Market Trend: Low, Reduced and No Sodium or Salt Foods and Beverages in the U.S.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Executive Summary

• Definition of the Market
• Scope of the Report
• Products Outside of Scope
• The Ingredient and the Issues
  • Sodium' s Role
  • Americans Consume Too Much Sodium
  • The Salt Shaker Is Not the Culprit
  • The Government May Regulate the Salt Content in Food
  • There' s Two Sides to Every Story

• The Market
  • Tracking Low Sodium Is Challenging
  • Product Categories Driving Growth

• The Marketers
  • Many Are Looking at Sodium Content Formulations

• The Marketplace
  • Supermarkets Lead in Share of Sodium Content Product Sales
  • Figure 1-1 U.S. Retail Sales of Sodium Content Foods and Beverages, by Outlet, 2008
  • Health and Wellness Revolution
  • “Less Sodium” Gets Classified with the Functional Food Trend
  • Demographics of Those Watching Sodium Intake

• Product Development
  • Nothing Truly Replaces Sodium
  • Options in the Market

Chapter 2 The Ingredient

• Key Points
• Scope of the Report
  • Definition of the Market
  • Products Outside of Scope

• All About Sodium
  • What Is Sodium?
  • Sodium' s Role in Life
  • Sodium' s Presence in Foods and Beverages
  • Sodium' s Role in Foods and Beverages
  • Concerns With Too Much Sodium in the Diet
  • What Are the Recommendations for Sodium Intake?
  • Table 2-1 Dietary Reference Intakes for Sodium
  • Most Sodium Comes from Processed Foods and Restaurants

• The Government' s Role
  • FDA Holds Hearing on Regulating Salt Content in Food
  • AMA Requested a Call to Action, Too
  • Comments Made at the FDA Hearing
  • AMA Urges FDA Action to Reduce Excess Salt in Food
  • Action Overseas Suggests There Is Hope for U.S. Foods and Beverages
  • Status of Change in the United States

• The Controversy
  • The Other Side of the Sodium Debate
  • The Salt Institute Speaks Out

• Labeling Overview
  • Labeling Nomenclature
  • Provide the Facts: Nutritional Information Musts
  • Sodium Content Claims
  • Table 2-2 Legal Descriptors for the Sodium Content of Foods and Beverages
  • Products That Are Exempt
  • Nutrition Regulations in Foodservice
  • What Is the Definition of “Healthy” When Used on a Food Label?
  • Health, Nutrient Content and Structure/Function Claims
  • Significant Scientific Agreement Health Claims
  • Qualified Health Claims
  • Nutrient Content Claims
  • Structure/Function Claims
  • Allergen Issues
  • AHA' s Heart-Check Mark
  • Table 2-3 American Heart Association Heart-Check Mark Usage Criteria
  • FDA Urged to Create New Healthy Food Labeling System

• The Food Industry Gets Challenged
  • Where to Go From Here
  • The Healthy People Challenge

Chapter 3 The Market

• Key Points
• Market Approach
  • Many Different Approaches to Addressing Sodium Levels
  • Figure 3-1 Canned Soup Making a Sodium Content Claim on the Front Label
  • Figure 3-2 Canned Soups Flagging Sodium content on the Front Label
  • Analysis of Sodium Content Soup
  • Table 3-1 U.S. Sales Data for Select Brands of Sodium Content Soup, 2003-2007 (in millions of dollars)
  • Table 3-2 U.S. Sales Data for Sodium Content Soup, Market Leader Campbell Soup vs. Total Category, 2003-2007 (in millions of dollars)
  • Sodium Content Soup Is About 10% of Campbell' s Mix
  • Figure 3-3 U.S. Sales of Campbell' s Soup, Sodium Content vs. All Others, 2007
  • Healthy Choice Is the Sole Sodium Content Frozen Entree Choice
  • Table 3-3 U.S. Sales Data for Healthy Choice-Branded Frozen Entrees, 2003-2007 (in millions of dollars)

• Retail Sales Trends
  • Impossible to Provide a Dollar Value to Sodium Content Category
  • Sodium Content Claims Double from 2002 to 2007
  • A Note on Product Tags
  • Table 3-4 U.S. Product Introductions with Low-Salt and Low-Sodium Content Claims, 2002-2007
  • Figure 3-4 U.S. Product Introductions with Total Low-Salt and Low-Sodium Content Claims, 2002-2007
  • The Dip in 2006 Is About Trans Fats
  • Language Confusion with Productscan
  • Figure 3-5 U.S. Product Introductions with Low-Salt Content Claims, 2002-2007
  • Figure 3-6 U.S. Product Introductions with Low-Sodium Content Claims, 2002-2007

