Table of Contents
Overview
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- What you need to know
- Definition
Executive Summary
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- The issues
- Struggling category kept afloat by small segments
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- Figure 1: Total US sales and fan chart forecast of soup, at current prices, 2012-22
- Packaged soup struggles with image
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- Figure 2: Soup attitudes, soup comparisons, March 2017
- Cooking enthusiasm impacts the category
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- Figure 3: Soup attitudes, made from scratch, March 2017
- Lack of interest in soup innovation
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- Figure 4: Soup innovation, March 2017
- The opportunities
- Refrigerated soup shows promise
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- Figure 5: MULO sales of refrigerated fresh soup, rolling 52 weeks 2016 and 2017
- Focus on the positives and the lack of negatives
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- Figure 6: Soup attributes, health attributes, March 2017
- Convenience packaging broadens opportunity
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- Figure 7: Soup innovation, microwavable and resealable packaging, March 2017
- Growth opportunities to come from diversity in occasion
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- Figure 8: Soup behavior, season, weather, and when sick, March 2017
- What it means
The Market – What You Need to Know
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- Soup sales projected to remain stationary
- Refrigerated/frozen soups, wet broth/stock, are areas of opportunity
- Foodservice soup part competition, part inspiration for packaged soup
- Some packaged soups shunned for high sodium content, processed perception
- In-store positioning hurts RTS wet and condensed soup, helps refrigerated
Market Size and Forecast
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- Soup sales remain stagnant
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- Figure 9: Total US sales and fan chart forecast of soup, at current prices, 2012-22
- Figure 10: Total US retail sales and forecast of soup, at current prices, 2012-22
- Figure 11: Total US retail sales and forecast of soup, at inflation-adjusted prices, 2012-22
Market Breakdown
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- Category sales hurt by RTS wet and condensed declines
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- Figure 12: Total US retail sales and forecast of soup, by segment, at current prices, 2012-22
- Figure 13: Total US retail sales of soup, by segment share, at current prices, 2017
- Soups in natural supermarkets finding success
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- Figure 14: Natural supermarket sales of soup, by total and by category, at current prices, rolling 52-weeks ending 3/22/15 and 3/19/17
- Figure 15: Natural supermarket sales of soup, by labeling/claims on packaging, at current prices, % change, rolling 52-weeks ending 3/22/15 and 3/19/17
Market Perspective
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- Foodservice soup part competition, part inspiration
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- Figure 16: Soup menu items, cuisine types, and ingredients, by menu incidence change from Q1 2015-17
Market Factors
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- Migration away from center of store hurts certain soup segments
- Interest in health
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- Figure 17: Crude percentages of selected circulatory diseases among adults aged 18 and over, by all types of heart disease and hypertension – United States, 2013-15
- Simple ingredients, free-from claims influencing food shoppers
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- Figure 18: Lifestyle statements: attitudes/opinions about food – Any agree, by look for organic/natural and preference for food without artificial additives
- Consumers interested in trying international foods
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- Figure 19: Lifestyle statements: attitudes/opinions about food – Any agree, by enjoy eating foreign foods
- Consumer interest in cooking can help and hurt category
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- Figure 20: Lifestyle statements: attitudes/opinions about food – Any agree, by like to try new recipes
- Soup with room to be positioned as a snack
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- Figure 21: Soup attitudes, March 2017
Key Players – What You Need to Know
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- Top companies driving soup category decline
- Broth and dry soup likely benefiting from home cooking
- Frozen soup sales continue to plummet
- Despite small size, bone broth has potential to continue rapid growth
Brand Sales of Soup
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- Top three soup manufacturers struggle, drive decline in category
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- Figure 22: MULO sales of soup, by leading companies, rolling 52 weeks 2016 and 2017
- Both Campbell’s and General Mills struggle in RTS wet soup segment
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- Figure 23: MULO sales of ready to serve wet soup, by leading companies and brands, rolling 52 weeks 2016 and 2017
- Ramen falters, dry broth/stock flourishes
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- Figure 24: Online video – “Spicy Beef & Broccoli” – Better Than Bouillon
- Figure 25: MULO sales of dry soup, by leading companies and brands, rolling 52 weeks 2016 and 2017
- Sales of refrigerated soups heat up
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- Figure 26: MULO sales of refrigerated fresh soup/ frozen soup, by leading companies and brands, rolling 52 weeks 2016 and 2017
- Campbell’s dominates wet broth/stock segment, yet smaller brands grow
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- Figure 27: TV Advertisement – “Get Inspired” – College Inn Broth
- Figure 28: MULO sales of wet broth/stock, by leading companies and brands, rolling 52 weeks 2016 and 2017
What’s Working?
