What you need to know

Sales of packaged soup are, for the most part, stagnating, if not declining. Fresher soup varieties are able to leverage healthy, comforting attributes to appeal to consumers seeking more nutritious meal options. However, among younger consumers, there is a keen interest in snacking instead of meals, presenting a distinct challenge for soup brands. Soup concepts that can leverage specific healthy concepts (be it low-sodium, high-fiber or vegetable-rich) could resonate with a significant swathe of consumers, particularly if the options are tailored to their interest in portability and more-diverse flavors.

Definition

For the purposes of this Report, Mintel has used the following definitions:

This Report builds on the analysis presented in Mintel’s Soup – US, June 2018 Report, as well as the same title in June 2017, November 2015, April 2014, April 2013, April 2012, January 2011, January 2010 and September 2008. For the purposes of this Report, soup is defined as including the following:

  • RTS wet soup – canned soup that does not require additional ingredients

  • Condensed wet soup – soup that can be used as-is in recipes or needs to have water or milk added to use as traditional soup

  • Dry soup mixes – dehydrated and requiring the addition of water to cook; most of these require simmering, although some are instant and need only be stirred. Includes bouillon and ramen noodle soup mixes

  • Ready-to-serve broth – flavored water with some form of meat, fish or vegetable used as a base for soups and sauces

  • Refrigerated soup – soup that must be refrigerated to maintain freshness and heated to serve, but requires no added ingredients

  • Frozen soup – soup that requires thawing and heating, but requires no added ingredients

Fresh soups prepared and packaged in-store and packaged soups sold in foodservice outlets are excluded from the Market Size in this Report.

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