Aldi wins most awards for Own Label

Aldi’s own brands won more top prizes than any other retailer at this week’s Grocer Own Label Awards. . The discounter, which is experiencing a period of rapid growth, snapped up 16 Gold awards for products across a range of categories. The runner up was Tesco with 12 gold awards followed by Asda with 11. Lidl won four gold awards. “We are delighted with our incredible win at these awards, and they really show how Aldi is cooking on gas when it comes to own label brands,” said Tony Baines, Managing Director of Buying at Aldi. . “Customers are looking for quality products at everyday low prices – and we’re in a position to give UK shoppers just what they need.” NamNews - Thursday 30th May 2013

Tesco Launches First Dedicated Breakfast Sandwich Range

With growing numbers of Brits now eating their breakfast on the go, Tesco will this week become the first retailer to launch a dedicated breakfast sandwich range across the UK which will sit in their own fixture at the front of its stores. For many working people grabbing a BLT, egg and bacon or all day breakfast sarnie on the way into work or to eat at their desk has become a way of life. And this new lifestyle change has helped create a vast ‘out of home breakfast’ UK market worth a staggering £2.5bn which is growing annually at 6.6% according to consumer analysts Crest NPD. Furthermore, breakfast styled sarnies are the fastest growing area of the UK sandwich market with demand 10 times higher than that for regular everyday varieties. Tesco sandwich buyer Debbie Allwright said: “Grabbing a sandwich on the go in lieu of a sit down breakfast has become the norm for millions of working Brits. As a result one in every 10 sandwiches we sell nowadays is a breakfast sarnie. “We believe the British breakfast sandwich market has a massive potential and could be one of the biggest untapped food markets which is why we are launching this new range. We’ve spent the last year researching the market and without giving out too much information to our rivals we’ve found that sandwiches with breakfast fillings are popular right into the early afternoon. “Just five years ago you would have found one breakfast styled sandwich in the top 20 – now there are three in the top 10 which shows you just how popular they have become.” The range is aimed to satisfy breakfast cravings at different times of the morning from savoury flavours such as egg Florentine muffin and salami and Emmental croissant to sweeter delicacies such as Belgian chocolate brioche and honey and cinnamon brioche.   The full new Tesco breakfast sandwich range is as follows: Bacon Muffin – 115g - £2.00 Egg Florentine Muffin – 162g - £2.00 Sausage & Egg Muffin – 173g - £2.00 All Day Breakfast Muffin – 185g - £2.00 Strawberry Jam Croissant – 120g - £1.50 Salami & Emmental Croissant – 143g - £2.00 Ham & Emmental Croissant – 147g - £2.00 Smoked Salmon & Cream Cheese Bagel – 170g - £2.50 Belgium Chocolate Brioche – 105g - £1.50 Honey & Cinnamon Brioche – 120g - £1.50

Supermarket facts: cross category promotions

Retailers need to ensure they are offering promotions which are specific to a shopper's need and solution-driven rather than a scatter-gun approach.

Him! spotted this solution-driven promotion at Texas supermarket, HEB, which is rather funny but ticks a lot of boxes:

• Solution driven
• Meets a shopper need
• Aimed at women (who are more promotionally driven than men)
• Cross category - mixing associated products & encourages secondary sitings.
• AND it's a talking point, this photo has gone viral online already, so great PR for the brands and HEB!

Source: Him! 24.05.2013

Aldi And Waitrose Continue Strong Growth, Morrisons Showing Signs Of Improvement

An awesome growth chart

 

 

The latest grocery share figures from Kantar Worldpanel for the 12 weeks ending 12 May confirmed the polarisation of the UK grocery market with strong performances from Aldi and Waitrose. Meanwhile, Morrisons showed some signs of improvement with its sales edging up slightly over the period.

Aldi posted an all-time record share of 3.5%, increasing from 2.8% last year. The retailer’s successes also continued, as it set its highest ever year-on-year growth, 31.5%, over the past 12 week period. Rival discounter Lidl also maintained its largest share of 3.0% and posted strong sales growth of 8.9%.

Waitrose held on to its record share of 4.9% reported last month, with growth of 12.0% − over three times the market average.

