Renaissance in ambient food

With decade-high inflation rates looming over the country, Britons are once again banking upon convenience, quality and value for money. And when it comes to convenience, ambient food is indeed the undisputed king of any household’s pantry. 

As our lives continue to get busier and lonelier, ambient foods continue to remain a staple part of our shopping basket since they rule out the mundane parts of cooking – like peeling, chopping and hours in the kitchen.

Market reports claim that 99.4 per cent of UK households buy something or the other from the ambient food category each year with an average household buying 600 steel cans a year. It may not be a very exciting category, but with market penetration at such levels (in almost every Brit household), canned and ambient foods are the key for good sales and should be given a well-deserved dedicated space in stores.

Big Huge Pandemic Push

It is true that pandemic gave a fresh breath of life to canned and other ambient food. However, it would still be a total injustice to say that Britons had written-off this category, prior to the pandemic. 

Although consumers were gravitating towards fresh food for the last few years since canned foods are often thought to be less nutritious, rising food and drink prices over the last few years was making shoppers once again turn to tinned food as a means of saving money.

In fact, the year 2018 saw a rise in sales of ambient food for the first time in five years.

Consumers in the UK were on an average spending more than £2.3 billion a year on canned goods before lockdown. 

When fear of pandemic loomed over the country, shoppers started filling their kitchen shelves with long-lasting foods. Analysts even claimed that ambient food had not seen such high demands since they were the subject of rationing during and after World War 2.

Since canned food has been processed and sealed in an airtight container for preservation to extend the shelf life of the product, many also perceived it as more hygienic and a safer option at the time.

As a result, the way Britons embraced staples from spam and corned beef to beans, pulses and fish, lockdown eventually led to a renaissance of the canned food market. The greatest uplifts were enjoyed by soup, cold and hot meats – meat products that can be eaten as a meal such as curry.

Robert Fell, Director and CEO, Metal Packaging Manufacturers Association, agrees that there has been renewed interest in canned food surge as shoppers turn to store cupboard staples and products with a long shelf life.

“The nation has long turned to canned food in times of crisis, its long shelf life providing the reassuring food safety and security that many seek, and the current pandemic is no exception,” he told Asian Trader.

In fact, hot meats became the fifth best-selling canned food in March 2020, up from seventh place a year ago.

Sales of Batchelors Super Noodles, Smash instant mash potato and Loyd Grossman sauces jumped as people stocked up on in-store cupboard items for the lockdown. Premier Foods also reported at the time an uptick in demand for its Mr Kipling and Cadbury home-baking kits.

Canned Food

Valued at £3.07bn in 2018, the canned food market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 2.47 per cent to reach a market size of £3.5 bn by 2024. 

Baked beans is the most popular canned food across the country followed by tomatoes, soup, tinned fish and fruits.

A recent survey of 2000 consumers conducted by MPMA in the UK showed that 60 per cent of families claim they can’t live without baked beans while 50  per cent feel the same way about tinned tomatoes and 38 per cent about tinned tuna or salmon. A quarter also say they’re unable to live without tinned soup. 

Interestingly, prior to the pandemic, Heinz product sales were reportedly reaching a state of stagnation. Thanks to an increase in pandemic-induced sales of £113.7m, Heinz managed to zoom past all the expectations and was even coveted among UK’s top five best-selling food brands of 2020.

Heinz sauces also capitalised on outdoor occasions such as BBQs to promote their products as well as their popular Beanz product too emerged as a huge source of revenue when shoppers were panic buying due to the ongoing pandemic.

Jon Roberts, brand manager at Cofresh, also claimed that among world food snacks that saw steady double-digit growth throughout the pandemic, foods such as “lentils, spices, canned foods” have seen an even better growth rate.

Cash and carry Wanis also claimed back in June that they have seen significant growth in rice, canned goods (beans, meat and fish), sauces and seasonings.

