GDO NEWS – Article of 17/10/22
“At this sensitive time, marked by hemorrhaging sales, we need to be bold and diversify assortments to meet new consumer habits and overcome habitual patterns that often, in negotiations, lead to undervaluing certain products.” It is a real appeal to raise awareness aimed at buyers, category management and stakeholders that launched, via GDONews, by Carmelo Cristaldi, sales manager of Agrisicilia, a company that for more than 30 years from the Catania plain has been bringing jams and marmalades made with the island’s best citrus fruits to shelves all over Italy.
“I am convinced,” he explains. that in this period it can become a key aspect of trying to reverse even the trends in the category on which countercurrents are weighing. Important opportunities should not be missed, young assortments should be created that can be liked and impactful. There are groups that are proving to be more attentive to new trends while others are more anchored to historical references of national companies and leading brands that may not be performing well today. More courage is needed.”
In the first eight months of the year, GDO grew, but jams contracted due to the Covid rebound in the first half of 2021. Have you also been affected by the same phenomenon?
“The jam market is definitely not having a good time as the latest Nielsen data in our hands, updated as of August 31, report performance with negative trends in both volume (-2.5 percent) and value (-6 percent). A trend that is also due to the high counterfactuals bequeathed by the pandemic and the greater amount of meals consumed at home by Italian families. In my opinion, however, as mentioned, it also weighs a share due to more recent consumer orientations. In this context Agrisicilia is a countertrend since we perform with +15% in value and +6% in volume. We are a smaller company than the industrial brands but our market share (1.8%) is characterized by high quality products and a continuous push on innovation.”
What are the drivers on which you are finding the most attention?
“Health and specialty are definitely growing segments. As far as we are concerned, the issue of PGI and PDO territoriality is always fundamental. Our main focus has always been on lavalorizing the raw materials of a region like ours that offers typical types of fruits and citrus fruits that we select by transforming them into premium with traditional recipes with high fruit content, thus giving the consumer unique sensory sensations. Having a wide variety of raw materials at our disposal, we have always tried to segment our offerings with the top of the line from Sicily.”
What are they and how do they fit in with the new products you have launched in the market this year?
“We are talking about blood Orange PGI, Orange of Ribera PDO and Lemons of Syracuse PGI. We also presented citron marmalade, a treat for jam consumers, with a sweeter flavor and less sour than lemon, but the new entry on which we are focusing heavily is Late Mandarin marmalade from Ciaculli, which completes a very distinctive shelf assortment offering. The latter ripens in the final stage, between February and early March, and provides unique organoleptic characteristics due to the special aromaticity of this tangerine variety. These are references that represent a basic assortment that should be unavoidable belonging to a premium segment that is highly valued by consumers. Diversification brings positive feedback in terms of sales, rotation and appeal.”
How do these new consumer behaviors identify with sales channels?
“Today people are looking more closely at new products, in fact discount stores and e-commerce are becoming preponderant channels. The former because it is adept at intercepting the latest trends with impressive speed, offering novelties that are always appreciated. The advantage of online, on the other hand, is that it is limitless, leaving the customer with maximum freedom of choice by overcoming established patterns. Therefore, careful scouting to offer different performance becomes essential; our performance is positively affected by differentiation, which we also monitor through purchasing behavior on our website, where quality references are increasingly sought after.”
In shelf sales, how do consumers’ buying behaviors differ? Do you notice variations among different geographic areas or age groups?
“More than at the shelf, we see the most pronounced differences in online, where there is direct interaction, we often and frequently get questions about the facilities in which products can be found. In the North there is a different approach determined by consumption occasions such as breakfast. Customers also write to us to ask for information after spending their vacation in Sicily and tasting our products. They gladly purchase on the site or in supermarkets, rediscovering with pleasure the sensory experience they have already had. As for age, our consumer group is quite cross-sectional, oriented mainly between the ages of 30 and 55.”
Inflation is a very topical issue and will remain so for a long time to come. How are you dealing with it? Has the GDO given you increases in line with cost growth?
“We are facing a global problem that we are obviously also dealing with. It has been impacting negatively since September 2021 when the inflationary rise began, first more mildly and then exacerbated as in the last period. Unfortunately, we, too, have had to adjust to shelf price increases, we are talking about increases between 12% and 15% that don’t show any signs of abating as the probable increase in the price of sugar is these days, which will force us to make further increases. The situation is undoubtedly heavy, and we are doing what we can to keep further increases to a minimum. The DO and GD initially tried to curb and in some cases not to spill over the increase to the sale, but later realizing that this is not a momentary juncture, they too had to adjust their price lists. I hope, as everyone does, that the situation can improve because no one could afford recession.”