Tesco lost market share with growth remaining lacklustre at 1.7%, against 3.9% growth for the total grocery market. Meanwhile, whilst Morrisons continued to lose share, the struggling retailer returned to growth in 2013 and this upward trend continued in the latest period − growing 1.2%.

Commenting on the figures, Edward Garner, director at Kantar Worldpanel, said: “The success of Aldi, Lidl and Waitrose are clear examples of how shopping habits are divided across the country. For many consumers, the discounters are increasingly becoming part of the weekly shop – supplementing trips to the big four retailers and offering a convenient and cheaper option. We expect this growth to continue, particularly as store expansion plans open up the discounters to a wider number of customers.

“This market polarisation also continues to pile the pressure on the big four grocers, with only Sainsbury’s beating the market and growing its market share this period”.

By its own measures, Kantar Worldpanel said that grocery inflation stood at 3.9% for the 12 week period. This now matches the market growth, suggesting that the pressure on households to trade down has lessened.

These findings are based on Kantar Worldpanel data for the 12 weeks to 12 May 2013. Kantar Worldpanel monitors the household grocery purchasing habits of 30,000 demographically representative households in Great Britain. All data discussed in the above announcement is based on the value of items being bought by these consumers.

NamNews - Wednesday 22nd May 2013

Upmarket Supermarket Shoppers Heading To Budget Chains To Top Up

A recent survey reveals that nearly two thirds of consumers who use upmarket stores such as Marks & Spencer, Waitrose, Booths and Whole Foods Market top up their weekly shop at budget supermarkets. The research by conducted by vouchercloud.com showed that people are stocking up on every day essentials such as canned goods, fruit vegetables and toiletries at upmarket stores then heading to budget supermarkets for the premium ‘can’t live without’ goods such as wine and champagne. Of the 2000 surveyed 64% admitted to using budget supermarkets as well as upmarket stores. And of those who use upmarket and budget supermarkets at least once a month, more than two thirds (68%) use budget supermarkets more often than they did a year ago. Greg Le Tocq, MD, vouchercloud said: “We may have less money in our pockets these days but this survey shows we won’t go without life’s little luxuries. This is also evident when you look at the most common searches on vouchercloud.com. Restaurant and dining out deals are consistently in the top five. Consumers are shopping smarter not harder to ensure they don’t go without the finer things.” Looking at the results region by region, Marks & Spencer come out top in the upmarket stakes with between 59% (Wales) and 86% (Scotland) choosing to shop at the high street favourite, with Waitrose coming a close second. When asked which budget supermarkets they favoured, Aldi takes this crown with 53% (East and West Midlands) choosing to shop here weekly, followed by Lidl. 69% of respondents also said they use budget supermarkets more often than one year ago. NamNews - Tuesday 21st May 2013

Warburtons Makes Acquisition

Warburtons has announced the acquisition of Giles Foods, a manufacturer of garlic bread, dough balls, Danish pastries and other international breads for supermarkets, restaurants and pubs. The deal is said to be worth more than £10m and is part of Warburtons strategy to diversify outside the traditional bread market.

Giles Food, which is majority owned by David and Shirley Rixon, makes a range of branded and unbranded artisan and international breads. Its biggest customer is Morrisons and the company, which employs more than 300 staff in two manufacturing sites in Milton Keynes and Warminster, has annual revenues of more than £25m. It operates under the Artisan Bakers brand.

Jonathan Warburton, the Chairman and Chief Executive of Warburtons, said: “Innovation in bakery is going to be the lifeblood of the future. To do that in our present bakeries would be challenging.”

Warburton said that Giles Foods would offer the company a “short cut” to innovation and establish Warburton as a “bakery brand rather than a bread”.

The acquisition means the Warburtons name could eventually appear on garlic bread products in supermarkets. “In the long-term we will be delighted if what is Giles Foods now is full of Warburtons products, but it is not a prerequisite,” Warburton added.

“To me, this [deal] is natural progress for a successful, well-invested business. We are not going to go and diversify into weird and wonderful things. We are going to build on our core strengths.”

Giles Foods will initially be run as a separate business within Warburtons with the existing management team remaining in place. Rixon, who is the Managing Director, said: “There was an enormous amount of interest from a broad range of potential partners, but Warburtons, its heritage and values, ultimately made the decision very straightforward.”

