“We did actually see some pullback this previous yr, and a part of what it’s … there’s simply been this compounding affect from a shopper standpoint, inflation over the previous few years. What value me $100 in 2019 goes to value me $133 now, and that did have an effect on what shoppers have been prioritizing. And we have been positing from an NIQ standpoint for the final couple of years … that in lots of situations wellness is a luxurious for sure shoppers.”
Ozempic modifications the dialog on well being, weight
GLP-1 medicine like Ozempic and WeGovy have not solely proven the potential for weight-loss medicine, however they’ve additionally shifted the dialog on weight problems and weight, Frey stated. In its annual Well being Shopper research, NIQ discovered that there have been twice as many households that have been reporting that they have been obese and taking weight-loss medicine.
“One of many fascinating issues that we have actually been watching is how these medicine are altering the dialog, … but it surely additionally, in lots of situations, destigmatizes the thought of weight problems and weight reduction and taking it out of this concept that it is nearly willpower … to the fact that this really is a continual illness, a illness that must be managed.”
Shoppers who’re on GLP-1 medicine typically take care of gastrointestinal points and switch to merchandise that “are targeted on their microbiome,” which could be merchandise with these claims or digestive-health dietary supplements, Frey stated. Metabolism assist claims rose 12% for the yr, per the identical report.
Can meat alternate options rebound by including extra protein?
Many shoppers on Ozempic typically lose muscle mass whereas taking the drug and can search for methods to spice up their protein to counteract that, as shoppers extra broadly search for methods so as to add extra proteins to their diets, Frey famous.
“We predict protein is a type of areas that, as an trade, we ought to be paying far more consideration to not simply due to the GLP-1, however as a result of we all know many shoppers are constructing their meal across the protein, and we have seen some shifts by way of the place protein is being bought within the retailer.”
Whereas whole meals and beverage models have been down 2.2% in 2023, cottage cheese, anchovies and sardines grew 9% and three%, respectively, for the 52 weeks ending Dec. 30, 2023. Final yr, anchovies, sardines, and different seafoods noticed a lift as a result of the viral tinned fish pattern, the place many youthful shoppers turned acquainted with the merchandise, Frey famous.
Whereas contemporary meat, eggs, processed meat and canned and frozen beans equally noticed a 2% drop in models, frozen contemporary meat and frozen seafood each noticed a 5% decline every, and nuts and seeds noticed a 4% decline in models. Meat alternate options noticed essentially the most profound declines in models at 15%, as the class confronted headwinds in 2023.
Nevertheless, “plant-based is absolutely simply in its subsequent section of iteration,” and merchandise that present extra protein could be one method to entice shoppers, Frey stated. In 2023, Meat different merchandise that had 25g or extra of protein per serving noticed 31% progress in models and 54% in {dollars}. Merchandise like UNLIMEAT’s Korean BBQ Bulgogi and its plant-based jerkies and Discipline Roast’s Italian Garlic and Fennel Sausage are a number of examples of merchandise available on the market that comprise 25g or extra of protein.
Clear label outperforms the remainder of the shop
Shoppers are additionally more and more looking for out merchandise with fewer substances and demanding extra transparency from manufacturers on their merchandise, Frey stated. Clear-label merchandise outperform the market and noticed 8% CAGR in greenback progress, in comparison with 6% for the whole retailer, based on NIQ knowledge.
“Purple dye clearly is the large one that’s impacting essentially the most variety of merchandise, and for a lot of manufacturers, this turns into a query of reformulation. … After which how can we really label in opposition to these kinds of issues? And can we do that throughout the nation, or can we do it simply particularly for one state?”
