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Plant-based meat revenue and volume expansion is expected to slow in the coming years as the category reboots.
Both have come off the peaks reached in 2021-22 when Covid spurred additional consumer demand for health-related foods such as meat-alternatives. However, many products have not lived up to expectations in terms of taste and quality, and the premium price has also deterred consumers as the cost-of-living crisis took hold.
Repeat rates have been low because of those factors, with the perceived health benefits trumped by what is often a long list of ingredients, many unfamiliar to consumers, who are increasingly scrutinising food labels.
The category has not been helped by a lack of innovation and differentiation, with the space mainly dominated by start-ups offering similar products. Many have jumped onto the bandwagon, as such, to take a slice of the growth pie without a clear conviction about product evolution and quality.
Plant-based meats have long been criticized for their taste, texture, quality, and price, and those shortcomings have yet to be fully addressed. As a result, price and volume expansion has slowed, and grocery stores are now reducing their product listings as a product Countless brands are vying for a parking space.
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Industry analysts say there are too many relative to market demands and that many of them are going bankrupt, either due to self-inflicted deficiencies or external factors such as the economic climate and finances.
Monde Nissin, the Philippines-based owner of Quorn, warned this week that the vegan brand continues to face challenges as it flagged a fourth consecutive quarterly decline in sales.
In an in-depth article on Just Food looking at the category’s conceivable long-term trajectory, John Baumgartner, managing director of Japanese investment bank Mizuho Securities, said: “When Covid happened, there was a lot of distortion in the market with those selling -offs. pop and you’ve been bleeding regularly ever since.
“The biggest challenge in the category remains the lack of innovation. “
American McCormick Sauce & Spices
Announcing McCormick’s fourth-quarter and full-year effects this week, President and CEO Brendan Foley said the company has seen a “sequential improvement in volume trends,” “most of the year “.
Announcing McCormick’s fourth-quarter and full-year effects this week, President and CEO Brendan Foley said the company has noticed a “sequential improvement in volume trends,” the “best component of the year. “
Foley said volumes declined in the fourth quarter amid “pressured consumers exhibiting more value-seeking behavior,” but added, “Our previous investments have boosted volumes in several key areas of our portfolio. In spaces that were below our expectations, we perceived the challenges, met them and were sure that we were going to see the trends in 2024. “
After successive quarters in which food and beverage companies have attempted to raise rates to cover inflation, the effect on elasticity is being closely watched by investors and volumes will be a key topic of discussion as major publicly traded companies in the sector report their currency effects. by 2023.
McCormick saw its operating profits rise last year and Foley also noted a “significant improvement” in cash flow. The company will seek to use some of those resources to finance investments in order to increase its volumes.
According to union officials, the consumer goods giant is going to cut jobs at a factory in Germany.
The cuts, upon which Unilever did not directly comment but which they alluded in statements to Just Food, are apparently being lined up a soup-making facility in the east of the country.
According to the Unilever website, the site in Auerbach produces foods including instant soups, ready meals and croutons.
It is not unexpected that the German dry soup market is experiencing weak growth, apart from a similar increase to the adjustments in consumption in the markets at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.
A Unilever spokesperson said the “strategic changes” the company planned to make at Auerbach would “ensure the long life of the plant in a very dynamic market. “
“I can say that thanks to our strategic decisions we have managed to control the closure of our plant in Auerbach in East Germany, thus preserving 95 jobs,” the spokesperson added.
Cloetta, the confectionery organization for the Sportlife and Candyking brands, is looking for a new CEO after Henri de Sauvage-Nolting stepped down from his tenure.
The Sweden-based group announced yesterday (25 January) de Sauvage-Nolting – who has been at the helm for seven years – had resigned from the roles of president and CEO. He will stay in post until 1 September.
In a statement, Cloetta sought to highlight innovations in sales and profits that the company had noticed during Sauvage-Nolting’s tenure, as it shifted from “primarily acquisition-driven growth” to biological expansion. He joined Cloetta in February 2017, the same month the company acquired his colleague. Swedish pastry chef Candyking Holding.
Net sales rose from SEK 6 billion ($573. 8 million) to a figure “in 12 consecutive months” of more than SEK 8 billion. Profits fell from SEK 600 million to “about” SEK 800 million in the corresponding “most recent” report. ” period.
Cloetta released its full monetary effects for 2023.
Cloetta, an indexed company, which also includes in its portfolio The Jelly Bean Factory confectionery logo and Sportlife chewing gum, has shown that its annual turnover has surpassed the SEK 8 billion mark for the first time.
Sales increased by 20. 8% compared to December to SEK 8. 3 billion and by 15. 7% in biological terms. Sales in the fourth quarter increased by 14. 5% and 11. 7% respectively to SEK 2. 2 billion.
Split between the Cloetta logo and the pick-and-mix businesses, the former, which accounts for about 75% of the group’s sales, posted a biological expansion of 11. 1% and 14. 1% for the quarter and year. Pick-and-mix rose to 13. 6% and 20. 7%, respectively.
On a call with analysts, Cloetta’s management said they had kicked off 2024 with more moves to increase prices.
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