Meat Snacks Continue to Grow

The dried meat snacks category jumped 4.3% over the past 12 months.

August 05, 2016

KANSAS CITY — While the growth has decelerated, the meat snacks category will continue to post positive returns, according to Nielsen, Food Business News reports. “The growth number associated with what we saw in 2014 versus 2013 was astronomical,” said Mikael Olson, associate client director at Nielsen. “This is a billion-dollar category we’re talking about, and it experienced 12% growth in 2014, which is really incredible. Overall, the story is still very positive; it’s just not as shocking as it was two years ago.”

This year, the category is expected to rake in $1.3 billion. Dollar sales of dried meat snacks at multi-outlets rose 4.3% in the year ending July 10, with unit sales soaring 5.6%, according to Information Resources, Inc. Prices have stabilized, probably because of the lower cost of beef.

“From a flavor standpoint, beef is still king,” Olson said. “Pork and chicken are a little smaller than turkey but are still growing. … The most exciting part of the category is exotic proteins, which are relatively miniscule in volume compared to traditional beef, but the meat types in our data that are kind of fascinating include venison, bison, buffalo, lamb, elk, kangaroo, boar, duck, pheasant and ostrich. I believe they all have positive year-over-year numbers associated with them. So, while relatively small, they are contributing to growth in the category.”

The growth has been driven in part by gourmet and premium offerings. “We may be seeing something of a ‘gourmetization’ or ‘premiumization’ under way in jerky,” Olson said. “I think it’s safe to say if you’re a manufacturer looking at the category, there are some really stalwart, high-equity brands in that space that you have to come in with a new value proposition for consumers. One way to do that is to offer what might be perceived as fancier protein, unconventional forms, lots of packaging language and really visually stimulating [imagery conveying] simplicity and realness.”

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