back to notes

Salad Days

Dec 2008/Jan 2009 | Canadian Grocer| Darcy Jenish.
-------------------------------------------
According to the latest figures available from Nielsen MarketTrack, packaged salad sales, in the 52 weeks ending Oct. 27, reached $125.5 million, up 17% from $107.7 million one year earlier. Sales of salad mixes, which include toppings, grew 8%, reaching $282.1 million compared with $262.2 million the previous year. Only one of the three categories in the Nielsen survey declined; sales of salad kits slipped to $8.4 million, down 1%, from $8.5 million in 2007.

Many retailers are increasing the space they devote to the category in response to growing demand as well the expanding number of products available.
-------------------------------------------
Bagged and boxed salads meet consumer demand for convenience and nutrition

Cathy Graves loves boxed and bagged salads. And no wonder. Graves and her husband, Chad, are co-owners of a 10,000sq.-ft. Valufoods outlet in Bridgetown, N.S., an Annapolis Valley community with 1,500 people. "I was a little skeptical when they first came out," says Graves, "but they're really not a hard sell. They sell themselves."

Boxed and bagged salads address two top-of-mind issues with today's consumers: convenience and nutrition. "Everybody is busy these days," says Graves. "People are pressed for time. That's the way of the world."

Producers have wisely packaged their offerings in single-serve containers or family-size bags and plastic tubs. Single-serve packages make ideal on-the-go lunches while larger containers serve a similar purpose for a quick, ready-to-go dinner.

"It's easy to walk into a store in late afternoon and buy a bagged salad and dressing," says Peter Knipfel, owner of the Chesley Grocery Store, located in a farming community of the same name in Ontario's Bruce County. "You've got your starter course already done."

Nutrition is the other major driver of boxed and bagged salad sales. Canadians are becoming increasingly health conscious and diet is recognized as a vital component of good health. For consumers constrained by time, a lunch of fresh greens topped with a tasty assortment of vegetables, or a side salad with dinner are both seen as nutritious alternatives.

As well, boxed and bagged salads are attractive products for seniors or small households because they cut down on spoilage and waste. 'They're great products for people who only feed two or three in their home or for people who live alone," says Graves. Her customers tell her bagged salad is great because they "don't have to buy a whole head of lettuce, a bunch of carrots and all the other things that combine to make a salad."

The bagged and boxed salad category is evolving quickly. The number of products available has risen sharply since these products were introduced, about 10 years ago, and that trend will continue, says Bruce Knobeloch, vicepresident of marketing at River Ranch Fresh Foods in Salinas, Calif., a processor with 13 products available in Canada.

"Ten years ago you wouldn't have been able to conceive what is available now," says Knobeloch. "We're all going to be amazed at the product that will be developed over the next decade. The future is very bright. It's really wide open."

Category Growth

According to the latest figures available from Nielsen MarketTrack, packaged salad sales, in the 52 weeks ending Oct. 27, reached $125.5 million, up 17% from $107.7 million one year earlier. Sales of salad mixes, which include toppings, grew 8%, reaching $282.1 million compared with $262.2 million the previous year. Only one of the three categories in the Nielsen survey declined; sales of salad kits slipped to $8.4 million, down 1%, from $8.5 million in 2007.

Many retailers are increasing the space they devote to the category in response to growing demand as well the expanding number of products available. "We used to have a four-foot ice-end where we would display the salad cuts," says Brent Battistelli, owner of the 30,000-sq.-ft. Battistelli Independent Grocer in Lively, Ont., a small community that is now part of Sudbury. "We currently have 20 linear feet of shelf space devoted to boxed and bagged salads."

Battistelli has no trouble filling the space given the variety available from processors today. The staples in the category are the bags and boxes of sliced lettuce, both iceberg and romaine, spinach leaves and spring mixes that include varieties of lettuce and other leafy vegetables.

Knobeloch says that improvements in processing equipment and packaging have allowed companies such as River Ranch to enhance their offering.

As a result, supermarket shelves are now lined with bagged products such as a broccoli slaw that comes with carrots and red cabbage and vegetable medleys that consist of blends, one being broccoli, cauliflower and carrots and another that mixes seven different varieties of lettuce. There are bagged salads that come with or without dressing and a sophisticated mix of ingredients. One, called Asian Island Crunch, includes sliced almonds, diced pineapple, crisp noodles, snow peas, shredded carrots, green and red cabbage and romaine and iceberg lettuce. Another, called the Southwest Salad, comes with shredded cheddar cheese, tortilla strips, red cabbage, radishes and both iceberg and romaine lettuce leaves.

Processors are equally inventive when packaging single serve salads. Those harried consumers who need a quick, tasty and nutritious midday meal at the office can buy a spring mix topped with almonds, walnuts and mushrooms; an iceberg lettuce salad complete with red onions, cheddar cheese, English cucumbers, tomatoes and peppers; and a grilled chicken caesar that includes cheese, croutons and bacon bits.

The category is also expanding to include packages that are not, strictly speaking, salads, but they are complementary products that can sit on a shelf next to the salads. These are vegetable snacks that come in blends that include baby carrots, celery sticks, cherry tomatoes, raisins and snow peas. Another mix consists of sticks of celery and carrots, broccoli and cauliflower florets and red and green peppers with a fine-herb dip.

Such packaged combinations are designed for adults who a nutritious snack at work. But processors have developed smaller packages that are ideal for parents who want to send their children to school or day care with a wholesome snack in their lunch containers. One manufacturer has come out with three-packs of either mini-carrots or celery sticks and each includes a dip.

"Customers are looking for variety beyond the traditional bagged salad," says Battistelli. "We've seeing great changes since the early days when these products were introduced."

"Consumer want products with zip," adds Laurie Jennings, owner of Masstown Markets, a full-service grocery store in Masstown, N.S., located about an hour's drive north of Halifax. "There are certainly more varieties, sizes and packages becoming available all the time."

Merchandising

Grocers and processors agree that with a product category like bagged and boxed salads, one main factor-freshness-trumps all others when it comes to merchandising. Most come with a best-before date and conscientious shoppers are going to check the package to ensure that the item in question has not reached or passed that cutoff. "Appearance drives sales more than a label that says 'organic,'" notes Jennings. "It has to look good."

Jennings adds that visibility also drive sales. "You need a big enough section so people can see it," he says. "It needs to be well lit, bright and fresh."

One way to attain that sort of critical mass is to offer salad dressings next to the bagged and boxed salads, including jars and bottles for the shopper who is buying for the family dinner as well as envelopes or cups for the consumer who is looking for a quick wholesome lunch at the office.

The bagged and boxed section is also a good place to introduce new dressings such as salad spritzers, which come in spray containers and in flavours such as zesty Italian, Asian silk and red wine mist. Related products like fruit salads in single or family size and vegetables platters will also do well when merchandised adjacent to the boxed and bagged salads.

Unlike other new products, these salads don't need to be pushed. 'They sell themselves," says Graves.
Sidebar

'Ten years ago you wouldn't have been able to conceive what is available now," says Knobeloch. "We're all going to be amazed at the product that will be developed over the next decade. The future is very bright. It's really wide open.
Sidebar

"Customers are looking for variety beyond the traditional bagged salad," says Battistelli. "We're seeing great changes since the early days when these products were introduced."
Word count: 1292

Copyright Rogers Publishing Limited