It’s October and as we are in the full swing of autumn, the weather has cooled down to more pleasing and temperate conditions and the leaves have started peppering the landscapes with their eye-catching palettes of red, gold and orange. For better or for worse, the advent of the fall also means it is pumpkin spice season. This is the time of the year when it seems that just about every manufacturer is putting out a seasonal pumpkin spice flavored product. Aside from the obvious drinks and baked good/dessert items enhanced with this flavoring that typically consists of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and allspice, there are some questionable pairings that make you wonder how a given product made it on the production line. Case in point: this year’s Kraft Pumpkin Spice Mac and Cheese. Yes, you read that correctly: pumpkin spice NOT pumpkin. Because, while a pumpkin mac and cheese would be more fitting and way more appetizing, pumpkin pie spice is the fall flavor that just won’t die, thanks to Starbucks’ now iconic Pumpkin Spice Latte (or as the trendy people like to refer to it, PSL).
First hatched by the Canadian subsidiary of Kraft Heinz, the Pumpkin Spice special edition of Kraft Dinner (KD – which is how our northern neighbors refer to the signature mac and cheese product) was announced last month with a limited release of 1,000, and only those who signed up on a waiting list would have access to it. More than 30,000 Canadians signed up in less than 48 hours and because it was trending all over social media, Americans wanted a piece of the pie (spice that is) as well. So, a few days after the initial announcement, the U.S. division opened up a sweepstakes to a limited number of Americans as well.
“KD has always been known for its one-of-kind cheesy taste and after years of watching Canadians get excited for pumpkin spice season, we felt that it was time to combine the two iconic flavours and create Pumpkin Spice KD,” said Brian Neumann, senior brand manager, brand building and innovation, Kraft Heinz Canada. “Canadians have always made KD their own way and not many people would expect KD to be part of the PSL conversation, but that’s the whole point. Only 1,000 will be made. So, move over lattes and muffins, PSKD is the must try new flavour this fall.”
“After seeing the huge response Pumpkin Spice Mac & Cheese received north of the border, and even hearing some heated debates about it down here, we had to bring it to the U.S. for Americans to try,” said Martina Davis, brand manager for Kraft Macaroni and Cheese. “Who knows? Maybe it could become a new North American fall favorite.”
I’m fairly confident that will be a no, Martina. But, if anything, it has been a great way to drum up publicity, making this dreadful food pairing a success just for that reason alone.
Placer.ai, a software solutions company that offers a foot traffic analytics platform for its clients to generate insights into any physical place for a deeper understanding of audiences and competition for customers, has just published a 2020 Grocery Deep Dive whitepaper which provides an overview of the grocery industry from the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic from a location analytics perspective. It looked at the foot traffic of the following major grocery chains from March through September: Kroger, Stop & Shop, Albertsons, Harris Teeter, Safeway, Aldi, Walmart Neighborhood Market, Sprouts, Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, Meijer, Publix, Winn Dixie and H-E-B. The report found that during the second week of March there was a sharp increase of almost 30 percent in foot traffic as the pandemic really started to hit the U.S. (but right before shutdowns were implemented across the board) that was soon followed by a sharp decline in late March as retailers starting limiting hours and implementing protocols for social distancing that lasted through June. However, as summer hit, signs of a visit recovery started to show, but unfolded in different stages depending on the states as each one had different protocols for easing lockdown restrictions. The report also found behavior patterns shifted. Most notably is the decrease in grocery shopping on Sunday, which even as restrictions have eased up at stores and people have become more comfortable with shopping in-person again, has not normalized. On the other hand, there has been an increase of grocery shopping from Tuesday through Friday and also an increase in morning shopping between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and noon, likely due to the fact that many people are now working from home and have the flexibility to shop during that time frame. Early afternoon hours were also busier while on the other hand, evening shopping hours saw the most significant decline. And while overall the number of visits declined during the period of March to September, the duration time increased per visit, with many shoppers presumably trying to do something known as mission-driven shopping, during which a consumer strives to make fewer visits by buying as much as they can in one visit. The analysis also found that there was a growth in brand loyalty, what