IRI, 210 Analytics and IDDBA are sharing more analysis from the deli, dairy and bakery departments. Dairy and bakery had above-average inflation, whereas deli was below in November versus the November 2021 average.
With heavy inflation in eggs and other dairy items, the total refrigerated department generated a 20.6 percent increase in sales to reach $7.5 billion in November.
“Inflation in fresh eggs has climbed to 72.6 percent year-on-year,” said Heather Prach, director of education for IDDBA. “And incredibly, units are nearly flat. Eggs were not the only category with high inflation. Others are butter, cream cheese, cream/creamers and sour cream and by and large, unit sales are holding pace with November 2021 in these aeras as well – speaking to the central role of dairy across many cuisines and meal occasions. Only yogurt units fell substantially in November.”
Deli entertaining sales totaled $383 million in November. Deli-prepared sales were much higher at $1.8 billion. While some areas are experiencing unit growth, such as side dishes, soups and chilis, others are down by double-digits, such as holiday meals, breakfast and combination meals.
“The engagement with foodservice-created Thanksgiving solutions may be behind the 25 percent decline in holiday meal sales,” said Jonna Parker, team lead fresh, IRI. “At the same time, we heard many market reports of retailers hitting top capacity early due to the continued lack of deli associates and supply chain challenges in packaging.”
Baked goods items found in the “aisle” or center-store area adjacent to the fresh bakery, increased dollar sales by 13.4 percent in November versus year ago. Overall unit sales were off by 1.6 percent, with some areas up and others down. Cookies had a strong month, whereas pies were down 22 percent in units year-on-year.
Indulgent bakery dominated sales, led by cakes, pies and cookies. Pies are typically a mid-tier seller, but moved into the No. 2 slot. However, many of the more indulgent items were down in unit sales, whereas doughnuts, buns/rolls and croissants increased unit sales. Growth was led by specialty desserts, but this is also the smallest seller, at $10 million.
For more information, visit iriworldwide.com/en-us.
