Healthy and Bold: Lunchmeat trends from Nielsen Fresh

Lunchmeat is satisfying consumers' desire for convenient and healthy snacking options.

Chalk it up to the protein craze or just the consumer need for more convenient foods, but the lunchmeat category has swelled in the last year with sales exceeding $9 billion.

However, it’s not just any lunchmeat that is resonating with shoppers; it’s those that offer quality and healthy options. For instance, freshly sliced bulk lunchmeat from the deli department has outperformed its packaged/processed counterparts. Also, entertaining varieties, such as specialty sausages and pepperoni, have grown in the marketplace, possibly influenced by the charcuterie trend.

“The future is all about connecting with the consumer and staying ahead of their needs,” says Sarah Schmansky, director of Nielsen Fresh. “What’s on the label matters – 68 percent of consumers are willing to pay more for foods and drinks that do not contain undesirable ingredients. And lunchmeat companies are taking that seriously.”

The successful lunchmeat processors are taking note of these trends and are employing some of the following strategies:

“Natural” products with packaging that says “nothing added” and/or containing “no antibiotics ever.”
Creating options that are easy to snack on-the-go instead of those just for sandwiches.
Including pre-sliced medallions for easy snacking/charcuterie options.
Going beyond just lunchmeat to create meal solutions that pair together their premium meat and cheese varieties.

Here’s the lunchmeat category snapshot from Nielsen Perishables Group FreshFacts of the latest 52 weeks ending 4/29/2017:

Convenient, on-the-go snack options within deli specialty meat (i.e. meat/cheese snack sticks) are growing:

Bold, ethnic flavors continue to provide spice to expanding flavor palates
Cajun, teriyaki, buffalo, chorizo, peppered, picante are some top growing flavors in lunch meat today
Chorizo is the fastest growing specialty meat - up 16% in both dollars and volume

Health claims in lunch meat help to keep healthy options available for kids’ lunches:

Antibiotic / hormone free - up 15% in volume
No artificial preservatives - up 7% in volume
All natural - up 2.5% in volume

Entertaining varieties, such as sausage, pepperoni, Italian meats are growing:

Pepperoni up 4% in dollars and volume
Salami up 2% in dollars and volume
Sausage up 1% in dollars and flat in volume

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Debra Schug was Editor-in-Chief of Food Engineering. She began her media career over a decade ago writing and producing broadcast news for both television and radio at the local and national level. She spent many years as the managing editor for two trade magazines in the oil industry and the research editor for an annual petroleum report. She has a master’s degree in journalism and mass communication from Iowa State University.