09Apr2011

Frozen Breakfasts Gain 10.4%

Although frozen breakfasts lost a bit to scratch cooking during the recession, the category is rebounding nicely in 2010, thanks in part to the increasing availability of premium and better-for-you options. According to a November 2010 report from Chicago-based Mintel International, dollar sales of frozen and refrigerated breakfast entreés and sandwiches jumped 8.1% across channels last year, to more than $800 million. However, the research company expects some deceleration between 2011 and 2015, as competition from foodservice operators, particularly fast feeders, heats up. Thus far, however, there’s little evidence of a slowdown.

According to Chicago-based market research firm SymphonyIRI Group, frozen breakfast dollars in U.S. supermarkets shot up 10.4% during the 12 weeks ending Feb. 20. Led by the subcategory’s No. 1 and No. 2 brands, Jimmy Dean and Jimmy Dean D-Lights, the handheld segment posted a 14.6% gain, while the Breakfast Entree sector saw sales advance 2.6%, again due mostly to Jimmy Dean, whose Breakfast Bowls and Skillets, the subcategory’s second- and fifth-best sellers, respectively, posted double-digit gains (subcategory leader Aunt Jemima saw its sales decline 14.9%).

WAFFLES UP 27% But the category’s biggest advance was registered by the surging waffles segment, up a whopping 27.0% from a year ago on the strength of Kellogg’s resumption of full-scale Eggo production. Interestingly, though, while all three Eggo brands in the top 10 posted double- or triple-digit gains, five of the seven remaining brands registered advances as well, thanks in part to almost acrossthe- board increases in merchandising support, as manufacturers fight to hang on to share points wrestled from Kellogg’s over the past year. One to watch: Orrville, Ohio-based J.M. Smuckers’ new Snack’n Waffles (www.smuckers. com), a pre-sweetened product — no syrup required — whose sales jumped 1,688.1% off a small base over the past 12 weeks.

While the top half of the breakfast category outperformed the rest of the department over the past 12 weeks, the mostly meatless bottom half didn’t fare nearly as well. Frozen Other Breakfast Food, dominated by Pillsbury Toaster Strudel and Toaster Scrambles, saw its sales fall 5.5% while the Frozen Bagel segment posted a 27.5% decline. Only the Vitamuffin-controlled Frozen Muffin subcategory generated any good news, registering a 22.4% jump.

Why the shift away from bread-based breakfast items, which offer the hand-held convenience so important to today’s on-the-go consumers? “Shoppers are increasingly seeking out products that are high in protein, providing a better start to their day,” answers Reggie Moore, director of brand marketing for Jimmy Dean convenience foods (www.jimmydean.com), part of Downer’s Grove, Ill.-based Sara Lee. But consumers want more than just protein, he continues, citing growing demand for a wide array of betterfor- you attributes, from reduced fat and calories to added fiber and other essential nutrients.

To meet that need, the company introduced the better-for-you D-Lights sub-brand in 2007, and it continues to expand at doubledigit rates. The newest addition, the D-Lights Ham Bowl, contains just 220 calories and 7 grams of fat plus a whopping 21 grams of protein per serving.

This past summer, continues Moore, Jimmy Dean rolled out yet another sub-brand, kid-friendly Jimmy D’s, that combines wholesome turkey sausage with French toast and pancakes. Ready to eat in less than two minutes, all four varieties contain 230 or fewer calories and 7 or more grams of protein.

BETTER-FOR-YOU
The better-for-you trend is also being felt in the frozen waffle category, where consumers are focusing on “broad health and wellness concerns,” not just weight loss, reports Michael Hunter, vp of frozen food sales strategy at the Kellogg Co., Battle Creek, Mich. (www.leggomy-eggo.com). To complement its Eggo Nutrigrain lineup, whose sales shot up 118.0% over the past 12 weeks, says Hunter, Kellogg recently debuted two flavors of Eggo FiberPlus Waffles, which offer 35% the daily recommended value of fiber plus either calcium (Buttermilk) or key antioxidants (Chocolate Chip). To help promote the new items and celebrate Eggo’s 75th birthday, he adds, the company is planning its first new television ads in three years.

Another key trend driving product development efforts is the continuation of a recession-era shift toward eating at home, says Hunter. “While they’re not going to restaurants,” he continues, “consumers still want fullflavor, restaurant-quality meal options.” As a result, Kellogg’s recently introduced Eggo Thick and Fluffy Waffles, which more closely approximate the type of waffles shoppers enjoy at their favorite eateries.

Another frozen breakfast manufacturer hoping to grab sales from the foodservice side, which Mintel says “will become a more serious competitive threat to (frozen food) manufacturers… as the economy improves,” is SJB Bagel Makers of Boston, manufacturer of the Finagle a Bagel brand (www.finagleabagel.com). According to owner and president Laura Trust, “Our product is a true hand-boiled and baked bagel that will appeal not only to the (frozen bagel) customer but also to consumers who buy fresh bagels at their local bagel shop or in the bakery.” But, she admits, it won’t be an easy sell.

“Nothing new has happened in the frozen bagel category for a very long time,” she explains, adding that many buyers have called the segment “stale.” But she’s confident that an all-natural, premium-quality product like Finagle a Bagel can do for the category what high-end brands like DiGiorno and Freschetta did for the flagging frozen pizza segment years ago. “It’s not about price,” she adds. “It’s about quality.”

ONLY 41 SECONDS!
On average, says Jimmy Dean’s Moore, consumers spend only about 41 seconds in front of the chilly frozen breakfast door vs. 58 seconds in other, more temperate areas of the supermarket. Since the window of opportunity is small, he continues, it’s important to make the section as easy as possible to shop by organizing products by type or need (better-foryou, kid-friendly, etc.) and then brand blocking within those segments.

But first you’ve got to get consumers to visit the frozen food aisle in the first place. To make the frozen department a “destination,” says Moore, retailers can utilize secondary displays, cross-promotion and in-store demos (a great way to dispel the notion that microwaveable frozen foods don’t taste as good as fresh) to drive shoppers to frozen breakfasts. One particularly effective strategy is tying frozen breakfast to complementary products in more heavily trafficked areas of the store that are aimed at the same target consumer (higher-income, suburban families with kids headed by working moms). For example, he reports, “We included a small advertising piece on gallons of milk highlighting our Jimmy Dean breakfast products.”

Similarly, says Trust, several of Finagle a Bagel’s customers are selling mixed-variety four-packs of its thawed-out bagels via in-store bakeries where shoppers are much more likely to see them. Simple signage directing consumers who liked the fresh version to the frozen department for a longer shelf-life alternative is all that’s needed to build awareness.

When they finally get to the frozen breakfast section, continues Kellogg’s Hunter, consumers expect to find their favorite products in stock. As a result, retailers need to make sure they’re giving adequate space to the right products, a decision that should be based as much on growth trends as past sales. He concludes, “While it’s important to have a wide variety… the freezer can become crowded if too many brands that don’t offer something unique in terms of taste, quality and quantity are offered.”