Kantar’s latest report shows fresh processed poultry was the only key category to achieve growth across both value and volume sold (7.5% and 5.9% respectively).
The growth, Kantar reported, was boosted by the 1.3 million new shoppers who have entered the market since the same period - the 12 weeks to 11th July - in 2020.
The report further stated that the sunshine and good weather, alongside England’s performance in the Euros, helped total grocery sales remain strong compared with pre-pandemic times. This included fresh primary meat and poultry, where shopper spend over the last 12 weeks was up 9.6% on the same period in 2019. Nevertheless, the growth this category, when compared to that achieved in 2020, has underperformed compared to the wider grocery market.
Kantar stated: “Looking forward to the second half of 2021, we can expect to see category performance continue to drop below the unprecedented growth recorded in 2020, with OOH increasing capacity as consumers gain confidence and Covid-19 restrictions are lifted entirely.”
Despite the good weather making a comeback following the wettest May on record, spend on burgers and grills continued to decline, dropping 9.1% as shoppers left the sector and existing shoppers made fewer trips.
Driven by the performance of beef and pork, which saw declines of 13.4% and 11.9% respectively, fresh primary meat and poultry lost £48.5m in value over the last 12 weeks compared to the same time last year. The category continued to decline across both spend and volume through the 12 weeks ending 11 July 2021, with year-on-year drops of 9.7% and 9.5% respectively, driven by beef and pork.
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.
