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Premium products grow ever more popular and healthy products continue to win.
OXFORD UK, December 15th 2006
Sales in many drink categories have rocketed in the past year, the ACNielsen/Grocer 2006 Top Products survey reveals today. The survey ranks the best selling products in many food categories and is taken from actual in-store EpoS data from over 83,000 supermarkets and grocery retailers across Great Britain.
This year sees a wave of strong category performances on the back of the hot summer. The juice and smoothie category was the star performer with a huge 19% growth followed by Cider and Perry (+15%). The former was driven by premium brand Innocent, which grew a massive 168% and the latter was driven by the clever and timely marketing of ice cider brand, Magners, whose take home sales jumped from £5 million to £32million in the year. Other categories that benefited from the heat were water (+10%) – here every brand in the top 10 increased sales – hand held ice creams (+8%) and still drinks (+8%).
Eleni Nicholas, Managing Director of ACNielsen UK commented, “The Summer heat wave has resulted in many drinks manufacturers having a bumper year. Fruit drinks and water have performed particularly well, these having the double whammy of being refreshing and healthy, which is key to today’s consumer. Cider had a great year with many drinkers wetting their whistle on this quenching drink. ”
As consumers cooled off, they also lived it up. The brand rankings have highlighted that category growth in other areas can be attributed to the premiumization of offerings. Bread, household products, pet food and even toilet tissue have all benefited from a raft of new product developments that are based on luxury or super convenient forms of existing brands. “Innovation in toilet tissue such as embosses, extra thick or moist sheets has helped the category grow as consumers don’t mind paying a little extra for the added benefits here. We can also see that consumers are splashing out on their pets with more expensive (and convenient) pet food products such as single serve cans and pouches topping the tables.” Continued Ms Nicholas.
Sales of the more expensive white plus bread and grainy loaves have driven growth in the bread category while premium launches in household cleaning products such as multi-purpose power sprays or hi-tech dishwasher tablets have increased spend here.
ACNielsen has reported on the growth in healthy foods for several years now and the trend continued in 2006. As well as the aforementioned juices, smoothies, water and bread categories, which have seen growth, the UK are also spending more on yogurts and cereals. Meanwhile, foods such as frozen pies, chips and pizzas are all in decline – these perceived as unhealthy by many consumers. The chocolate market also showed a slight decline having battled against health consciousness, hot weather (when it is often removed from shelf to prevent melting), and the summer salmonella scare.
Category Performance Table
| Category performances |
+/- YOY to 8th Oct 2006 |
Category performances |
+/- YOY to 8th Oct 2006 |
| Juice drinks & smoothies |
19% |
Cakes |
3% |
| Cider & perry |
15% |
Bagged snacks |
2% |
| Water |
10% |
Laundry |
2% |
| Bread |
10% |
Butter & margarine |
2% |
| Dairy drinks |
8% |
Wine |
1% |
| Still drinks |
8% |
Biscuits |
= |
| Hand held ice cream |
8% |
Hot drinks |
= |
| Toilet tissue |
7% |
Spirits |
= |
| Kitchen towels |
5% |
Nappies |
= |
| Cereal |
4% |
Chocolate |
-1% |
| Household |
4% |
Frozen Pizza |
-2% |
| Petfood |
4% |
Frozen Potatoes |
-3% |
| Carbonated drinks |
3% |
Frozen Desserts |
-4% |
| Lager |
3% |
Frozen Pies |
-9% |
| Cheese |
3% |
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About the Top Products Survey
Data in ACNielsen/The Grocer's Top Products Survey is sourced from ACNielsen's Scantrack service, which monitors weekly sales data from a nationwide network of EPoS checkout scanners. Coverage includes grocery multiples, co-ops, multiple off licenses, independents, symbols, multiple forecourts and symbols. ACNielsen's Retail Measurement service provides comprehensive information on actual purchases, market shares, distribution, pricing and promotional activities, and is the fastest and most accurate monitor of consumer sales in Europe.
ACNielsen Scantrack
ACNielsen¹s Scantrack service records 87p in every pound spent in UK grocery and impulse market with full scanning inputs. Scantrack is the only service currently available in the UK that offers such a fully comprehensive read. ACNielsen services are always dynamic and are constantly being improved to reflect what is actually happening in the marketplace.
About ACNielsen
ACNielsen, a VNU company, is the world’s leading marketing information company. Offering services in more than 100 countries, the company provides measurement and analysis of marketplace dynamics and consumer attitudes and behaviour. Clients rely on ACNielsen’s market research, proprietary products, analytical tools and professional service to understand competitive performance, to uncover new opportunities and to raise the profitability of their marketing and sales campaigns.
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