Meat+Poultry - February 2021 - 16

HOT DOG AND SAUSAGE REPORT

KEEPING
CONSUMPTION
HOT
BY K I M B E R L I E C LYM A | kc l y m a @ s o s l a n d.c o m

T

Top 5
HOT DOG
CONSUMING CITIES
Los Angeles
New York
Philadelphia
Boston
Chicago

$16.478 billion
Hot dog and sausage
revenue in 2019

SAUSAGE
CONSUMING CITIES
Los Angeles
Chicago
Dallas
New York
Houston

Hot dog and
sausage sales
Source: The Nielsen
Company, 2019

16

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MEAT
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R | 02.21 | www.meatpoultry.com

Source: IBISWorld

51.7% dinner sausage products
33.1% hot dogs
8% breakfast sausage products
7.2% poultry hot dogs and sausage products

redkoala, vectortatu, Comauthor - stock.adobe.com

he coronavirus pandemic has affected
retail and foodservice food sales in
ways that could never have been
predicted. Spring and summer stay-at-home
orders led to a decrease in foodservice food
sales and a strong increase in sales at retail
outlets. While numbers were highest - and
lowest - in April and May, overall retail and
foodservice sales for 2020 can be credited
for the adjustments in eating habits seen
throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
The hot dog and sausage market also
experienced these fluctuations.
" Retail [hot dog and sausage] sales
have generally been very strong
throughout the pandemic, " said Eric
Mittenthal, president of the National
Hot Dog and Sausage Council and
vice president of sustainability
for the North American Meat
Institute (NAMI). " Initially in
March, we saw a 75% sales
boost [for the sausage and hot
dog category] over 2019. "
After sales adjust through

the rest of the year, retail sales for the category
settled in around 20% higher for both hot
dogs and sausages, Mittenthal said. In 2019,
Americans spent more than $6.2 billion on hot
dogs and sausages in US supermarkets.
" I don't have a sense of the whole impact at
foodservice as I've heard mixed information,
but since hot dogs are quick-serve items, the
impact probably wasn't as high as other items at
restaurants, " Mittenthal said.
The summer months between Memorial
Day and Labor Day continue to make up " hot
dog season. " Hot dog producers estimate
that an average of 38% or $614 million of the
total number of hot dogs are sold during this
time. July is National Hot Dog Month - 10%
of annual retail hot dog sales typically occur
during July.
Many of these summer hot dog and sausage
sales take place in major league ballparks
around the country. It's no coincidence that
the Top 5 hot dog consuming cities also
contain MLB ballparks. However, in 2020,
the Major League Baseball season saw fewer
games and with it, fewer hot dog and sausage
consuming spectators. Luckily it didn't end up
making a big impact on overall sales.
" The stadium closure impact wasn't a huge
hit to the hot dog market, sales wise, " Mittenthal
said. " MLB sells around 20 million hot dogs per
year, while overall, closer to 20 billion hot dogs
are sold. With retail sales up so much this year,
that likely made up for losses at stadiums. "
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