Ethnic Inspiration
Sales of shelf-stable soups have been lackluster of late, but restaurant-quality ethnic-inspired offerings could help spur growth in the category.
Growing consumer interest in more healthful fare has been wielding a positive impact on soup sales — at least within restaurants. According to a February press release from Chicago-based Technomic, 61 percent of U.S. consumers now order soup at least occasionally during restaurant visits, up from 52 percent two years ago.
That trend doesn't necessarily translate to retail, however, at least on the shelf-stable soup side. The traditional canned soup segment actually has posted volume and dollar sales declines during the past couple of years. Still, retailers could reverse the negative sales pattern by focusing on current and emerging trends in store brand product development.
Trends with traction
Among the soup trends beginning to make an appearance at retail is one toward a restaurant-quality eating experience, notes Kim Hannaford, director of marketing for Austin, Ind.-based Morgan Foods. That means more unique flavors, he says, pointing to the new Campbell's Go soup line as an example. The line includes exotic ethnic-inspired varieties such as Moroccan Style Chicken with Chickpeas.
Moreover, the pouch packaging for Campbell's Go soup line represents another trend with staying power, Hannaford says. Retailers should expect to see growing demand not only for pouches, but also for other packaging formats that address some sort of "consumer problem."
Trends on the horizon
To get a handle on trends soon to come, retailers will want to keep a close eye on the foodservice industry. This side boasts a recent flurry of activity; soup incidence was up by 3 percent for the third quarter of 2012 compared to the third quarter of 2011, totaling 1,700 offerings across 628 restaurant brands, says Mary Chapman, Technomic's director, product innovation, citing the company's MenuMonitor data.
"Asian soups are on the rise," she adds, "increasing by 15 percent."
Virginia Lee, senior research analyst for Euromonitor International, Chicago, agrees that Asian soup varieties represent a retail opportunity.
"Thai and Vietnamese flavors should get more attention, as these cuisines are popular with Americans, especially millennials," she says.
Ethnic-inspired soups, in general, represent an up-and-coming opportunity, Hannaford stresses, calling the trend "unique flavors from the world plate." He also points to out-of-the-ordinary ingredients such as black garlic as having the potential to differentiate a soup product.
On the health and wellness side, Hannaford also sees a trend on the horizon for more "nutritionally focused" soups. That means attributes such as higher protein, more fiber and specific added nutrients — called out for the consumer right on the label.
Satiety positioning also represents a potential opportunity. In its "Soup — October 2012" report, global market research firm Mintel says a significant portion of U.S. consumers have expressed the desire for more filling soups, but satiety positioning here is underdeveloped. Retailers could help fill a market void by focusing innovation on high-fiber, chunky formulations and portion size, Mintel says.
In addition, generation-specific marketing presents a potential trend within the soup category. For example, millennials are most interested in snacking and naturalness, Mintel says. Retailers could play up soup's attributes here to target this important demographic.
Finally, Hannaford sees a long-time trend — that toward soup being merchandised and promoted as a cold-weather food — ready to go away.
"We eat other hot foods year-round," he notes. "Retailers will be able to promote soups as meal solutions even in summer."