Every month the FOX Portfolio & Solutions team will bring you strategic marketing intelligence, insights, and solutions that focus on your brand needs and marketplace trends. This month’s update focuses on the food and beverage industries and shares some key findings on the latest research, what’s new in the industries and how your brands can break through with the power of the FOX Portfolio.

Market Trends

F&B companies are hoping that habits learned over the last two years, such as cooking at home more, online grocery shopping, and subscribing to meal delivery services will continue. Although the trend toward premiumization could slow due to inflation, consumers may still splurge on small indulgences, restaurant-style experiences at home and higher-quality food and drinks. As companies look to the future, large brands will continue to optimize their portfolio to address the increasingly diverse consumer tastes and demands.

+9%

Media Spend

in CY2021, led by double-digit increase in digital (1)

Top 10

Increased Fragmentation

spenders account for <45% ad dollars (2)

-2%

Magna Forecasting

decline of national TV ad spend in CY2022

Category Headwind

Constraints on labor and materials and rising commodity & shipping costs

Key Trends

More is Possible with the Power of FOX

Category Highlights

Food

Food-at-home expenditures, which rose sharply in early 2020, remained at elevated levels through 2021 even as restaurants and dining-out places reopened. By April 2021, food-away-from-home spending had recovered to surpass food-at-home spending, leading to an overall higher total food expenditure from March to December 2021, compared with the same period in 2019 (3). Larger spending can be partly attributed to the improving economy and government stimulus checks.

Beverage

For the 12th consecutive year, spirits sales gained market share over beer and wine amid a shift in consumer tastes. In 2021, U.S. spirits were up 12%, with the fastest growth in ready-to-drink cocktails and tequila/ mezcal (4). For all alcoholic segments, sales were especially strong at the high-end and super-premium brands. After tremendous growth over the past five years, hard seltzer slowed down significantly in 2021 as the market has become more mature and saturated. Non-alcoholic beverage volume returned to growth as out-of-home consumption snapped back, led by strength in soda, premium water, energy and sports drinks.

1 Standard Media Index

2 Magna US Industry Report, Fall 2021

3 USDA, Economic Research Service

4 Distilled Spirits Council of the United States