Butters and spreads: Get your slice

Whichever BBC exec greenlighted the idea for a baking competition must have congratulated themselves on a nice little niche cookery programme to tap into the home-baking market. Two years, five million viewers, a junior version and two TV specials later, The Great British Bake Off has become one of BBC2’s most successful shows, topping the viewing figures for the channel whenever it’s on. Never mind being a nation of shopkeepers, it seems we’re a nation of bakers, too.

Which is all great news for the butters, spreads and margarines (BSMs) market.

Stuart Ibberson, senior director of BSMs and shopper marketing at Arla Foods, which makes Anchor and Lurpak, says the growing interest in both cooking and baking at home is illustrated by the increase in block butter sales, which are currently worth £20m. What’s more, block butter is the fastest growing sector in the category, enjoying 17% growth (Nielsen).

With 10% of in-home sweet courses being made at home (Kantar Worldpanel), Jolanda Wells, assistant brand manager for Stork at Unilever, says this is a good reason for c-store retailers to stock Stork, which is the number one baking spread (IRI data).

The £39m brand was given a boost earlier this year with the launch of Stork Easy to Mix Baking Liquid, designed to appeal to the ‘modern baker’. The liquid comes in a 500ml bottle and can be used straight from the fridge.

“This new format will bring both incremental growth to the category as well as encourage existing consumers to trade up,” says Wells.

Meanwhile, Trex has been the subject of a £250,000 marketing campaign over the summer. The brand was first introduced in the 1930s as a dairy-free alternative to butter for baking.

Neil Brownbill, marketing director for Trex, comments: “The growing popularity of home-baking marks an opportunity for Trex to reach a new generation of consumers who are interested in the benefits of using vegetable fat over other alternatives. Trex is a unique product in the category, and is the only aerated 100% vegetable fat in the market. This means no water, no hydrogenated vegetable oil and e-numbers, colours or preservatives. It is even lower in saturated and trans fats than butter, so many consumers are opting in to Trex as a healthy alternative in baking.

Unilever convenience manager Tom Hazelden adds: “The fastest areas of growth in home-made baking are cupcakes, birthday cakes and brownies. Convenience retailers should ensure they can capitalise on this by stocking baking spreads, but also prompting impulse baking sessions with signage at the spreads fixture and displaying items such as cake decorations.”

Family essential

Although there has been new product activity in the BSMs market of late (think Flora Cuisine and Clover Seedburst), it’s not as dynamic a category as, say, soft drinks. But Unilever senior category manager for chilled foods, Adrian Adams, says it doesn’t need to be: “Butter and margarine is viewed as a family essential, bought most often on the main family shopping trip. With that in mind, the category is not one requiring flashing lights and sex appeal, but rather it needs to be reflective of the shopper mission.

“This means a simple and easy-to-shop fixture, which helps mum find what she needs quickly. Addressing these basics makes it easier for the shopper to engage with key trends such as home cooking and baking, health and family meal occasions, along with being informed of npd and innovation.”

Earlier this year, Unilever reformulated and improved the taste of Flora Original and Light. However, not all consumers saw this as an ‘improvement’ and much debate followed on internet chat forums. But it seems that was all a storm in a teacup as the firm reports that penetration for Flora Original and Light has increased.

New TV advertising supports reformulated Flora featuring TV’s Vernon Kay and his mum Gladys.

Arla’s Ibberson says continued support is key to ensure brands are kept at the forefront of people’s minds. “A good example of this is the Good Food Deserves Lurpak campaign, which has firmly positioned Lurpak as an essential ingredient for the growing number of consumers embracing the home cooking and baking trend.”

According to Kantar data, the percentage of BSMs sold ‘on deal’ currently stands at 47.3%. Ibberson says it’s clear that consumers are used to seeing BSM brands on promotion, but adds: “We’re now seeing a growing consumer interest in added-value promotions that offer something more than just a discounted product. A great example of this is the recently-launched Anchor loyalty promotion, which gives a point of difference on shelf.”

Unilever’s Adams says consumers’ ‘live for the week’ mindset means they are looking for more of a balance that includes multi-buys and single-unit deals.

“Promotions can play a valuable role in the BSMs category, impacting on shopper behaviour while driving usage. However, at present, wall-to-wall promotion is not driving a change in usage, or engaging shoppers in the category, but rather rewarding their existing behaviour. Recent promotions on packs of Flora to win £1,000-worth of bikes instantly aims to do this by encouraging families to live a healthy lifestyle.”

Boosting profits

Dairy Crest senior shopper marketing manager Adam Mehegan says that as retailers are faced with a huge choice of BSM lines, they should select a good breadth of products and top sellers to help boost profits.

“Stocking the top brand butters and spreads is crucial, as BSMs is a brand-rich category and consumers buy into the names they recognise and trust. Shoppers are willing to pay more for branded products, providing retailers with an opportunity to maximise the value of every butters and spreads sale.”

He reckons a retailer stocking Clover has the perfect answer for customers who want a healthier spread, but refuse to sacrifice on taste. “Placing Clover alongside one of the value-orientated spreads, such as Utterly Butterly, will give customers the opportunity to trade up to a more premium product. Clover Lighter was introduced in 2008 and is steadily growing in market share. It is an ever-important part of the total Clover brand as consumers continue to look for healthier alternatives.”

Ibberson agrees that BSMs is a highly branded category, and cites a branded volume share of 83% and a value share of 84% (Nielsen).

“We’re seeing an increasing demand from consumers wanting branded products from names they can trust. With this in mind, it’s important for convenience retailers to consider the buying behaviour of their shoppers, as well as the size of their stores, and make sure they stock a strong range of products that respond to what their customers’ needs. However, when considering which are the best-selling products to stock, branded options are still the most important.”

He says Lurpak and Anchor perform exceptionally well within convenience stores. “In particular, the Lurpak brand shows a great performance in c-stores and benefits from having five products in the top 10 SKUs, all of which are in growth. When combined, Anchor and Lurpak account for eight of the BSM products in the top 20, demonstrating just how important it is for convenience retailers to ensure they have a good display of these leading brands.”•