with shoppers wanting to minimize the number of stores they visit, they were more likely to pick a familiar store that could offer a one-stop-shop benefit. As a result, specialty chains such as Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s and Sprouts showed sharp declines in the number of visits. Meanwhile, more traditional grocers such as Kroger, Albertsons and Winn Dixie saw growth compared to last year and others such as Meijer, Stop & Shop, and Safeway had limited declines. The report also zeroed in on six of the studied retailers that showed the most significant growth and the most significant decline. These outliers started at similar foot traffic levels in March during the start of the pandemic. Albertsons had a strong showing, with a spike in March followed by a sharp dip in April and then a steady recovery with visits rising as high as 17.5 percent year-over-year in June. Kroger, Publix, and H-E-B also saw a similar pattern of a March high, an April low, but then a steady rise back towards normalization. Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods, both specialty stores in comparison to the other four, had dramatic drops in the first two weeks of April with visits down 60 percent year-over-year. However, despite similar challenges of being known for niche products, Trader Joe’s recovery brought it back to year-over-year growth while Whole Foods’ recovery trajectory has lagged far behind all of the other retailers. Trader Joe’s average length of visit increased by more than 9 percent for the past six months year over year while Whole Food’s stayed the same. Trader Joe’s kept the same 81 percent of loyal customers year-over-year and the percent of customers willing to travel farther stayed consistent. In comparison, Whole Foods’ percent of loyal customer visits dropped from 84 to 81 and whereas between March 2019 and 2020, more customers were willing to travel a distance to shop at a Whole Foods than at a Trader Joe’s, once the pandemic hit, there were fewer shoppers willing to do so.
“The COVID pandemic has fundamentally altered the grocery sector from the way consumers shop to the brands consumers choose to shop at,” states Ethan Chernofsky, vice president of retail for Placer.ai in the report. “And while many expected these changes to be short-lived, there are signs that some shifts could have real staying power.”
To view the full report and read its key takeaways, go to www.trends.placer.ai/grocery-deep-dive-0.
Another recent study that looked at grocery shopping during the pandemic was recently put out by Lending Tree. Researchers from the largest online lending marketplace in the United States compared average consumer spend in July relative to January 2020 (via the Opportunities Insights Economic Tracker) for all 50 states and Washington, DC in seven categories: grocery and food store; accommodation and foodservice; arts, entertainment and recreation; general merchandise stores, apparel, and accessories; health care and social assistance; transportation and warehousing; and overall. The research found that spending at grocery stores nationally was up 10.4 percent at the end of July compared to January, with upticks in all but two states. Washington, DC experienced a 28.3 percent jump in spending at grocery and food stores, ranking first nationally. Iowa and Alaska were at the bottom of the list for grocery and food store spend, with -9.7 and -0.7 percent, respectively. The category of grocery and food store spend had the biggest gains compared to the other reviewed categories with 48 out of 50 states and the District of Columbia in the green versus the categories of transportation and warehousing and arts, entertainment and recreation, which saw declines in all 50 states and the nation’s capital. If you’re interested in seeing how all of the other states fared, you can check out the statistics at lendingtree.com/business/consumer-spending-rebound-study/.
Finally, I would like to give a shout out to Four Seasons Produce. In lieu of their annual golf outing and dinner this year, not only did the Ephrata, PA-based company make a donation of $39,060 ($36,100 raised in partnership with their vendors, and $2,960 donated directly from Four Seasons’ associates via payroll deduction elective) to the Make-A-Wish Foundation’s Philadelphia, Delaware and Susquehanna Valleys chapter on September 22, but they also found the time and resources that day to give away more than 1,500 large food boxes to families in the greater community impacted by COVID or otherwise in need. With 75 associates volunteering to help distribute the boxes at a trunk-to-truck type event at their headquarters, Four Seasons donated 14,000 pounds of premium fresh produce to be included and sponsored the box cost and transport for their food bank partner, Blessings of Hope, who also packed each box with grocery items. Additionally, Equal Exchange donated 4,000 pounds of bananas. What a way to give back to the community, especially in times like these. It’s the continued generosity of companies like Four Seasons that make me proud to be part of this industry.
 Until next month…
Karen can be contacted via email at: [email protected]
