Over the past 52 weeks, there have been some dramatic shifts across
snack food segments in vend. It is no wonder; between the low-carb
craze, "biggie-size" controversy, and school vending legislation -
a Vend Operator is faced with new challenges in determining product
mix. As a result, some segments have experienced tremendous
distribution gains and resulting share growth - at the expense of
others.
Topping the list of movers and shakers based on Q1 2004 ProVen™ data
are Meat Snacks for which distribution and sales have nearly doubled
yielding a .4 share gain. Not far behind are Nuts & Seeds, which
realized a 15-point distribution gain and a .37 share gain. Nutritional
Snacks, including Fruit Snacks, Breakfast Bars and Granola Bars gained
.26 share points and grew nearly 10% in dollar sales. Offices and Schools
are driving growth across al three of these segments, while public is
also a driver for Nuts and Meat Snacks. Meat Snacks is the only of the
segments to demonstrate distribution, share, and dollar sales growth
across ALL Classes-of-Trade. These segments appear to be sourcing their
volume from the Salty Snack Segments - which driven by Potato Chips, Corn/Tortilla Chips
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and Cheese Curls have lost 2.4 share points and suffered a 10% volume loss. The
most dramatic movement is in schools that are showing a 34% volume
decline versus prior year. Among the Salty Snacks, the "baked" lines
including Doritos and Lays are generating growth. There continues to
be a shift to "biggie size" in distribution; however, on average -
the large-size products are not delivering back the same dollar volume
as the standard-size products that they are replacing. Perhaps the buzz
of Morgan Spurlock's documentary, Super Size Me has also found its way
to the Vend Channel consumer.
Through all of the shake-up, Candy appears to be holding it's own.
Chocolates, Non-Chocolates, Gum, and Mints are all maintaining share
levels comparable to YAGO. These findings are somewhat surprising
considering the majority of items generating the growth for the Meat,
Nutritional and Nuts & Seeds segments are vended from a single slot
- and are competing directly against confectionery items for
machine-distribution.
In-order to thrive, Vending - like all consumer purchase channels,
must respond to the demand of its customers. And it appears as though
it is doing just that!
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