The rise of discount retailers Aldi and Lidl’s fresh meat sales are of huge importance to Welsh farmers, Ed Garner, Kantar Worldpanel’s communications director said at a recent Hybu Cig Cymru – Meat Promotion Wales (HCC) conference.
“Aldi fresh meat sales are growing at over 40 per cent and at 32 per cent overall on fresh and chilled; it’s a bit of a go-to store for fresh meat,” Garner said. “Lidl is also up 23 per cent on fresh meat.”
According to Garner, shoppers are now sharing their purchases between two major retailers - either Aldi or Lidl and one of the other major supermarkets. “The two discounters are getting a quality reputation and they are seeing spectacular growth,” he said.
Garner described the grocery market as “hugely turbulent”. He used the example of current lamb shopper statistics compared to the 12 months previous.
“Over 12 months, there is a pattern that suggests the same number of people are still buying lamb but they are buying less and at a lower frequency. This would be quite a gloomy outlook for the industry if it wasn’t for the most recent 12 weeks. It’s completely different!
“The markets are up 1.8 per cent in that time; they are buying 3.3 per cent more per head and frequency is up 4.5 per cent. Why? Because it’s such a turbulent, spiky market.”
The communications director from Kantar Worldpanel also suggested there is a “huge profile difference between butchers and supermarkets. Fresh lamb is 16 per cent of butchers’ sales and nine per cent in the grocers. Butchers tend to sell the premium roasting cuts; the grocers are at the cheaper end, including mince and stewing.”
This story was originally published on a previous version of the Meat Management website and so there may be some missing images and formatting issues.
