by Bob Benenson, FamilyFarmed
“Just within the past 10 years, this industry has skyrocketed. Everything around this industry has completely changed. The consumers who shop this industry have changed. It’s no longer just the crunchy hipsters in Boulder.” That is how Anubhav (Anu) Goel described the fast-rising demand for Good Food at the start of his data-driven keynote speech at FamilyFarmed’s Good Food Accelerator Application Celebration at 1871 Chicago last week.
Anu is Executive VP of Client Growth Solutions at SPINS, the Chicago firm that is the leading provider of retail consumer insights, analytics reporting, and consulting services for the Natural, Organic, and Specialty Products Industry. He has numbers to back up the statement above, and he had good news for an audience packed with people from across the Good Food spectrum — including several entrepreneurs considering an application to participate in the Good Food Accelerator’s upcoming fourth cohort.
[The application deadline is Sept. 18, next Monday. For more information or to apply, click here.]
FamilyFarmed’s Good Food Accelerator Application Celebration and Networking Event on Sept. 5 featured a keynote speech by Anubhav (Anu) Goel, Executive Vice President of Client Growth Solutions at SPINS — the leading provider of retail consumer insights, analytics reporting, and consulting services for the Natural, Organic, and Specialty Products Industry. The event took place at Chicago’s 1871 business incubator, which hosts the Accelerator’s programs. Photo: Bob Benenson/FamilyFarmed
SPINS’ deep data dive is based on hundreds of attributes that it uses to define products as Natural Positioned, Health and Wellness Positioned and Conventional Positioned. And the top takeaways from Anu’s talk showed that the trend arrows in the grocery industry were pointing toward Good Food:
• Over the past decade, sales in the natural products sector have more than doubled, from $48 billion to 2006 to $114 billion in 2015.
• Natural Positioned Products are outperforming the rest of the industry with a 9 percent annual growth rate, and Health and Wellness Positioned Products are growing at a 5 percent rate. Though Conventional Positioned Products still make up nearly 80 percent of the overall food market, the sector’s growth actually declined slightly.
• Grocery stores defined by SPINS as being in the Natural Channel grew by 7.2 percent. Stores in the Conventional Multi-Outlet Channel grew by 1.1 percent.
• One of the most interesting findings is that natural products are also the growth center even within Conventional grocery stores, as they bring more of these products in to adjust to the changing environment. Natural products make up only 7 percent of the mix at Conventional grocery stores, but their sales grew at a nearly 10 percent rate. Conventional products make up 80 percent of what these stores sell — but their growth rate was -0.2 percent.
“That’s an amazing sea change in the industry,” Anu said. “And conventional retailers have woken up and realized this is a big deal. I’ve got to make sure Good Food is available to everybody.” He added, “Every conventional retailer, every major retailer, is investing heavily in this space. It’s totally transforming at least the supply side… We know the consumer demand is there, but to see retailers shift that assortment is pretty transformative.”
Every seat was taken for the presentation on Good Food trends by Anu Goel of SPINS, which took place at FamilyFarmed’s Good Food Accelerator Application Celebration. Photo: Bob Benenson/FamilyFarmed
Anu’s presentation also highlighted some of the top grocery trends benefiting Good Food:
• Dietary lifestyles: “Most people tell me gluten-free is the big trend. What stood out to us when we did this analysis was Vegan… it’s growing rapidly. One of the things we’ve learned is there’s a new name for vegan these days, which is plant-based. Vegan has a little bit of political connotation. Plant-based, everybody has a reason… Being plant-based doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice taste… Innovators are making phenomenal stuff.”
• “Free From”: Anu gave a hat tip to Scott Mandell, founder of Enjoy Life Foods, for creating a market sector with products that are free from known allergens. Anu said grain-free products are on the rise, citing Chicago’s Simple Mills as an example. [Scott Mandell moderated a panel discussion at the same event featuring four graduates of FamilyFarmed’s Good Food Accelerator. An article on that panel can be found here.]
• Animal welfare: “Grass-fed is a big, big deal… We’re bringing that history back of how dairy was produced, of how cows were treated… This is how this was meant to be. We’re not force feeding cows stuff they shouldn’t be having.”
Anu also urged those entering the food product sector to start with these basic questions: “What do you stand for? What are you trying to do? Why are you doing this? Millennials seek brands based on values. You have to be really clear what you stand for if you want to win with that audience.”