A weight off your mind
After indulging during Christmas, Irish consumers' thoughts will be turning to how they can eat healthily in the New Year. Gillian Hamill reports on the products that can help achieve health goals, without compromising on taste
Print13 December 2013
AT A GLANCE: WEIGHT MANAGEMENT
- The Kerry Foods portfolio includes a range of market leading chilled and dairy brands including LowLow, the healthier dairy brand, currently worth €17 million*
- LowLow is the biggest brand in the healthier cheese category with a 47% share and growth of +3%*
- Sales data shows healthier cheese products only account for 9% of sales**, despite 39% of consumers claiming to be health focused***, so there is a strong opportunity for growth
- The healthier cheese category is growing at +3%*
- One in every five foods now consumed is a snack, with women consuming an average of 421 calories per day through snacking****
- LowLow is a firmly established household brand with total awareness of 78%***** and 36%****** household penetration
- Avonmore’s Feel Good range of soups is completely fat free and contains only 100 calories per 400g carton
- Linwoods has launched a new consumer website, www.linwoodshealthfoods.com
- Hermesetas Mini Sweeteners grew sales in the Irish market 4% when compared to last year
- Slimsters Sandwich Squares contain only 100 calories per square
- Connacht Gold Low Fat butter contains no vegetable oils or chemically treated fats, and has only 19 calories per serving
*(Source: Nielsen MAT November 21/13)
**(Source: Nielsen Extended Scantrack, 2012)
***(Source: Kantar Cheese Segmentation Research, 2011)
****(Source: USDA, 2011)
*****(Source: Millward Brown, Q3 2013 Spreads Report)
******(Source: Kantar, Cheese MAT to 15 Sept 2013)
"A New Year, a new you" is a common sentiment for many Irish consumers who are actively searching out weight management solutions, following the excesses of the festive celebrations.
From a nationwide perspective, the need for weight management is currently stronger than ever. According to a recent report by the Department of Health entitled ‘Healthy Ireland – A Framework for Improved Health and Wellbeing 2013 – 2025′, 61% of all adults and 25% of three-year-olds in Ireland are overweight or obese.
Worryingly, 26% of nine-year-olds have a body mass index outside the healthy range and three in four people over fifty in Ireland are either overweight or obese. The momentum for tackling childhood obesity is also a hot topic at present. Reflecting Irish trends, Mintel predicts the UK’s weight management market will grow by 7% to reach £1.7 million by 2016.
Souped up for success
Fresh soup has always been an important part of the new year and 2014 brings Avonmore‘s new Feel Good range of soups, which will replace its current low fat range in January.
With optimised recipes that are totally fat free and contain only 100 calories per 400g carton, Avonmore believes the new range is sure to cause a stir among soup loving consumers who want to kick off the year with a tasty fat free soup. The range will have three flavours, the ever popular Tomato and Basil, a Garden Vegetable and a wholesome Mediterranean Vegetable variety.
Linwoods launches new health foods website
A new website (www.linwoodshealthfoods.com) has just been launched by Linwoods, based in Armagh, devoted to providing information about the health benefits of its health foods and how to enjoy them and a healthy lifestyle.
Linwoods healthy super food products are now sold throughout Ireland, the UK, Europe and the USA. This new website aims to help span that geography and bring the brand closer to its consumers.
Emma Gribben, digital marketing executive for Linwoods has been the mastermind behind bringing the new digital platform to fruition. She says: "The introduction of this new website is all part of the company’s strategy to align its products with the ever-growing interest that members of the public are taking in their health.
"We were keen to provide a platform that would inform and engage consumers about the health benefits of each of our products and help them find a product that best suited their needs. I’m confident that our new recipe section and blog area, which will feature topical information about healthy lifestyles, will help our brand achieve that."
The new ‘Life, Living & Linwoods’ Autumn/Winter recipe book has recently been launched to coincide with the new website going live. To claim a free e-copy visit the new site’s home page.
Linwoodshealthfoods.com has been developed with the function to allow consumers to buy Linwoods healthy super food products online, offering the consumer added convenience.
Currently the company offers a diverse range of 11 blends of seeds and berries online. A new health benefits section on the website allows consumers to find the specific products that best meet a particular health need.
