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.
SPECIALTY FOOD DISTRIBUTORS
Mean Annual Sales: $7,760,000 Mean Number of SKUs: 1,785
THE DISTRIBUTOR VIEWPOINT: WHAT ARE THE INFLUENTIAL PRODUCT CLAIMS?
Interests Consumers Most Today Will Grow the Most in the Next Three Years
60%
All Natural Organic Local*
Eco-Friendly Sustainable Fair Trade
50% 30% 20% 70% 60% 20% 60% 20% 30% 10% 20%
Distributors feel that Local is by far the most significant product claim: 70 percent say it is the most important claim now and 60 percent report it will be the most important in the next three years. Eco-Friendly will also be significant in the near future.
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FASTEST-GROWING RETAIL CHANNEL FOR SPECIALTY FOODS
% Specialty Food Stores
Natural Supermarkets (e.g.,Whole Foods Market)
Conventional Supermarkets (e.g., Kroger, Safeway)
Foodservice (e.g., restaurants, cafés, school/office cafeterias)
Mass Merchandisers (e.g., Target, Walmart)
Other Data may not sum to 100 due to rounding
40 20 20 -
10 10
Source: Mintel
Distributors see specialty food stores as having the most potential for growth. They perceive more opportunities in conventional supermarkets than other industry segments do.
Specialty Food Stores Supermarkets Foodservice/Restaurants Mass Merchandisers (e.g., Walmart, Target)
Natural Food Stores (e.g., Whole Foods EYjc]l$ LjY\]j Bg] k! Gift Stores Delis
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Data may not sum to 100 due to rounding
DOLLAR SALES CHANGE IN THE PAST YEAR
2011 %
Up 1–9% Up 10–19% Up 20% or more Unchanged Down 1–9% Down 10–19% Down 20% or more
25 30 20 5
20 - -
Source: Mintel
It was a good year for most specialty food distributors, with 75 percent reporting sales increases. Yet one in five did see a dip in sales.
DISTRIBUTOR SALES BY CHANNEL
Share of Total Sales Mean %
35 19 9 8 8
3 2 1
16 Source: Mintel
Specialty food stores and supermarkets are the bread and butter of distributors, followed by foodservice/restaurants and mass merchandisers.
NUMBER OF STORES SERVICED 2010 517
Mean # of Stores Services per Distributor
Source: Mintel
As the major distributors grow and provide less in-store services, the mean number of stores serviced has significantly increased, to 650.
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2011 650