Abstract
In this report, Mintel examines factors that are influencing sales of dry pasta, shelf-stable pasta-based meals, and refrigerated and frozen pasta in FDM and natural food retail channels. This report concentrates especially on trends that will continue to have an effect on the pasta and pasta-based meals market beyond the period under review, analyzing specific brands and products themselves, as a well as advertising and retail efforts. Mintel also offers an in-depth discussion of consumer attitudes toward different types of pasta products, as well as different brands.
Mintel reports on market size, including an estimate for Wal-Mart sales, and further discusses sales patterns within product segments. The report details sales for 2001-06, as well as a forecast through 2011. Companies and brands are analyzed in depth for a thorough understanding of product trends. Retail activity is also explored.
Topics covered in this report include kid versus adult pasta products, natural/organic and regular pastas, and whole grain pastas. The report discusses competition to the market, both from FDM sources like frozen foods and prepared deli selections, and from restaurants. A large part of the market is dependent on sales of pasta aimed at children, so Mintel looks at demographic trends challenging the market. Mintel also provides insights into 14 television commercials, including one from a competing product category.
This report uses custom consumer research and Simmons NCS data analysis to provide insights into consumer behavior.
Consumer responses analyzed include:
- Types of pasta used, further supplemented by discussions of specific brand responses
- Factors affecting how respondents make brand choices
- Frequency of purchasing types like organic, all-natural, low-carb, and whole-grain pastas
- Differences in responses by blacks and Hispanics
- The effect that kids and teens have on household pasta purchases
In this report, Mintel offers industry participants the information they need in order to gain insight into both the stresses that are affecting the pasta and pasta-based meals market now, as well as opportunities for future growth.
Products covered by this report include:
- Dry pasta, either by itself or in packages including sauce, cheese, or herbs/spices
- Fresh or refrigerated pasta, either alone or with sauce
- Frozen pasta (e.g. ravioli, tortellini) with or without sauce, excluding frozen pasta meals
- Shelf-stable/canned pasta
This report contains US IRI InfoScan data.
Table of Contents
- Scope and Themes
- What you need to know
- Definition
- Abbreviations and terms
- Abbreviations
- Terms
- Executive Summary
- The bottom line
- Healthy sales for wholegrain pasta
- Growth trends vary by segment
- Consumers like connections to Italy
- Natural and organic offerings on the rise
- Race and ethnicity as factors in the pasta market
- Black and Hispanic households who use pasta packaged with a sauce use more of it
- Hispanic dry pasta consumers more likely to buy special varieties of dry pasta
- Asian consumers use more noodles and introduce these dishes to others
- Importance of advertising and promotions
- "For kids" pasta products and childhood obesity
- Forecast
- Market Drivers
- Households with children drive the market
- Households with children key to category sales
- Figure 1: Types of dry pasta used in household, by presence of children, January-October 2006
- Figure 2: Snowman-shaped pasta from The Pasta Shoppe, 2007
- Figure 3: Types of complete packaged dinner mixes used in household, by presence of children, January-October 2006
- Percentage of households with children on the decline
- Figure 4: Households, by presence of children, 1995-2005
- Figure 5: Easy Mac Big Packs from Kraft, 2007
- Figure 6: Hamburger Helper Television ad, 2007
- The convenience factor and competition
- Frozen meals and in-store-prepared foods offer competition
- Figure 7: Amy' s Macaroni & Cheese Large Size from Amy' s Kitchen, 2007
- Restaurants are another source of competition
- Figure 8: Bertolli frozen dinners television ad, 2007
- Health trends support pasta sales
- Wholegrain pastas
- Figure 9: Number of new pasta product releases with wholegrain claim in U.S., 2001-06
- Using nutrition labels for easy identification
- Gluten-free
- Organic and all-natural pasta
- Premium products support category
- Figure 10: Priano Red Wine Gourmet Pasta from Aldi, 2007
- Ethnic cuisine
- The Asian market
- Figure 11: Population, by race and Hispanic origin, 2002-12
