24 September 2012
SymphonyIRI Group reports 12 month analysis of FMCG trends
24 September 2012 – Bracknell, UK – The UK consumer is spending more money
on the nation’s favourite comfort and convenience foods despite the ongoing
increase in prices, reveals the recently published Snapshot Report, from
SymphonyIRI Group, an industry leader in FMCG market measurement.
The findings of the report highlight that convenience, innovation, snacking,
new tastes and health are amongst the main drivers of growth where it’s
occurring. For example, ready meals grew by almost 11 percent in volume
over the past year, an extra £200 million spent on convenience via these
products alone. Convenience and comfort come hand in hand, as the report
puts Britain’s favourite meals such as Cottage Pie, Mashed Potato,
Cumberland Pie and Shepherds Pie as some of the nation’s top choices by
value sales.
Non-alcoholic cold drinks, such as cola, energy drinks and mineral water,
have performed well. Sales of alcohol, such as lager and cider, benefitted
from the Royal Wedding and the Diamond Jubilee. Unfortunately, these two
national events did not lead to the expected surge in sales of party food as
this sector did not show an increase but remained flat in comparison with
last year. This may have been due to poor weather conditions.
Innovation and changing tastes have driven growth. New products such as
Belvita, Maggi So Juicy, Colman’s Season & Shake, Monster Energy Drink, Lynx
Attract for Her, Cadburys Twirl Bites and Regaine, have all contributed. As
the UK consumers’ tastes change, there has been an increase in bread foods,
such as bagels (up by 16 percent); wraps (up by 10 percent) and brioche
rolls (up by 24 percent), plus a rise in the use of almonds, walnuts and
pistachios (9 percent increase) possibly caused by the increased interest in
baking, spurred by the Diamond Jubilee celebrations.
As we celebrated a period of athleticism in the UK, it seems that the nation
turned to healthier food options. Unflavoured mineral water sales increased
by 6 percent (£22 million) and flavoured waters by 7 percent (£14 million) –
a total of 65 million litres. Hearty, healthy breakfasts such as porridge
also increased during this period by 4 percent. The report also reveals a
strong move to a healthier lifestyle as smokers bought 8 percent more
smoking cessation products worth £31 million.
Aside from food and drinks, one of the best performing sectors has been pet
food, with growth coming from the dry sector (at 4.4 percent). Ladies
toiletries have increased, as the report shows a rise in female toiletry
gift sets being purchased, costing £17 million, 9 percent more nail make-up
at £9 million and 6 percent more lip make-up at £5 million. Dry shampoo is
making an impact gaining £6 million, up 19 percent in volume terms and there
has been an emergence of a new sector in hair colour remover.
Although there has been a value growth for two thirds of the categories,
half of this has been driven up purely by price increases. Two thirds of
the 300 categories measured are showing annual volume decline at present.
Prices for packaged groceries have been rising in excess of 3 percent since
August 2011, reaching a peak of 5 percent in March 2012 and since falling to
3 percent in July 2012. Packaged grocery prices are 8 percent higher than
they were in January 2010.
Tim Eales, Strategic Insight Director at SymphonyIRI Group says, “Every day
that price inflation remains above wage inflation means that somebody,
somewhere, is worse off. This is causing packaged grocery to shrink slowly
by volume. However, we are spending more money as we are forced to buy at
higher prices. Despite this, opportunities still exist to cash in on
changing tastes and the hunger for interesting new ideas.’
SymphonyIRI Group’s Snapshot report contains data extracted from 300
reported categories across all SIG outlets over the period 52 w/e 7th July
2012 versus 52 w/e 9th July 2011. Categories include packaged foods, alcohol
(excl wine), non-alcoholic drinks, household products, personal care (incl
cosmetics), health care, pet food and confectionary.
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