Madison, WI — What’s in Store 2014, the latest edition of the annual trends publication of the International Dairy-Deli-Bakery Association™ (IDDBA), and What’s in Store Online, a collection of more than 150 downloadable tables, as well as white papers and trends articles, are now available. With 28 years of credible reporting, What’s in Store is an essential dairy-deli-bakery-cheese resource providing vital data on the growth, trends, and category changes shaping the food industry. What’s in Store 2014 is composed of six comprehensive chapters: State of the Industry, Consumer Lifestyles, Bakery, Cheese, Dairy, and Deli.
Top highlights in the State of the Industry chapter include: The food industry is feeling ripple effects from rising food and fuel prices, new benefit costs due to the 2010 Affordable Care Act, modest income growth following the 2013 payroll tax increase, and weak consumer confidence due to fiscal uncertainty. Price, convenience, and health are now implicit in the fresh food value equation. Digital platforms and personalized promotions are encouraging the “de-averaging” trend. Showrooming, geo-fencing, and price-matching are becoming more prominent in retail. “Channel surfing” is cutting grocery trips as shrinking household size cuts trip volume. Transparency is critical as many shoppers, particularly younger ones, demand more information on food origins, ingredients, and nutritional content. Authenticity, fusions, and regionalism are drawing strong consumer interest as bold new cuisines serve up a fresh cache of global flavors and ingredients.
Top highlights in the Consumer Lifestyles chapter include: Leading global food trends to meet consumer needs are pleasure, health, convenience, well-being, and ethics. Customers seek fresh, real, and less-processed products. In response, supermarkets are expanding and carefully curating their fresh departments. Society has evolved from a cooking culture to an eating culture. All household members now play a role in choosing and preparing foods. Minorities, which comprised 37% of the US population in 2012, will make up 57% of the population in 2060 (US population estimate is 420.3 million in 2060). By 2030, Millennials will total 78 million in the United States compared to 56 million Boomers. This generation is brand agnostic, bargain seeking, technology hungry, and the most ethnically diverse ever. Obesity continues to weigh on consumers. Weight management products/services are projected to reach $40.9 billion in 2016 with food/beverage accounting for 80% of sales.
Top highlights of the Bakery chapter include: Convenience-focused couples and families are a strong demographic driving in-store bakery (ISB) sales, but shoppers who frequent and buy the most focus on premium products. ISBs are adapting to broader food trends as consumers seek convenient, high-quality foods. Snack sizes, indulgence, and world/ethnic and healthful influences are important. Customers shop ISBs for fresh products, followed by superior taste and unique items. Trendy cakes include tortes, cube cakes, and reveal cakes. Breads made with whole, sprouted grain, and ancient grains are on trend, as well as savory ethnic flatbreads.
Top highlights in the Cheese chapter include: As consumer palates evolve, so does demand for specialty cheese and robust flavors. US cheese makers and retailers are embracing affinage to meet demand. Specialty cheese accounts for nearly two-thirds of deli cheese sales. Retailers seek to entice more sales by expanding their cheese sections and providing cheese mongers. Restaurant offerings influence cheese at retail as traditional foods from burgers to mac and cheese to grilled cheese go upscale with specialty cheeses, like Gouda, Brie, Blue, and Goat. Interest in Latin and Mediterranean cuisine is appearing in the cheese case as consumption of varieties like Queso Fresco, Cotija, and Feta rises. Millennials, dubbed the “cheese generation,” have had more exposure to specialty and artisan cheese varieties, developing more adventurous palates. This makes them ideal customers for authentic cheeses in convenient forms.
Top highlights in the Dairy case chapter include: Dairy is one of the most frequently shopped grocery departments — 36 trips per year. New product introductions are robust at approximately 12,000 to 13,000 products annually. Yogurt shows strong growth trends. Sales projected to 2017 show an anticipated 17% growth (an estimated $9.1
billion US). It’s a growing breakfast and snack category. Three macro factors impacting the dairy case are: decreasing US middle-income households, diversity of shoppers by age and ethnic group, and access to smart technologies (encouraging unprecedented levels of transparency). Watch for dairy processors to boast protein content and treatment of health issues, message about dairy’s nutrients beyond calcium and weight management, tout dairy as an excellent agent for prebiotics and probiotics, and stress satiety effects. Dairy to-go trends include products with longer shelf-lives, as well as occasion-specific desires (mid-morning snacks), and complete convenience (serving utensils included).
Top highlights in the Deli chapter include: Providing options for deli product customization appeals to consumers and can allow for healthier options which are important to many shoppers. Scratch cooking is no longer the norm. Only 23% of adult-eating occasions actually involve eating scratch-made dishes. To “assemble” is to cook. Delis provide innovative ways to offer simple, tasty, ingredients or foods for meals or snacks (including ethnic or upscale comfort foods) meeting the needs of several demographics. Cost and value, for nine out of 10 customers, are two key reasons consumers purchase Retailer Meal Solutions (RMS) at the in-store deli (ISD) instead of visiting restaurants. Cleanliness and taste are crucial to a shoppers’ positive ISD experience. Specialty meats are moving out of the restaurant and into home kitchens. However, price is still a major factor for consumers shifting away from traditional deli lunch meats.
What’s in Store 2014, our 28th edition, is a 230-page trends report that details consumer and industry trends affecting the in-store dairy case, cheese case, bakery, deli, and foodservice departments. Its 200+ tables, developed in cooperation with leading industry firms and associations, include department sales, per capita consumption, consumer preferences, system 2, UPC, and private label sales data. The purchase of What’s in Store 2014 includes access to What’s in Store Online, a collection of downloadable tables from the book, plus white papers and trends articles (many with accompanying downloadable tables) that offer supplementary in-depth trends information. Be sure to save time using our Reference Links—these are web homepage links to all of the businesses referenced in What's in Store 2014. The cost is $99 for IDDBA members and $399 for non-members, plus shipping and handling. For more information and to order, visit iddba.org/wis.aspx.
About IDDBA:
IDDBA is a nonprofit membership organization serving the dairy, deli, bakery, cheese, and supermarket foodservice industries. Member companies enjoy many benefits and services including the annual seminar and expo, leading-edge research, free training programs, management tools, and an annual trends report. For more information, contact IDDBA at 608.310.5000 or visit our Web site, www.iddba.org.
Source: The International Dairy•Deli•Bakery Association™