Souper douper

The ultimate warming winter comfort food with the added benefit of being packed full of nutrition, the soups category has received a boost in recent years from the growing trend for healthy options, particularly within the chilled soups segment. Greater innovation within flavour to appeal to more adventurous palates is also catching shoppers’ attention, writes Gillian Hamill

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Brand Central

AT A GLANCE: SOUPS

• The Irish soup market is expected to be worth approximately €90 billion by the year 2020*
• Euromonitor’s research shows soup posted current value growth of 1% last year to reach sales of €85 million*
• Avonmore Soups are in growth by +3.3% volume**
• The Avonmore range has the highest brand awareness of the fresh soup category at 90%***
• Ireland’s number one soup maker, Cully & Sully, is continuing to implement its Special Guest Soup range
• Sadie’s Kitchen, which recently received a Great Taste Award and expanded into the UK market, has now launched Super 7 Greens Bone Broth

*(Source: Nielsen, TS, MAT 12 August 2018)

**(Source: Bord Bia Brand Health 2018)

In recent years, consumer desire for health and wellness products has presented opportunities within the soup market. Identifying this trend, the ability of manufacturers to provide high-quality soups which cater to this trend has resulted in growth. In fact, according to a recent report entitled ‘Soup in Ireland’ by Euromonitor in November 2017, the Irish soup market is expected to be worth approximately €90 million by the year 2020.

Euromonitor’s research shows soup posted current value growth of 1% last year to reach sales of €85 million. Growth was driven by improving consumer confidence, as well as a rising demand for health and wellness offerings. There continues to be a strong perception that soup, particularly chilled soup, is a healthy food choice.

Flavoursome and nutritious

Avonmore’s ‘Red Curry Chicken Soup with coconut and lime’ has been created to whet consumers’ taste buds

Avonmore Soups has added two new flavours to its tasty range; ‘Tagine Chicken Soup with sweet potato and chickpeas’ and ‘Red Curry Chicken Soup with coconut and lime’. Both soups are packed full of flavoursome spices and nutritious vegetables while also being gluten free, high in protein, low in fat, and with no added artificial colours or preservatives.

Avonmore’s ‘Tagine Chicken Soup with sweet potato and chickpeas’ is another tasty choice, packed full of nutritious vegetables

The new soups come in convenient portable tubs, perfect for ‘al desko’ dining or a quick nutritious meal at home. Avonmore Soups also offer more traditional flavours such as ‘Slow Cooked Chicken with Vegetables’, ‘Vine Tomato with aged Italian Parmesan’ and ‘Select Vegetable with Flat Leaf Parsley’, allowing consumers to choose between a range of flavours from the same brand that they know and trust. Avonmore Soups are in growth by +3.3% volume* and the Avonmore range has the highest brand awareness of the fresh soup category at 90%**. A sure reason to stock up on Avonmore Soups this winter!

*(Source: Nielsen, TS, MAT 12 August 2018)

**(Source: Bord Bia Brand Health 2018)

Warming autumnal flavours

Ireland’s number one soup maker, Cully & Sully has been working away on its Special Guest Soup range. The company has lots of exciting soups for the coming seasons and now back on your shelves for autumn, is the tasty Squashed Vegetable Soup packed with warming autumnal flavours, currently stocked in all good stores.

Full steam ahead

Sadie’s Kitchen has seen a transformative year shape the innovative broth brand.

The company moves forward with a Great Taste Award and expansion into the UK market. The launch of its much-anticipated Super 7 Greens Bone Broth, has seen the brand command a more versatile and solution driven offering to the consumer to deliver convenience without compromise.

After a hugely successful campaign with Aldi, the brand is also set to grow its listings and increase distribution across Ireland.

Sadie’s Kitchen will continue to work with Freshly Chopped, offering the brand’s broth pots and expand its foodservice offering this quarter.

Sadie’s Kitchen has also partnered with Neff on its Ingredient campaign and will continue to work with the brand into 2019. January 2019 will mark the launch of more first-to-market products for the brand.

Category insight

Soup over-indexes as being both an impulsive and an autopilot (‘grab and go’) purchase – an important category for driving the basket for retailers. Displays are really effective at attracting the time-sensitive soup shopper. However, Shopper Intelligence reports shoppers say they are having trouble finding the category in-store (i.e. ‘navigation’), and when they get there they are seeing a lot of out of stocks (‘availability’). These represent two critical barriers for such an impulsive/time-conscious shopper.

• ​Data from survey of 6.023 respondents​
• Carried out November 2017 to March 2018
• 2019 fieldwork starts again in October 2018

​​For more information contact: ​

Colm Rooney​

Country manager Ireland​

colm.rooney@shopperintelligence.com​

www.shopperintelligence.com

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