Not Just For Dessert Anymore
Not Just For Dessert Anymore
Long considered a sweet treat, pudding struggles to claim status as a healthy snack, too.
by Julie Cook
Top 10 Shelf-Stable Pudding/Gelatin Brands* | |||||
$ Sales (In Millions) |
% Change vs. Year Ago |
Dollar Share |
Unit Sales (In Millions) |
% Change vs. Year Ago |
|
Total Category | $267.0 |
8.3% |
100.0% |
181.5 |
5.1% |
Hunt’s Snack Pack | 74.8 |
-5.5 |
27.9 |
52.2 |
-6.2 |
Kraft Handi Snacks | 61.8 |
2.3 |
23.1 |
48.3 |
1.3 |
Dole Fruit and Gel Bowls | 37.2 |
3.7 |
13.9 |
16.3 |
3.2 |
Private Label | 19.8 |
29.4 |
7.4 |
17.8 |
25.8 |
Del Monte | 18.8 |
99.2 |
7.0 |
8.3 |
97.0 |
Hunt’s Snack Pack Dessert Favorites |
12.3 |
191.0 |
4.6 |
8.3 |
190.4 |
Kraft Handi Snacks Gels | 10.7 |
53.4 |
4.0 |
9.0 |
54.4 |
Hunt’s Snack Pack Juicy Gels |
8.0 |
-22.6 |
3.0 |
6.7 |
-22.6 |
Hunt’s Snack Pack Squeez ‘n Go |
7.6 |
236.6 |
2.8 |
3.0 |
243.4 |
Hunt’s Snack Pack Swirl | 5.6 |
-7.8 |
2.1 |
4.6 |
-9.6 |
* Total sales in supermarkets only for the 52-week period ending November 30, 2003. Source: Information Resources Inc. Top 10 Refrigerated Pudding/Mousse/Gelatin/Parfait Brands* |
Top 10 Refrigerated Pudding/Mousse/Gelatin/Parfait Brands* | |||||
$ Sales (In Millions) |
% Change vs. Year Ago |
Dollar Share |
Unit Sales (In Millions) |
% Change vs. Year Ago |
|
Total Category | $594.5 |
4.1% |
100.0% |
273.1 |
3.8% |
Jell-O | 142.9 |
1.1 |
24.0 |
50.6 |
-2.3 |
Kozy Shack | 80.3 |
2.7 |
13.5 |
32.9 |
1.6 |
Jell-O Gelatin Snacks | 79.6 |
11.5 |
13.4 |
27.9 |
4.3 |
Jell-O Free | 61.7 |
-5.9 |
10.4 |
21.4 |
-7.9 |
Swiss Miss | 45.8 |
-7.4 |
7.7 |
17.3 |
-8.9 |
Private Label | 37.1 |
11.1 |
6.2 |
17.0 |
14.7 |
Jell-O Crème Savers | 26.6 |
121.0 |
4.5 |
9.0 |
116.0 |
Jell-O Extreme | 20.8 |
-24.7 |
3.5 |
7.4 |
-28.4 |
Jell-O Smoothie | 13.7 |
N/A |
2.3 |
4.7 |
N/A |
Hershey’s | 13.1 |
93.0 |
2.2 |
4.5 |
89.8 |
* Total sales in supermarkets only for the 52-week period ending November 30, 2003. Source: Information Resources Inc. |
Memories are largely based on sensory experiences. As we think back to days gone by, we tend to focus on certain sounds, smells or tastes. The aroma of Dad’s cologne or Mom’s favorite flowers, the ring of the school bell or the taste of roasted marshmallows fresh from the backyard grill — these are all key components of memories of an earlier, perhaps happier time.
Since dairy products tend to play a fairly significant
role in most American children’s diets, our memories often include
recollections of cool, frothy glasses of milk; toasty grilled cheese
sandwiches; ice cream cones piled high with rocky road; or rich, thick
bowls of chocolate pudding, with or without the “skin.”
“Pudding has a very nostalgic appeal,”
says Courtney Hodge, director of sales and marketing for Hinsdale,
N.H.-based Echo Farm Inc. “Everybody that we talk to at sampling
events says, ‘My grandmother used to make me
pudding.’”
