Abstract
The popularity of celebrity chefs and restaurant culture among consumers
continues to grow, driven in large part by the dominance of food-related
media, such as television programming, magazines and websites, and cookbooks.
The big question is whether consumers will even give a hoot about brand
mystique in the midst of an economic crisis as more pressing issues are at
hand. Instead of feeling good about expensive and conspicuous purchases as
they have in the past, many consumers will increasingly feel good about not
spending in 2009. Not just on discretionary items, but on staple goods as well
- including food.
Though the market for chef-and restaurant-branded food products in the U.S.
grew at an annual rate of eight percent between 2004 and 2008 in dollar sales,
in unit terms growth was much less exciting. And for 2009, a new era may be
beginning. For food marketers the prospects of changing market dynamics due to
shifting consumer preferences, economic worries and a New Frugality may be
challenging but can also be viewed as providing new and exciting opportunities.
MarketTrend: The U.S. Market for Chef- and Foodservice-branded Food Sold at
Retail examines these issues and many others by looking at the current market,
trends, major brands, and consumer preferences. The report presents concise,
thought-provoking analyses of various aspects of the industry and provides a
forecast for the market through 2013.
Methodology
The report uses data from IRI, which tracks sales through mass retail channels
(except Wal-Mart) and Product Launch Analytics, a service of Datamonitor,
which provides data on new product introductions. Other research data were
gathered from trade associations, business journals, financial reports and
brand literature, and from the Internet for other useful information on the
topic.
Where possible, discussion in terms of unit sales has been included to provide
a picture of "real" growth. Sales for all of 2008 were estimated by Packaged
Facts based on sales through September 2008 or in some cases through part of
November 2008.
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