SBWire

Packaged food sales rebounded swiftly after freefalling during the recession. During the darkest years, many industry participants hoped for the best, yet prepared for the worst. In hindsight, their fears were probably slightly exaggerated as nearly all categories registered value increases. As expected, categories which showed the deepest contractions due to the recession, such as impulse goods, saw turnovers expanding at a fastest rate after the economic downturn.

Formerly it was all spoons and forks, but in the preset age, modern and technologically advanced kitchen appliances are gaining lots of attention. They simplify and ease kitchen work and can be found everywhere in the world. It’s use become more diverse. Where we used to have just a mixer and a fridge, we now have microwaves, juicers, bread makers, etc.

TraceGains, a web-based, full-service supplier, compliance, and regulatory document management solution for the food and beverage industries, hosted their first Customer Conference on March 6, 2014 in Denver, Colorado.

Lindt is a leading premium producer in chocolate confectionery. It remains, despite recent expansion in the US market, overly reliant on Western European sales. The company has recently established subsidiaries in China and Russia suggesting it intends to expand further into these markets.

In 2013, value sales of packaged food are set to continue to grow strongly, due to increasing demand and rising product prices. Growth was supported by a flurry of new product launches, aggressive promotional activities by manufacturers, and the rapid expansion of retailers. These activities enabled consumers to become more knowledgeable about many packaged food products and consequently spend more on various types of products. Nonetheless, some categories began to mature and consumers often...

In 2013 the packaged food market experienced positive developments as the volume sales decline turned into stagnation or moderate growth, whilst value sales achieved positive results in all categories. Whilst real incomes continue to improve, inflation is restricted by measures that the Hungarian government has taken. Therefore unit prices continued to increase at a slower rate in 2013 than in 2012. Whilst price competition intensified, leading manufacturers also focused on innovation and new...

2013 was a good year for food manufacturers in India. Packaged food in India grew at a slightly faster pace than in 2012. Changing lifestyles and convenience were the major factors which led to strong double digit growth rates. Despite challenges like food inflation and increases in taxes, value sales continued to grow. Healthier food options started to become more prominent on retail shelves, and attracted consumer attention. Many low penetrated packaged food categories, such as cheese, pasta...

Expenditure on necessities such as groceries tends to continue to rise even during tough economic times, which positively impacted sales of packaged food in Poland. Consumers were more inclined to cut their expenditure on non-basic goods and services. Nonetheless, due to diminishing purchasing power and declining consumer confidence, an ongoing shift towards cheaper brands and private label within packaged food is becoming increasingly evident. This in turn is encouraging the leading retailers...

South Africa has experienced notable development in the handling of environmental affairs. Much consideration is now given to sustainability and environmental issues. Due to this growing trend, businesses and consumers have started paying closer attention to the impact of their activities on the environment. This has been promoted by active government initiatives that have created a countrywide stance on the protection of the environment. Legislation and regulation have been enacted to this end...

Switzerland is known for its fine chocolate all over the world, and accordingly large is the selection of different chocolate tablets and sweets in Swiss retailing. As for the primary packaging type for chocolate tablets, flexible paper continues to be the packaging choice of chocolate manufacturers. The corresponding secondary packaging is mostly flexible plastic which has superseded the classic aluminium foil in recent years. The most prominent examples of Swiss chocolate tablet producers...

UK-based Associated British Foods Plc (ABF) has established a foothold in most regional markets, but its sales are significantly biased towards developed markets. Combined, developed markets accounted for 77% of ABF's total packaged food sales in 2013 - although this is down from 82% at the beginning of the review period, as the company is making inroads in some emerging markets, such as Mexico (oils and fats) and Asia Pacific (malt-based hot drink Ovaltine).

Brf Brasil Foods SA is the result of a complex 2009 merger between Perdigao Agroindustrial and Sadia SA. The company has had the benefit of a dynamic domestic Brazilian market which has helped it to generate strong growth. It remains however very reliant on that market with negligible presence elsewhere. The Middle East and Africa and China have been recent targets for expansion which has seen the construction of its first processing plant in the United Arab Emirates in 2013.

Packaged food in 2013 is set to grow faster than in the previous year and the overall review period. In 2013, companies invested more in product innovations, improvement in brand images, consolidation of distribution networks, and the introduction of marketing campaigns. This mainly paid off in 2013 as growing brand awareness and attractiveness appealed to a more economically-stable consumer base more willing to expand its consumption as consumers began to fully emerge from the effects of the...

