Table of Contents
Scope and Themes
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- What you need to know
- Definition
- Data sources
- Consumer survey data
- Advertising clips
- Abbreviations and terms
- Abbreviations
- Terms
Executive Summary
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- Market at a glance
- Sodium awareness and concern on the rise, puts soup makers in a bind
- Promotions, lower prices but fail to build RTS soup volume
- Condensed soup declines accelerate despite sodium reduction
- Low-priced ramen loses sales momentum gained during recession
- Broth leads category in sales growth
- Supermarkets lead category, but face pressure
- Campbell Soup and General Mills turn positive to reinvigorate category
- Competition from within: private label continues to gain strength
- Number of new product launches declines slightly
- New advertising focuses on the positive
- Key consumer research findings
Insights and Opportunities
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- Make soup more social
- Be a part of the solution
- Positively healthy
Inspire Insights—Food Phobia
Market Size and Forecast
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- Key points
- Rising prices, recession boost sales 2005-08
- Sales slip in 2009 and 2010 amid ad wars and promotions
- Returning to a more positive outlook
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- Figure 1: FDMx sales and forecast of soup, at current prices, 2005-15
- Figure 2: FDMx sales and forecast of soup, at inflation-adjusted prices, 2005-15
- Walmart sales
- Total market estimate and forecast
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- Figure 3: Total market sales and forecast of soup, at current prices, 2005-15
- Figure 4: Total market sales and forecast of soup, at inflation-adjusted prices, 2005-15
- Fan-chart forecast
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- Figure 5: Total market sales and fan forecast of soup, at current prices, 2005-15
Market Drivers
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- Sodium
- Awareness on the rise
- Sodium consumption has increased in recent decades
- More shoppers taking note of sodium levels
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- Figure 6: Key sodium attitudes, by age, May 2010
- More marketers making sodium reductions
- Weight awareness
Competitive Context
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- Competition from within: private label continues to gain strength
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- Figure 7: Private-label soup market share, by segment, 2006-10
- Private-label soup launches surge in 2010
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- Figure 8: Number of soup new product launches, by type, 2006-10
Segment Performance
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- Key points
- Sales of soup, by segment
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- Figure 9: FDMx sales and forecast of soup, by segment, 2005-15
- Figure 10: FDMx sales of soup, by type, 2008 and 2010
Segment Performance—Ready-to-Serve Wet Soup
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- Key points
- RTS soup suffers declines, lasting impact of soup wars
- Price comparisons don’t favor RTS
- Promotions, lower prices but fail to build volume
- Competitors switch to positive messages. Will it reverse the downward trend?
- Sales and forecast—ready-to-serve wet soup
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- Figure 11: FDMx sales and forecast of ready-to-serve wet soup, 2005-15
Segment Performance—Condensed Wet Soup
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- Key points
- Condensed soup declines accelerate despite sodium reduction
- Campbell’s most recent efforts in segment focus on the retail shelf
- Sales and forecast—condensed wet soup
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- Figure 12: FDMx sales and forecast of condensed wet soup, 2005-15
Segment Performance—Dry Soup
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- Key points
- Low-priced ramen loses sales momentum gained during recession
- Sales and forecast—dry soup
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- Figure 13: FDMx sales and forecast of dry soup, 2005-15
Segment Performance—Ready-to-Serve Broth
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- Key points
- Broth leads category in sales growth
- Sales and forecast—ready-to-serve broth
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- Figure 14: FDMx sales and forecast of ready-to-serve broth, 2005-15
Segment Performance—Refrigerated Soup
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- Key points
- Refrigerated soup sales stall
- Sales and forecast—refrigerated soup
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- Figure 15: FDMx sales and forecast of refrigerated soup, 2005-15
Segment Performance—Frozen Soup
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- Key points
- Frozen soup sales decline in recession, then stabilize
- Opportunity for local and regional favorites
- Sales and forecast—frozen soup
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- Figure 16: FDMx sales and forecast of frozen soup, 2005-15
Retail Channels
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- Key points
- Supermarkets lead category, but face pressure from all sides
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- Figure 17: FDMx sales of soup, by channel, 2008 and 2010
Retail Channels—Supermarkets
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- Key points
- Supermarkets remain central to the soup category
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- Figure 18: Supermarket/food stores’ sales of soup, 2005-10
Retail Channels—Other Channels
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- Key points
- Other retailers gain by placing greater emphasis on food
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- Figure 19: Sales of soup at other FDMx channels, 2005-10
Retail Channels—Natural Supermarkets
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- Key points
- Insights
- Sales of soup in the natural channel
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- Figure 20: Natural supermarket sales of soup, at current prices, 2008-10
- Figure 21: Natural supermarket sales of soup, at inflation-adjusted prices, 2008-10
- Natural channel sales by segment
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- Figure 22: Natural supermarket sales of soup, by segment, 2008 and 2010*
- Leading brands
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- Figure 23: Selected natural supermarket brand sales of soup, 2008 and 2010