 

Source: http://www.kamcity.com/namnews/asp/newsarticle.asp?newsid=70327

Convenience Market Set To Grow 30% To £46.2m By 2018

The food and grocery convenience market in the UK is set to be worth £46.2bn by 2018, increasing by nearly a third (29.8%) from its current value of £35.6bn. It will grow by an annual average rate of 5.3% over the next five years, according to the latest research from IGD.

Symbol operators currently account for just over 40% of convenience sales, significantly more than the other segments. Convenience multiples were the fastest growing segment in the 12 months to April 2013:

	Convenience sales 2013 £m	Sales change 2012 – April 2013%
Symbol groups	14,782	8.4
Non-affiliated independents	6,531	-0.5
Convenience multiples	6,257	11.1
Convenience forecourts	3,983	-3.7
Co-operatives	4,031	2.3
Total	35,586	4.9

Source: IGD Retail Analysis

Non-affiliated independents still have the highest number of convenience stores. While the number owned by the multiples has grown the fastest, they currently represent less than 10% of the sector.

Symbol groups have also shown strong growth in store numbers, up 3.2% in the year to April:

	Number of stores 2013	Stores change 2012 – April 2013%
Non-affiliated independents	18,826	-2.1
Symbol groups	16,889	3.2
Convenience forecourts	7,537	-5.2
Convenience multiples	3,318	9.6
Co-operatives	2,637	2.9
Total	49,207	0.1%

Source: IGD Retail Analysis and William Reed Business Media

Commenting on the research, Joanne Denney-Finch, Chief Executive at IGD, said: “The convenience sector goes from strength to strength – we are forecasting £11bn in extra annual sales between now and 2018. The increasing quality of the stores and shopping experience is helping to broaden the sector’s appeal. Rather than offering the same thing to everybody, convenience operators are increasingly tailoring their stores and products depending on local demographics and shopper missions.

“Convenience stores are also making the most of their convenient locations with some differentiating themselves by offering Amazon lockers, for example, while others are providing pick-up locations for parcel deliveries. This provides busy shoppers the chance to use the large convenience store network to make their everyday tasks easier to manage.

“Symbol groups offer independent store owners the chance to join a growing part of the market, providing advantages such as group marketing and collective purchasing power.

“And with different types of retailers placing such an emphasis on the convenience sector, there’s never been a more exciting time for the channel.”

Source: http://www.kamcity.com/namnews/asp/newsarticle.asp?newsid=70312

Cathedral City Introduces Chedds Single Pack Format

Cathedral City is set to introduce a new format for its Chedds Cheese & Toasties line in June, aimed at the convenience sector. The single pack will feature six slices of mild Cathedral City Cheddar and six pieces of Melba toast. The company said the new format will give the snacking brand broader appeal, specifically targeting the convenience shopper. Cathedral City noted: “Chedds has already added value to the kid’s cheese snacking category by attracting new shoppers and by encouraging existing shoppers to spend more. We want to help the convenience sector share more of this success by launching a format that is more relevant to the convenience shopper’s missions and basket size”   Source: http://www.kamcity.com/namnews/asp/newsarticle.asp?newsid=70306

Supermarket facts: shopper trust after the horse meat scandal

Supermarkets are successfully earning back trust with shoppers.

When asked "Which supermarkets do you trust to sell food that is safe?", shoppers said:

Retailer	March '13	April '13
Marks & Spencer	51%	53%
Sainsbury's	46%	46%
Morrisons	41%	43%
Asda	40%	42%
Waitrose	39%	43%
Tesco	38%	41%
Co-op	32%	35%
Aldi	25%	27%
Iceland	25%	26%
Lidl	22%	21%
Farmfoods	18%	17%
Other	4%	4%

Source: Him! 17.05.2013

Booker to Roll out new C-store format

Booker is set to roll out a new discount c-store format called ‘Family Shopper’ for its Premier symbol group business.

The format has been on trial at a 2,100 sq. ft. store in the West Midlands since November. The wholesaler hopes the format will help it compete better with the likes of Aldi and Lidl with three-quarters of goods on permanent promotion, including £1 lines, price-marked packs and ‘two for’ deals. The range of products has also been reduced from 11,000 SKUs in an average Premier store, to just 3,000.

