Strong growth for soyfood sales in 2001

Sales of soyfoods in the US grew by 16.8 per cent in 2001 to reach $3.2 billion (€3.4bn), making it one of the fastest-growing categories in the US food industry, according to a recent study.

The report, Soyfoods: The US Market 2002, shows that the growth in the category is being driven primarily by strong increases in sales of soymilk, energy bars, meat alternatives and cold cereal products containing soy.

The growth has also been aided by the fact that the innovation on the part of manufacturers has helped push soyfoods into the mainstream and away from the more niche health food category. According to the study, published jointly by SPINS and Soyatech, sales of soy-based foods grew by 26.8 per cent in mainstream supermarkets, compared to just 11.8 per cent in natural product supermarkets and only 5.5 per cent in all other natural food stores.

Growth in mainstream markets has been propelled by the entry of big food companies into the market and the resultant increase in advertising and new product development. In addition, most supermarkets now have natural food 'sets' where a range of soy products is now available.

In the mainstream market, overall soymilk sales increased 45.8 per cent in 2001, while sales of refrigerated soymilk products rose by more than 100 per cent for the third year in a row to reach $550 million. This growth is expected to continue, with sales projected to reach $1 billion in the next three to five years.

Meat alternatives are also continuing to grow sharply, the report showed, with an overall growth in 2001 of 14.5 per cent to reach $440.3 million in retail sales. As with soymilk, sales in mainstream markets are growing at a faster rate than those in natural product stores, the report showed.