The Grocer – 13 January 2018

focus on... jams & spreads

Get the full story at thegrocer.co.uk 13 January 2018 | The Grocer | 51

added sugar – a factor to the detriment of
jam, marmalade and curds, which have seen
combined sales dip 0.5% on volumes down
2.8% in the past year [Kantar].
It’s no coincidence such products came
under  re in the same Action on Sugar report
that called on Ferrero to cease marketing
Nutella as a hazelnut spread last April.
“It’s shocking that two slices of toast with
chocolate spread or jam can contain six tea-
spoons (24g) of sugar, the entire maximum
daily intake for seven to 10-year-olds,” said
Action on Sugar researcher Kawther Hashem
at the time.

Reduced sugar alternatives

Brands and retailers are taking heed.
Reduced sugar alternatives now make up 17%
of Sainsbury’s own -label jam range and 13%
of Tesco’s, and the Stute brand has rebranded
its diabetic jams as ‘no added sugar’. JimJams,
meanwhile, has taken out all added sugar
from its range of preserves and is market-
ing them on their 100% natural fruit content.
In 2017, Duerr’s half-sugar jams secured a
listing at the Co-op and further listings are
on the cards, it says. “By giving consum-
ers the option to buy a jam or spread with
less sugar, we are removing the guilt factor ,”
says Duerr. “ People still want to enjoy their
food and that’s why our current messaging is
‘spread a little, live a lot’.”
However, the decline of jam & marma-
lade can’t all be down to the sugar. If their
respective volume declines of 1.3% and 3.9%
were purely the result of health concerns ,
you would expect other sweet spreads to
also be in decline. Quite the contrary: honey
and chocolate spread are in solid growth and
products such as Lotus Bisco spreads and
Ja a Cake Flavour Spread (Asda) are perform-
ing well, according to Kantar.
So perhaps an image problem is the greater
issue. While nut butters, honey and choco-
late spread have managed to attract younger,
more a uent consumers by communicating
a mixture of foodie and health-related cues,
conserves are for the most part still seen as
a product that lacks versatility and appeals
chie y to older consumers.
This has to change, say brand owners.
“We’ve identi ed the key to the category is
youth who crave healthier products,” says
JimJams co-founder Kevin Bath. “We know
how brand savvy the younger consumer

“ Two slices of toast with

chocolate spread or jam

can contain six

teaspoons of sugar”

jams & spreads

Chocolate and Hazelnut Spread

Lemon Marmalade with Gin & Lime

Bonne Maman Caramels

Free from dairy, gluten and palm oil, and vegan-friendly,

this organic chocolate & hazelnut spread (rsp: £3.99/200g)

ticks more food trend boxes than most. Peruvian and

Dominican cocoa beans are blended with toasted

hazelnuts from Northern Lazio in Italy for this spread,

recommended for toast, ice cream or frozen yoghurt.

How do you re-engage younger, hipper shoppers with

the ailing marmalade sector? Stick some gin it. The boom

in sales of Mother’s Ruin inspired this inventive brand’s

boozy blend of lemon, gin and lime (rsp: £2.60/200g).

Lemon Marmalade with Gin & Lime joins Orange

Marmalade with Whisky and Fig, Rum & Vanilla Jam.

Bonne Maman ’s duo of caramels are designed to be spread

on toast , drizzled over dessert or used in baking. The

salted caramel variant (rsp: £2.19/220g) is seasoned with

Guérande sea salt from the north west coast of France. The

brand says its hazelnut praline caramel (rsp: £2.39/220g)

o ers a deeper, more intense caramel.

Launched: September 2017

Manufacturer: Mr Organic

Launched: October 2017

Manufacturer: The Bay Tree

Launched: November 2017

Manufacturer: Andros

Whole Earth Smooth Hi-Oleic Peanut Butter

Launched: January 2018 Manufacturer: Wessanen UK

Peanut butter has been quids in as health nuts have gone all pro-protein and anti-

sugar. The only  y in this healthy ointment is peanuts’ relatively high satfat content.

Wessanen’s answer to this was the 2016 launch of Hi-Oleic peanut butter, which

contains 30% more monounsaturated (or ‘good’) fats and can help maintain normal

cholesterol levels as part of a balanced diet. The launch was such a success that

Whole Earth is rolling out a smooth variant (rsp: £3/340g) into Asda this month.