© Cyclonebill/Flickr
Ketchup represented over half of all condiment sales in the two weeks before Memorial Day as consumers in the US prepare themselves for the grill, new research has said.
Americans’ favourite condiment enjoyed year-on-year sales growth of 9.5%, the data from My Web Grocer showed, with growth across the wider condiments category of 8.6%. It accounted for 55% of condiment sales, outperforming both mustard and relishes.
But growth in the sales of relishes continued to outpace the average across the condiments category, growing by almost 20%, driven by both sales of sweet relishes and private-label products.
One third of ketchup sales were driven by the 38oz size while close to half of mustard sales were driven by products larger than 12oz, My Web Grocer said. Sales of relishes leading up to Memorial Day were also driven by fairly larger sizes, with 82% of sales coming from products larger than 10oz.
The strong figures reflect the continuing popularity of barbecues during the Memorial Day holiday.
The research shows, for a second successive year, that chicken wings were the most popular type of meat bought in conjunction with all three condiments – ketchup, mustard and relishes. In the case of relishes, consumers were 2.4 times more likely to buy chicken wings in conjunction with relishes than they were to buy chicken wings on their own.
The second most popular type of meat bought with both relishes and mustard was hot dogs, while turkey’s position as the second most commonly bought meat to go with ketchup is representative of its increasing popularity among consumers – both in ground and sausage form – My Web Grocer said.
In third, for ketchup, was hot dogs; for mustard, was ribs; and for relishes, was sausage.
© FoodBev Media Ltd 2024