SUPER BOWL GIVES CPG PRODUCTS SUPER SALES

BARBARA MURRAY

CHICAGO -- Consumer packaged goods manufacturers and retailers scored big during this year's Super Bowl, according to Information Resources Inc. here. Supermarket dollar sales were up 6% from the prior year, "as more consumers likely enjoyed the game from home rather than going out," said Ed Kuehnle, group president, IRI North America.

Sales of quick, easy, at-home meal solutions, such as frozen pizza and frozen seafood, grew by 16% and 22%, respectively, vs. last year, according to the report "IRI Pulse: Super Bowl XXXVI." Comfort foods, including chocolate, ice cream and sherbet, also witnessed double-digit growth rates vs. last year.

Mayonnaise was one of the big winners in the annual tally of the Top 20 grocery products sold in the week leading up to the football championship game of Feb. 3. Mayo took 15th place with $4.4 million in incremental supermarket sales the week before the Super Bowl, a 24% gain. Fellow condiments ketchup and mustard trailed slightly with a combined $4.1 million in extra sales, a 29% gain.

"I didn't notice an increase in mayonnaise, but I spent a lot of time in the condiment aisle restocking the ketchup," said Mike Grolmus, a store director at Dahl's Food Markets, West Des Moines, Iowa.

"We had Heinz on sale that weekend, and we had trouble keeping the shelves full."

As most people would expect, carbonated beverages ranked first in total incremental Super Bowl week supermarket sales with $47.8 million, a gain of 21% over the three weeks preceding the game.

"Carbonated beverages benefited from fantastic runs by new products, such as PepsiCo's Pepsi Twist (up 35%), Diet Pepsi Twist (28%) and Mountain Dew Code Red (24%)," the report continued.

Other Super Bowl favorites -- beer/ale/alcoholic cider -- rang up $24.2 million for the same 21% gain.

Sales of salty snacks were $23.6 million, a 19% increase, followed by frozen pizza at $12.1 million, a 20% gain. Crackers were in fifth place, then natural cheese. Chocolate candy, processed cheese, ice cream and sherbet, coffee, dinner sausage, Mexican sauce, frankfurters, frozen appetizers and snack rolls, mayonnaise, mustard and ketchup (as a single entry), snack nuts, wine, cookies and frozen seafood, in order of incremental dollar sales, complete the list.

Those with the highest gain in incremental sales -- 29% -- were mustard and ketchup, Mexican sauce and frozen appetizers/snack rolls.