SAN FRANCISCO, CA – A recent study from Nielsen Perishables Group revealed key information on the potential value that Fresh Solutions Network’s Side Delights® Steamables had on the microwaveable/steamable fresh potato segment.
The study showed that Side Delights® Steamables accounted for 54.4% of all microwaveable bag volume measured by Nielsen and accounted for half of all dollar sales in the segment, according to a press release.
In addition, during the 52-week period ending 6/27/15, Steamables grew 18.2% in volume and posted a 17.1% increase in dollar sales. That is in spite of only accounting for 7 out of 25 SKUs that Nielsen categorizes as microwaveable/steamable fresh potatoes.
Fresh Solutions concluded that if Steamables had the same retail distribution that 5 lb. russet bags had, the brand would be worth more than $100 million in just the retail chains that Nielsen measures.
Kathleen Triou, President and CEO of Fresh Solutions, said that she hadn’t realized the sheer size of the opportunity that the company could capitalize on with Steamables until this study was released.
“The Nielsen data tells us that 53% of American households are buying value-added vegetables, but that only 1% of households are currently purchasing Steamables. Just think if all of those value-added households were to discover the healthy, tasty convenience of Side Delights® Steamables – we could find ourselves with a business possibly fifty times larger than it is today.”
According to the study, Steamables shoppers spend more on produce and across the retailer’s total store than the average shopper. When a shopper picks up Steamables, their basket rings up nearly twice as much as any basket with a different produce item, and 28% more than the average shopping basket that included fresh potatoes.
Lastly, using shopper insights gained from Oracle Data Cloud Shopper Intelligence, Nielsen found that Steamables shoppers tend towards affluent, fresh food- and waist-line focused small households looking for health benefits like gluten-free, and seeking out healthy items to snack on and cook at home.
