Amir Jalaly, consumer insight director at Kantar Worldpanel UK, gave this presentation at a recent Client Day – the theme being that produce brands are consistently showing themselves to be capable of outperforming the market
Here are some of the key points in Jalaly’s presentation:
- Deflation has eroded almost £500 million (4.7%) off the UK fresh produce business in the last year
- The larger categories are all seeing price cuts – only soft fruit saw a small increase in the last 12 months
- Produce typically accounts for 10% of grocery value – in the 12 weeks that included Christmas, that dropped to 7%
- Against that backdrop, the major brands – Pink Lady, Florette, Rooster, Tenderstem, Scotty Brand and Greenvale Farm Fresh ALL outperform their sectors and drive incremental value
- Branded produce grew by 5% in value and 18% in volume in the last 12 months and has grown as a sub-category by around 120% since 2009
- Shoppers who buy branded produce spend more in that category and 78% more on grocery
Jalaly says: “Many categories are suffering for various reasons, but brands are driving a lot of growth – by giving consumers an emotional attachment to produce and also offering buyers the opportunity for premium occasion-led positioning.
“I’m not saying that everyone should race out and launch a brand, of course, but there is potential to improve the performance of your category just by thinking like a brand.
“To help the retailers, suppliers can work with them to better understand their shoppers, intelligently segment their markets and provide innovative and relevant solutions to move their category forward.
“Some people might say that brands are just there to promote the hell out of the products they represent. Well, yes they do, but our data often shows that a successful brand can be the driving force behind growth across the whole category.
“The major difference is that brands by nature take a unique position in the market and can actually increase volume and to a certain extent value at a time when many categories are seeing their value diminish as a result of price cuts.
“Brands can provide a good win for both buyers and the supply chain.”
View the presentation by Kantar Worldpanel UK