Irish Pride Slimsters …The lighter bite
Irish Pride has a long history of being first to market with new products and creating new segments to add value to the overall fresh bread and rolls category.
Key trends such as, rising obesity, healthcare costs and an ageing population are making consumers more conscious of what they eat.
Looking to the future, the company has identified a number of key platforms that will bring growth opportunities in value added bread; these include "health and wellness" and "convenience".
New Slimsters breads have been developed by Irish Pride’s master bakers after extensive consumer research and support the group’s value added bread agenda.
Irish Pride Slimsters is a thin sliced brown bread for people trying to reduce their calorie intake.
Slimsters Sandwich Squares combine the goodness of wholemeal flour with wheat flour and are dressed with a light dusting of maize to give what Irish Pride describes as outstanding flavour and texture, at only 100 calories per square. A special fermentation process gives Slimsters Squares its original bread flavour. They’re conveniently slit to ‘fill and go’ for consumers’ extra busy days.
With more line extensions to the Slimsters range in the pipeline, Irish Pride says retailers can look forward to growing incremental sales in this key grocery segment.
350 Hermesetas branded clipstrips are available free of charge to grocery convenience retailers
Hermesetas Mini Sweeteners grew sales in the Irish market by 4% when compared to last year
A sweet alternative
Many consumers now try to avoid or replace sugar but do not want to lose the sweet, sugar-like taste that they have been used to for many years. Low or no-calorie sweeteners are one way to achieve this aim in an easy and manageable way.
Hermesetas Mini Sweeteners is a good tasting, good value sweetener brand which states that it offers great taste but at a more affordable retail price than its main competitors. Whilst the economic environment remains tough, shoppers continue to look for good value, so the message from Hermesetas is, "don’t lose them, retain them and gain them". Despite the tough economic environment, Hermesetas Mini Sweeteners grew sales in the Irish market 4% when compared to last year. Both the small and slim pocket/handbag convenience pack and the larger, in home big value pack are performing well.
In addition to Mini Sweetener Tablets, Hermesetas Granulated also provides good value and taste, in particular for those who are into home baking and cooking, which is an increasingly popular activity. Consumers recognise that Hermesetas Granulated can also be used as a substitution for sugar in hot beverages and for sprinkling on cereals, porridge or on fruit or favourites like fruit pies and crumble – a versatile product.
350 Hermesetas branded clipstrips are available free of charge to grocery convenience retailers
As for ranging, Hermesetas recommends that retailers provide a choice of sweetener brands and formats i.e. tablet and granulated. However, when space is restricted such as in convenience and smaller stores, Hermesetas advises retailers to be sure to keep in your range the higher selling products such as Hermesetas Mini Sweetener 300 which delivers a low price, convenience pack – always a favourite, and a larger pack for the greater volume and value drive consumer i.e. Mini Sweetener 600 or 1,200. As part of maximising space and sales, Hermesetas is making a clipstrip available so that its Mini Sweeteners can be merchandised alongside tea and coffee without taking up additional shelf space. This acts as a trigger to impulse sales with strong results. In total, 350 of these Hermesetas branded clipstrips are available free of charge to grocery convenience retailers by providing your name, position/title, outlet name and full postal address to the following email: Marta@hermesetas.co.uk.
Real butter, half the fat
Connacht Gold Low Fat butter recently receieved a gold star at the internationally recognised Great Taste Awards
Connacht Gold Low Fat butter recently received a gold star at the internationally recognised Great Taste Awards
Connacht Gold Low Fat butter is a tasty, natural product. It’s real butter with just half the fat.
Containing no vegetable oils or chemically treated fats, and with only 19 calories per serving, the whole family can enjoy the natural taste of butter with all the health benefits of half the fat. Connacht Gold Low Fat butter has been featured in the HSE’s Treating Obesity and Health Matters publications.
It tastes good too, having won numerous prestigious awards – the most recent being a gold star at the internationally recognised Great Taste Awards.
And since the Connacht Gold Low Fat butter TV ad aired last year, Connacht Gold has become a popular choice for consumers right across the length and breadth of the country, leading to increased sales and market share for the growing brand.
