Corporate Profiles - 2021 - 10

INDUSTRY REVIEW: GRAIN-BASED FOODS
Grain-based foods
Shift away from packaged sliced bread continues
A
fter enjoying a COVID-19-fueled surge in 2020, unit volume of bread
over the past 12 months has surrendered its gains, and then some. The
sales decline over the past year suggests that a long-term consumer
trend away from packaged sliced bread has not been upended by changing
consumer eating habits associated with the pandemic.
While overall volume of bread sales has declined over the past year, dollar
sales were up and unit sales trends varied widely among the largest US
vendors. Additionally, sales of buns and rolls did not fall as steeply as fresh
bread sales, and sales volume figures were strong for numerous specialty bread
categories, including pita bread and croissants.
Still one of the largest categories in the supermarket, dollar sales of fresh
bread in the 52 weeks ended July 11 were $9.6 billion, up 2.2% from a year
earlier, according to IRI, a Chicago-based market research firm. The sales gain
was modest when compared with a 6.2% gain during the same 52-week period
a year earlier. Unit sales of fresh bread in the 52 weeks ended July 11 were
3.5 billion, down 4.2% from the year before, when unit sales were up 3.5%.
Standing out in fresh bread sales each of the past three years has been
the weakness of the market for private label bread. Unit sales of private label
fell below 1 billion for the first time in decades, totaling 957 million in the 52
weeks ended July 11. That was down 13% from a year earlier. But even in
2020, private label unit sales bucked overall sales trends and fell 1.3%, after
sliding a hefty 9.8% in the 52 weeks ended Aug. 11, 2019.
Commenting recently on the weak sales of private label bread, A. Ryals
McMullian, president and chief executive officer of Flowers Foods, Inc., Thomasville,
Ga., said current consumer trends don't favor generic private label bread.
" (There is a) perception private label doesn't meet the need for more artisan
and healthy/wholesome bread, " he said. " Also, private label has been over
indexed in bread versus other grocery categories and seems to be reverting to
those lower levels. "
Still, essentially none of the private label volume that was lost over the past
year migrated to branded bread sales. Indeed, branded bread sales over the
LEADING FRESH
bread vendors
1 Grupo Bimbo SAB de CV
2 Flowers Foods Bakeries LLC
3 Campbell Soup Co.
4 Lewis Bakeries, Inc.
5 United States Bakery
6 Aunt Millie's Bakeries, Inc.
7 Aryzta LLC
8 H&S Bakery
9 Martin's Famous Pastry Shoppe, Inc.
Private label
Total
% change
from
Dollar sales
$2,611,990,905
$2,362,240,611
$677,836,951
$218,863,983
$185,982,166
$184,616,679
$128,307,605
$124,235,105
$119,105,158
$1,629,385,095
$9,621,191,308
year ago
1.1%
2.3%
-0.8%
7.4%
9.1%
2.8%
4.1%
5.2%
4.9%
-8.2%
0.2%
Data for 52 weeks ended July 11, 2021
Total US - Multi-outlet with C-Store (Supermarkets, Drugstores and Mass Market Retailers, Gas/
C-Stores, Military Commissaries and Select Club & Dollar Retail Chains)
Source: IRI
past 52 weeks, based on the IRI data, were down 18 million units, or 0.7%.
Each of the largest US baking companies experienced unit sales declines
over the past year, including 1.6% for Bimbo Bakeries USA, Horsham, Pa.;
1.3% for Flowers Foods; and 1% for Pepperidge Farm, Inc., Norwalk, Conn.
Most other leading US bakers during the past year enjoyed volume gains, including
Lewis Brothers Bakeries, Inc., Evansville, Ind., up 3.7%; United States
Bakery, Portland, Ore., up 5.2%; Aspire Bakeries LLC, San Leandro, Calif., up
LEADING
grain-based foods categories
Dollar sales
Fresh bread
Cookies
Cold cereal
Crackers
Snack bars/granola bars
Tortilla/tostada chips
Hard/soft tortillas/taco kits
Bakery snacks
Hamburger and hot dog buns
All other fresh rolls/buns/croissants
Pasta
Hot cereal
$9,621,191,308
$8,926,405,371
$8,687,700,719
$7,522,081,654
$5,534,426,159
$5,130,976,355
$3,170,156,680
$2,805,532,164
$2,441,473,483
$2,415,430,199
$2,407,308,991
$1,384,054,523
% change
from
year ago
0.2%
2.2%
-4.4%
-0.2%
-1.6%
3.7%
5.4%
3.7%
3.0%
9.6%
-6.2%
-3.7%
Data for 52 weeks ended July 11, 2021
Total US - Multi-outlet with C-Store (Supermarkets, Drugstores and Mass Market Retailers, Gas/
C-Stores, Military Commissaries and Select Club & Dollar Retail Chains)
Source: IRI
10 \ October 2021
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Corporate Profiles - 2021

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