Grocery Roundup: Packaged Foods Brands Benefit from Return to Stay-at-Home

With contagion concerns on the rise once again, packaged food brands have the opportunity to benefit from a return to consuming more food at home.

Conagra, in a presentation Thursday (Jan. 6) discussing its results for the quarter ended Nov. 28, highlighted the fact that millennial and Generation Z consumers now make up over 42% of the United States population. Additionally, the company noted that these younger consumers have sourced 44% more occasions in their homes than the overall population since the year ended February 2020.

“As these younger consumers have made the shift at home eating, the data shows that are finding comfort in the quality, reliability, and familiarity that national brands provide,” Sean Connolly, the company’s president and CEO, told analysts on a call. “As consumers need to stretch their household balance sheets in the face of broad-based inflation, one of the single largest levers available to them is the reduction in spending on food away from home.”

He added that away-from-home prices increased at a higher rate than at-home in 2021 and that they are expected to grow at “nearly twice the rate” of at-home in the year to come.

Moreover, with consumers’ increasing expectations of speed and convenience, frozen food sales rose in the quarter, which ended well before the omicron spike, suggesting a broader trend toward the category independent of ever-changing contagion concerns. Frozen food retail sales were up 14% on a two-year basis, and net sales for the Refrigerated & Frozen category increased 3% year over year.

Coca-Cola Commences Canned Cocktail Creation

With this immediate term return to spending time at home, and with consumers expected to continue to spend more time at home than pre-pandemic even after contagion concerns subside, Coca-Cola is moving further into the drinking at home space.

On Thursday (Jan. 6), the company announced that it is launching canned cocktails through its Fresca brand in partnership with Constellation Brands, parent company of Modelo Especial, Corona Extra, Svedka Vodka and more. The beverages expected to hit the market later this year.

“The Coca-Cola Company and Constellation Brands have a shared passion for building some of the world’s most loved brands and for building best-in-class beverage experiences,” Dan White, chief of new revenue streams at Coca-Cola’s North America Operating Unit, said in a statement. “Our new relationship with Constellation Brands is ideal due to their consumer-focused approach to brand building, expansive distribution network, and distilled distribution expertise.”

In September 2020, Coca-Cola launched its Topo Chico hard seltzer in partnership with Molson Coors, and in October of 2021, the brand announced that margarita-flavored hard seltzers are arriving this month (January 2022).

Supermarkets Leverage New Year’s Resolutions to Drive Loyalty

Grocers are using the New Year’s resolution boom in consumer demand for wellness products and tools to attract and retain customers. On Tuesday (Jan. 4), for instance, St. Louis, Missouri-based grocery chain Schnucks, which operates 111 stores in the Midwestern United States, announced a new feature within its loyalty program that tracks healthy purchases.

The program, created in collaboration with United Kingdom-based artificial intelligence (AI) nutrition technology start-up Spoon Guru, counts the number of items purchased designated as “Good For You” and shows what percentage these make up of total food purchases. By offering this feature, Schnucks has the opportunity to draw health-focused consumers into its rewards program, building loyalty and gaining valuable customer data.

“As a neighborhood grocery store looking to build happier, healthier communities, Schnucks wants to help our customers take a step forward on their health journey,” Allison Primo, Schnucks health and wellness strategy manager, said in a statement. “The Good For You list simplifies making healthy choices to help Schnucks shoppers eat, feel and live healthier.”

Similarly, on Wednesday (Jan. 5), Whole Foods Market announced its “Resolution Renovator” digital tool, whereby consumers sign up by email to come up with “attainable affirmations and intentions at the top of 2022.” This program both allows the grocer to guide consumers to relevant products and to collect email addresses for future messaging.

Imperfect Foods’ New CEO Pick Shows Focus on the Tech Side of eGrocery

Imperfect Foods, an online grocer with a focus on sustainability, is entering 2022 with a new CEO at the helm, Dan Park, who before this appointment served as CEO of BuildDirect Technologies, a digital marketplace for building materials, and who before that served in senior positions at Amazon.

The pick suggests that of the various directions the company could go — tapping knowledge of the grocery space, of sustainability-centric commerce or of digital commerce — it is opting for the latter, prioritizing tech expertise and eCommerce know-how.

“The perfect Imperfect CEO needs world-class e-commerce skills, deep operations experience and a commitment to the brand’s mission,” Adam Berger, Imperfect Foods board chair and Insight Partners managing director, said in a statement.

“Imperfect Foods is changing the face of grocery delivery, and I’m excited to be an integral part of this next chapter of the business,” Park said. “We will focus on continually raising the bar of our customer experience while meeting our sustainability goals.”