Getting Saucy
Canada’s Metro gets a lot of mileage with its Selection Strong Garlic Spare Rib Sauce, which is also recommended for basting for chicken, fish, meat or vegetables before grilling, and even as a dipping sauce.
Sales of just about every kind of private label sauce or salsa have made huge gains lately. Retailers pursuing niche items while broadening established lines and stressing versatility.
People are buying store brand sauces and salsas like crazy. Double-digit dollar gains are the rule rather than the exception, according to Information Resources, Inc. (IRI), Chicago, IL, and barbecue sauces are especially hot – up 30.3% to $34.4 million for the 52 weeks ended 11/29/2009.
There’s a huge range even in established categories. Under the Simply Enjoy brand, for example, Ahold USA, Boston, MA, has introduced fancy BBQ sauces like Smooth & Spicy, Honey Jalapeño, and Spicy Roasted Garlic. But standard barbecue sauces in squeeze bottles are still at its Stop & Shop and Giant outlets under store brands, and Dollar General, Goodletsville, TN, has gone for 28 oz economy sizes.
Store brand pasta sauce sales are up 14.2% to $130 million, according to IRI, and salsa sales 12.5% to $117.8 million. Refrigerated sauces, gravies and marinade mixes are making a bigger splash, up 14.3% to $31.8 million, and shelf stable meat sauces and marinades soared 30.5% to $25.8 million. Seafood sauces seem to be a breakout category; sales were only $1.3 million this past year, but that was a 63.2% increase.
Other store brand gains include Worcestershire sauce, up 14.8% to $11.7 million; taco sauce, up 19.4% to $4.3 million; picante sauce, up 6.8% to $6 million, other Mexican sauces, up 20.2% to $6.6 million; miscellaneous Asian sauces, up 21.9% to $10.3 million; soy sauce, up 19.5% to $9.8 million; tartar sauce, up 21.6% to $8.8 million; cocktail sauce, up 11.8% to $12.4 million; and Cajun sauce, up 9.9% to $7.9 million. And then there are sauces IRI doesn’t even break out yet.
Under its Simply Enjoy brand, for example, Ahold USA offers a line of grille (sic) sauces in Ginger Wasabi, Garlic Rosemary, Country Style Steak and other varieties. These are multi-purpose sauces: “This sauce is so versatile you can use it for dipping, as a sandwich spread, or added to a favorite recipe for extra zing,” reads package copy for Sweet Chipotle. “Of course, it’s an absolutely delicious way to add flavor when grilling meats and vegetables too.”
Kroger, Cincinnati, OH, doesn’t include a magilla on the bottle for its teriyaki baste & glaze, but a note under the product name informs shoppers that it can be used “for poultry, meat, seafood & vegetables.” Like Ahold, Kroger is trying to touch every base. Target, Minneapolis, MN, is pursuing much the same strategy with its grilling sauces like Hot Chile Pineapple under the Archer Farms brand: “great for pork, chicken & shrimp.” Topco Associates, Skokie, IL, similarly gets versatile with its World Classics Trading Company honey jalapeño grilling glaze.
Metro, Montreal, QC, apparently wants to have it both ways with its strong garlic spare rib sauce under the Selection brand. The 375ml bottle features a serving shot of spare ribs, but the small print on the back of the label offers more options: “Ideal for basting chicken, fish, meats or vegetables before grilling. Great as a dipping sauce.” But Metro is also into single-use items like chili sauce.
Other Canadian chains have gotten creative with standard items. Steak sauce under the Compliments Essentials sub-brand at Sobeys, Mississauga, ON, comes in distinctive tall squeeze bottles with close-up serving shots. At Loblaws, Toronto, there’s a fancy look even to sweet & sour sauce even under the No Name brand, which began as a generic and still has a featureless all-yellow look on some products – but here the label is appealingly illustrated.
Demi glace, a brown sauce flavored with meat base, has been introduced in refrigerated pouches by Wegmans, Rochester, NY, as part of a Chefs Recipe program: “When we decided to offer our customers sauces, we wanted to make them right here. Why? Our own chefs using our own kitchens allow us to start with the freshest ingredients and prepare them with the highest standards. Because only the best is good enough for you! Remember, your satisfaction is always guaranteed with Wegmans brand products.”
Demi glace, which will reportedly soon appear as a shelf-stable mix at retailers including Meijer, Grand Rapids, MI, is just one of a number of refrigerated specialty sauces at Wegmans. Others include fat-free bouillabaisse seafood sauce, citrus soy, roasted sweet pepper and lemon butter sauces, all in 8 oz packages like the demi glace. In 24 oz packs, there are seasoned tomato and vodka blush sauces, and in 13 oz sleeve packs Italian Classics pasta sauces like marinara and arrabiata. And in a 3.5 oz tub, there’s mustard sauce for crab claws, crab legs and shrimp.
In the dry grocery department, there are specialties like Sweet & Sour, Sweet & Spicy Garlic, Teriyaki and Thai Peanut sauces. “Capture the mystery of Asian lands with the zesty flavors of Wegmans Thai Peanut Sauce,” reads the blurb for the last named item. “Toss with cold noodles and vegetables or use as a dipping sauce or in a stir-fry with chicken or pork.” Another selling point, for dairy intolerant shoppers, is that the sauce is lactose free.
Aldi, Batavia, IL, may be just a limited assortment chain, but it’s still made room in its assortment for niche items like sweet & sour sauce and horseradish sauce under the Tate’s brand. It even has two brands for 12 oz marinades – Karner & Heaton’s for teriyaki and Kurtz for other varieties like mesquite. Both are recommended for meat, fish and poultry.
In Mexican sauces and salsas, Meijer is pursuing a new niche with its Naturals line, which shuns any artificial flavors or preservatives. It already offered organic salsas, as do such major distributors as Topco (Full Circle brand); and Supervalu, Eden Prairie, MN (Wild Harvest brand). Under its World Classics Trading Company brand, Topco also markets premium niche salsas like Chipotle Hot Pepper, Cilantro Mild Tomato and Medium Peach & Pineapple.
