Consumers are pushing the packaged groceries sector out of its two-year slump as they turn away from takeaway and ready-to-eat meals, opting instead to cook from scratch at home.
Concern over interest rates and petrol prices eating into the family budget has contributed to the trend, which is also fuelled by the popularity of cooking shows.
This has delivered marked improvements in the sale of dry groceries at a time when the industry overall is only just starting to show signs of upward movement after two years of sluggish growth.
According to ACNielsen’s director of retail client services, Anton van den Berg, concern about the economy has driven consumers back to the kitchen and away from pre-prepared meals.
“Consumers are more cautious and cutting back on things like eating out and takeaway meals,” Van den Berg told B&T.
“The economy came off its high in 2005/06, so we’ve seen a move back to home cooking, and this is reflected in strong growth in dry grocery categories.”
Research from ACNielsen’s 2006 Grocery Report showed that dry groceries including bread, flour and olive oil accounted for six of the 20 fastest growing packaged groceries categories in 2006, led by condiments (22.6% growth), stock (12%) and salt (12%).
Van den Berg also said recent ACNielsen research on consumers’ dining habits clearly showed that compared with the global average, Australians were less likely to buy takeaway and ready-to-eat meals rather than cook at home.
“The research was surprising. I hadn’t realised we were that far behind the global average on takeaway meals. We’re still cooking from scratch and to a much greater degree than many manufacturers assume,” he added.
The global average of those who never or seldom purchased ready-to-eat meals was 35%, compared to a high of 44% for Australia, the survey showed.
Meanwhile, the global average of those who said they frequently purchased ready-to-eat meals was 20%, compared to only 14% of Australians.
The results contradicted the belief held by many food manufacturers that young Australians disliked cooking at home.
“I hear comments from manufacturers that young people don’t like cooking, and many [manufacturers] thought ready-to-eat meals would take over, but nothing could be further from the truth,” Van den Berg said.
Leading condiments brand Masterfoods said its own studies showed that only 9% of Australians purchased takeaway for dinner on any given night.
“Families are feeling the financial squeeze. [But] we have also seen a trend towards cooking, driven also by cooking shows, magazines and celebrity chefs,” Sarah Dennis, senior brand manager for Masterfoods, explained.
“It was hypothesised that Australia would follow the trend of the UK for eating out and pre-packaged meals, however we are seeing the opposite.”
She added that culturally, Australia was seeing a return to family and community-based values, with security concerns and global threats driving people back to familiar comforts such as family meals.
