Page 41 - RetailWorld-May2021-Tobacco-Updated

DELI & SMALLGOODS kids schooled from home), there was a huge increase in occasions in-home, driven primarily by breakfast (bacon), lunch (ham, salami – fillers) and meals/ entertaining (platters, diced bacon, kabana),” he said. “Arguably, smallgoods was perfectly positioned for Covid-19 and the switch to more occasions in-home, while there was a decrease in out-of-home occasions (i.e., foodservice).” But this increase in demand was felt in the supply chain, which was already under pressure. ASF continued to disrupt global pork production and consumption, which drove significant meat inflation through the marketplace. “The volatility and speed of these changing circumstances in different states had a huge impact on smallgoods manufacturing throughout the year,” Mr Wooller said. Manufacturers and retailers continue to adapt to changing consumer needs. Mr Wooller says overreliance on value to drive the category in recent years had led to the role of innovation and premiumisation becoming important for delivering growth. However, the change in product mix and pack size seen in the past 12 months, as well as faster growth from retailer own brands, will make trade-up and premiumisation more difficult to achieve in the short term, he adds. “Longer term, in order to drive the category growth, we need to unlock more occasions and trade customers up with clearly differentiated offers,” Mr Wooller said. Category drivers Over the past nine months, branded smallgoods have been tapping into a new snacking category. Their marketing message is mainly targeted around health benefits such as ‘low sugar’ and ‘high in protein’. This trend has emerged from the needs and wants of Australian consumers who are increasingly health conscious and live fast-paced lifestyles. Another trend driving the category is intense flavours. “Taste is a major purchase driver for Australians,” Tibaldi Australasia NPD & Marketing Manager Abbie Fleming said. “Therefore, brands have placed flavour at the forefront of their development strategies to excite consumers. “With 58 per cent of \\\\\\\[surveyed\\\\\\\] Australian ham and bacon shoppers ‘willing to purchase new and different products’ \\\\\\\[Roy Morgan, March 2020\\\\\\\], there’s a real opportunity for brands to provide consumers with a more memorable experience when consuming smallgoods.” Consumers are also looking for transparency in the product they’re buying. They want to understand where the product has come from, says Ms Fleming, and how that aligns with their personal values. “Consumers are also looking for clean labels to improve the health image of cured meats,” she said. “Eliminating additives and preservatives and keeping ingredient lists as ‘clean’ and short as possible can help build trust among consumers.” As well as transparency, 75 per cent of surveyed Australian ham and bacon shoppers are looking to buy Australian products “as often as possible” (Roy Morgan, March 2020, supplied by Tibaldi). They’re also actively seeking out ethical animal credentials on-pack. Recognising consumer needs, Tibaldi Signature Collection has launched two handcrafted premium bacons in Coles that are gluten free and sow stall free. Ms Fleming says Tibaldi, which is Australian family owned, is centred around developing bespoke solutions to meet customers’ requirements. “With our recent addition of an onsite research and development lab, this provides Tibaldi with increased capability to evolve products rapidly from concept to production, enhancing Tibaldi’s already agile business model,” she said. Custom ranging The right offer for the right store for the right shopper and consumer has never been more important, says Don’s Mr Wooller. “No longer does one size fit all for all smallgoods users,” he said. “We’re seeing different packaging and retail execution formats now across the category in different store locations.” In the deli, he says, it’s still vitally important to showcase an offer through exceptional product appearance and engaging store merchandising. “No one enjoys or really wants to shop a boring, old or tired-looking deli. The best delis are also the most entertaining and enticing to shop. They need to clearly signal a ‘good, better and best’ tiering with some subtle ‘storytelling’ about what the products are. Making it easy and building trust in the deli are vital.” In terms of the pre-packaged ranging, a real mix of offers is evident in the marketplace – from traditional branded offers to retailer own brand executions for deli barge and deli express shopping. “Packaging formats are becoming increasingly important to how an offer is positioned,” Mr Wooller said. “Whether it be MAP, VAC and SkinPack formats or single use versus portion size packs, consumers are now seeing and experiencing an increasing range of offers to consider.” Storytelling cues (such as brand, provenance, welfare, sustainability, etc) are also becoming even more important and powerful for smallgoods offers to be successful in the market as consumers become increasingly more interested in what they’re buying. Entertaining back on the menu Quality Food World (QFW), which produces the Lord Boucher range of smallgoods, is among the manufacturers to benefit over the past year from consumers indulging in feel- TO PAGE 40 MAY, 2021 RETAIL WORLD 39