All nostalgic products experience a kind of
ebb-and-flow phenomenon. Take movies, for example. For decades, classic
flicks sat in warehouses, literally disintegrating in their canisters,
until film schools, directors and production companies led the rallying cry
for their preservation. Today, many of those films rack up handsome sales
on DVD and video. Likewise, fashions of the 1970s, which had long been
deemed hideous, became the ultimate in hip, as millennial teens embraced
bell-bottoms, ringer T-shirts and other long-forgotten styles.
After several humdrum years, pudding, too, is finally
enjoying the sweet taste of revival. Throughout U.S. food stores, sales of
refrigerated pudding, mousse, gelatin and parfaits rose 4.1 percent in
dollars and 3.8 percent in units during the 52-week period ending November
30, 2003, according to Chicago-based Information Resources Inc. (IRI).
Shelf-stable puddings and gelatins fared even better, rising 8.3 percent
and 5.1 percent, respectively.
Increasing Introductions
In large part, processors credit a sorely needed
injection of innovation for helping to revive the lagging pudding category.
Over the past two years, new products have flooded store shelves and
refrigerated cases, as manufacturers flexed their R&D muscles and came
out swinging. Taking a cue from the yogurt industry, ConAgra Foods rolled
out the undeniably Go-Gurt-inspired Hunt’s Snack Pack Squeez ‘n
Go Portable Pudding, marketing the product to active teens and tweens. The
Omaha, Neb.-based company also teamed up with Hershey, Pa.-based Hershey
Foods Corp. to produce Hershey’s Portable Pudding tube packs, similarly sold in a
flexible-stick style package.
Likewise, Northfield, Ill.-based Kraft Foods continued
its pudding push, rolling out X-Treme Jell-O® Pudding Snacks in variety packs of cotton candy- and bubble
gum-flavored product. Kraft also added two seasonal flavors — Orange
Crème and Strawberry Crème — to its Jell-O Instant
Pudding & Pie Filling line and introduced Jell-O Crème Savers® Pudding
Snacks. Borrowing flavors from the popular Crème Savers hard
candies, the puddings are sold in three varieties — Strawberries
& Crème, Orange & Crème, and Chocolate Caramel &
Crème. Seeking to make an indulgent product even more indulgent,
Kraft introduced Handi-Snacks Doubles. The two-layer pudding cups are
available in chocolate and vanilla, as well as rocky road.
Kozy Shack Enterprises Inc. most recent offerings
include its Signature Rice with three fruit variations (strawberry, peaches
and apples), plus Cinnamon Raisin Rice and Dulce de Leche. The Hicksville,
N.Y.-based manufacturer also redesigned its packaging and revised the names
of its flavors, making it easier for consumers to find their favorite Kozy
Shack puddings in the grocer’s refrigerated case.
Meanwhile, Farmingdale, N.Y.-based Carousel Foods of
America Inc. introduced Missy’s All Natural Premium Puddings in rice,
tapioca, chocolate, vanilla, banana and flan varieties. Low in sodium, fat
and cholesterol, they are sold in several different package configurations:
two 4.5-ounce twins; 16-ounce,
22-ounce and 32-ounce family servings; as well as a 64-ounce (two 32-ounce containers) club pack.
22-ounce and 32-ounce family servings; as well as a 64-ounce (two 32-ounce containers) club pack.
Despite all this activity, some members of the pudding
community are not impressed. Jose Gutierrez, president of J.R. Foods Co.
Inc., a Toronto-based manufacturer of private label European puddings,
cautions that the performance of the pudding category is nothing to write
home about. “The category has not done anything spectacular,”
he says. “A pudding is a pudding. How much better can you make a
pudding?”
Considering the growth in private label pudding sales,
one might expect Gutierrez would be a bit more enthusiastic about the
category. In both refrigerated and shelf-stable varieties, private label
holds the No. 4 position. Sales of private label refrigerated puddings,
mousses, gelatins and parfaits rose 11.1 percent in dollars and 14.7
percent in units, according to IRI, while sales of shelf-stable puddings
and gelatins surged 29.4 percent and 25.8 percent, respectively.
