While the cooking sauce and marinade market grew 10% from 1999 to 2004, it wasn’t enough to keep up with inflation and, in constant dollar terms, sales dropped by more than 2%. Behind the fairly level sales are several factors that effectively cancel each other out. The popularity of high protein diets works to the advantage of sauces designed specifically for meat. At the same time, consumers are as time-pressed as ever, and sauces requiring the addition of other ingredients are losing ground.

Successful introductions of new products, especially marinades, helped put some growth into sales, but this growth was counteracted by flat sales of the older products that make up the majority of items in the category. Though there are some notable new products in the category, the majority of cooking sauce items are showing their age. Even the largest food companies in the market are creating little innovation in this market, and advertising expenditures indicate that their focus is elsewhere.

Without activity on the part of cooking sauce market leaders, the category will likely continue to hold steady or trend slowly down. However, opportunity does exist for manufacturers who keep up with the preferences of today’s consumer.

Mintel’s new report on this market includes exclusive, up-to-date research into the varied behavior and attitudes of today’s cooking sauce consumers.

How does the presence of children in a household affect use of cooking sauces?

How are education and income connected to cooking sauce preferences?

Which consumers look for products with natural ingredients?

Differences among consumers are important as they help marketers understand what consumers are predisposed to their product, and to spur them to discover new ways to reach ones who are not. They can also inform the look and placement of advertising and even product development and testing. In short, consumers' backgrounds and cultural environments affect their receptiveness to food products. An understanding of this can help food sellers gain an edge over competitors who take a more broad based marketing approach.

Mintel’s report also includes rigorous analysis of the cooking sauces market as a whole, including market drivers, market size and trends, segmentation, distribution, and advertising. A five-year market forecast helps you plan for changes ahead in the cooking sauces market.

For the purposes of this report, the following definition has been used:

Cooking sauces are defined as sauces that are poured or brushed onto food before or during meal preparation.

Cooking sauces can fall into the following categories:

Wet sauces: packaged in bottles, jars or cartons

Dry sauces: packaged in bags or packets, which usually require either water, milk or oil to rehydrate

Cooking sauces include all items labeled as cooking sauce, marinade, sloppy joe sauce, and soy or oriental sauce.