B
reakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks
prepared largely at home over the past
13 months have had consumers reaching
for products to help change up recipes and avoid
boredom. "We've seen a reinvigoration of the
pantry for people who didn't see it as a life saver
before," says Kara Nielsen, director of food & drink
at WGSN, a global trend forecasting firm.
Like many pantry items, shelf-stable
condiments, dressings, and marinades have been
go-tos during COVID-related sheltering at home,
boosting sales in the mature category. But global
flavors and healthful attributes are as important to
consumers as convenience.
Sales Stats and Outlook
Sales of specialty shelf-stable condiments, dressings,
and marinades hit $2.2 billion in 2019, a 9.6 percent
increase over 2017, making it one of only 12 categories
with sales in excess of $2 billion, according to the
Specialty Food Association's State of the Specialty
Food Industry research, 2020-2021 edition. Specialty
sales comprise a quarter of sales in the total
condiments, dressings, and marinades category.
Along with other center store grocery
categories, shelf-stable condiments, dressings, and
marinades got an above-average sales lift during
spring 2020's first COVID-19 surge, growing 34
percent in March-April 2020 alone. Overall, from
January-April 2020 the category grew 19.9 percent
versus a year prior, about the same rate as all shelf-
stable condiments, dressings, and marinades.
Market researcher Mintel, which partnered
with SFA on the 2020-2021 State of the Industry
research, expects growth to continue. Mintel
forecasts category sales to hit $2.9 billion by 2024,
5.7 percent growth from 2020, versus 3.9 percent
growth in the previous five years (2015-2019).
Category Drivers
While at-home cooking is the overarching trend
driving the category, several specific subtrends
position condiments, dressings, and marinades
as favorite cooking aides. The SFA's Trendspotter
Panel, a group of retailers, chefs, foodservice
professionals, market researchers, journalists,
food educators, and other industry professionals,
identified many of these related trends in its 2021
predictions, and also noticed them going strong
at the Association's Specialty Food LIVE! virtual
marketplace event held in January. These subtrends
include:
32 SPECIALTY FOOD SPECIALTYFOOD.COM
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