Turn up the heat

In recent years, sales growth within the U.S. retail soup category has been less than spectacular — and for a number of reasons. According to “Soup in the U.S.,” a November 2014 report from Londonbased Euromonitor, the improving economy has spurred some American consumers to return to soup-and-sandwich-serving restaurants such as Panera. In addition, busy consumers usually view soup as only part of a meal, so they often look for another one-dish meal solution instead of opting to prepare both soup and a sandwich, for example. And when it comes to canned soup, many consumers view it as highly processed and not so tasty.

But it’s not all doom and gloom for the retail soup category. In its October 2014 “Category Insight — Soup,” global market research firm Mintel forecasts that U.S. sales of pre-packaged soup will continue to grow, albeit slowly, increasing from $6.9 billion in 2013 to $8 billion in 2018. Refrigerated/frozen soup is the smallest segment (4.1 percent share), but it is growing at a greater rate, Mintel adds.

To spur interest their own-brand soup offerings, retailers will want to target younger consumers, aged 25–34, with new recipes because they show the greatest interest here. Using social media or crowdsourcing will appeal to these consumers and drive engagement.

Soup marketers also could do more to position their products as dinner options by marketing their suitability in cooking, by including hearty/filling ingredients, and by placing suggestions for complementary side dishes/bread on the package, Mintel says.

“There is room to boost consumption as a snack by focusing on packaging innovation to facilitate snacking or eating on-the-go and by using lighter recipes more suited for snacking in-between meals,” the market research firm adds. “We expect private label to continue to fare well, even in an improving economy.”

Retailers also could find product development inspiration by keeping a close eye on what’s trending, soup-wise, on the restaurant side. And they should also pay attention to what’s losing stream here. In a fall 2014 National Restaurant Association survey of professional chefs/members of the American Culinary Federation, 61 percent of respondents called gazpacho “yesterday’s news,” for example, while only 10 percent indicated it was a “hot trend.”

Do target younger consumers with new recipes.

Don’t neglect the snack occasion when it comes to soup.