Kids like sweet spreads, right? Well families might be important to spread sales but you also might think about beefing up your jam shelves if your store aims to grab the grey pound.
WITH forecasts of an obesity crisis constantly in the news and consumers becoming increasingly health-conscious in their choices you might think the writing could be on the wall for sweet spreads. But two leading market analysts are predicting continued growth right through to 2018.
In its latest report on the future of the syrups and spreads market in the UK, Canadean forecasts 22.5% growth to a value of £650m by 2018.
And in an earlier report Key Note predicted a value for sauces and spreads of £721m by 2017.
Extracting the sweet spreads figures, both agree that chocolate spreads will continue to dominate but honey will also show considerable growth.
And the over-55s will increasingly form an important part of the market and not just by buying traditional favourites.
Canadean analyst Safwan Kotwal said: “Consumers aged 55-plus are driving the syrups and spreads market.
“In jams, jellies and preserves for instance, tweens and early teens make up only 12% of the market compared to older consumers, who account for 37%.”
And he added that research is showing a new-found love of chocolate spreads among older consumers.
“Chocolate and nut-based spreads have long been associated with teenagers and young adults, however an increasing number of older consumers are enjoying products such as Nutella,” he said.
However while the Key Note 2013 report also noted that Nutella is the clear market leader in chocolate and nut spreads and that it overtook Marmite as the UK’s favourite spread in 2011, it also said supermarkets have had success with own-label versions of the chocolate and nut product.
“Some consumers always buy the same brand of their favourite sauce or spread, while others have been tempted away by lower-cost own-brand variants from supermarkets,” the report said.
Canadean’s figures predict a 35% growth for chocolate spreads between 2013 and 2018. And it suggested a good share of that would be taken by supermarket lines. Kotwal said: “Chocolate spreads are growing due to an increasing number of private-label brands competing alongside the likes of Nutella.
“This has seen prices fall, making consumption more affordable.”
It might not be entirely surprising in health-conscious times that honey is predicted to achieve the second biggest sales growth among sweet spreads.
Canadean predicts that honey sales will grow by 31% in the years to 2018 but is predicting slower growth at 12% for jam.
Key Note reported: “The honey sub-sector, valued at £107m in 2012, is almost as large as that of jams and fruit spreads, with a market share of 24.4%. Growth has been strong, with 42.7% growth between 2008 and 2012.”
But Key Note is predicting a less bright future for marmalade, which it sees as the UK’s original breakfast spread.
It said: “The marmalade sector has a 12.1% share of the spreads market.
“Sales of marmalade have been in decline for some time. Manufacturers have responded by producing sweeter marmalades.
“While this may appeal to younger customers, it is unpopular with marmalade purists.”
• The Future of the Syrups & Spreads Market in the United Kingdom to 2018 www.canadean.com £558.25.
• Key Note Market Report Sauces and Spreads 2013 www.keynote.co.uk £575.