Currently, the major players in the global canned/ambient food market are Bolton Group, ConAgra Foods, Del Monte, Kraft Heinz, General Mills.

With a new breath of life after the pandemic, major brands are keen to sustain this interest in their canned products for long-term, shaking off the wartime association. The brands are seen signing up award-winning chefs and Instagram food influencers to help provide recipe inspiration – particularly to the younger generation.

Del Monte, the UK’s number one canned fruit brand, had a six-month partnership with award winning food writer and anti-food poverty campaigner, Jack Monroe, to promote the positive benefits of eating canned fruit. During the campaign, he developed recipes utilising the fruits from the brand’s range, which were then circulated on social media under #YesWeCAN.

Over the past few years, Canned Food UK (CFUK) has also worked with key influencers developing nutritional recipes using predominantly canned food. 

“CFUK has also worked with Masterchef finalist duo, Billy and Jack, producing dinner party recipes using canned foods, again demonstrating the versatility of canned food, and highlighting the vast range of products now available in cans,” Fell said, adding that recipes using canned foods are available on newly-revamped website of CFUK.

Prince Group, who claims to have fed generations of families with over half of all UK households buying their products every year, has been on a launching spree with new innovative products to keep the interests of people piqued.

The group’s newly-launched Mackerel Sizzle provides a quick and satisfying meal that is easy to finish cooking at home. A new range of Princes fruit snack pots with no plastic has also just come to market. The range meets demand for convenient, healthy, single serve snacks, even claiming to help consumers reach their five a day.

The pandemic has also created and accelerated trends that have been beneficial for the frozen fruits category as well. Almost all frozen fruit products have seen success during pandemic, with berry mixes, blueberries and raspberries being Ardo’s top sellers. 

Blueberries have retained their popularity, emerging from the “superfood” trend, with consumers attracted by their low calorie and high nutrient status. 

According to William Burton, Ardo UK’s sales and marketing director, berry mixes are popular with consumers seeking a variety of flavors and textures at a price point that is far more accessible than if they purchased fresh alternatives. And the momentum gained during the pandemic is set to propel the sales of canned fruits as more health-conscious consumers look for convenient, nutritional breakfasts and snacks to fuel their days.

Earlier in the year, Del Monte partnered up with Iceland and launched an extensive frozen fruits range, exclusively available online and from the Iceland retail stores and its Food Warehouse outlets.

The range consists of 11 lines, including 350-gram single variant packs of popular fruits such as frozen raspberries and blueberries.

CHB Group, Del Monte Foods, Dole Food Company, Kraft Heinz, Rhodes Food Group and Seneca are some of the top brands for canned fruits. 

Overall, 34.7 per cent of the British population now purchases frozen fruit, the attraction being both convenience and flavor, and also sustainability for younger shoppers, according to a Kantar report. Campaigns against food waste are also a powerful driver, especially for young consumers, as people want easily accessible food that won’t deteriorate.

Innovation and new product development continue to be a crucial element in this product segment. Popularity of veganism is on a spike here as well.

To tap into the niche segment, start-up Fiid is providing plant-based ambient ready meals based around classic comfort food. It’s range includes smoky Mexican black bean chilli, Italian sundried tomato, lentil ragu and Moroccan chickpea tagine. Each meal has a “12-month shelf life”, setting it apart from other fresh plant-based products.

Heinz also intends to further propel their success as they look to gain traction from younger customers with its upcoming plant-based range. Claiming that the company intends to innovate in plant-based meat products, mainly made of beans, and in the field of easy meals, Kraft Heinz’s recently-appointed Chief Growth and Sustainability Officer told a media outlet recently that “Heinz can make indent” in the plant-based market.

“We will take the bean out of the can,” she said, talking about Kraft Heinz’s future plans of launching bean-based meat alternatives.

Karavela, one of Europe’s largest producers of canned fish, has also presented a plant-based canned seafood product range under a new brand Fish Peas.

Fell also recognises this surge of plant-based diets among Britons. 

