Healthy Soups
Although sales of organic canned soups, such as those marketed by Amy's Kitchen, are experiencing modest growth in St. Louis-based Straub's Market, sales of frozen and fresh soups there have really taken off, according to Roger McElroy, grocery buyer for the five-store specialty retailer. "They're up about 25% to 30%," he said. Because they taste like homemade without having to be consumed immediately, Soup-Man soups, merchandised in Straub's frozen food sections, do especially well.
"They were new here last fall, and people are going wild for them," said McElroy. "Normally they're $4.99, but we sometimes promote them for $3.99." Meanwhile, sales of conventional canned soups in Straub's stores remain flat.
Because it's a specialty retailer, McElroy doesn't anticipate that Straub's shoppers will have to tighten their grocery budgets and "trade down" to canned soup.
"They're less affected by our price point," he said. "I guess they're still going to buy quality, rather than 99-cent bargain soups."
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