Not Your Grandma’s Canned Meat
It’s no secret that the down economy has driven many consumers to eat at home more often. Today, 49 percent of consumers eat out less frequently than they did before the recession began, says Susan Viamari, Times & Trends editor with Information Resources Inc., Chicago. And that figure is even higher among younger consumers and lower-earning households.
And given that many of these shoppers also are time-starved and looking for convenient meal solutions, it’s understandable why canned meats have seen a recent increase in sales. During the 52 weeks ending Sept. 8, dollar sales and unit sales of overall canned meat grew 8.5 percent and 2.2 percent, respectively, Viamari explains.
Trends with traction
Historically, canned meat products have been known for having a high sodium content. However, some brands are trying to make reforms here. Fernando Momente, CEO of Taylor, Mich.-headquartered Marfood USA, says he has been seeing an increase in the number of reduced- and low-sodium canned meat products in the marketplace.
“Consumers are more conscious of what they are buying and are looking for healthier alternatives,” he points out.
The number of lower-sodium canned meat products should continue to grow, especially as more and more retailers adopt nutritional labeling programs. Momente says nutritional labeling initiatives such as NuVal have grown in popularity in recent years — and will continue to do so.
Trends on the horizon
Consumers also have been searching for more sustainable meat choices when dining out or shopping at the store, says Kazia Jankowski, an associate culinary director at Sterling-Rice Group, Boulder, Colo.
“We’ve seen a growth of small-batch, grass-fed varieties of meat, as well as cuts from the whole animal,” she explains. “Epic Bars are energy bars made of bison. Girl and the Goat, Chicago, is serving goat in a variety of different preparations.”
Jankowski believes this trend could spill over into the canned meat category, with brands offering a broader set of meat varieties and cuts. She points to canned chicken thighs as one example.
Another area with a “tremendous opportunity for growth” for canned meat in 2014 is in the ethnic products market. “Category Insights: Meat, Poultry & Fish,” a December 2012 report from global market researcher Mintel, notes that the ethnic food segment in the United States has continued to grow in recent years, fueled by an increasingly diverse population, more frequent home meal preparation and a growing interest in exotic foods.
This news spells strong opportunity for canned meat products geared to the Hispanic market, Momente says.
“We’ve recently attended a couple foodservice shows, and it seems that there is a demand for products that fall into this category,” he says.
To respond to this emerging trend in both the retail and foodservice markets, Marfood USA launched several seasoned beef products this year, Momente explains. Under the Ranchers brand and retailers’ own brands, the company introduced four flavors of precooked and seasoned canned beef products: Taco, Burrito, Enchilada and Chipotle.
“This product speeds up prep and service time both at home and in the foodservice world,” he states. “We believe this will be a big hit for 2014.”