The first commercial canning factory was set up in England in the early 1800s, providing foods for colonial explorers and servicemen. In those days before easy-open ends, cans came with instructions to "cut round on the top near to the outer edge with a chisel and hammer". Fortunately, technology has moved on and today's consumers need not resort to the toolbox to extricate their beans, soup, fish, pasta, vegetables or fruit.
Canned goods might not be sexy but, with nearly all British households buying canned foods, retailers overlook it at their peril.
Despite being often regarded as a commodity sector, canned goods is worth £1.72bn, although growth has slowed to just under 1% in the past 12 months [TNS 17 June].
Unsurprisingly, with penetration over 95%, there is little scope for growth through new shoppers. "The biggest opportunities for retailers and suppliers lie in increasing weight and frequency of purchase," says Neil Brownbill, marketing director for Princes Foods, which claims to be the number one supplier of canned foods to the UK grocery market. "You can't do this by standing still: you have to look at how and when people consume your product and consider ways of encouraging extension of that."
According to TNS, the slight growth that does exist has come from shoppers paying more per unit with promotional levels declining. This can be attributed to the relative success of branded products, which have increased their category share, bringing innovation and adding value to the overall market.
Own-label still accounts for the majority of vegetable sales. The influence of healthy eating, a resurgence in home cooking and strong promotional activity are likely to ensure this sector continues to achieve good sales growth.
But, says Remmelt Jongkind, marketing director for Napolina, the canned tomato brand: "Our research shows many people are prepared to pay more for the reassurance of a brand name that they know and trust."
The industry continues to push the message that canned produce is just as healthy as fresh produce, and many canned vegetables and fruits now carry the 5-a-day logo.
Canned sweetcorn is one of those continuing to benefit. In the past year it generated additional sales of £1.7m and overtook peas to become the second largest segment in the category in value terms [IRI, May 07].
According to Andy Foweather, sales director of General Mills UK, whose Green Giant sweetcorn brand has 63% value share: "This performance highlights the importance of ensuring canned sweetcorn's strong consumer appeal is represented at the fixture."
Canned is also seeing sales growth on the back of reports about the health advantages of eating fish. Princes Foods' Brownbill says: "As TV chefs and consumer media continue to champion a farm-to-fork approach to food, canned fish's naturally healthy positioning will stand it in good stead."
Soup continues to do well and cans are by far the most popular format - more than 95% of all wet ambient sales are in cans and this is growing at 0.6% [IRI, July 07]. While sales of pouches are growing (+0.5%), especially in the premium sector, they account for less than 5% of total sales. The weather is also crucial for soup sales. While recent volume MAT shows wet ambient at -4.3%, the past 12 weeks show the category up +8.8% [IRI]. Heinz research shows an untapped opportunity to drive purchase levels by introducing larger can sizes. "Heinz Big Soup and WWfH are consumed at lunchtime and both consumer bases have expressed a strong desire to enjoy their favourite varieties as a main meal," says Matthew Cullum, marketing manager, Heinz Soup.
While there are success stories, other sectors are declining. For example, consumers prefer cooking sauces in formats that allow them to see what they are buying. Canned desserts are also suffering because of their unhealthy image and competition from pot desserts. n
Top 10 canned brands
Heinz
Princes
John West
Baxters
Green Giant
Napolina (Princes Foods)
Branston (Premier)
Fray Bentos
Ye Olde Oak
Weight Watchers
Source: TNS
CATEGORY INSIGHT:?Beans
The star performer within canned goods is the baked beans sector, and there's a new kid on the block
There's no competition like healthy competition. When Branston entered the baked beans market in 2005, it breathed new life into a sector that had been commoditised in the price wars of the late 1990s. Innovation has been rewarded by a market up 7% in value.
Three months after their launch, Branston Beans had gained an impressive 8.8% share of the UK's £277m baked bean market [IRI, August 07]: two years down the line, the brand continues to make inroads.
In what had become a staple, but stale, sector the move provided a much-needed fillip. It also fuelled a flurry of innovation from sector leader Heinz, which, despite the pretensions of the pickle brand, still claims a commanding 66.9% share [IRI, July 07].
Both brands continue to enjoy high levels of marketing support. "The key thing is that we carry on innovating and chip away at the Heinz market share. And we're pretty happy at the moment," says a Premier Foods spokesperson. This April Branston Bloomin' Big Baked Beans were launched - the "first-ever genuine new product innovation in the category".
"Traditionally there has been very little innovation in baked beans," says Rob Stacy, Branston marketing manager. "There's been nothing you'd call groundbreaking since the basic product was introduced more than 100 years ago."
Heinz is dismissive of the competition. "While Branston has entered the market, it has not made a substantial impact on the category - in fact Branston beans have just replaced the market share held by HP Beans after the brand was sold to Heinz," it says.
Yet there's no doubt the brand has ramped up its NPD. Heinz recently unveiled two new ranges in response to consumer demand for greater convenience, variety and excitement: Heinz Snap Pots and Bean Meals for Blokes. "We are never satisfied or complacent about our success as the nation's favourite baked bean. We are constantly looking at how we can improve our brands, making sure they are relevant and exciting to today's consumer," says Heinz Beanz senior brand manager, Nathan Ansell.
WHAT THE SUPPLIERS ARE SAYING
Fish is already seen as naturally healthy but currently only a small proportion is eaten as part of a main meal. To fill this gap in the market we've launched a range of Princes whole tuna steaks aimed at the main meal occasion. We aim to attract new consumers to the category and increase frequency of purchase. Last year we identified an opportunity to promote the benefits of oily fish as a natural source of Omega-3 that not only helped grow category sales but also helped Princes become the number one brand in the category.
Neil Brownbill
marketing director for Princes Foods
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