• Marketable Products
  • Seven Product Categories to Focus On for Sodium Content Claims
  • Canned Foods Lead the Sodium Content Business
  • Figure 3-7 U.S. Retail Sales of Sodium Content Foods and Beverages, Share of Total Market, 2007
  • No-Salt-Added Canned Vegetables Are the Original Player
  • By 2012, Grains/Snacks and Meat/Fish/Entrees Gain Share
  • Figure 3-8 U.S. Retail Sales of Sodium Content Foods and Beverages, Share of Total Market, 2012
  • Regional Preferences for Sodium Content Foods and Beverages
  • Table 3-5 U.S. Adult Consumers Watching Sodium Intake and Purchasing Low-Sodium Foods, by Region, 2007 (index)

Chapter 4: The Marketers

• Key Points
• The Leading Marketers
  • Many Are Looking at Sodium Content Formulations
  • The 10 Leading Marketers
  • Table 4-1 U.S. Sodium Content Foods and Beverages: 10 Leading Marketers and Brands, 2007
  • ConAgra and Campbell Lead in Share of Sales
  • Figure 4-1 U.S. Sodium Content Foods and Beverages: Share of Dollar Sales, by Marketer, 2007

• Competitive Profile: Amy' s Kitchen, Inc., Petaluma, California
  • The Company' s Namesake
  • A Leader in Penetrating Mainstream Markets
  • Product Lines
  • Canned Items
  • Frozen Items

• Competitive Profile: Campbell Soup Co., Camden, New Jersey
  • More Than 100 Years Old
  • Campbell Is the Leader in Sodium Content Movement
  • Riding the Wellness Trend
  • Soup Fits Into Wellness by Filling Consumers Up
  • When the Sodium Reduction Plans Commenced
  • Efforts include:
  • Thanks to Sea Salt
  • V8 100% Vegetable Juice Reformulation
  • The Line Up Continues to Grow
  • Supporting the Products
  • How the Lower-Sodium Soups Score with Consumers

• Competitive Profile: ConAgra Foods, Inc., Omaha, Nebraska
  • An All-American Company
  • Sodium-Cutting Initiative Announced

• Competitive Profile: Del Monte Foods, Co., San Francisco, California
  • Vegetable Rush
  • Something for Everyone
  • Forerunners in No-Salt-Added Veggies

• Competitive Profile: General Mills, Inc., Minneapolis, Minnesota
  • It All Started with Milling
  • Responsible Advertising
  • Variety of Sodium Contents Statements on Veggies
  • Progresso Soup Introduces Reduced Sodium Soups

• Competitive Profile: H.J. Heinz Co., Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
  • If It Isn' t Heinz, It Isn' t Ketchup
  • Only Mainstream No-Salt-Added Ketchup
  • Bouillon Goes Lower in Sodium

• Competitive Profile: The Hain Celestial Group, Inc., Melville, New York
  • Health Food Giant Continues to Grow
  • Health Valley Offers Many Sodium Content Products
  • Other New Sodium Content Products

• Competitive Profile: Hormel Foods Corp., Austin, Minnesota
  • Meat and Potatoes
  • Sodium Content Offerings
  • Practically an Institution

• Competitive Profile: Kraft Foods Inc., Northfield, Illinois
  • The Biggie in the States
  • Nabisco First to Lower Sodium
  • The Sensible Solution Logo
  • Living in South Beach in 2008

• Competitive Profile: Unilever, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey
  • International Company with Local Roots
  • Nutrition Enhancement Program: It' s a Choice in the States
  • In the States, the company calls it program: Choices.

Chapter 5 The Marketplace

• Key Points
• Distribution and Delivery
  • Retail Distribution Methods
  • Direct Delivery Advantages
  • The Cost of Face-To-Face Business
  • Advantages of Warehouse Delivery
  • Smaller Marketers Work Through Brokers
  • Introducing New Special Dietary Needs Products to the Market

• The Retail Environment
  • Store Formats Are Changing
  • Shopping Options Are Plentiful
  • Where Are Consumers Shopping for Groceries?
  • Traditional Supermarkets Decline as a Primary Destination
  • Traditional Supermarkets Are the Leader in Share of Sodium Content Food and Beverage Sales

• The Leading Retailers
  • Getting Your Product in with the Leaders
  • Table 5-1 Top Five U.S. Supermarket Chains, by Dollar Sales and Number of Stores, 2006 or fiscal 2007, depending on chain
  • Table 5-2 Top Five U.S. Discount-Style Chains That Sell Food & Beverage Products, by Dollar Sales and Number of Stores, 2006 or fiscal 2007, depending on chain
  • Changes in the Competitive Landscape
  • The Wal-Mart Factor
  • The Whole Foods Approach
  • Table 5-3 Low-Sodium Foods Sold in Whole Foods Market, by category, brand and description, 2008
  • Trader Joe' s Goes Low-Sodium, Too
  • Table 5-4 Low-Sodium Foods Sold in Trader Joe' s, by category, brand* and description, 2008
  • (*unless noted, product is the store label of Trader Joe' s)

