Cooking up a real treat
When consumers are browsing your ambient grocery shelves, a key question at the front of their minds is often: ‘What will I make for dinner tonight?’ Gillian Hamill highlights the cooking sauce brands they want to see displayed on your shelves in order to satisfy their taste buds with a tasty and nutritious evening meal
Print9 August 2013
AT A GLANCE: COOKING SAUCES
- Dolmio, from Mars Incorporated, is Ireland’s leading pasta-sauce brand, with 64.4% market share of Italian sauces (Source: Nielsen Total Scan Value Sales to 16.06.13)
- Knorr is Ireland’s fourth largest brand and is bought by over eight in 10 households here
- Knorr is the number one brand in dry recipe sauces with 50% market share*
- Knorr remains the number one brand in the stocks category, holding over 70% market share*
- Knorr is now number two in the Irish gravy market with 18.7% market share* and is bringing growth to the gravy sector
- Premier Foods holds a 16.3% market share of the cooking sauces, accompaniments and kits category in the UK (Source: SIG Grocery Outlet, Cooking Sauces & Accompaniments, Value Share, 52 w/e 15.06.2013)
- Cross-shopping is low, with only 11.7% of shoppers buying a sauce and an accompaniment together (Source: Kantar Worldpanel Data 52 w/e 20 January 2013 based on one year panel Universe: Cooking Sauces & Accompaniments)
- 94% of UK households buy cooking sauces in a year (Source: Kantar Worldpanel 52 w/e to 17.03.13)
- The savoury meal making category is currently worth £5.8bn in the UK, of which cooking sauces, accompaniments and kits has a 28% share and is worth £1.6bn (Source: Kantar Worldpanel 52 w/e to 17.03.13)
- NPD has added 2% to the £339m ambient Italian sauces category over the last year in the UK (Source: IRI Grocery Outlets Value sales 52 w/e 1 Sep 12)
- Meal occasions where only one person is present offer a strong opportunity for the category as cooking sauces under-index at this occasion. A year post initial launch, 62% of the Loyd Grossman For One proposition range’s £3m sales were incremental to the Italian cooking sauces sector (Source: IRI 48 w/e 14 May 2011 Italian Cooking Sauces)
*(Source: Nielsen YTD April 2013)
Nutritious, tasty and easy-to-prepare
Dolmio, from Mars Incorporated, is Ireland’s leading pasta sauce brand, with 64.4% market share of Italian sauces*. Dolmio owes its success to the strength of its extensive portfolio which provides consumers with a wide range of nutritious, tasty and easy-to-prepare Italian inspired meals. Building on the success of its best-selling 100% natural Bolognese sauce range and demonstrating its continued commitment to category growth and innovation, Dolmio is launching a new Lasagne Kit range this summer.
With busier lifestyles driving convenient meal-planning and purchasing decisions, the new Kit range has great relevance for today’s consumer providing busy family meal-makers with the essentials to easily prepare a great tasting, healthy, homemade lasagne with a personal twist. For the first time, convenient sachets of tomato and creamy white lasagne sauce, pasta sheets and crunchy toppers are available in one easy-to-use kit. The range will be available in two varieties: Original (two and four serving formats) and Mama’s Little Extras (Onion & Bacon and Light Garlic & Herb flavours).
Dolmio is investing significantly in the launch of the new Kit range with a nationwide TV, PR, radio, digital advertising, in-store POS and price promotional launch campaign. The kits are a guaranteed best-seller and retailers are encouraged to stock-up in order to meet demand.
*(Source: Nielsen Total Scan Value Sales to 16.06.13)
A notable heritage
Knorr is proud to be Ireland’s fourth largest brand and bought by over eight in 10 households across Ireland. Knorr has a strong heritage in Irish households with product ranges like Knorr Packet Soups and Knorr Pour-Over Sauces playing a part in family meal-times for decades. Knorr’s long-standing favourites like Knorr Oxtail Packet Soup and Knorr Pepper Cream Sauce continue to be enjoyed by consumers. At the same time, Knorr continues to bring new product innovations to the market, such as Knorr Stock Pots and Knorr Gravy Pots which have proved hugely popular with Irish shoppers. Knorr holds the number one position across many categories in which it operates.
Knorr is the number one brand in dry recipe sauces with 50% market share*. With a portfolio that comprises traditional family favourites in the pour over sector, as well as the popular Mealmaker range, consumers can trust Knorr to provide the perfect accompaniment to any dish. To add to its success, Knorr has brought the great tasting Knorr Season & Shake range to market, and helped to drive strong growth in the baking bag sector.
Knorr Soup leads the soup market with 58.5% share of ambient soup*, more than double that of any other ambient soup brand. Knorr benefits from a wide reach within the soup market, where it operates as market leader within the packet, instant and pouch soup sectors.
Knorr also remains the number one brand by far in the stocks category, holding over 70% market share*. Knorr Stocks are the secret seasoning ingredient that Michelin starred chef Marco Pierre White uses in the kitchen. Knorr Stock Cubes remain a firm favourite and over one in four Irish households have tried Knorr Stock Pots – a rich and tasty stock that enhances the flavour of fresh ingredients.