Other reduced fat options in its butter range include Connacht Gold Softer Lighter – premium Irish butter with reduced fat. The Softer Lighter option was launched earlier this year as a result of the popularity of its three gold star award-winning Softer Butter.
Connacht Gold Spreadable Lighter is a smooth, easy-to-spread alternative made with real butter, but with fewer calories per serving, for a lighter option.
LowLow is currently worth €17 million
Q & A with…
Maeve Judge, LowLow brand manager
How is the LowLow range currently performing in terms of sales in Ireland?
The Kerry Foods portfolio includes a range of market leading chilled and dairy brands including LowLow, the healthier dairy brand, currently worth €17 million*. LowLow is the biggest brand in the healthier cheese category with a 47% share and growth of +3%*. Sales data shows that healthier cheese products only account for 9% of sales**, despite 39% of consumers claiming to be health focused***. This highlights a clear opportunity for retailers to drive category growth.
How can LowLow contribute to a healthy diet?
Living a healthy day to day lifestyle is a key priority for many consumers and this is evident in the fact that the healthier cheese category is growing +3%*. With shoppers driving the demand for ‘better for you’ alternatives, LowLow with at least 33% less fat across the range, overcomes a significant purchase barrier within the cheese and spreads category. The LowLow portfolio is perfectly positioned to meet this demand and will help retailers unlock significant sales opportunities through its wide range of products from Original spread to cheddar block, slices, grated, triangles, spreads and new snack packs.
LowLow is an established household brand with total awareness of 78% and 36% household penetration
Eating habits have changed over recent years and busy lifestyles mean that set meal times are becoming increasingly irregular. People find themselves skipping meals and looking for healthy snacks to tide them over in between meals. Research shows that one in every five foods now consumed is a snack, with women consuming an average of 421 calories per day through snacking****. Traditionally, the food-to-go and snacking category was dominated by crisps; however shoppers are now opting for healthier options, particularly within savoury snacking. The versatility of the LowLow range enables consumers to enjoy a LowLow product either as part of a complete mealtime solution or as a snack whilst on-the-go.
How has LowLow innovated within its product range to meet consumer demand?
LowLow is a firmly established household brand with total awareness of 78%***** and 36%****** household penetration. With a limited option of adult snacking products on the market, Kerry Foods has helped retailers unlock this opportunity through new product development. August saw the launch of LowLow Snack Packs; each pack contains LowLow Cheddar, Multigrain Toast and a tantalising relish. Available in three flavours (Red Pepper and Onion Chutney, Sweet Tomato Relish, Caramelised Onion Chutney), the snack packs offer great flavour but no more than 187 calories – perfect for consumers who want a wider choice of healthier options in-store and those striving to maintain a balanced lifestyle.
How has LowLow’s campaign highlighting the clichés used in food ads aimed at women struck a chord with consumers?
Last year’s LowLow campaign received a hugely positive response from consumers and achieved over one million online views. The ads and viral featured a series of fun and witty creative messages, which challenged the cliché stereotypes that are often used in advertising aimed at women. The campaign positioned LowLow as the brand for shoppers who seek a healthy, balanced lifestyle who do not want to compromise on taste.
This January the brand will be back on TV with an exciting heavyweight campaign encouraging consumers to embrace a happy, healthy and balanced lifestyle. Digital will also run alongside the TV campaign and this will further be supported with in-store activation. Retailers are encouraged to stock up on LowLow as the brand will be front of mind with consumers in the New Year.
*(Source: Nielsen MAT November 21/13)
**(Source: Nielsen Extended Scantrack, 2012)
***(Source: Kantar Cheese Segmentation Research, 2011)
****(Source: USDA, 2011)
*****(Source: Millward Brown, Q3 2013 Spreads Report)
******(Source: Kantar, Cheese MAT to 15 Sept 2013)
Top tips for retailers
There are some key tips for retailers merchandising the chilled category. Retailers can drive linked purchase and increase consumers’ basket spend by organising the chiller by shopper need, category and brand.
1. Make it easier for shoppers to find the chiller and highlight available ranges by using signage in-store
2. Ensure your range meets the demands of shoppers
3. It is important to keep the chiller well stocked with good rotation to ensure freshness
4. Drive cross purchasing by siting commonly bought products together to increase basket spend
5. Make sure the chiller is kept clean
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