Back To Basics in Tough Economic Times

For the past six months or so, we have been reporting exceptional unit and dollar sales growth from the canning & freezing supplies category. In fact, this category has been the lead category in driving unit sales growth across all mega-categories with sales of $100 million or more tracked by The Nielsen Company. For the latest 52-weeks, unit sales are up 14%, twice the level of growth for wine, the next fastest growing mega-category.

I’ve been reading a lot this past year about the increase in households growing their own produce. There are apparently 20,000 or so community gardens in the U.S. and the Cincinnati Enquirer reported 82 such gardens in the city of Cincinnati. Also, I read where the city of Detroit is contemplating replacing some abandoned neighborhoods with urban farms. A garden on the Whitehouse lawn can’t help but drive interest in this area too.

It’s hard to believe, but yes, I am a card-carrying member of the AARP and receive their monthly magazine. I think it was their March issue where they ran an article showing how to build a 12’ by 12’ garden and save quite a bit of money. I checked their website and found an article where "Burpee Seeds, the country’s largest mail-order seed company, reports record sales–even some sellouts–among its seed stocks for this year." The article also cited: "A study by Burpee claims $50 spent on gardening supplies can become $1,250 worth of produce annually." Check out the AARP gardening site and look at the number of members who have provided content about their gardening successes and tips.

I also came across a full-page advertisement and coupon offer for Ball and Kerr products. A company which has been around for 125 years is seizing the moment to drive sales growth during a tough economy with some great marketing. The free standing insert within the Cincinnati Enquirer included a 75 cent coupon for freezer jars or freezer jam packs and $3.00 off the purchase of two cases of preserving jars. The insert included "family goodness" and "sustainability" messaging with tag lines for:

"SAVE today. ENJOY tomorrow."

"Good for your family. Good for the earth."

I also checked out the website posted in the insert (FreshPreserving.com) and I was very impressed with the visual quality of the site and the excellent information supplied for getting involved in the art of canning–including a link to a preserving club who provided their tips and tricks on the subject. You will also see innovation on their site, with new plastic freezing containers.

It is great to see such a complete and integrated marketing campaign during a time when some consumers are reaching back to their roots to save money and eat healthy foods. We think more CPG companies and retailers should be taking action to align messaging around "at-home behavior" and taking an active role in changing the mood of U.S. consumers. Time with family and friends out in the garden and eating great meals seems like a good approach to bring some confidence back to consumers.

By the way, my wife Connie and I went out this past weekend and purchased four sweet pepper plants (she is going to try growing them in pots on our deck) and a package of sweet onion starts. Our neighbors Steve and Jeana are soon to learn of our plan to grow a row of sweet onions in their soon-to-be-tilled new garden. I’m sure that I will have to come up with some sort of trade and barter to close the deal. But if we are going back to the future, I might as well go way back. Hopefully I will have some good news to share in a few months regarding the success of our harvest.

For further information or to arrange a comprehensive presentation on consumer shopping patterns, please contact Todd Hale at 859-905-4615.

-Todd Hale, TheShopperWonk

-email: todd.hale@nielsen.com

Comments

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