Supermarket Perimeter - February 2020 - 6

WIRE
Specialty foods
continue to outpace
conventional
grocery
The specialty food
industry continues to
outpace conventional
grocery sales, but the
rate of growth has
slowed as the market
approaches maturity,
according to Mintel
analysts speaking at
the Winter Fancy Food
Show in San Francisco.
Specialty food sales
grew 9.8% between
2016 and 2018 to
$148.7 billion and now
accounts for 16% of the
total food market, says
David Browne, senior
analyst with Mintel.
"We're fast approaching the point where
specialty is basically
20% of all food and
beverage," Browne
said during a Jan. 19

6 - FEBRUARY 2020

presentation at the
event. "That's a major
milestone."
Within the specialty
segment, beverage
sales are growing faster
than food sales, up 13%
and 10%, respectively,
over the two-year
period. Browne noted a
rising trend in functional beverages that
promote energy, mental
focus, relaxation and
digestive health.
"There's a lot of
excitement and
surprise in the specialty
beverage market," he
said. "It's a good place
to be right now."
Snacks, including
jerky and meat snacks,
chocolate, wellness
bars, chips, crackers
and cookies, command
a 27% share of all
specialty food sales,
Browne says.

The plant will serve as
a distribution hub for a
selection of Angus beef
cuts, such as steaks and
roasts from the new
supply chain to 500
Walmart stores in the
southeast, including
Georgia, Alabama and
Florida.

Expect higher-quality beef cuts from Walmart in 2020.

Walmart ramps up
meat category
Walmart kicked off 2020
with renewed focus on
improving the quality
of the company's food
products starting with
its offerings in the
meat case.
In April 2019, Walmart
launched its own endto-end supply chain
for Angus beef. The
company continued to
make improvements
with the opening of a
case-ready facility in
Thomasville, Georgia
on Jan. 10. The 201,000
sq. ft. facility is operated
by Augusta, Georgiabased FPL Foods LLC
and created more than
200 jobs to the state.
www.supermarketperimeter.com

Construction on
the facility started in
August 2018. Georgia
Gov. Brian Kemp joined
Walmart executives at
a grand opening of the
state-of-the-art facility.
Partners in the
company's supply
chain endeavor include
Creekstone Farms,
rancher Bob McClaren
of 44 Farms and Prime
Pursuits in Cameron,
Texas, and Hereford,
Texas-based Mc6 Cattle
Feeders. McClaren will
help Walmart source
cattle, and Mc6 Cattle
Feeders will feed the
cattle. Creekstone
Farms, a subsidiary of
Japan-based Marubeni
Corp., will process the

cattle at the company's
Arkansas City, Kansas,
facility.

Food Marketing
Institute rebrands
The Food Marketing
Institute (FMI) has
rebranded as FMI - The
Food Industry Association. The brand
refresh reﬂects the
organization's expanded membership which
represents a more
interconnected supply chain.
"FMI provides the
most productive forum
for connecting and
holding constructive
dialogue across the
food industry," says
Leslie Sarasin, FMI
president and CEO.
"Driven by consumer
relevance, we are in
the business of food,
wherever it is bought,
sold or produced, and
we are well-positioned
to represent everything
in the shopping basket
- and work closely with
every participant in the
marketplace."
FMI was formed
40 years ago with the
merger of the Super
Market Institute and the
National Association
of Food Chains. But
the organization of
today represents
retailers, producers
and a wide variety of
companies providing
industry services. FMI
- The Food Industry
Association represents
a renewed focus on the
array of experiences
of today's grocery
shopper.

ADOBE STOCK, WALMART

the

"We've taken steps
in the last few years to
really try to quantify
how large the plantbased market is and
also to better understand the specialty food
consumer's purchase
behavior with plantbased," Browne said.
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Supermarket Perimeter - February 2020

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