Table of Contents
Overview
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- What you need to know
- Definition
- COVID-19: US context
Executive Summary
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- Top takeaways
- Market Overview
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- Figure 1: Total US retail sales and forecast of soup, at current prices, 2015-25
- Impact of COVID-19 on soup
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- Figure 2: Short-, medium- and long-term impact of COVID-19 on soup, July 2020
- Challenges and Opportunities
- Reemergence
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- Figure 3: Soup shopping behaviors, April 2020
- Soup makes good recession food, again
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- Figure 4: Total US retail sales and forecast of soup, at current prices, 2007-12
- Recovery
- Innovate for the new soup consumer
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- Figure 5: Soup attributes willing to pay more for, April 2020
- Move on from recipes to meal planning
The Market – What You Need to Know
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- COVID-19 brought a steep, yet unsustainable surge
- Economic uncertainty will both help and hurt players
- The benefits of bone broth go viral
- Asian flavors grow on foodservice menus
Market Size and Forecast
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- Sales will come off the boil
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- Figure 6: Total US retail sales and forecast of soup, at current prices, 2015-25
- Figure 7: Total US retail sales and forecast of soup, at current prices, 2015-25
Market Breakdown
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- COVID-19 growth benefits shelf-stable segments
- The need for refrigerated soup will fall away before picking back up again
- Shelf-stable soups will fall into familiar patterns post-pandemic
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- Figure 8: Total US retail sales and forecast of soup, by segment, at current prices, 2015-25
Market Perspective
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- Functional wellness shines a light on bone broth
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- Figure 9: US mentions of bone broth on Instagram and Twitter, April 1, 2019 -March 31, 2020
- Figure 10: Top topics associated with US mentions of bone broth benefits on Instagram and Twitter, April 1, 2019 -March 31, 2020
- Plant-based fever hits the soup aisle
- Asian soups continue to grow in popularity
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- Figure 11: Soup menu item dish instances on US menus, Q1 2016-2020
Market Factors
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- How a COVID-19 recession will reshape the soup industry
- Soup’s affordability will be an asset during a recession
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- Figure 12: Total US retail sales and forecast of soup, at current prices, 2007-12
- Unemployment will both benefit and challenge the category
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- Figure 13: Monthly unemployment rate, May 2020
- Demographic changes call for new occasions
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- Figure 14: Households, by presence of related children, 2008-18
Key Players – What You Need to Know
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- Brands benefit from COVID-19 stockpiling
- Bone broth the soup of the day
- Ramen, pho, miso and more!
- Bases, starters can elevate homemade soups
Company and Brand Sales of Soup
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- Across the board, brands benefit from COVID-19 stockpiling
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- Figure 15: Multi-outlet sales of soup, by leading companies, rolling 52 weeks 2019 and 2020
What’s Working
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- Tap into the comfort of soup with messaging, giving back
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- Figure 16: Campbell soup commercial
- Clean formulation soups continue to drive BFY success
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- Figure 17: MULO sales of plant-based and plant-rich soups, rolling 52 weeks 2019
- Figure 18: Claims on soup product launches, % growth, 2018-19
- Niche bone broth shows mainstream opportunity
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- Figure 19: MULO sales of bone broth soups, Rolling 52 weeks 2019
- Figure 20: Verbatim responses of bone broth soup brands
- Figure 21: Attribute ratings of bone broth soup brands
- Asian cuisine favorites gain mainstream traction
- Ramen and pho take noodle soup to the next level
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- Figure 22: MULO sales of Asian soups, Rolling 52 weeks 2019
- Asian flavors add adventure to the soup aisle
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- Figure 23: MULO sales of soups with Asian flavors, Rolling 52 weeks 2019
- Soup packaging gets a makeover
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- Figure 24: MULO sales of soups with Asian flavors, Rolling 52 weeks 2019
What’s Struggling
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- Private label sales slip in key segments
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- Figure 25: Multi-outlet sales of private label soup, rolling 52 weeks 2019 and 2020, % change 2019-20
What’s Next
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- Brands can update the category with modern functionality
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- Figure 26: MULO sales of functional soups, Rolling 52 weeks 2019
- College ramen gets an elevated degree
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- Figure 27: MULO sales of premium ramen, rolling 52 weeks 2019
- Starters, bases give home cooks confidence
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- Figure 28: Soup bases and starters
The Consumer – What You Need to Know
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- Non-cooks aren’t reaching for half the category
- Improve quality to increase the price tag
- Experimentation is limited
- Explore pairings, new uses
- An easy way to eat well and flavorfully
- Soup is more affordable, convenient than other meal options
Soup Consumption
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- Packaged soup leads in consumption
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- Figure 29: Soup consumption, April 2020
- Convenience is at the core of packaged soup
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- Figure 30: Soup consumption, food and drink segmentation, April 2020
- Younger consumers looking outside the aisle
