A mere 15 years ago, shoppers looking for broth at the grocery store had limited choices. They could choose from chicken, beef and occasionally vegetable broth in large or small cans from one of a few of the big-name soup companies. But thanks to innovations in packaging – and some clever marketing to home cooks – the category has shifted and grown. Recent research from Symphony IRI shows shoppers are much more likely to bring home recloseable aseptic cartons sporting a wide range of broths and stocks from a plethora of companies, and they are buying them in a range of sizes and larger quantities. Between 2009 and 2012, the volume of broth sold rose 22 percent and dollar sales increased 14 percent, according to Symphony IRI.
Tomato sauce is now poised for a similar shift – a profound category shakeup called a “Blue Ocean” by INSEAD Professor Renée Mauborgne in her book “Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make the Competition Irrelevant.”