Industry and Market Overview
The New York Times reported in December, 2007 that today “the average American spends about $7 a day on food.” In addition, in annual terms, the average consumer spent $5,931 on food, according to the 2005 Consumer Expenditure Survey. The spending in the category that includes Kraft Handi-Snacks was $1,158 per consumer unit and represented about 20 percent of total food expenditures.
Three primary macro trends are currently impacting the consumer food spending overall.
• Convenience: consumers place a premium on shelf-stable items that can be eaten on-the-go and easily transported.
• Health: consumers are increasingly adopting healthy lifestyles and are demanding foods that aid their health goals.
• Organic foods: consumers want foods made from natural, organic ingredients; this trend couples with the desire for healthier products. (Source: ?????)
The ready to serve (RTS) dessert market is the market that contains Kraft Handi-Snacks pudding. In 2007, the market had $781 million in sales which represents an approximately 4% increase from 2006. Last year, the market value was $752. Over 2003 to 2007 the market grew 22% on a net basis and had fairly stable 5% average annual growth.
The RTS dessert market is a portion of the larger Dessert, Gel, and Syrup category in the AC Nielsen database. As a fraction of this industry, the RTS market has shown steady growth. In fact, in 2005, the RTS dessert market took over the majority share of the Dessert, Gel, Syrup category and has continued growing ever since....