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- Figure 31: Soup consumption, by age, April 2020
- Embrace parents as an audience
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- Figure 32: Soup consumption, parental status by gender, April 2020
Packaged Soup Consumption
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- Canned soup a pantry staple
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- Figure 33: Packaged soup consumption, April 2020
- Wide engagement depends on interest in cooking
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- Figure 34: Packaged soup consumption by soup consumption, April 2020
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- Figure 35: Packaged soup consumption by parental status, April 2020
- Men age out of packaged soup
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- Figure 36: Packaged soup consumption repertoire, by age and gender, April 2020
Soup Attributes
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- Flavor dominates, but other expectations differ across types
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- Figure 37: Soup attributes, NET, April 2020
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- Figure 38: Soup attributes, April 2020
- Appeal to older consumers with low/no claims
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- Figure 39: Soup attributes by packaged soup consumption repertoire, NET, April 2020
Premium Soup Attributes
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- People will pay for real ingredients
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- Figure 40: Soup attributes that warrant a higher price, April 2020
- TURF analysis
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- Figure 41: Soup attributes that warrant a higher price, turf analysis, April 2020
- Convert younger consumers to the aisle with functionality, flavor
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- Figure 42: Soup attributes that warrant a higher price, by age, April 2020
Soup shopping behaviors
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- Stocking up limits experimentation
- A daily dose of soup
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- Figure 43: Soup shopping behaviors, April 2020
- Heavy users open to the diversity of new brands
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- Figure 44: Soup shopping behaviors and packaged soup consumption repertoire, April 2020
- Older consumers loyal to favorites; younger ones more likely to buy on impulse
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- Figure 45: Soup shopping behaviors, by age, April 2020
- Adventurous Eaters are the most thoughtful soup shoppers
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- Figure 46: Soup shopping behaviors, by age, April 2020
Soup usage
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- Get creative with pairing recommendations
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- Figure 47: Soup usage, April 2020
- Flashy bone broth may fade, but change perceptions for the category
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- Figure 48: Zoup! bone broth
- Young men, dads are already thinking beyond meals
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- Figure 49: Soup usage, by gender and age, April 2020
- Figure 50: Soup usage, by parental status by gender, April 2020
Soup opinions
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- Soup can help consumers eat healthier, more flavorfully
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- Figure 51: Soup attitudes, net, April 2020
- Position soup as an alternative to prepared meals
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- Figure 52: Soup attitudes, parental status by gender, April 2020
- Bring the restaurant experience home for younger consumers
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- Figure 53: Soup attitudes, by age, April 2020
Appendix – Data Sources and Abbreviations
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- Data sources
- Sales data
- Consumer survey data
- Abbreviations and terms
- Abbreviations
Appendix – The Market
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- Figure 54: Total US retail sales and forecast of soup, at inflation-adjusted prices, 2015-25
- Figure 55: Total US retail sales and forecast of soup, by segment, at current prices, 2015-25
- Figure 56: Total US retail sales of soup, by segment, at current prices, 2018 and 2020
- Figure 57: Total US retail sales and forecast of ready-to-serve wet soup, at inflation-adjusted prices, 2015-25
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- Figure 58: Total US retail sales and forecast of ready-to-serve wet soup, at inflation-adjusted prices, 2015-25
- Figure 59: Total US retail sales and forecast of condensed wet soup, at inflation-adjusted prices, 2015-25
- Figure 60: Total US retail sales and forecast of condensed wet soup, at inflation-adjusted prices, 2015-25
- Figure 61: Total US retail sales and forecast of dry soup, at inflation-adjusted prices, 2015-25
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- Figure 62: Total US retail sales and forecast of wet broth/stock, at inflation-adjusted prices, 2015-25
- Figure 63: Total US retail sales and forecast of refrigerated fresh soup/frozen soup, at inflation-adjusted prices, 2015-25
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Appendix – Retail Channels
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- Figure 64: Total US retail sales of soup, by channel, at current prices, 2015-20
- Figure 65: Total US retail sales of soup, by channel, at current prices, 2018 and 2020
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- Figure 66: US supermarket sales of soup, at current prices, 2015-20
- Figure 67: US sales of soup through other retail channels, at current prices, 2015-20
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Appendix – Key Players
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- Figure 68: Multi-outlet sales of refrigerated fresh soup and frozen soup, by leading companies and brands, rolling 52 weeks 2019 and 2020
- Figure 69: Multi-outlet sales of dry soup, by leading companies and brands, rolling 52 weeks 2019 and 2020
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- Figure 70: Multi-outlet sales of ready-to-serve wet soup, by leading companies and brands, rolling 52 weeks 2019 and 2020
- Figure 71: Multi-outlet sales of wet broth/stock, by leading companies and brands, rolling 52 weeks 2019 and 2020
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- Figure 72: Multi-outlet sales of condensed wet soup, by leading companies and brands, rolling 52 weeks 2019 and 2020
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