Baking & Snack - April 2023 - 36

TORTILLAS & FLATBREADS
" CONSUMERS ARE NOW
MORE KNOWLEDGEABLE AND
NOT ONLY ABOUT TORTILLAS
AND MEXICAN FOOD. "
Enrique Botello, Olé Mexican Foods
producer of La Banderita Authentic Tortillas.
" Consumers are now more knowledgeable and not only
Versatile flatbreads
have become so
popular because
they can be
incorporated into
multiple at-home
meals, appetizers
and even snacks.
Ozery Bakery
about tortillas and Mexican food, " he observed. " You see
it in spirits. Tequila used to be in fashion. Now it's mezcal
that consumers are looking for. They know what food
they're looking for from different regions, whether it's from
Southern Mexico where cochinita pibil (traditionally prepared
by slow roasting pork in citrus juices) is a popular
dish or a wide variety of tacos from Central Mexico. "
In Southern and Central Mexico, Mr. Botello pointed
out, corn tortillas fuel the diet, although they can come
in different sizes depending on the region. In Northern
Mexico, flour tortillas predominate.
Such regional preferences for tortillas are also found
in the United States and are fueling product innovation
at Olé Mexican Foods. In Texas, for instance, the company
offers smaller, 6-inch, fajita-sized tortillas, while 8or
10-inch tortillas are more popular in Western states
where it launched its King Corn large tortillas that are
used for frying and making taquitos. In the Northeast,
wraps are a top seller.
" In Arizona, they like a thinner, almost translucent
tortilla, " Mr. Botello said. " We launched one called
Comalera for the grill. That's a tortilla that will do really
well in Arizona and Texas. "
A resilient market performer
Overall sales of hard and soft tortillas and taco kits
jumped 13.6% to $3.67 billion, according to data by
Circana, formerly IRI and NPD, for the 52 weeks ending
Jan. 29, 2023. Although unit sales slipped 0.6%, tortillas
and taco kits are performing better than other food
categories, which have seen steeper declines in units as
inflation takes its toll on consumer spending habits. In
fact, Melissa Altobelli, principal in client insights for
dairy and bakery for Circana, suggested that tortilla
sales could benefit if supply chain issues subside.
" In general, ingredients have been a challenge for tortilla
and flatbread makers, just like
for bread and anything else, but with
unit sales being relatively flat, the
category was able to overcome those
challenges, " she said.
On the other hand, flatbread sales
vary depending on product variety
and where they are purchased in the
store. Circana reported that the center
store wraps and flatbreads category
rose 2.3% to $238.9 million, while
units tumbled 9.6% from a year ago.
Specifically, the largest segment
in the center store is pita bread,
which increased 5.9% to $91.5 million
while wraps fell 3.0% to $90.9
million. Flatbreads and naan make
up the remaining smaller segments.
Flatbreads were actually the only segment
to show unit sales growth in
the center store, driven by low-carb
options, Ms. Altobelli said.
The story is much different for
the perimeter store wraps and flatbreads
category, which jumped
13% to $315.7 million, while unit
sales inched up 0.6%, according to
Circana. In the perimeter, sales of
naan soared 19.3% to $175.7 mil36
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Baking & Snack - April 2023

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