A lack of NPD and the impact of the horsemeat scandal has been blamed for a slump in pie sales.
Overall volume sales of chilled pies have crashed 11% year-on-year [Kantar Worldpanel 52 w/e 18 August], while IRI data shows volumes of frozen pies down 7.7% and canned pies down 14.8% [52 w/e 15 September].
Industry insiders said the pie market was hit hard by the damage the horsemeat scandal did to the reputation of processed meat products, with some suggesting the category had taken longer than adjacent markets to recover.
But just as damaging, according to many, was a lack of NPD.
“This year has brought a vacuum of innovation in the category,” said Neil Court-Johnston, former MD of Poole’s Pies. “All of the key players have been very active in NPD in the past five years but, in contrast, 2013 has been a shocker. Where has the creativity gone?”
The pie sector had been slower than other markets to meet changing needs, suggested some insiders, particularly demand for healthier, more convenient products. Meat snacks, for example, had benefitted from changing eating habits, with volume sales up 15.1% [Kantar].
“Pies is probably one of the few categories that doesn’t offer consumers credible healthier alternatives,” said Tristan Hogg, MD of supplier Pieminister. He and other producers of premium pies said they had been faring better than the standard market following Horsegate as shoppers sought products with a strong provenance message.
“The horsemeat scandal actually benefitted the premium end,” said Mark Campbell, marketing director at Higgidy Pies. “Part and parcel of the move towards healthier eating is consumers caring more about where their food comes from.”
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