What are the major trends in breakfast and dinner sausage? Here's what a leading meat processor in each category said in answer to the question.
by Bryan Salvage, Editor
In its territory, Bob Evans Farms Inc. is the No. 1 selling breakfast sausage, according to Information Resources Inc.
Columbus, Ohio-based Bob Evans distributes breakfast sausage within the Great Lakes area; as far west as St. Louis; east to the Mid-Atlantic states (excluding the New England area), and south to Atlanta. Roger Williams, senior group vice president of Bob Evans, says category consumption was off last year, but adds: "Luckily, we outperformed the category."
Healthier alternatives are increasingly entering the scene, and Bob Evans has joined the fray.
"We began introducing Bob Evans Country Lite breakfast sausage more than a year ago," Williams says. "Our product is a pure pork, pre-cooked link. Most other light breakfast sausage products contain turkey.
"It's doing nicely," Williams claims. "We introduced it to have a niche product in this category. 'Light' products sell better in metro areas."
Williams says the primary reason sausage buyers/users (most of whom tend to be in their 40s) purchase sausage is for taste.
When asked how the nutrition labeling mandate will affect breakfast sausage sales, Williams answers: "I don't think it will be a positive. Luckily, we have the leanest product on the market. But nutrition without taste is never going to sell. The moment we compromise on the flavor of our products, we're going to be in big trouble."
Williams says most conventional consumption of breakfast sausage is on the weekend. Future breakfast sausage products must be convenience-driven to help increase overall category sales.
Bob Evans is investigating extended usage of breakfast sausage-for example, as an ingredient for appetizers.
When asked about potential for real innovation in creating new breakfast sausages, Williams answers: "Vegetarian sausage, but I guess that's an oxymoron. I have no doubt this would sell, but how big is the niche? Is it a long-term niche? And can you afford the roll-out cost for a small volume?"
Williams says his company also sees opportunity in the grilling sausage category.
"We've done a lot of work on grilling sausage," he adds. "Last year, there were 2 billion cookouts in the United States. We'd like to get some Bob Evans brats and Italian sausages on some of those (grills). This offers a good growth opportunity for us."
Dinner sausage trends
Greg Sykes, vice president of retail sales and marketing for Cincinnati-based Hillshire Farm & Kahn's, cites recent trends in refrigerated dinner sausage and frankfurters. His company is a leader in both segments.
Sykes says in the early 1980s, there was a move toward poultry as an ingredient. Products like poultry hot dogs and poultry smoked sausage were introduced.
This move addressed nutrition, and in the case of poultry hot dogs-product prices were lower than traditional franks.
Later that decade, industry began marketing lower-fat products.
"This was helped when USDA approved some standard of identity changes that allowed higher moisture to replace the fat content," Sykes adds. "In the past several years, super-lean products have been introduced and they are doing reasonably well."
Nutrition labeling (which the company has featured for a long time) will affect future sales of sausage products. As consumers begin to read the new labels, some surprises on fat content may be in store.
"I think they will be pleasantly surprised on lower-fat products but unhappy with the fat content in standard products," Sykes says.
Although consumers of frankfurters and dinner sausages represent a wide range of people, heavy consumers are families with young children.
"I believe the hot dog is consumed more frequently by children, and sausage products more frequently by adults," Sykes says. "I believe the consumption falls off among older consumers."
Looking to the future, Sykes predicts continued growth in the low-fat category and fewer sausage line extension varieties.
"I think we will see fewer items-elimination of the 'me, too' middle brands because they're not providing innovation or profit-and better selection among the brands that are selling [regular and lower-fat items]," he adds.