The successful uptake of Knorr Stock Pots proved that consumers have a keen interest in alternative formats with great taste credentials – which led to the launch of Knorr Gravy Pots in October 2012. Knorr Gravy Pot uses the best ingredients and slowly simmered meat juices and is a quick way to create rich gravy that tastes homemade. Knorr is now the clear number two in the Irish gravy market with 18.7% market share* and is bringing growth to the gravy market.
Knorr is committed to delivering great tasting, convenient products – with dedication to flavour at the heart of everything – to help inspire meal-times in busy Irish households.
*(Source: Nielsen YTD April 2013)
Meals for one a growing segment
Echoing Irish trends, NPD has added 2% to the £339m ambient Italian sauces category in the UK over the last year (Source: IRI Grocery Outlets Value sales 52 w/e 1 Sep 12). Innovation in cooking sauces over the last 12 months has been driven mainly by the introduction of new formats to meet the growing consumer need for convenience. Products such as the new Loyd For One or Sacla Squeezy Pesto tap right into this trend.
Convenience ready meals are in strong growth, demonstrating the need for the single meal occasion. These are not limited to single people but also reflect the fact that parents and children have staggered meal times.
Meal occasions where only one person is present offer a strong opportunity for the category as cooking sauces under-index at this occasion. The Loyd Grossman For One proposition has revolutionised the category by offering convenience and quality to consumers and consequently unlocking a very profitable opportunity for retailers. A year post initial launch, 62% of the range’s £3m sales were incremental to Italian cooking sauces sector* and Premier Foods is looking to continue this track record of success with the launch of a Classic Beef Bolognese variant, which is one of the nation’s top 10 favourite meals**.
*(Source: IRI 48 w/e 14 May 2011 Italian Cooking Sauces)
**(Source: Kantar Worldpanel 44 w/e 15 May 2011)
Improve category navigation
Premier Foods, with 16.3% market share of the cooking sauces, accompaniments and kits category* in the UK, is revamping the Sharwood’s packaging to help improve the shopper experience of the category. The updated design is set to improve stand-out on shelf, increase differentiation between cooking sauces, stir fry sauces and pastes, and improve navigation between flavours and cuisines.
The new Sharwood’s packaging clearly communicates the vast variety of stir fry sauces and cooking sauces on offer and helps shoppers to differentiate between product categories much more easily. Different colour groups, neck labels and fonts will be used to reinforce the different cuisine types and to improve navigation of Sharwood’s large portfolio of products. More importantly, each flavour of sauces will have its own colour coding, allowing quicker and easier navigation on shelf, accompanied by clear labelling of the ‘heat’ intensity on-pack and on SRPs.
Cross-shopping within this category is low, with only 11.7% of shoppers buying a sauce and an accompaniment together**. Sharwood’s new pack design, which includes clearer heat levels and portion sizes, will be supported with additional cross-purchase messages on shelf. The aim is to provide shoppers with the complete meal solution and encourage them to buy across a larger range of products.
Consumer research has demonstrated that the stand-out on shelf of Sharwood’s products, as a result of the new packaging, has been significantly improved.
The new packaging also supports the brand positioning of ‘making meal times come alive!’ The brand has already heavily invested in-store and ATL communications and the packaging redesign forms a key part within this positioning.
The savoury meal-making category is currently worth £5.8bn, of which cooking sauces, accompaniments and kits has a 28% share and is worth £1.6bn***. The new packaging will be available from August 2013. The brand will be supported with further in-store promotions and some in-store marketing to drive visibility.
*(Source: SIG Grocery Outlet, Cooking Sauces & Accompaniments, Value Share, 52 w/e 15.06.2013)
**(Source: Kantar Worldpanel Data 52 w/e 20 January 2013 based on one year panel Universe: Cooking Sauces & Accompaniments)
***(Source: Kantar Worldpanel 52 w/e to 17.03.13)
What’s on the menu tonight?
Ambient grocery is a highly penetrated category within convenience stores; it features within the top five items for ‘take home’ consumption within food. Reflecting the situation in the Irish market, shopping for this category is growing in convenience stores in the UK, with shoppers visiting a convenience store on average 3.7 times a week, growing higher with younger households.
Sharwood’s Dry Noodles are experiencing 14.8% value growth* in the UK and this can be attributed to the brand’s ability to give families the variety and inspiration they need to make mealtimes come alive with convenient and affordable solutions.
Sharwood’s also ran a ‘Serve up some excitement’ TV campaign, which kicked off in February and coincided with the Chinese New Year, driving significant brand awareness within the family mealtime repertoire. Three complimentary adverts were used that depicted the different Sharwood’s cuisine types: Chinese, Indian and Wrap Kits – leading to increased sales during the period.
The key mission for consumers shopping within the ambient grocery category is ‘meal for tonight’, of which cooking sauces over-indexes in terms of performance, and brands such as Sharwood’s and Loyd For One are key.
Where possible, retailers should try and help shoppers by providing meal solutions e.g. sitting Sharwood’s alongside chicken, rice, poppadum’s and naans – creating the complete meal solution in-store. Retailers can maximise sales by creating inspiring displays and ensuring 100% availability, right range and stocking the correct SKUs.
*(Source: IRI Dry Noodles, Value Sales, 15.06.13)
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