E-cigarettes and sports nutrition products lead grocery sales boost
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Version 0 of 1. E-cigarettes were the fastest-growing product in British supermarkets last year as consumers shrugged off the controversy over vaping. Sales of electronic cigarettes – or vapourisers – across the largest grocers rose 49.5% in 2014, despite clamour from health groups to ban the devices. However, the vaping boom could not offset a dire year for Britain’s supermarkets as Britons were expected to spend 0.7% less in the aisles this year, at £145bn. At the other end of the health spectrum, sports nutrition products proved nearly as popular, with sales of fitness-boosting drinks, shakes and bars posting growth of more than 40%. Changing consumer tastes saw old-fashioned staples such as bread (-8.9%) and soup (-7.9%) suffer the biggest annual decline in sales volumes. Meanwhile, the burgeoning “free from” food category – appealing to consumers wanting dairy-free and gluten-free products – went from niche to mainstream, with sales topping £0.5bn for the first time after volumes swelled by 15%. The changing purchasing trends in Britain’s 10 largest supermarkets, excluding discounters Aldi and Lidl, were revealed in a report by market research company Nielsen. The study confirmed the emergence of a new breed of savvy shoppers who buy luxuries such as upmarket beers and ice cream after saving money on staples by aquiring tinned fruit, tea and coffee from discounters. This has led to the “premiumisation” of many products. Adam Leyland, editor of The Grocer, said: “Sales of roast coffee and premium spirits, beers, crisps, yoghurts, ice cream and ready meals continue to grow. For brands facing an onslaught from the discounters, and from supermarket own labels, the best form of defence against deflation has been premiumisation and innovation.” Frozen food sales also continued their downward slide in the wake of the horsemeat scandal. Leyland added: “In the case of frozen ready meals, the horsemeat scandal was merely an additional hurdle in its uphill battle, but pastries, desserts and frozen chips/potatoes were also under the cosh once again.” Significantly, the fastest-growing categories were driven by the major supermarkets, which despite their poor year have a strategic advantage over their discounter rivals by having a depth and breadth of range. Mike Watkins, Nielsen’s UK head of retailer and business insight, explained: “This is particularly important for less frequently-shopped categories where shoppers need wide choice, such as sports nutrition and free-from, or where shoppers wish to choose from a wide range of brands, such as champagne.” The “free-from” food and drink sector, which caters for consumers with food allergies and intolerances, saw huge growth as a result of major investment from big brands. The dairy-free milk brand Alpro increased sales by 20% and is now the third largest brand in milk while the cereal bar Nakd posted 89% growth. Gluten-free bread Genius also soared by 49%, as Nestle this year became the latest multinational to enter the free-from market in the UK following Warburtons and Heinz. In the booze aisle, the World Cup year was marked by bubbling sales of champagne and prosecco. The performance of champagne and sparkling wines stood out in the alcoholic drinks category, with sales volumes up 12%. However, the category’s continuing sales momentum reflected the growing popularity of Italian sparkling wine Prosecco. Sales of the Italian sparkling wine rose 55%. |