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- Interest in cooking, making soup from scratch benefits broth and dry soup
- Flavor innovation and convenient packaging drive refrigerated growth
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- Figure 29: Online video – “Recipe: Butternut Squash mac & Cheese” – Boulder Organic!
- Success in multiple segments leads to private label soup growth
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- Figure 30: MULO sales of private label soup, total soup, and segments, by change from rolling 52 weeks 2016 to 2017
- Figure 31: Purchase intent, by private label soup and national branded soup, April 2017
- Focus on free-from claims, simple ingredients
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- Figure 32: Soup launches, by organic and free-from claims, 2014-16
- Figure 33: Online video – “Blount Organic Broccoli Cheddar Soup” – Blount Fine Foods
What’s Struggling?
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- Campbell’s and Progresso struggle with healthy, premium soup lines
- Frozen soup free fall driven by location in store, processed perception, and inconvenient packaging
- Maruchan bagged ramen struggles
- Lack of innovation
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- Figure 34: New soup launches, 2014-16
What’s Next?
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- Portioning and resealable packaging
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- Figure 35: Soup launches, by packaging type, 2014-16
- Bone broth is booming
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- Figure 36: New soup launches, by bone broth, 2014-16
- Authentic Asian and Asian inspired soups
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- Figure 37: New soup launches, by Asian soups, 2014-16
- Scratch fast
- New directions
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- Figure 38: TV Advertisement – “New Well Yes! Soups” – Campbell’s Soup
The Consumer – What You Need to Know
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- Soup purchase is universal
- Soup regarded by consumers as generally nutritious, versatile
- Good in, bad out
- Desired innovation center on packaging
Soup Purchase
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- Soup is a household staple
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- Figure 39: Soup purchase, any purchase, March 2017
- Soup purchased infrequently
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- Figure 40: Soup purchase, purchase frequency, March 2017
- Men eat a variety of soups
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- Figure 41: Soup purchase, any purchase, by gender, March 2017
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- Figure 42: Soup purchase, more than once a month, by gender, March 2017
- Age and lifestage influence soup purchase
- Older Millennials are new core canned soup consumers
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- Figure 43: Soup purchase, any purchase of wet, restaurant branded, or ready-to-eat soup, by age, March 2017
- Younger consumers most likely to purchase broth and dry soup
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- Figure 44: Soup purchase, any purchase of any broth or any dry soup, by age, March 2017
- Younger Millennials are core consumers of refrigerated and frozen soups
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- Figure 45: Soup purchase, any purchase of refrigerated, frozen, or chilled bottled soup, by age, March 2017
- Parents beat non-parents in purchase across soup types
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- Figure 46: Soup purchase, any purchase, by parental status, March 2017
Soup Behavior
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- Consumption of soup increases in the winter, when sick
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- Figure 47: Soup behavior, season, weather, and when sick, March 2017
- Adding toppings to soup, preparing from scratch popular soup behaviors
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- Figure 48: Soup behavior, toppings and soup from scratch, March 2017
- Looking for new soup flavors may influence increased soup purchase
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- Figure 49: Soup behavior, purchase and looking for new flavors, March 2017
- Soup a popular at-home pairing
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- Figure 50: Soup behavior, toppings, and soup from scratch, March 2017
- Women focus on soup occasion; men value convenience, new flavors
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- Figure 51: Soup behavior, by gender, March 2017
- Behavioral differences between younger and older consumers
- Older consumers more likely to eat soup in winter, prepared from scratch
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- Figure 52: Soup behavior, season, and prepare from scratch, by age, March 2017
- Younger consumers purchasing more soup as they look for new flavors
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- Figure 53: Soup behavior, soup uses, when sick, looking for new flavors, and purchase, by age, March 2017
Soup Attributes
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- Taste and flavor most important soup attributes
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- Figure 54: Soup attributes, taste, flavor, and texture, March 2017
- Low/no sodium leads soup health attributes
