We’ve written before about global flavors’ “escape” from the grocery aisle, and Americans’ increasing appetite for chili crunch, gochujang, za’atar and other delights (provided they’re available in familiar “vehicles”).
Still, it’s interesting that this newfound willingness to try global flavors comes at a dicey time for household budgets and the economic sentiment at large.
Despite the tightening finances, despite the pessimism, premium sauces and seasonings occupy an unusually attractive position. According to some new data from wholesale distributor UNFI, many shoppers who’d think twice about spending $20 or $25 on a restaurant entrée seem to have no problem buying a $7 or $8 bottle of sauce. There’s no mystery there; a sauce can transform several dinners built around relatively inexpensive chicken, rice, noodles or vegetables.
So it goes with “affordable premiumization,” a consumer trend that’s lifting quite a few boats during this ebb tide.
UNFI says consumers increasingly want products that help them recreate authentic dining experiences at home. The distributor, drawing on its work with more than 4,000 retail customers, is seeing continued growth in premium and globally inspired sauces, seasonings and elevated pantry staples. UNFI describes the category as a relatively inexpensive outlet for both experimentation and indulgence, and it’s tough to argue.
It’s tempting to think of premiumization as “get ‘em to buy a more expensive version” of a familiar product, but sauces are exposing a different angle: They can make the rest of the basket “feel” more premium – at a time when sentiment and feeling carries an outsized impact.
With, quite literally, a world’s worth of options available now, a consumer doesn’t necessarily need expensive cuts of meat when the right marinade or seasoning blend can make ordinary chicken interesting again. Rice and vegetables look less like budget compromises when accompanied by chili crunch, just as Korean barbecue sauce can provide enough novelty to interrupt the monotony of eating at home without coming anywhere near the cost of takeout.
So no matter what else is in the basket – be it ever so humble – these sauces are the reason why the customer feels better about everything else in it.
Now, UNFI’s sales figures suggest this opportunity will not look the same everywhere in the United States. Among the retailers it works with, hot sauce is Louisiana’s leading condiment category and registered 47% year-over-year growth; the home of Tabasco is broadening its horizons. In Washington state, sweet barbecue sauce grew 114%, while classic barbecue increased 59% and Korean barbecue rose 54%. North Carolina, meanwhile, is showing strong movement in chili crunch, flavored ketchup, Japanese barbecue sauce and flavored mayonnaise.
Avoid the “Museum of Interesting Sauces”
There’s a caveat here: These are distributor shipment figures, and not comprehensive measures of consumer sell-through. It’s possible some of the largest gains may be coming from relatively small bases. But even the caveat manages to make a tantalizing suggestion: “global flavor” is absolutely a national trend, but the killer assortment will probably be highly localized.
In other words, the numbers suggest merchandisers should resist the temptation to respond by simply adding every fashionable sauce they encounter; more SKUs probably won’t produce more sales and, as always, the usual ills of an overstuffed set are lurking out there.
This isn’t just my opinion. UNFI itself acknowledges that retailers with strong multicultural assortments risk oversaturating their sauce and seasoning sets. It also identifies Middle Eastern seasonings as a growing segment while noting that comparable flavors remain underrepresented in sauces. That could represent white space… but only where local demand supports it.
Nevertheless, UNFI’s report offers us a few concrete, worthwhile takeaways. Three steps to turn curiosity into a meal… and one bottle into a heftier basket. :
- Placement will likely be as important as assortment; gochujang should not be discovered only by shoppers intentionally visiting an international aisle.
- Chili crunch should be considered right alongside hot sauce and other mainstream condiments.
- Emerging flavors can be cross-merchandised with meat, seafood, noodles, rice, vegetables and prepared foods. This last takeaway may end up being absolutely essential.
The opportunity here is not to build a museum of interesting sauces. It’s to show shoppers exactly what those sauces can do. Retailers that localize the assortment, merchandise around uses and connect premium flavor to affordable meal components can offer consumers something priceless right now: the feeling of trading up… without spending like it.