Research company Euromonitor International has just published new data for packaged foods, and the data shows that the industry only grew by 1.1 per cent from a global perspective – the lowest level seen over the last decade and a half.
Head of packaged food research Lamine Lahouasnia said “This should be a cause for concern for global packaged food players”.
The company emphasised three key themes that emerged recently:
- Snacks have continued to grow very well. This applies to both conventional snacks and what the company refers to as ‘Snack Replacements’ which are snack positioned foods such as yoghurts sold with a disposable spoon and marketed for on-the-go consumption.
- Emerging markets, particularly China, are no longer contributing to growth as much as they used to and manufacturers need to look elsewhere to make up lost sales.
- The rise of on-line grocery and how that will continue to evolve over the coming years. The company notes that historically consumers have been limited by the lack of options when ordering on-line but in recent years new innovative business models such as Hello Fresh (and in the US, Blue Apron) are enticing consumers to engage with the food industry in new ways.