- Natural channel sales by organic content
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- Figure 24: Natural supermarket sales of soup, by organic/non-organic, 2008 and 2010
Leading Companies
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- Key points
- Campbell Soup and General Mills turn positive to reinvigorate category
- Maruchan gains on value proposition
- FDMx sales of soup by manufacturer
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- Figure 25: FDMx sales of soup, by manufacturer, 2009 and 2010
Brand Share—Ready-to-Serve Wet Soup
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- Key points
- Few winners in declining RTS segment
- Progresso bets on flavor
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- Figure 26: Selected FDMx manufacturer and brand sales of ready-to-serve wet soup, 2009 and 2010
Brand Share—Condensed Wet Soup
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- Key points
- Campbell defines segment
- Better-for-you lines and kids’ products outperform the rest of the segment
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- Figure 27: Selected FDMx manufacturer and brand sales of condensed wet soup, 2009 and 2010
Brand Share—Dry Soup
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- Key points
- Ramen’s growth stalls
- Little new product activity to stir new interest
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- Figure 28: Selected FDMx manufacturer and brand sales of dry soup, 2009 and 2010
Brand Share—Ready-to-Serve Broth
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- Key points
- Both value and premium brands make gains
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- Figure 29: Selected FDMx manufacturer and brand sales of ready-to-serve broth, 2009 and 2010
Brand Share—Refrigerated Soup
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- Key points
- Supermarket store brands control segment
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- Figure 30: Selected FDMx manufacturer and brand sales of refrigerated soup, 2009 and 2010
Brand Share—Frozen Soup
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- Key points
- Frozen soups stress quality, appeal to regional and cultural preferences
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- Figure 31: Selected FDMx manufacturer and brand sales of frozen soup, 2009 and 2010
Innovations and Innovators
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- Wet soup launches outnumber dry by more than three to one
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- Figure 32: Number of soup new product launches, by form, 2006-10
- Convenience a defining theme, all-natural becoming more common
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- Figure 33: Top claims for soup new product launches, 2006-10
- Natural and organic
- Health claims focus on what’s missing
- New flavor experiences
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- Figure 34: Top flavor claims for soup new product launches, 2006-10
Marketing Strategies
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- Overview
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- Figure 35: Advertising spending of leading soup brands, 2008 and 2009
- No winners in the soup ad war
- Campbell’s new campaign focuses on the positive
- Surprising ingredients for foodies
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- Figure 36: Campbell “ingredients” television ad, 2010
- Better-for-you options for health-conscious consumers
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- Figure 37: Campbell’s Healthy Request Soup television ad, 2010
- Lean and wholesome for hearty eaters
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- Figure 38: Campbell’s Chunky beef with country vegetables soup television ad, 2010
- Inexpensive meal solution for singles and couples
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- Figure 39: Campbell’s Chunky sirloin Burger soup television ad, 2010
- Beyond television
- Rediscovery
- New Campbell merchandising system facilitates flavor exploration
- Progresso pivots on taste, approachability
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- Figure 40: Progresso World Recipes soup television ad, 2010
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- Figure 41: Progresso Rich & Hearty soup television ad, 2010
- Health-conscious Boomers
Soup Consumption—Who Eats What?
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- Key points
- Most households use soup
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- Figure 42: Household usage of soup, by type, April 2009-June 2010
- Canned soup skews older, dry soup and bouillon to younger adults
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- Figure 43: Household usage of soup, by type, by age, April 2009-June 2010
- Budget-friendly dry soup mixes more popular in larger households
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- Figure 44: Household usage of soup, by type, by number of people in household, April 2009-June 2010
- Reported soup frequency on the rise
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- Figure 45: Number of cans of soup/broth used, 2008/09 and 2009/10
- Figure 46: Number of cans of dry soup/lunch mix or dry bouillon used, 2008/09 and 2009/10
- Younger adults more likely to eat fresh, refrigerated, and frozen soup
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- Figure 47: Type of soup eaten in household, by age, September 2010
- Higher-income respondents also more likely to opt for alternatives
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- Figure 48: Who in the household eats what kind of soup? “I do,” by household income, September 2010
- Who else in the household eating soup?
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- Figure 49: Who in the household eats what kind of soup? September 2010
Shopping for Soup
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- Key points
- Considerable opportunity to influence brand and flavor choice in-store
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- Figure 50: When in the purchase cycle the brand/flavor of soup is chosen, by age, September 2010
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- Figure 51: When in the purchase cycle the brand/flavor of soup is chosen, by household income, September 2010
- Figure 52: When in the purchase cycle the brand/flavor of soup is chosen, by presence and number of children, September 2010
- Container material has little impact on soup selection...or does it?
