Low-Sodium/Salt Introductions Up 105% In Past Five Years

A growing number of marketers are pushing into the low-sodium and low-salt sector, encouraged by the recognition that "low" claims can differentiate their products as well as by governmental scrutiny of the health impact of salt in processed foods.

Product category introductions with one or more SKUs bearing either a low-salt or low-sodium claim increased 105% during the past five years, from 102 in 2002 to 209 in 2007, according to a new report from Packaged Facts, "Market Trend: Low, Reduced or No Sodium or Salt Foods and Beverages in the U.S."

The compound annual growth rate for both low-salt and low-sodium claims for the period was 15.4%. Analyzed separately, the CAGRs for low-salt and low-sodium claims were 22.9% and l3.9%, respectively.

The current Top 10 marketers in the sodium movement are Amy's Kitchen, Campbell Soup Co., ConAgra Foods, Del Monte Foods, General Mills, H.J. Heinz, The Hain Celestial Group, Hormel Foods, Kraft Foods and Unilever, reports PF.

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PF predicts growth in all low/no sodium offerings, with seven product categories experiencing the greatest increase in sodium-content claims: beverages, condiments, dairy, grains/snacks, meat/fish/entrees, soups and canned vegetables. Categories that have been in the forefront of the trend, such as canned soups and vegetables, will continue to grow, but lose share to other categories such as grains/snacks and meat/fish/entrees.

Traditional supermarkets accounted for 75% of all U.S. sales of sodium-content-claim foods and beverages last year, followed by mass merchandisers (20%), health/natural food stores (3%) and club stores (1%). (PF's estimates include only foods flagged as low or no sodium/salt, and therefore do not include the many foods/beverages carried in health food stores that have low sodium levels but do not promote this.)

The possibility of government regulation of sodium in processed foods is no small motivator for food and beverage marketers. Excessive sodium has been identified as a contributing factor in the development of hypertension and cardiovascular disease. As PF points out, Americans' average daily sodium intake is about 4,000 milligrams - far above the 2,300 recommended by "Dietary Guidelines for Americans" for the general public and the 1,500 recommended for African-Americans, middle-aged and elderly and those who already have hypertension. And about three quarters of the sodium consumed comes from processed and restaurant foods, not salt added in the home.

Last November, the Food and Drug Administration held its first public hearing on limiting salt content in processed food. One recommendation that emerged: Revoke the "generally recognized as safe" (GRAS) status of salt and develop regulatory limits on sodium in processed and restaurant foods. That would make salt a food additive. Other possibilities include improved labeling and/or warnings on high-sodium foods.

But removing salt from food and beverages isn't as simple as it sounds. Salt substitutes don't produce the same taste, and the performance of the lower-sodium offerings that began entering the marketplace in larger numbers at least 15 years ago has often been disappointing. Discontinued products have included Campbell's lowest-salt variety of Healthy Request soup and Kraft's Healthy Favorites cheese, for example.

While PF points out that there will probably never be a "silver bullet" solution to the problem, manufacturers have worked hard at finding tastier, more appealing alternatives. "In addition to low- and no-sodium claims, expect to see salt substitutes and salt-enhancing products making a powerful move to the market to combat the high sodium levels in our foods," observed PF Publisher Tatjana Meerman.

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