The Good Stuff
Sauce and marinade aficionados take a shine to high-quality taste sensations that are a breeze to use.
A flavorful pasta sauce can make a weeknight spaghetti dinner feel special, while a tangy marinade can add just the right zip to a weekend steak dinner. But although consumers might be hungry for variety and flavor excitement, many sauce and marinade subcategories were flat or lost some ground during the past year in terms of growth. (See the table, p. 28.)
But retailers could help reverse the trend here by developing high-quality store brand offerings with today's flavor trends in mind.
Tempt with exotic flavors
When it comes to sauces and marinades, people are drawn to the flavor, not the brand, declares Dave Rotunno, executive director of marketing for Mt. Prospect, Ill.-based Mizkan Americas Inc. And that could spell opportunity for store brands as a struggling economy still is fostering cautious consumer spending.
It's all about flavor," he says. "Consumers have homed in on ethnic-type flavors and the different herbs and spices they bring. How do we create new, different, ethnic flavors? That's where this category is going. With every flavor we create, we push the category forward."
Douglas W. Oaks, retail national sales manager for Food Service Specialties in Red Wing, Minn., agrees. He sees Jamaican-style jerk sauces poised for increased popularity over the next year or so, and expects the cuisines of India and other parts of Southeast Asia to exert more influence over American tastes. And salsas should continue to grow "big time" in popularity, with more and more variations coming on the scene.
"Anything hot" is, well, hot right now, and chipotle sauces are "headed for a big expansion," adds Rick Schmidt, vice president of national sales for Woeber Mustard Co., Springfield, Ohio. Woeber successfully launched a chicken-nugget dip line called Supreme Dips two years ago, and the company's horseradish sauce has become a major contender in the category as people step outside their comfort zones, he adds.
Two trends are influencing the push toward bolder flavors, Rotunno observes. Adult-only households, which are on the rise, tend to be more adventurous diners than families are because they don't need to consider children's taste preferences when planning meals and shopping for at-home ingredients. And a growing population of older adults is finding that their taste buds are becoming less sensitive, so their appetite for flavor sensation in the form of robust, spicy and hot flavor profiles is increasing.
"Take on a little more risk and offer flavors that may not be blockbusters, but will round out the line and add to the customer base," Rotunno advises store brand program managers.
And to get an idea of what the future might hold in flavor trends, Oaks suggests observing what chefs in high-end, big-city restaurants are doing.
Sampling also is vital here, says Jonathan Pehl, director of marketing & branding, Fischer & Wieser Specialty Foods Inc., Fredericksburg, Texas. Sampling is what gets people to "fall in love" with the product, he explains.
Do remember that the sauce and marinades segment is all about flavor — new ethnic flavors will drive growth.
Don't miss the opportunity to get new sauces and marinades into shoppers' mouths — and carts — via sampling.
Quality trumps price
Sauces and marinades can function as an upscale addition to an otherwise ordinary home-cooked meal or as a substitute for dining out. As a result, customers are demanding high quality from such products, whether they are national brand or private label.
Another influence is the Food Network and its ubiquitous celebrity chefs, who have inspired people to cook creatively even when time is scarce, says Linda McNally, vice president of customer development for Summer Garden Food Manufacturing in Youngstown, Ohio, a producer of upscale pasta sauces.
"Consumers are insisting on better-quality products," she says. "Our company focuses on using high-quality ingredients. We think it makes the best-tasting sauce. Pasta is still a reasonable meal to serve your family, so consumers will trade up to something better" when choosing a sauce.
Private label products now are seen as high-quality, not necessarily "cheap," and people will accept a reasonable price point for a product they like, Rotunno says. After all, a sauce or marinade is still a relatively inexpensive way to transform a meal into something beyond ordinary.
Still, it is important for retailers to differentiate themselves when it comes to store brand sauces and marinades, says Mike Hackbarth, vice president, private label for The Fremont Co., Fremont, Ohio.
"Diversify the program," he says. "You are not going to compete on price."
Let the package inform
Sauces and marinades are all about enhancing the cooking process, so the package and its messaging also are important. The package needs to convey two things: how the product tastes and how to use it.
Rotunno suggests making the label all about the flavor with a callout and descriptor. Packaging is more important than the brand name, he believes. The back of the package needs to speak to usage, Rotunno adds. For example, it needs to answer, "Do I marinate it overnight? A couple hours? With what protein?"
Summer Garden has found that recipes on the package work with its consumers, McNally says.
"Home cooks are not always aware of how to use a product, so creating great recipes increases a product's chance for success at store level," she adds.
The Fremont Co. is launching a premium private brand equivalent to the No. 1 selling Sweet Baby Ray's-style barbecue sauce — in a similar banjo-style bottle. The package's look will be crucial in retailer efforts to hook customers and generate long-term sales and loyalty, Hackbarth says.
"The key to a premium private brand barbecue sauce's success is emulating the package of the desired leading brand, so the consumer understands this is a Sweet Baby Ray's or Kansas City Style emulation, versus a less-expensive Kraft-style barbecue sauce," he explains.
Moreover, sales data show that customers prefer premium barbecue sauces, which also generate "significantly higher sales and profit dollars for the retailer," Hackbarth declares.
Do make sure the package describes how the product tastes and how to use it.
Don't emulate a national brand product and then place it into a container that looks nothing like the brand's.
Work that jigsaw puzzle
Once the products are developed and packaged, retailers need to "push the envelope once in a while" in marketing and merchandising, Oaks says.
"Don't hide it in a corner somewhere — or it will never sell," he says. "It's about inching your way toward friendliness" between the shopper and the product.
As for product mix, Pehl cautions against offering too many choices at once, lest retailers confuse and overwhelm the consumer. He suggests one or two for an established brand, and three to five for new products — placed at eye level.