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- Figure 53: Role of the container in purchasing soup, by age, September 2010
- Women more engaged in soup shopping
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- Figure 54: Ways of buying/using soup, by gender, September 2010
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- Figure 55: Ways of buying/using soup, by age, September 2010
How and When Soup is Eaten
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- Key points
- Soup is most often a solo meal
- Only a few take soup to work and school
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- Figure 56: Ways of normally eating soup, by age, September 2010
- Presence of kids drives family use
- Men more likely than women to eat soup as a snack
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- Figure 57: Ways of normally eating soup, by gender/presence of children, September 2010
Taking Soup to Work or School
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- Key points
- Wet soup the most popular choice for school and office
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- Figure 58: Types of soup taken to work/school, by age, gender and household income, September 2010
- Recession has motivated some to take soup to work or school
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- Figure 59: Changes in taking soup to work/school in recession, by gender, September 2010
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- Figure 60: Changes in taking soup to work/school in recession, by household income, September 2010
Understanding of Changes Needed to Improve Diet
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- Key points
- Actual behavior notwithstanding, consumers know what to eat, what not to
- Sodium near the top of the list of what consumers know they should avoid
- For soup marketers, time to accentuate the positive
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- Figure 61: Changes to eating habits required to improve diet, September 2010
Impact of Race/Hispanic Origin
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- Key points
- Hispanic households economize with dry soup
- Black households frequent users of both canned and dry soup
- Asians less likely to use soup
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- Figure 62: Household usage of soup, types of soup and frequency of use of canned and dry soup, by race/Hispanic origin, April 2009-June 2010
- Black soup shoppers show more brand and flavor loyalty
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- Figure 63: When in the purchase cycle the brand/flavor of soup is chosen, by race/Hispanic origin, September 2010
- Asians more price-sensitive
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- Figure 64: Ways of buying/using soup, by race/Hispanic origin, September 2010
- Blacks eat soup more ways
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- Figure 65: Ways of normally eating soup, by race/Hispanic origin, September 2010
Custom Consumer Tables
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- Gender/age—personal use of different kinds of soup
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- Figure 66: Who in the household eats what kind of soup? “I do,” by gender and age, September 2010
- Younger women more likely to be influenced by in-store marketing
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- Figure 67: When in the purchase cycle the brand/flavor of soup is chosen, by gender and age, September 2010
- Younger women less committed to brands, less likely to use soup in recipes
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- Figure 68: Ways of buying/using soup, by gender and age, September 2010
- For adults of all ages, soup most commonly a solo meal
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- Figure 69: Ways of normally eating soup, by gender and age, September 2010
Cluster Analysis
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- Bargainers
- Demographics
- Characteristics
- Opportunity
- Planners
- Demographics
- Characteristics
- Opportunity
- Flexibles
- Demographics
- Characteristics
- Opportunity
- Cluster characteristics
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- Figure 70: Soup clusters, September 2010
- Figure 71: When in the purchase cycle the brand/flavor of soup is chosen, by soup clusters, September 2010
- Figure 72: Role of the container in purchasing soup, by soup clusters, September 2010
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- Figure 73: Ways of buying/using soup, by soup clusters, September 2010
- Figure 74: Ways of normally eating soup, by soup clusters, September 2010
- Cluster demographics
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- Figure 75: Soup clusters, by gender, September 2010
- Figure 76: Soup clusters, by age, September 2010
- Figure 77: Soup clusters, by household income, September 2010
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- Figure 78: Soup clusters, by race, September 2010
- Figure 79: Soup clusters, by Hispanic origin, September 2010
- Cluster methodology
IRI/Builders—Key Household Purchase Measures
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- Overview of soup
- Condensed wet soup
- Consumer insights on key purchase measures—condensed wet soup
- Brand map
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- Figure 80: Brand map, selected brands of condensed wet soup buying rate, by household penetration, 2010*
- Brand leader characteristics
- Key purchase measures
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- Figure 81: Key purchase measures for the top brands of condensed wet soup, by household penetration, 2010*
- RTS wet soup
- Consumer insights on key purchase measures—RTS wet soup
- Brand map
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- Figure 82: Brand map, selected brands of RTS wet soup buying rate, by household penetration, 2010*
- Brand leader characteristics
- Key purchase measures
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- Figure 83: Key purchase measures for the top brands of RTS wet soup, by household penetration, 2010*
- Dry soup
- Consumer insights on key purchase measures—dry soup
- Brand map
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- Figure 84: Brand map, selected brands of dry soup buying rate, by household penetration, 2010*
- Brand leader characteristics
- Key purchase measures
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- Figure 85: Key purchase measures for the top brands of dry soup, by household penetration, 2010*
Appendix: IRI/Builders Panel Data Definitions
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- IRI Consumer Network Metrics
Appendix: Other Useful Tables
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- Figure 86: Household usage of canned or jarred soup/broth, by brand, 2008/09 and 2009/10
- Figure 87: Household usage of dry soup/lunch mix or dry bouillon, by brand, 2008/09 and 2009/10
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- Figure 88: Ways of buying/using soup, by household income, September 2010
- Figure 89: Ways of normally eating soup, by household income, September 2010
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Appendix: Trade Associations
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