Specialty Food Magazine is the leading publication for retailers, manufacturers and foodservice professionals in the specialty food trade. It provides news, trends and business-building insights that help readers keep their businesses competitive.
Issue link: https://specialtyfoodmagazine.epubxp.com/i/116674
SPECIALTY FOOD BROKERS NUMBER OF SKUS CURRENTLY REPRESENTED Mean Annual Sales: $3,046,875 Mean Number of SKUs: 2,422 CHANNELS SERVICED AND FASTEST-GROWING Channels Serviced in CHANNELS 2012 % More than 5,000 20% FastestGrowing Channels % 6% 31% 12% 501–1,000 1,001–2,000 Source: Mintel Data may not total 100 due to rounding Demonstrating the breadth of brokers within the specialty food industry, 31 percent have a limited line of fewer than 500 SKUs, while half represent more than 2,000 products. 19 38 19 12 Conventional Supermarkets (e.g., Kroger, Safeway) 12 12 Foodservice (e.g., restaurants, cafes, school/office cafeterias) 6 12 Online 2,001–5,000 Natural Supermarkets (e.g.,Whole Foods Market) Specialty Food Stores 500 or fewer 31% 6 6 Mass Merchandisers (e.g., Target, Walmart) 6 6 31 12 Other Multiple answers accepted Source: Mintel Specialty food stores and natural supermarkets are the channels most serviced by brokers. More brokers (38 percent) report natural stores over other channels as their fastest-growing. Foodservice offers opportunity as only 6 percent are servicing this channel, but twice as many cite it as the fastest-growing channel. THE BROKER VIEWPOINT: INFLUENTIAL PRODUCT CLAIMS Interests Consumers Most Today Will Grow the Most in the Next Three Years 62% 62% Local* DOLLAR SALES CHANGE All Natural 50% Organic Eco-Friendly Sustainable Fair Trade Source: Mintel 31% 25% 25% 25% 19% 19% Local reigns supreme, with 62 percent of brokers indicating high 38% consumer interest today and an equal number saying it will grow the most in three years. While half of brokers think consumers are interested in organic claims today, fewer indicate that this interest will grow in the coming years. *"Local" is defined as within 200 miles of operator Multiple answers accepted 14A THE STATE OF THE SPECIALTY FOOD INDUSTRY 2013 2011 % 2012 % Up 20% or more 24 12 Up 10–19% 56% 56% 32 19 Up 1–9% 28 44 Unchanged 8 12 Down 1–9% 8 12 Down 10–19% – – Down 20% or more – – Data may not total 100 due to rounding Source: Mintel Seventy-five percent of brokers note positive growth in 2012, though overall 2011 results were slightly better.