Specialty Food's Sales Surpass 100 Billion for the First Time in Industry History

Specialty Food's Sales Surpass 100 Billion for the First Time in Industry History


NEW YORK, NY

For the first time in the specialty food industry’s history, sales number have surpassed $100 billion.

“The time is now for specialty food,” Ron Tanner, Vice President of Philanthropy, Government and Industry Relations for the Specialty Food Association, said in a press release. “Consumers are looking for new tastes, foods with fewer and cleaner ingredients, health attributes, and products that are made by companies with values they care about. All of these define specialty food.”

The retail sales for this industry niche boosted 19 percent from 2012 to 2014, while all other food categories increased 2 percent during the same time.

Now the group that is comprised and fueled by mostly smaller businesses reported a record-setting $109 billion in sales for the last fiscal year, with 15 different segments coming in over $1 billion in sales individually, according to a new report called The State of The Specialty Food Industry 2015,  produced by the Specialty Food Association in conjunction with research firms Mintel International and SPINS/IRI. Among those categories are:

  • Cheese
  • Coffee
  • Meat
  • Poultry & Seafood
  • Chips, pretzels, and snacks
  • Candy
  • Yogurt

The top-selling categories in specialties have shifted some since 2013. While cheese still holds at number one, coffee and cocoa have leapfrogged over refrigerated and frozen meats to second place. Bread and baked goods also moved up in the ranks, overtaking yogurt for the top five.

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Specialty Food Association

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