“The huge surge in people adopting vegan and plant-based diets is reflected in canned food. Many of the typical meat substitutes, such as jackfruit and banana blossom, are only available in can formats and widely available in supermarkets. These products are particularly popular amongst younger shoppers and with ever increasing focus on carbon zero targets and healthy eating, this popularity is only going to increase,” he said.

“Interestingly, one of CFUK’s most popular recipes (created by Billy and Jack) is a vegan pavlova using canned aquafaba (chickpea water) to make a vegan meringue and there is now a recipe section on cannedfood.co.uk dedicated solely to vegan and vegetarian recipes.”

Well, sustainability is another aspect on the top of consumers’ minds in present times, something which makes the canned category even more relevant than ever as cans come with strong recyclability and food waste credentials.

“Cans have also benefited hugely by the consumer demand for environmentally conscious packaging formats. Cans are infinitely recyclable and enjoy amongst the highest recycling rates of all food packaging materials,” Fell pointed out. 

“There is growing awareness of how canned food reduces energy consumption. Cans do not need to be refrigerated and for those looking to improve their own carbon footprint, heating canned foods from ambient temperatures requires less energy than foods which require refrigeration in transit, in store and at home.”

To further cash-on this aspect, Princes Group announced recently that it is switching all branded tuna multipacks to cardboard sleeve packaging, replacing 96 tonnes of plastic every year.

Kraft Heinz has also unveiled a new set of sustainability targets under which the company claims that it will move to 100 per cent recyclable, renewable and biodegradable packaging by 2025.

Sauces and Condiments

While Brits known to enjoy condiments with every meal, sauces and condiments saw their sales fly last year owing to the work-from-home revolution and eventual surge in home cooking and barbecues.

The condiments and seasoning industry’s revenue is expected to grow at a compound annual rate of 1 per cent over the five years through 2021-22 to reach £2.5 bn, including forecast growth of 2.7 per cent over 2021-22, as per a recent report by IBIS World. 

Tomato ketchup has been named the nation’s favourite condiment beating mayo, brown sauce and salad cream, according to a recent poll. 

It also emerged from the poll that Brits are still partial to a dollop of mint sauce. Other traditional favourites to make the top 20 include English mustard, Worcestershire sauce, Piccalilli, and tartare sauce.

Interestingly, over 97 per cent of UK consumers buy sauces or condiments on average 15.7 times a year. 

Another noteworthy aspect in this segment is that post-Brexit Britain is witnessing a resurgence in the old favourites such as ketchup, mustard and mayonnaise, with consumers reportedly spending an extra £120m over the last 12 months on extra 68.5 million packs of table sauces and condiments.

When it comes to bestselling brands, nothing beats Heinz Tomato Ketchup.

Statista reveals that an estimated 14.97 million people used Heinz Tomato Ketchup, making it by far the most popular Heinz product across the nation in 2020.

While ketchup seems to be enjoying good sales, consumers still want a spin on the humble tomato. 

Across the market, new, premium and gourmet varieties of tomato sauce are hitting the shelves, with both big brands and smaller players targeting consumers and it is safe to say that new product launches in this area are gaining traction.

Retailers should make a point to make this section as diverse as possible since consumers are willing to pay more for premium products. 

There has been a particular spike in demand for hot sauces, as Fortune Business Insights predicts the global market for them will reach £2.85bn by 2026. 

Sriracha is another one of the increasingly-becoming most popular condiments with sales skyrocketing over the years.

Interestingly, a study by diet company Exante reveals a geographical divide with Northerners tending to stick to ketchup whilst Southerners seem to spice things up with Sriracha!

Both traditional tastes like Worcestershire sauce and Brown Sauce as well as exotic condiments like Chimichurri, Wasabi, Piri Piri and Harissa are enticing Britons alike. 

To maximise profits, shops must figure out the right mix for their store, balancing tried-and-tested favourites and modern concoctions as well as local delicacies.

