Flavours from afar
Flavour innovation is an area that promises good growth potential for the prepared soup category, said Witham.
"In fact, prepared soup is an ideal platform for the exploration of new flavours and new cuisines as it is a recognisable format that helps bridge the ethnic cuisine familiarity gap for consumers."
In Germany, where 57% of soup eaters said in a Mintel surveythey enjoy trying new flavours, numerous new product launches feature exotic flavours, drawing inspiration from world cuisine such as Indian, Thai or Moroccan.
"There remains high interest in a broad range of emerging ethnic cuisines and exotic ingredients, particularly from younger Millennials. Therefore, soup manufacturers should look beyond the most popular ethnic cuisines to move the category forward."
Hofkueche's Far East vegetable curry soup (pictured) is one such example.