Steve Fox, Sales Director for retail at Booker, said: “I believe there’s a real opportunity in this sector to do discount.”

It is not yet known how many stores it will open under the new fascia, although further details are expected to be released in the coming weeks.

Supermarket Promotions Confusing Shoppers

A new study by SBXL has revealed that shoppers are more likely to be tempted by signs promoting special offers than the detail of the offer itself. It said the research also showed that most shoppers are mentally unable to make effective calculations in-store, and end up missing the best deal or buying something more expensive.

In one SBXL experiment a product costing £4.24 was advertised as ‘two for £10′ and flew off the shelves. In another test involving a food product, nearly half the shoppers observed only chose one of an item on a ‘Buy one, get one free’ promotion.

SBXL’s Managing Director Phillip Adcock said their research had shown that people were influenced by the fact that a product was being promoted, but were less likely to take in the detail of what the promotion actually was.

He said: "In a number of studies we have carried out or commissioned it is clear that the precise nature of a special offer or deal was much less important than the presentation of the promotion. Shoppers are unable to make detailed calculations in-store and so they take shortcuts or start to guess. What they actually do is reduce their choice to anything that stands out above the rest.

Well Organised Shoppers Pose Challenge for FMCG Manufactuers

New research shows that nearly nine in ten consumers (88%) typically now plan their shop prior to physically visiting a supermarket - underpinning the need for FMCG manufacturers to devote more resource to understanding more accurately what motivates shopper decisions.
The research, commissioned by Coupons.com UK & Europe, illustrates how important it is for FMCG manufacturers to plan their marketing in a way that better influences shoppers’ purchasing decisions before they arrive in-store or click to shop online, as well as understanding what motivates them after purchase.

This, says Bridgethorne - a category management and shopper marketing specialist - may require a mind-shift for some manufacturers towards understanding and influencing how shoppers behave at each point of their purchase journey and how this fits in with promotional activity in-store. In this age of the digital shopper and ever changing shopper behaviour, FMCG suppliers need to be concerned about the entire path to purchase (pre, during and post), in-store and outside if they are to remain competitive, relevant to shoppers and to deliver the best possible return on hard fought budgets.

"This research confirms a trend that manufacturers simply must factor into their planning," explained Bridgethorne director, John Nevens. "Although many buying decisions are made at shelf, more and more are being made before the shopper even leaves home. With conventional forms of marketing becoming fragmented, manufacturers must work harder to get their products onto shoppers’ lists before they arrive in store or go online.

"This means understanding the shopper better and drilling down into insights to gain a detailed understanding of the shopper and their journey so that you can directly influence them at the point of transaction, wherever that may be."

Shopper behaviour may have moved decidedly towards price comparisons and promotions in response to the economic environment but, Bridgethorne said, this research also shows that focusing purely on cut-price promotions in-store is not enough. Manufacturers also need to understand shoppers’ emotional attachments to brands and products.

Shopper trends 2013

Source: IGD Shoppervista, 14th May 2013

 

 

Long before a shopper has reached a store shelf, they will have already made a whole range of decisions that will go on to influence their purchase. These range from the retail channel they are using to their attitude to private label or ethical shopping. These are three of the big trends:
- Mini main missions

- Longer lasting

- Flexible meal planning

1. Mini-main missions

The trend for shopping around more frequently appears unabated in 2013. However, shoppers are starting to alter the structure of their weekly shops. Data shows the frequency of total grocery shopping trips is at a relatively high level, but rather than just buying a few items, more shoppers claim to be doing their main shop more often. This is evidence of a new phenomenon – the ‘mini-main mission’. The desire to find the best deals and offers from different stores could be encouraging shoppers to do their main grocery shopping more often. Morrisons launched a promotional campaign to grasp this opportunity. In February 2013, it launched a Payday Bonus saving scheme to help shoppers build rewards over the month to receive a £10 coupon in the week before pay day. It also extended this campaign to help shoppers save for Easter. Not just a one-off initiative, this promotion encourages shoppers to spend a minimum of £35 once a week for a three week period in order to collect a money-off coupon for their fourth shop. The campaign builds on the retailer’s credentials as shoppers’ ‘money-saving ally’ and plays an important role in driving loyalty and repeat purchases.

It’s really important for food and grocery companies to analyse different shopping frequencies within their categories - it could help you improve the way you meet shopper needs with product range, packaging size and format.