Chilled processed food packaging is only present in chilled fish/seafood, chilled processed meats and chilled/fresh pasta products in Romania. Chilled processed meat products have a well-established place in the Romanian diet, with the population consuming products, such as salami, almost on a daily basis.

Metal food cans is the primary pack type in canned/preserved food packaging, accounting for an 80% unit volume share of the category. This dominance, however, is beginning to fade as it represents a slip from 82% in 2007. Replacing metal food cans is the growing presence of other plastic jars, thin wall plastic containers and plastic pouches. Plastic pouches made considerable inroads in 2012 due to the launch by SPC as the pack type for canned/preserved fruit. Heinz launched a 1kg other...

After a period of strong growth from 2009 to 2011, sales of dairy packaging slowed in 2012 to reach 2% in volume terms. Growth in dairy packaging is being led by spoonable yoghurts sales of which are gaining momentum from the growing preference for smaller pack sizes as consumers attempt to avoid the obesity epidemic through the adoption of portion control. Within yoghurt, single-serves of 170g thin wall plastic containers is responsible for the highest growth, as consumers are looking for...

The review period saw several innovative waves associated with the change of packaging formats in the sauces, dressings and condiments environment. According to market players changes in packaging formats moved from HDPE bottles to glass bottles, followed by further redistribution towards plastic pouches. Currently the market is experiencing a new revolution, which is distinguished by growing interest in packaging sauces, dressings and condiments in PET bottles. The new material combines the...

Dominican lifestyles experienced important changes during 2013. The presence of women in the workforce strengthened in the labour market in the form of women taking on more significant and more demanding roles or returning to the workplace after years of being stay-at-home wives. The lingering effects of the global financial crisis were the primary factors behind this phenomenon, especially among the middle- and lower-income demographics who need a second income to maintain family lifestyles.

Unilever has been engaged in a process of brand rationalisation as it reduces its large portfolio of brands to focus on a handful including Magnum and Knorr over secondary brands such as Skippy which it sold to Hormel in early 2013. In some cases however this has resulted in the loss of sales momentum such as in pasta sauces in Brazil. The company also continues to face declining sales in oils and fats in mature markets as consumers move back to butter from spreadable oils and fats.

Hershey is poised for ongoing growth with a raft of new products about to be or recently launched. It is also becoming increasingly aggressive at targeting international markets to overcome what has long been its key weakness - an overreliance on its domestic US market. Meanwhile, its Reese's, Kit Kat (in the US) and Hershey's brands remain robust and continue to grow sales domestically.

Between 2012 and 2013, conditions in the Belarusian economy improved, however remained difficult. The Belarusian rouble remains weak, causing relatively high inflation. According to official statistics, Belarus ended 2012 with an inflation rate of 22%. The annual inflation forecast for 2013 by the Belarusian government is 12%; however, EBRD forecasts the annual inflation in Belarus in 2013 at 15.5%. Price inflation supported an increase in value sales of packaged food during 2012, with a...

In 2013 packaged food recorded healthy growth for a third consecutive year, mainly due to a further increase in purchasing power and overall consumer optimism regarding their financial situation. Latvians could again afford to spend more on products, consumption of which was reduced or abandoned during the economic crisis. The growth rate, however, was slightly lower compared with 2011 and 2012, suggesting that packaged food is moving from sharp post-crisis recovery to a more stable...

Packaged food in Kazakhstan is expected to post stronger growth in 2013 in current value sales compared to the CAGR recorded over the entire review period. The highest value increase is set to be recorded by nutrition/staples, followed by impulse and indulgence products and meal solutions. Success can be measured by economic growth, which is intensifying competition between imports and locals. In addition, consumer purchasing power is set to continue rising during 2013, which is also set to be...

Packaged food performed positively in 2013; however, it is evident that growth rates decreased significantly across many categories when compared with the review period. The main reason is the ongoing adverse economic situation in the country which is driving many people to turn towards cheaper products and in-home consumption to make some savings. One-stop-shopping became a prerogative of wealthy consumers, whilst many consumers are making smaller purchases across different outlets and are...

Despite the Eurozone crisis which limited economic growth, packaged food in Macedonia has maintained solid volume and value sales growth. Early indicators show that growth will continue in 2013, albeit at a slower rate than in 2012. The volume demand for packaged food remains stable and unit prices have increased only moderately. Together with several young, relatively immature categories, stable demand and prices are helping packaged food to maintain solid growth rates against the odds.