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.
THE SPECIALTY FOOD SUPPLY CHAIN 2011 MEAN ANNUAL SALES BY SUPPLIER TYPE
Manufacturers Importers
Distributors Brokers
Source: Mintel
$2,207,586 $2,515,625
The average specialty food manufacturer does about $2.2 million in annual sales and the average importer reaches $2.5 million. These volume numbers have stayed about the same over the past few years, demonstrating the stability of the industry.
$7,760,000 $2,724,000
Manufacturers Importers
Distributors Brokers
Source: Mintel SPECIALTY FOOD MANUFACTURERS
MANUFACTURER SALES BY CHANNEL Share of Total Sales Mean %
4% Other Direct to Foodservice Distributors—Foodservice 5%
15% 7%
Direct to Consumers 32% Source: Mintel
Data may not sum to 100 due to rounding
Direct sales are a significant factor for specialty food manufacturers; 36 percent of retail sales are direct versus 32 percent through distributors. Foodservice accounts for about 12 percent of manufacturer sales.
10A [ 5)& 45"5& 0' 5)& 41&$*"-5: '00% */%6453: Distributors—Retail Direct to Retail Up 1–9% 36% Up 10–19%
Up 20% or more Unchanged Down 1–9%
Down 10–19% Down 20% or more
Mean Annual Sales: $2,207,586 Mean Number of SKUs: 52
DOLLAR SALES CHANGE
2009 2010 2011 % % %
21 21 17 19 19 20 16 36 41 8 11 15 13 7 4 13 3 2 10
2 2 Source: Mintel
There has been a major turnaround since 2009, when 36 percent of manufacturers reported a sales drop. In 2011, 78 percent of manufacturers boasted an increase, with 41 percent up at least 20 percent.
MEAN NUMBER OF SKUs BY TYPE OF SUPPLIER 52
178 1,785 2,650
The average specialty food manufacturer markets 52 SKUs, while the average importer offers 178. The average number of manufacturer SKUs remained about the same in 2011, as companies continued to eliminate low-volume items when introducing new products.