2. Longer lasting

 

Our second trend reveals that shoppers are showing greater interest in products that last longer in a bid to reduce their food waste, and ultimately save money. For the industry, providing products that prevent waste and deliver better value for money could be a good way to attract shoppers and keep them coming back. Helping shoppers to save money while satisfying their ethical concerns, hits something of a sweet spot for many people.

 

Ocado is doing just this with its Life guarantee which promises to deliver its fresh products with a certain number of days’ life remaining. On its website it displays the specified number of days until expiry including the delivery day. In addition to this, the online retailer lists items on each of its customers’ receipts in order of expiry date. This guarantee gives its shoppers confidence that their groceries have a minimum life when delivered.

 

Shoppers are looking for simple, practical ways to reduce food waste. This provides further opportunities for grocery companies to find solutions to food waste such as appropriate portion sizes, longer shelf-life and more advice on storage.

3. Flexible meal planning

Nearly all shoppers put some plans in place for their main grocery shopping trip, including checking their cupboards and writing a list. While many shoppers now plan their main items, they are doing so with inbuilt flexibility – they might adapt what they buy based on in-store activity like promotions.

One shopper told us recently:

“I usually write down what we’re having for dinners and get a list from that. I stick with it a bit, but then if there’s something on half price, I’ll change a bit too”.

Despite a much more disciplined approach to their grocery shopping, many shoppers are open to adjusting their shopping habits, particularly in light of the squeeze on incomes. Tesco has an online ‘commuter zone’ on its grocery website to help shoppers plan their grocery shopping and food preparation by pulling together products and categorising them to reflect the working week. This section on the site shows the latest offers on tailored meal deals for different meal occasions. This not only helps shoppers with their planning efforts but also allows Tesco suggest promotions.

 

 

Supermarkets' pricing sting at small branches where customers charged up to 40% more for shopping

 

• An orange at Tesco Express shop cost 40 per cent more than at superstore
• Difference of 11.2 per cent in pricing between Express and superstores
• Sample basket at Sainsbury's Local costs 10.2 per cent at larger store
• Waitrose 7.8 per cent more expensive at one of their downsized branches
• Only 3 per cent customers feel loyal to particular convenience chain, according to new research

The UK’s largest supermarkets are charging customers up to 40 per cent more to purchase shopping in their convenience stores.

An analysis of prices revealed that Sainsbury’s, Waitrose and Tesco are putting significant premiums on the products sold in their smaller outlets.

A sample basket at a Sainsbury’s Local cost 10.2 per cent more than at a larger store several hundred yards away.

 

Shoppers said they were reluctant to buy lunch on-the-go or ingredients for dinner that day because at convenience stores because of their prices

A survey of 20,000 UK shoppers showed that although people buy from convenience stores and like that they are handy, they don't think their prices are fair

And the same goods at Waitrose were 7.8 per cent more expensive at one of their downsized branches.

However Tesco had the biggest differences in pricing between its ‘Express’ convenience stores and larger supermarkets – with a difference of 11.2 per cent.

A single orange at a Tesco Express shop cost 40 per cent more than at a superstore.
A British Retail Consortium spokesman said: ‘Where prices vary, it is due to the different overheads involved in running different types of store.’

Retail consultancy Him! surveyed consumers about their grocery shops and convenience culture.
Results revealed that UK shoppers are increasingly doing 'top up' shops in supermarkets rather than convenience shops, so that they can buy cheaper products.

Of the 20,000 shoppers surveyed, 40 per cent said they don't think that the prices in convenience stores are fair.
Katie Littler, insights director of Him! told trade magazine The Grocer that the industry has to address how shoppers feel about the disparity in prices between their branches.
'There are no excuses because shoppers don’t care about a store owner’s increased costs,' she said.
'Shoppers are increasingly expecting prices in convenience to match supermarkets, meaning they will be tougher judges of convenience stores.

'A poor price perception continues to be the main barrier to UK adults using convenience stores -limiting footfall, visit frequency and spend.'

Shoppers said the price disparity was the main reason they are put-off buying lunch on-the-go or getting ingredients for meals-for-tonight.
Him!’s Convenience Tracking Programme 2013 shows that although the amount spent per trip increased from £5.63 in 2012 to £6.04 in 2013, basket size remained at 2.8 items and visit frequency fell from 3.7 to 3.6 times a week.

