakfasts Score a Fast Break

Despite a slight drop in promotion, the category scores gains with the help of new product innovation, convenience and consumers eating at home more often.

Bread/Dough Continues Rising

With innovation strong and a big fourth quarter looming, out-of-stocks are a real danger.

ICE CREAM

DIPS, SALADS & SPREADS

SNACKS AND APPETIZERS

SEAFOOD CATCHES A 3.5% GAIN

Despite a perfect storm of shortages and price increases, seafood holds its own as vendors offer innovative new items with healthy profiles.

EGGS PRICES SOAR, BUT UNITS FLAT

The love affair with specialty eggs continues despite price hikes. Promoting the value of eggs as inexpensive protein may be your best strategy.

SINGLE-SERVE, CONVENIENCE SPARK DESSERTS

But sales dip 1% in recent 12 weeks, with inconsistent results within the categories.

SHRIMP NETS SOLID GAINS

Raw product dollars surge 8% to drive growth, as units climb 13%. But cooked shrimp still dominates the category.

INNOVATION, 'HEALTHY' ITEMS DRIVE PIZZA

Delivery pizza? No thanks, we’ll take frozen! Frozen pizza items per store increased on average by 1.8 SKUs, with natural and organic offerings showing an average increase per store of 2.8 SKUs in the 26 weeks ended March 23.

HEALTH, CONVENIENCE NET SEAFOOD GAINS

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'Healthy' nourishes yogurt sales

Dollars jump 9.3% as new products with proactive health benefits take off. Vendors say more space for this sector is needed.

Bread & Dough Keep Rising

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Protein-Based Entrees Drive Breakfasts

Protein-based breakfast entrees are turning in both dollar and unit gains in supermarkets, according to data from Chicago-based Information Resources Inc.

Meaty Expectations

Organic, natural and niche sectors spark gains; IQF turkey up nearly 40%

Egg $$ Up 28%, Units Off 4%

Category: Eggs
But as consumer spending tightens, perception of eggs as healthy, inexpensive meals is seen rising. Specialty eggs still dominate growth.

New Products Spark Snacks &Appies…

Category: Snacks & AppetizersBut the real key to long-term growth may be a shift in the way consumers use these products.

Dips, Salads & Spreads

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Pizza Bakes Up New Profits

Upscale, organic are hot spots as frozen pizza seeks to take share from restaurants.

Value-added, ‘Healthy’ Net Shrimp & Seafood Profits

Category gains 4% on strong showings by seafood and raw shrimp.

Natural and Processed Cheese

PL Cheese Prices Rise, But...

Soup Trends

Chilled Soup Gains 8.3%

Dinners and Entrees

Convenience, Health Drive Dinners/Entrees

Bread and Dough

Innovation Helps Bread/Dough Rise