Driven by a great degree of trading up, the soups market has risen to a value of some £56 million. The sector has received a considerable boost from the success of the chiller cabinet and other new types of premium product, yet with consumers spending more per purchase, how essential is new product development to the industry? Do advertising and promotion need to play a greater role in the soups market? With changing lifestyles meaning a greater emphasis on healthy fresh food, coupled with less significance to formal mealtimes, many consumers are likely to treat tinned and packet/instant soups as stand-bys, but are larger households still the most attractive for soup marketers?

· Some 84% of housewives buy soup.

· Is fresh soup the sector with the greatest growth potential?

This report examines the UK retail market for soup. The trade has shown a healthy rise in real value terms between 1995 and 1999, attributable to consumers spending more per purchase. With the fresh and organic markets showing the greatest growth in the past few years, sales for home consumption appear less certain. What is the key for future market success? Will the chilled sector continue to grow? Soup assesses the future of the sector, and highlights consumer opinion towards the varying product types.

Other Mintel reports of relevance include:

- Emerging Catering Markets, Leisure Intelligence, January 2000

- Lunch Foods, Market Intelligence, January 2000.

If you want more details about this particular report, please contact the Mintel information team on +44 (0)20 7606 6000 or email them at info@mintel.com.