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/282647
12A ❘ THE STATE OF THE SPECIALTY FOOD INDUSTRY SPECIALTY FOOD IMPORTERS % Estimated % of Sales % Import this Type of Product Multiple answers accepted Source: Mintel Average Annual Sales: $2,055,900 Average Number of SKUs: 181 Data may not total 100 due to rounding Source: Mintel For importers, 2013 was a good year. More than half reported sales increases above 10 percent and none reported a sales decline. DOLLAR SALES CHANGE Up 20% or more 8 Up 10–19% 46 Up 1–9% 23 Unchanged 23 Down 1–9% — Down 10–19% — Down 20% or more — IMPORTER SALES BY CHANNEL Source: Mintel Importers indicate that retail distributors account for the majority of sales, at 38 percent. In contrast to manufac- turers, importers have embraced the foodser- vice channel, with both foodservice distributor and direct to foodser- vice channel sales increasing over 2012 numbers. 38 25 16 12 8 1 Share of Total Sales 2013 % Distributors—Retail Direct to Retail Distributors—Foodservice Other Direct to Foodservice Direct to Consumer of Sales Data may not total 100 due to rounding. THE IMPORTER VIEWPOINT: EMERGING CUISINES Latin, other than Mexican 54 Mediterranean 54 Indian 31 African 23 Thai 23 Vietnamese 23 Chinese 15 Eastern European 15 Italian 15 Japanese 15 Mexican 15 Korean 8 Russian 8 Spanish 8 French — Caribbean — Other 31 Region % of Importers Multiple answers accepted Source: Mintel As in 2013, Latin and Mediterranean cuisines remain at the top of the list of cuisines expected to emerge in 2014. African, Indian, and Thai all showed significant increases over the past year in the percentage of importers reporting them as cuisines to watch in the next year. All importers reported doing business in all natural in 2013. Noticeably different, though, is the percent of sales these items account for; all-natural products accounted for 67 percent of sales in 2013, a drop of 11 points from 2012. Non-GMO offerings have become a big factor, with 77 percent importing this type of product, representing nearly half of sales. Natural Supermarkets (e.g., Trader Joe's, Whole Foods Market) Conventional Supermarkets (e.g., Kroger, Safeway) Foodservice (e.g., restaurants, cafes, cafeterias) Mass Merchandisers (e.g., Target, Walmart) Other Specialty Food Stores Online Retail 38 23 15 8 8 8 — 8 23 8 15 15 31 — THE IMPORTER VIEWPOINT: CHANNEL SALES GROWTH Importers have noted a shift in channel growth from 2012, with 38 percent reporting that specialty food stores were the fastest-growing channel in 2013. Natural supermarkets remain a strong channel, as shown by nearly a quarter citing them as another fast-growing channel. Mass merchandisers have continued to slow for importers. % Indicating Slowest Growing in 2013 Data may not total 100 due to rounding Source: Mintel % Indicating Fastest Growing in 2013 All Natural 100 67 Non-GMO 77 49 Eco-friendly 69 25 Organic 69 14 Fair Trade 62 12 Sustainable 62 13 NATURAL/ETHICAL SOURCING OF PRODUCTS SOI_2014.indd 100 3/17/14 2:23 PM