“We did actually see some pullback this previous 12 months, and a part of what it’s … there’s simply been this compounding affect from a client standpoint, inflation over the previous couple of years. What value me $100 in 2019 goes to value me $133 now, and that did have an effect on what customers had been prioritizing. And we have been positing from an NIQ standpoint for the final couple of years … that in lots of cases wellness is a luxurious for sure customers.”
Ozempic adjustments the dialog on well being, weight
GLP-1 medicine like Ozempic and WeGovy have not solely proven the potential for weight-loss treatment, however they’ve additionally shifted the dialog on weight problems and weight, Frey mentioned. In its annual Well being Shopper examine, NIQ discovered that there have been twice as many households that had been reporting that they had been obese and taking weight-loss medicine.
“One of many fascinating issues that we have actually been watching is how these medicine are altering the dialog, … but it surely additionally, in lots of cases, destigmatizes the concept of weight problems and weight reduction and taking it out of this concept that it is nearly willpower … to the truth that this truly is a continual illness, a illness that must be managed.”
Shoppers who’re on GLP-1 medicine typically cope with gastrointestinal points and switch to merchandise that “are centered on their microbiome,” which might be merchandise with these claims or digestive-health dietary supplements, Frey mentioned. Metabolism help claims rose 12% for the 12 months, per the identical report.
Can meat alternate options rebound by including extra protein?
Many customers on Ozempic typically lose muscle mass whereas taking the drug and can search for methods to spice up their protein to counteract that, as customers extra broadly search for methods so as to add extra proteins to their diets, Frey famous.
“We expect protein is a kind of areas that, as an business, we needs to be paying way more consideration to not simply due to the GLP-1, however as a result of we all know many customers are constructing their meal across the protein, and we have seen some shifts when it comes to the place protein is being bought within the retailer.”
Whereas complete meals and beverage models had been down 2.2% in 2023, cottage cheese, anchovies and sardines grew 9% and three%, respectively, for the 52 weeks ending Dec. 30, 2023. Final 12 months, anchovies, sardines, and different seafoods noticed a lift attributable to the viral tinned fish development, the place many youthful customers grew to become acquainted with the merchandise, Frey famous.
Whereas recent meat, eggs, processed meat and canned and frozen beans equally noticed a 2% drop in models, frozen recent meat and frozen seafood each noticed a 5% decline every, and nuts and seeds noticed a 4% decline in models. Meat alternate options noticed essentially the most profound declines in models at 15%, as the class confronted headwinds in 2023.
Nevertheless, “plant-based is basically simply in its subsequent part of iteration,” and merchandise that present extra protein might be one approach to entice customers, Frey mentioned. In 2023, Meat various merchandise that had 25g or extra of protein per serving noticed 31% progress in models and 54% in {dollars}. Merchandise like UNLIMEAT’s Korean BBQ Bulgogi and its plant-based jerkies and Discipline Roast’s Italian Garlic and Fennel Sausage are a number of examples of merchandise available on the market that comprise 25g or extra of protein.
Clear label outperforms the remainder of the shop
Shoppers are additionally more and more looking for out merchandise with fewer components and demanding extra transparency from manufacturers on their merchandise, Frey mentioned. Clear-label merchandise outperform the market and noticed 8% CAGR in greenback progress, in comparison with 6% for the entire retailer, in response to NIQ knowledge.
“Pink dye clearly is the massive one that’s impacting essentially the most variety of merchandise, and for a lot of manufacturers, this turns into a query of reformulation. … After which how will we truly label towards these kinds of issues? And will we do that throughout the nation, or will we do it simply particularly for one state?”