From The Spring 2004 Issue of Natural Grocery Buyer

Statshots

Snack Attack
Nine out of 10 Americans eat salty snacks. Nearly 25 percent of those who eat salty snacks do so in front of the TV or the computer. More than a quarter of salty-snack consumers say they eat them as a meal replacement or between meals. Ninety-three percent of Americans with children in their households say they buy salty snacks, compared with 87 percent of those without children under age 18 at home. Salty snacks account for slightly more than half of total snack sales. Rising 23 percent from 1998 to 2003, the $21.1 billion salty snack market is led by potato chips, with an approximately 28 percent share for 2003.

Source: Mintel International Group Ltd.

Nutritional snacks posted a compound annual growth rate of 6 percent from 2000 to 2002 per 1,000 households, while indulgent snack sales remained relatively flat at 0.3 percent. Snacks classified as “healthier” saw a CAGR of 1.6 percent. Snacks and beverages that assume low-carb positioning in their names or on their packaging saw sales blossom from $78.8 million in 2000 to $333.7 million in 2003 in the food, drug and mass market channels.

Source: Information Resources Inc.

Beef—It’s What’s Not for Dinner
A Harvard School of Public Health survey of more than 1,000 Americans found that 16 percent say someone in their family has stopped ordering beef at fast food restaurants because of reports about mad cow disease, while 14 percent say that same concern has led them or a family member to stop buying beef at the grocery store.

Source: Harvard School of Public Health

Packaged Salad Days
Organic packaged salads have taken off. Sales catapulted more than 313 percent in 2003 to $122.4 million. In comparison, conventionally grown packaged salads grew 7.5 percent, reaching $144.1 million in the same year. And market share for organic produce is increasing. Thirty-four percent of consumers bought organically grown fresh produce in 2002.* Of those, 73 percent bought vegetables and 34 percent purchased fruits. Forty-four percent of organic consumers were ages 18 to 34; 37 percent were ages 35 to 44.

Source: National Grocers Association
* Source: The Packer

Organics by the Numbers

• Three in five shoppers agree that organic foods are better for health than nonorganic foods, but only two in five buy organic versions of the foods they eat.


• Half of American shoppers bought some organic foods in the past six months, and another 15 percent are likely to buy them but are not yet doing so.


• Sales growth is likely to come from current organic-food shoppers, as 62 percent of them are likely to buy new organic products, compared with 30 percent of shoppers who are not currently buying organic foods.


• Organic fruits and vegetables are the leading food category, with 37 percent of shoppers purchasing these items. Other popular organic food categories are packaged foods (24 percent have purchased), dairy (22 percent), cereals/breads/pastas (22 percent) and meat/poultry (17 percent).


• Most organic food shoppers (43 percent) buy their organic foods at a typical grocery store, but smaller specialty organic outlets are preferred by 17 percent of these shoppers.


• Nearly one-fourth of shoppers (23 percent) say they buy organic foods because of the long-term personal health benefits, and 22 percent mention the nutritional value of organic foods.


• 31 percent of shoppers notice the U.S. Department of Agriculture organic seal on food products, and 31 percent say they would be more likely to buy a product with this seal on the label.

Source: Shopping for Health 2003; FMI, Rodale and Prevention

Easy Food, Easy Money
About 44 percent of weekday meals in the United States are prepared in 30 minutes or less, and most consumers would like to cut that time even further. The overall market for ready meals and side dishes grew 39 percent from 1999 to 2003. Sales increased to $19.6 billion in 2003, a 7.4 percent increase over the previous year.

Source: The U.S. Market for Ready Meals and Side Dishes, Packaged Facts

The main reasons shoppers’ diets aren’t as healthful as they could be are convenience, cost and confusion. Shoppers feel healthy foods are not available at fast-food or takeout restaurants, healthy foods cost too much and there is too much conflicting information about which foods are healthy and which are not.

Source: Shopping for Health 2003; FMI, Rodale and Prevention

Vegetarian Choices Equal Meaty Sales
More than one-third of Americans consume some type of vegetarian food, with meatless meat products the most popular. Prepared vegetarian meals were consumed by nearly one in five respondents, which could reflect the trend toward interest in convenient, healthy and easy-to-prepare meals. The vegetarian food market in the United States has grown rapidly over the past five years, from $646.7 million in 1998 to $1.6 billion in 2003. Mintel predicts the market will grow another 61 percent to reach $2.5 billion by 2008. Nearly 70 percent of vegetarians say that they “make sure to exercise regularly,” compared with 38 percent of nonvegetarians. In addition, vegetarians are almost twice as likely as all respondents to snack on healthy foods.

Source: Mintel