According to Gutierrez, low-income consumers tend to
be more brand loyal and that consumers with a higher income are far more
likely to purchase private label products. “The higher your education
and income, the more rapidly you will go for the better value,” he
explains. “Why that is, I have no idea.”
Greg Steinhauser, president and founder of Carousel
Foods, says that sales of his company’s private label puddings have
exceeded the expectations of its private label customers. He believes the
growth is a direct result of consumers being more value conscious and
recognizing that they can get the same quality as a branded product from
private label, but at a much lower price.
Aiming for Adults
While pudding has often been considered a
favorite childhood treat, a growing number of manufacturers are openly
targeting the adult market, rolling out more mature flavors and even making
a conscious effort to sell their products in adult-sized portions. Echo
Farm, for example, targets adults with its line of all-natural premium
puddings. Using milk from its on-site herd, the company produces a line of
flavorful concoctions designed specifically with grown-ups in mind.
Each Echo Farm pudding flavor bears the name of one of
its cows — Miracle’s Chocolate, Candle’s Coffee,
Ticket’s Tapioca and Lolly’s Butterscotch, for example.
What’s more, the farm is certified humane, indicating an independent
auditor has ensured all operations are being run with the best interests of
the herd in mind.
Whereas Kraft and ConAgra typically sell their single-serve
puddings in 3.5- to 4-ounce cups, Echo Farm uses a 6-ounce cup. Hodge says that’s
because the smaller cups act merely as a “teaser” for an adult,
while an 8-ounce cup simply would be too much indulgence. What’s more,
the 6-ounce size allows for more of a direct comparison with pudding’s
cousin, yogurt. “There is very little difference between yogurt and pudding
if you are comparing on a whole milk to whole milk basis,” says Hodge.
“They have the same protein content, the same calories and the same calcium
content. Really the only difference is that yogurt has the active cultures.”
That’s not to suggest that everyone is aware of
those attributes and considers pudding to be on par with yogurt as far as
healthfulness is concerned. On the contrary, pudding typically is viewed as
an indulgent snack
or dessert, while yogurt is practically deemed a health food. Of course, it didn’t help that pudding was conspicuously absent from the list of dairy foods promoted in the National Milk Board’s new 3-A-Day program, which specifically promotes milk, yogurt and cheese as means of increasing one’s dairy intake.
or dessert, while yogurt is practically deemed a health food. Of course, it didn’t help that pudding was conspicuously absent from the list of dairy foods promoted in the National Milk Board’s new 3-A-Day program, which specifically promotes milk, yogurt and cheese as means of increasing one’s dairy intake.
Hodge was not pleased. “I wrote to them and
said, ‘That’s great if you want to target these as healthy
items, but you ought to be allocating some funds to promote these dessert
items too,’” she says. “Their response was,
‘We’ll look into it,’ but that was a year-and-a-half ago
and I still don’t see any work being done to promote
puddings.”
Hodge admits it may help pudding’s image as a
healthy food if manufacturers took steps to address some of the
nation’s biggest health concerns with their products. At this point,
she says, no one is producing a low-carbohydrate pudding, despite the
growing popularity of the Atkins diet. At sampling events, Echo Farm
representatives consistently field consumer comments about the high number
of carbohydrates in pudding. According to Hodge, the company had considered
the possibility of producing a private label pudding for Atkins, but nixed
the idea because such an endeavor would require them to break their pledge
to remain all natural.
A small number of pudding manufacturers have begun
addressing the obesity/diabetes issue with the release of no-sugar-added
products. Kozy Shack, for example, has two varieties of no-sugar-added
pudding available in limited release, and Carousel Foods has plans to roll
out no-sugar-added varieties of its puddings later this year.
When it comes to pudding’s future, Steinhauser
is completely optimistic. Because the product has the ability to please
everyone from 8 to 80, he believes more consumers will turn to pudding as a
quality, wholesome dessert much as they have with yogurt over the past
several years.
“Thirty years ago, you never heard about yogurt, but some
very large companies got behind it and really did a great job marketing it and
promoting the healthy aspect of it,” says Steinhauser. “It’s
just a matter of time before it’s going to happen to the pudding category.”
Julie Cook is a freelance journalist based in the Chicago
area.
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