- Specialty foods buyers and "foodies" drive purchase of Asian-style noodles
- Figure 12: Purchases of ethnic foods among specialty food buyers, June 2006
- Market Size and Trends
- Market size
- Figure 13: U.S. FDM retail sales of pasta and pasta-based meals, at current and constant prices, 2001-06
- Natural foods channels
- Figure 14: U.S. natural foods and FDM retail channel sales of pasta and pasta-based meals, 2004 and 2006
- Wal-Mart estimate
- Market trends
- Figure 15: Nature' s Way all-natural olive oil and herb-flavored pasta from Pasta Roni, 2007
- Figure 16: Whole Wheat Thin Spaghetti from The Fresh Market, 2007
- Market Segmentation
- Introduction
- Sales by segment in FDM channels
- Figure 17: FDM sales of pasta and pasta-based meals, segmented by type, 2004 and 2006
- Sales by segment in natural foods channels
- Figure 18: Natural foods channels sales of pasta and pasta-based meals, segmented by type, 2004 and 2006
- Dry pasta-based meals
- Figure 19: FDM sales of dry pasta-based meals, at current and constant prices, 2001-06
- Dry pasta and noodles
- Figure 20: FDM sales of dry pasta and noodles, at current and constant prices, 2001-06
- Shelf-stable/canned pasta meals
- Figure 21: FDM sales of shelf-stable/canned pasta meals, at current and constant prices, 2001-06
- Frozen pasta
- Figure 22: FDM sales of frozen pasta, at current and constant prices, 2001-06
- Fresh/refrigerated pasta
- Figure 23: FDM sales of fresh/refrigerated pasta, at current and constant prices, 2001-06
- Supply Structure
- Foreign trade
- Exports
- Figure 15: U.S. pasta exports*, by FAS value, by destination country, 2001-06
- Imports
- Figure 15: Pasta imports* by customs value, by country, 2001-06
- Companies and brands
- Figure 24: Manufacturer FDM sales of pasta and pasta-based meals in the U.S., 2004 and 2006
- Dry pasta-based meals
- Figure 25: Manufacturer brand FDM sales of shelf-stable/canned pasta-based meals in the U.S., 2004 and 2006
- Healthy dry pasta-based meals
- Adult options
- Dry pasta and noodles
- Figure 26: Manufacturer brand sales of dry pasta and noodles in the U.S., 2004 and 2006
- Shelf-stable/canned pasta meals
- Figure 27: Manufacturer brand FDM sales of shelf-stable/canned pasta meals in the U.S., 2004 and 2006
- Frozen pasta
- Figure 28: Manufacturer brand FDM sales of frozen pasta, 2004 and 2006
- Fresh/refrigerated pasta
- Figure 29: Manufacturer brand FDM sales of fresh/refrigerated pasta in the U.S., 2004 and 2006
- Advertising and Promotion
- Overview
- Dry pasta-based meals
- Kraft Macaroni & Cheese (Kraft Foods)
- Figure 30: Kraft Macaroni & Cheese television ad, Even Cheesier, 2007
- Figure 31: Kraft Macaroni & Cheese television ad, I Got The Blues, 2007
- Figure 32: Kraft Supermac & Cheese television ad, 2007
- Figure 33: Kraft Easy Mac television ad, Hallway Joust, 2007
- Figure 34: Kraft Easy Mac television ad, The Horse, 2007
- Dry pasta and noodles
- Ronzoni Healthy Harvest (New World Pasta)
- Barilla
- Figure 35: Barilla Pasta television ad, The Helpful Neighbor, 2007
- Figure 36: Barilla Plus television ad, 2007
- Golden Grain (AIPC)
- Figure 37: Golden Grain pasta television ad, 2007
- No Yolks (Strom Products Ltd.)
- Figure 38: No Yolks pasta television ad, Say Yes, 2007
- Shelf-stable/canned pasta meals
- Chef Boyardee (ConAgra)
- Figure 39: Chef Boyardee canned ravioli television ad, Tin Man, 2007
- Figure 40: Chef Boyardee canned pasta television ad, Followed Home, 2007
- Campbell' s SpaghettiOs (Campbell Soup)
- Figure 41: Campbell' s SpaghettiOs canned pasta television ad, Your Mouth Will Groove, 2007
- Retail Distribution
- Introduction
- Figure 42: U.S. retail sales of pasta and pasta-based meals in FDM and natural food channels, by channel, 2004 and 2006
- Wal-Mart
- Supermarkets
- Figure 43: U.S. supermarket sales of pasta and pasta-based meals, at current and constant prices, 2001-06
- Natural foods channels
- Figure 44: U.S. natural foods retail sales of pasta and pasta-based meals,
- The Consumer
- Introduction
- Summary
- Consumption of pasta, noodles and pasta-based meals
- Figure 45: Consumption of pasta, noodles or pasta-based meals in household, by gender, age, household income, marital status and household size, March 2007
- Types of pasta eaten
- Figure 46: Types of pasta, noodles, pasta-based meals eaten in household in the past month, March 2007
- Figure 47: Types of pasta, noodles, pasta-based meals eaten in household in the past month, by gender, March 2007
