Soup 2024: health now huge driver of chilled soup sales

This year’s success in chilled soup boils down to health. Market value has grown 4%, while volumes have dipped just 0.2% compared with ambient soup’s 5.4% decline.

The reason for this disparity is that consumers are “increasingly health-conscious and looking for minimally processed foods”, says Vignesh Shanmuganathan, NIQ senior analytical executive. When it comes to soup, it’s chilled options that fit the bill.

It’s meant a big win for Borough Broth Co, which has seen volumes of its organic soup and bone broth almost triple. A £2.7m gain has seen the challenger jump into chilled soup’s top 10.

Borough Broth founder Ros Heathcote is banking on the health craze to drive further sales this coming year. “We see the trend only growing as more people become ingredient-conscious and choose wellness-focused foods,” she says.

Freja is also focusing on health, having recently added instant bone broths that marry convenience with a “single clean-label ingredient that delivers multiple functional benefits”. (See our Top Launch, below)

“Our customers understand that real nutrition comes at a cost, and this has proven more valuable than competing on price,” says Freja founder Jess Leather.

For sector leader New Covent Garden, however, competing on price has been key. It’s shifted an extra two million litres after going big on promotions and “maintaining prices below the rate of inflation and category as a whole”, says Ruth Snowdon Gough, chief marketing officer at owner HAIN Celestial.

In ambient soup, the top brand hasn’t been quite so fortunate. Heinz sales have fallen by £7.8m, as it sold 2.6 million fewer litres. Top 10 names Baxters, Nongshim, Knorr and Campbell’s have also seen volumes decline at rates as fast as 59.1%.

While concerns about UPFs are likely one reason for these declines, another is the challenge of cheaper, own label alternatives. own-label soup is no longer “perceived as lower in quality”, says Shanmuganathan.

Instead, retailers have made “significant investments” into R&D and product innovation, to create “premium-quality own label offerings”.

Read more: Soup 2023: chilled sales back on the boil