Brits are getting bored of bolognese. Inspired by holidays abroad and the proliferation of street food trucks and fast-casual restaurant serving up authentic Indian, Chinese, Mexican and Thai dishes - as well as new cuisines such as Vietnamese, Brazilian and Korean - consumers are itching to recreate more exotic dishes at home.
This is proving to be both an opportunity and a challenge for manufacturers. On the one hand, the hunger for more adventurous flavours means shoppers are “on the lookout for brands they trust which will help them deliver delicious results when cooking up dishes from around the world,” says Daniel Jalalpour, brand director for cooking sauces at Premier Foods. But at the same time, “consumers are becoming more discerning as to what they are looking for,” says Adarsh Sethia, MD of The Spice Tailor. “They are looking for high-quality, authentic products with no compromise on health.”
Data Box
Top 20 Cooking Sauces
With retailers also ramping up their own label offer and switching away from promotions to everyday low prices, branded cooking sauces have continued to take a hit. Stalwarts Dolmio, Loyd Grossman, Homepride, Sharwood’s and Uncle Ben’s are all in decline, shedding a collective £11.4m.
Meal kits, however, are in demand. Brands tapping this trend, such as Patak’s, Blue Dragon and The Spice Tailor, are all in growth. “We are inspiring with new cuisines, new flavours and new pack formats that bring ‘cooking sauce’ out of jars or tins,” says Paul Watmore, marketing director of AB Foods.
Consumer demand for culinary pastes is also surging, driven by “more exotic flavours that can’t be easily recreated at home,” says Peter Oden, commercial director at Belazu. “It gives them convenience without compromise, allowing them to scratch cook every day of the week without the prep work,” he adds.
Brands catering to the latest flavour crazes have also grown sales. Old El Paso has launched NPD to tap into the Mexican street food trend, for example, while The Spice Tailor has capitalised on demand for authentic Indian dishes.
Shoppers aren’t completely abandoning Italian, which remains “the most popular cuisine in the UK”, says Napolina commercial director Neil Brownbill. However, they are “more readily switching into alternative categories such as chopped tomatoes and passata to recreate their own Italian sauces”.
Indeed, Napolina is one of the few Italian sauce brands in volume and value growth, having launched a four-strong range of passata sauces in the summer. “It is incumbent on brands to differentiate from own label and offer innovative, added value solutions to the category that align with consumer trends,” Brownbill adds.
TOP LAUNCH
Patak’s Oven Bakes, AB World Foods
Everyone loves a curry, but sometimes the occasion calls for something a little less saucy. These marinade pouches are inspired by tandoori-style cooking, a staple of Indian street food ideal for making lighter meals. Available in three flavours – Tandoori; Lemon & Coriander; and street food-inspired Spicy Chicken 65 – the pouches can simply be poured over meat or veg before cooking in the oven for 20 minutes. Stuff in a wrap or serve with salad and voila – a mess-free Indian feast.
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