- Figure 48: Types of pasta, noodles, pasta-based meals eaten in household in the past month, by age,
- Figure 49: Types of pasta, noodles, pasta-based meals eaten in household in the past month, by number of people in the household, March 2007
- Figure 50: Types of pasta, noodles, pasta-based meals eaten in household in the past month, by race and Hispanic origin, March 2007
- Amount of pasta eaten in household
- Dry pasta
- Figure 51: Number of packages of dry pasta eaten in household in past 30 days, January-October 2006
- Complete packaged dinner mixes
- Figure 52: Number of packages of complete packaged dinner mixes eaten in household in past 30 days, January-October 2006
- Canned/jarred spaghetti or macaroni
- Figure 53: Number of cans or jars of spaghetti or macaroni eaten in household in past 30 days, January-October 2006
- Brands of pasta and pasta-based meals used in household
- Dry packaged pasta
- Figure 54: Brands of dry pasta eaten in household, January-October 2006
- Complete packaged dinner mixes
- Figure 55: Brands of complete packaged dinner mixes eaten in household, January-October 2006
- Canned/jarred spaghetti or macaroni
- Figure 56: Brands of canned/jarred spaghetti or macaroni eaten in household, January-October 2006
- Pasta consumption among black and Hispanic consumers
- Figure 57: Number of packages of complete packaged dinner mixes eaten in household in past 30 days among black respondents, by age, January-October 2006
- Figure 58: Brands of complete packaged dinner mixes eaten in household among black respondents, by age, January-October 2006
- Hispanic
- Figure 59: Amount of dry, canned/jarred and packaged pasta consumed in household monthly, by Hispanic origin and country of origin, January-October 2006
- Factors in pasta brand selection
- Figure 60: Factors in pasta brand selection, by household income, March 2007
- Kinds of pasta bought and how often
- Figure 61: Kinds of pasta buy and how often, March 2007
- Figure 62: Whether ever buy specific kinds of pasta, by age, March 2007
- Figure 63: Whether ever buy specific kinds of pasta, by household income, March 2007
- Figure 64: Whether ever buy specific kinds of pasta, by Hispanic/non-Hispanic, March 2007
- Opinions of and use of pasta by cooking skills
- Figure 65: Types of pasta, noodles, pasta-based meals eaten in household in the past month, by level of cooking skills/enjoyment, March 2007
- Figure 66: Whether ever buy specific kinds of pasta, by level of cooking skills/enjoyment, March 2007
- Figure 67: Factors in pasta brand selection, by level of cooking skills/enjoyment, March 2007
- Figure 68: Level of cooking skills/enjoyment among pasta eaters, March 2007
- Opportunities for packaged pasta with sauce
- Figure 69: Interest in specific/innovative types of pasta packaged with sauce, by number of children, March 2007
- Teens and pasta
- Figure 70: Teen consumption of canned/jarred spaghetti, by gender and age, January-October 2006
- Figure 71: Teen influence on brand of canned/jarred pasta bought, January-October 2006
- Kids and pasta
- Figure 72: Consumption of canned/jarred spaghetti among children, by gender, January-October 2006
- Figure 73: Kids' influence on brand of canned/jarred pasta bought, January-October 2006
- Future and Forecast
- Future trends
- The pasta market and childhood health issues
- Future focus on Hispanics and blacks
- Figure 74: Population, by race and Hispanic origin, 2002-12
- Figure 75: Households, by race/Hispanic origin of householder and presence of children, 2004
- With an aging population, healthier sales for wholegrain pastas
- Figure 76: Population, by age, 2002-12
- Market forecast
- Pasta and pasta-based meals
- Figure 77: Forecast of total U.S. FDM sales of pasta and pasta-based meals, at current and constant prices, 2006-11
- Dry pasta-based meals
- Figure 78: Forecast of U.S. FDM sales of dry pasta-based meals, at current and constant prices, 2006-11
- Dry pasta and noodles
- Figure 79: Forecast of U.S. FDM sales of dry pasta and noodles, at current and constant prices, 2006-11
- Shelf-stable/canned pasta meals
- Figure 80: Forecast of U.S. FDM sales of shelf-stable/canned pasta meals, at current and constant prices, 2006-11
- Frozen pasta
- Figure 81: Forecast of U.S. FDM sales of frozen pasta, at current and constant prices, 2006-11
- Fresh/refrigerated pasta
- Figure 82: Forecast of U.S. FDM sales fresh/refrigerated pasta, at current and constant prices, 2006-11
- Forecast factors
- Appendix: Trade Associations