Special offers and bulk reductions that are available in large stores, are not always offered in the chain's smaller shope

Supermarket owners argue that the increased cost of rent and overheads in high street convenience stores is behind some of their price differences

 

An increase in top-up shopping fuelled a surge of almost ten per cent in the number of convenience stores owned by supermarkets last year.
According to the survey, shoppers who use convenience stores know they charge more but do not think it is fair.

Although 71 per cent of those surveyed said they were happy to pay a little bit more for convenience, 40 per cent said they did not think convenience stores charged fair and reasonable prices.

Trade magazine The Grocer said that supermarkets make no secret of the fact that they charge more for products in their convenience stores.

The Grocer said Tesco and Sainsbury’s typically charge a few pence more but claim it is difficult to give a like-for-like percentage comparison because product sizes and promotions are different.
Morrisons ‘M’ local also charges more but claims it is less than rivals because of its unique supply chain.

The premium at Waitrose is around 2.5 per cent to 3 per cent.

In addition the percentage of people who expected a £1 product in a convenience store to also cost £1 in a supermarket rose from 21 per cent in 2012 to 30 per cent in 2013.

Research showed that shoppers find the most ‘over-priced’ categories were household, fresh meat and fish, health and beauty, fruit and veg, and tinned and packet grocery


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2323663/Supermarkets-pricing-sting-small-branches-customers-charged-40-shopping.html#ixzz2TLebRO99

Horse Meat Scandal Changing Consumers Food Buying Habits

New research shows that the recent horse meat scandal is having a positive effect on the nation’s eating habits, and Britons have become more aware of the health risks of processed ready meals. . Nearly 18 million packets of processed food were thrown away by British families in the wake of the scandal, according to a survey carried out on behalf of kitchenware manufacturer Tefal. It found more than 13,500 tonnes of items like sausages, burgers and meat pies were ditched. Almost a quarter (24%) of the 2007 UK adults questioned by ICM said that they had cut down on the amount of processed food they eat, and the typical family is set to spend £1,762 on fresh food in the coming year. Researchers found 30% of respondents said they were put off processed meals after the horse meat scandal, and 2.8 million people said that they have thrown out ready-meals as a result. People are also eating around 20% more British apples, garden peas, cauliflowers and cabbages. Meanwhile, separate research has found shoppers are turning to organic produce in light of the scandal. The figures from Kantar Worldpanel revealed organic sales through supermarkets increased 1.6% over the past three months, the first time the sector has seen year on year growth since 2009. Jim Twine, Kantar business development director, credited the horsemeat scandal as the turning point for many consumers. He believes the finding of horsemeat in beef and other products has knocked consumer’s confidence, so they are looking for food that "has a positive story to tell and is fully tracable." He said: "Recent moves from supermarkets, with the exception of Waitrose, to allow GM animal feed into the supply chain are also likely to impact on sales because the only way to avoid eating chicken or eggs from animals on a GM diet is to buy organic. While organic bodies see this as good news, there is some concern there could be an increasing danger of supply chain shortages of key organic products. Twine explained: "To prevent a shortfall, the Soil Association is urging all retailers to work more closely than ever with their organic suppliers to ensure higher farm gate prices, better planning and decent forward contracts. This in turn will help to restore producer confidence and safeguard future supply."

Convenience fats: How to communicate with independant retailers?

Trade press is still a great way to communicate with retailers:

50% of them read magazines such as The Grocer, Convenience Store etc.

And what sections do they read? 47% read the NPD section, whilst 38% read the general articles

And what do retailers say will incentivise them?

1.Reward schemes

2.Using the appropriate language

3.Case studies demonstrating how it will help grow sales


Source: Him! 03.05.2013

Supermarket facts: how far in advance do shoppers plan their trip?

56% of shoppers planned to come to the store that they were in when we spoke to them earlier on that day

 

25% said they were just passing (perhaps this is even MORE relevant to shoppers on a Food To Go mission)

 

10% planned their shop the day before.

 

Just 2% decided earlier on in the week and

 

5% are creatures of habit- they ALWAYS visit on the same day.


Source: Him! 03.05.2013