Pot Snacks

In our country, instant savoury snacks are more often eaten on-the-go as a quick energy boost or a treat during the day. On average, each day, 200,000 people eat a pot snack. No wonder, the UK is Europe’s largest market for savoury snacks, estimated to be worth around £4.25 bn.

With 82 per cent of pot snacks being bought on impulse, the category undoubtedly presents a great opportunity for retailers to increase overall basket spend.

Sales in this category particularly spike in January when post-Christmas budgets get  tighter, as well as in September, when households stock for after-school snacks and quick, easy student meals.

In fact, no-fuss, no-mess post-school snacks for hungry school kids and teenagers can be a good key-sale section in the store. Since it is known that consumers usually eat pot snacks alongside soft drink, crisps or confectionery, retailers with high lunchtime trade should put them next to other ‘food or now’ categories.

Rice pot snacks are increasingly gaining popularity and deserve an easily “spottable spot” in the store but definitely not at the cost of noodle pot snacks. Retailers need to give more space to best-selling flavour variants since customers usually are very brand-loyal in this category and might not buy the alternative if their favourite one is not available.

In 2020, an estimated 6.13 million people consumed Unilever’s Pot Noodle which was the most popular brand, followed by Batchelors Super Noodles and Batchelors Pasta ‘n’ Sauce. Mug Shot, Uncle Ben’s, Dolmio, Heinz and Ginsters are also among the top selling instant savory snacks in the country.

Pot Noodle has recently launched Asian-inspired Fusions range, available in three flavours- Chilli Chicken, Katsu Curry and Thai Green Curry. The new range is EVU vegan validated, ensuring the range is in line with the wider Unilever Future Foods ambition of moving towards more plant-based products. Fusions is available now with an RRP of £1.39.

Pot Noodle plans to continue expanding its healthy range of products, with the upcoming launch of low-fat meat-free rice and noodle pots, and low-calorie dessert pots.

It also aims to more than triple its annual sales of plant-based products by 2030 and at least double the yearly sales of products “that meet high nutritional standards”.

Unilever’s new Lost The Pot block noodle promises to be a healthier version as it claims to contain over 30 per cent less saturated fat compared to other competitors.

Other popular options in huge demand among shoppers is Asian Street Style range in flavours like Thai Red Curry, Malaysian Laksa, Japanese Miso Noodle Soup and Vietnamese Beef Pho.

On the other hand, the popularity of Batchelors’ range has led Premier Foods to roll out a larger 100g pot format across its much-loved line-up, following the successful launch of BIG Pots into its Pasta ‘n’ Sauce range a few months ago.

Nissin, the Japanese company often deemed as the inventor of cup noodles that also celebrated  50 years of releasing Cup Noodles this year, is another popular brand. Cup Noodles Soba range seems to have enchanted consumers as the brand boasts of holding the second highest repeat rate of 52 per cent in the pot snacks category. 

Wrap

Ambient food market is mainly driven by the rising urban population that prefers easy, convenient, easy-on-pockets and hassle-free as well as pathogen-free hygienic food.

As per Fell, there has clearly been a “sizable shift in attitudes towards tinned ingredients and long-held myths are being debunked”. 

“Canned food offers great variety, is nutritional, convenient, flavoursome, and it lasts – all key to sustaining its popularity. Canned food’s long shelf life is central to its popularity and its role in reducing food waste is increasingly understood,” he said.

Consumers are willing to spend a little more for the products offering healthier properties. Renewed demand for small, easy, ready-to-cook meat, seafood and organic canned fruits and vegetables is expected to further fuel the market sales.

Furthermore, the rising awareness of the ills of plastic packaging and the demand for a sustainable solution and increasing recycling rates globally will further drive the market. For consumers, it is all about finding brands that align with their eco worldview. 

While innovation and experimentation are important, shoppers will always be looking for authenticity, and this is where retailers need and must strike a balance, offering them both trend-led, new, innovative and traditional products as well as exotic favourites.