• Comparative Pricing
  • There' s a Plethora of Products Out There
  • Table 5-5 U.S. Sodium Content Retail Sales Prices of Beverages at Select Stores, 2008
  • Table 5-6 U.S. Sodium Content Retail Sales Prices of Condiments at Select Stores, 2008
  • Table 5-7 U.S. Sodium Content Retail Sales Prices of Dairy Products at Select Stores, 2008
  • Table 5-8 U.S. Sodium Content Retail Sales Prices of Grain-Based and Snack Foods at Select Stores, 2008
  • Table 5-9 U.S. Sodium Content Retail Sales Prices of Meat, Fish and Entree Products at Select Stores, 2008
  • Table 5-10 U.S. Sodium Content Retail Sales Prices of Soups at Select Stores, 2008
  • Table 5-10[Cont.] U.S. Sodium Content Retail Sales Prices of Soups at Select Stores, 2008
  • Table 5-11 U.S. Sodium Content Retail Sales Prices of Canned Vegetables at Select Stores, 2008
  • Private Label Offers Price Breaks
  • Table 5-12 Private Label vs. Branded Retail Price of 8-Ounce No-Salt-Added Tomato Sauce, 2008
  • Trader Joe' s Is Almost All Private Label
  • Table 5-13 Private Label vs. Branded Retail Price of 32.0-Ounce Chicken Broth, Trader Joe' s vs. National Brands, 2008
  • The Club Store Price Advantage
  • Multi-Packs and Family-Size Products
  • Table 5-14 Club Store vs. Supermarket Prices for Select Sodium Content Products, 2008

Chapter 6 The Consumer

• Key Points
• Today' s Consumer
  • Health and Wellness Revolution
  • Choosing Sodium-Containing Foods Wisely
  • “Less Sodium” Gets Classified with the Functional Food Trend
  • General Attitudes Toward Health
  • Consumer Health Concerns
  • What Consumers Say and What Consumers Want
  • So Who Wants to Lower Their Sodium Intake?
  • Retailers Ask for Low-Sodium Foods; Consumers Buy Them

• Simmons Consumer Survey
  • Demographics of Those Watching Sodium Intake
  • Table 6-1 Demographics of Those Who Watch Their Salt Intake or Buy Low-Sodium Foods, 2007
  • Table 6-2 Indicator and Resistor Indices of Those Who Watch Their Salt Intake or Buy Low-Sodium Foods, 2007
  • When It' s Available They Will Use It
  • Table 6-3 Percentage of U.S. Consumers on a Diet and Watching Their Salt Intake That Use Select Foods, by Product Type, 2007

Chapter 7 Product Development

• Key Points
• Understanding Salt
  • Kicking Off the New Year
  • To Enhance, One Must First Understand the Flavor of Salt
  • Salt' s Uniqueness
  • No Worries, Reducing Salt Does Not Impact Food Safety

• The Food Science Approach
  • Are There Four or Five Tastes?
  • The Deal with Umami
  • Efforts by Suppliers and Research Organizations
  • Blue Pacific Flavors
  • Cargill Salt
  • ConAgra Food Ingredients
  • Dairy Management Inc.
  • DSM Food Specialties USA Inc.
  • Givaudan Flavors
  • Grande Custom Ingredients Group
  • Griffith Laboratories Co.
  • ICL Performance Products LP
  • Jungbunzlauer, Inc.
  • Mastertaste
  • Morton Salt
  • The Mushroom Council
  • Prime Favorites
  • Purac America Inc.
  • Savoury Systems International, Inc.
  • Senomyx Inc.
  • Spectrum Foods, Inc.
  • Synergy Flavors, Inc.
  • Wild Flavors, Inc.
  • Wixon, Inc.

• Overview Of Product Development Efforts
  • Campbell Soup' s Can of Tricks
  • What' s Popping at ConAgra
  • What' s Shaking at McCain Foods
  • Nestle Sheds Salt in Shreddies
  • Kellogg' s Approach in Snack Foods
  • New Product Introductions
  • Introduction Highlights in 2006 and 2007
  • Beverages
  • Figure 7-1 R.W. Knudsen Organic Low Sodium Very Veggie Juice
  • Meat/Entrees
  • Figure 7-2 Amy' s Light in Sodium Organic Chili
  • Figure 7-3 Amy' s Light Enchilada
  • Figure 7-4 Hormel No Salt Added Breast of Chicken
  • Figure 7-5 Spam 25% Less Sodium
  • Side Dishes
  • Figure 7-6 Zatarain' s Reduced Sodium Rice Mix
  • Figure 7-7 Rice-A-Roni Lower Sodium Rice Mix
  • Snack Foods
  • Soups/Sauces/Seasonings
  • Figure 7-8 Progresso Health Favorites 45% Less Sodium Soup
  • Figure 7-9 McCormick Grill Mates Seasonings
  • Figure 7-10 Morton Salt Balance
  • Additional New Products
  • Table 7-1 U.S. Lower Sodium Food and Beverage Introductions, 2006-2007

Appendix I: Select Marketers

Appendix II: Select Suppliers of Sodium Reduction Ingredients