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- Figure 55: Soup attributes, health attributes, March 2017
- Older consumers most likely to regard taste as important attribute
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- Figure 56: Soup attributes, taste and texture, by age, March 2017
- Older females value free-from claims, younger men look for soup with added health benefits
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- Figure 57: Soup attributes, free-from claims, by gender and age, March 2017
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- Figure 58: Soup attributes, health claims, by gender and age, March 2017
Soup Attitudes
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- Soup enjoys several positive reputations, but can’t seem to get over particular health concerns
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- Figure 59: Soup attitudes, March 2017
- Older consumers agree soup is nutritious, younger consumers prefer premium and restaurant soups
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- Figure 60: Soup attitudes, by age, March 2017
- Parents most likely to agree across soup attitudes
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- Figure 61: Soup attitudes, by parental status, March 2017
- Parents interested in organic soup are most likely to pay more for premium soups
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- Figure 62: Soup attitudes about premium soups – CHAID analysis – tree output, March 2017
Refrigerated and Frozen Soup Attitudes
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- Refrigerated soups appear to have slight advantage in reputation for taste, health
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- Figure 63: Refrigerated and frozen soup attitudes, March 2017
- Fathers have most favorable views on refrigerated soups
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- Figure 64: Refrigerated soup attitudes, by parental status and gender, March 2017
Soup Innovation
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- Consumers desire convenient packaging
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- Figure 65: Soup innovation, packaging, March 2017
- Nearly a quarter of consumers interested in international soups, functional benefits
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- Figure 66: Soup innovation, ingredients, March 2017
- iGeneration/Millennials especially interested in packaging innovations
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- Figure 67: Soup innovation, packaging, by generation March 2017
- Soup brands have potential to capture Hispanics with exciting innovation
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- Figure 68: Soup innovation, ingredients, by Hispanic origin, March 2017
Consumer Segmentation
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- Figure 69: Soup clusters, March 2017
- Souper Fans
- Soup Sticklers
- Apathetic Soup Shoppers
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Appendix – Data Sources and Abbreviations
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- Data sources
- Sales data
- Fan chart forecast
- Consumer survey data
- Abbreviations and terms
- Abbreviations
- Terms
Appendix – CHAID
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- Figure 70: Soup attitudes – CHAID – Table output, March 2017
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Appendix – The Market
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- Figure 71: Total US retail sales and forecast of soup, by segment, at current prices, 2012-22
- Figure 72: Total US retail sales of soup, by segment, at current prices, 2015 and 2017
- Figure 73: Total US retail sales and forecast of ready-to-serve wet soup, at current prices, 2012-22
- Figure 74: Total US retail sales and forecast of ready-to-serve wet soup, at inflation-adjusted prices, 2012-22
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- Figure 75: Total US retail sales and forecast of condensed wet soup, at current prices, 2012-22
- Figure 76: Total US retail sales and forecast of condensed wet soup, at inflation-adjusted prices, 2012-22
- Figure 77: Total US retail sales and forecast of dry soup, at current prices, 2012-22
- Figure 78: Total US retail sales and forecast of dry soup, at inflation-adjusted prices, 2012-22
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- Figure 79: Total US retail sales and forecast of wet broth/stock, at current prices, 2012-22
- Figure 80: Total US retail sales and forecast of wet broth/stock, at inflation-adjusted prices, 2012-22
- Figure 81: Total US retail sales and forecast of refrigerated fresh soup/frozen soup, at current prices, 2012-22
- Figure 82: Total US retail sales and forecast of refrigerated fresh soup/frozen soup, at inflation-adjusted prices, 2012-22
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- Figure 83: Total US retail sales of soup, by channel, at current prices, 2012-2017
- Figure 84: Total US retail sales of soup, by channel, at current prices, 2015 and 2017
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- Figure 85: US supermarket sales of soup, at current prices, 2012-17
- Figure 86: US sales of soup through other retail channels, at current prices, 2012-17
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Appendix – Key Players
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- Figure 87: MULO sales of condensed wet soup, by leading companies and brands, rolling 52 weeks 2016 and 2017
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