Overall, the cheesecake category has declined in unit sales. However, low-carbohydrate, no-sugar-added and Latin-inspired cheesecakes have become popular dessert items with consumers.
For the 52-week period ended March 21, cheesecake unit sales dropped 11.2% and pound sales dropped 0.2%, according to statistics from Information Resources Inc. These statistics measure scanner data at supermarkets, drug stores and mass merchandisers, excluding Wal-Mart.
"It is a very fragmented, competitive field," Tavish McLean, Rich Products Corp.'s associate marketing manager, says. Rich Products Corp., Buffalo, N.Y., operates the Mother's Kitchen and Jon Donaire Dessert brands. Following recent trends, several cheesecake manufacturers have entered the low-carbohydrate food category with different approaches to cutting carbohydrates. Still, other cheesecake manufacturers believe that the growing Hispanic population is the next market segment bakers should be looking at.
| Top 10 Cheesecakes | ||||||
| Brand name | Unit Sales | % Change | Unit Share | Pound sales | % Change | Vol. Share |
| Private Label | 3,921,563 | 5.9% | 24.3% | 5,246,221 | 9.6% | 31.1% |
| The Fathers Table | 1,757,502 | 40.6% | 10.9% | 3,086,882 | 18.2% | 18.3% |
| Kraft Philadelphia | 5,315,511 | -40.0% | 32.9% | 2,884,333 | -40.9% | 17.1% |
| Jon Donaire | 343,869 | 28.5 | 2.1% | 789,988 | 30.2% | 4.7% |
| Carmine's | 397,451 | 13.7% | 2.5% | 637,637 | 20.0% | 3.8% |
| Eli's | 473,071 | -16.0% | 2.9% | 599,336 | -5.6% | 3.6% |
| Lakeview Farms | 765,670 | 4.5% | 4.7% | 507,514 | 5.2% | 3.0% |
| Lady Dianne | 255,393 | -8.2% | 1.6% | 478,862 | 8.2% | 2.8% |
| Adam Matthews | 261,512 | 81.5% | 1.6% | 436,335 | 47.0% | 2.6% |
| Mother's Kitchen | 125,596 | 12.4% | 0.8% | 254,093 | 5.1% | 1.5% |
| Chart measures total U.S. FDM (supermarkets, drug stores and mass merchandisers, excluding Wal-Mart) for the 52-week period ended March 21, 2004 | ||||||
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| Adam Matthews Inc.'s low-carbohydrate cheesecake has no crust. |
Cheesecakes cut carbs
Adam Matthews Inc., Louisville, Ky., has introduced a low-carbohydrate cheesecake that uses no crust to surround its creamy insides. The cheesecake has four grams of protein and three grams of net carbohydrates. As listed on the ingredient panel, the net carbohydrate amount is found by subtracting one gram of fiber from the four grams of carbohydrates. The cheesecake has 310 calories per 90-gram slice.
"The cheesecake is baked in a spring-form pan, and there is no need for a crust," Shannon Briel, Adam Matthews Inc.'s national sales executive, says. The cheesecake uses an artificial sweetener instead of sugar.
The largest unit sales increase in the category came from Adam Matthews Inc. The company increased unit sales by 81.5% for this period. This gives the company a market share of 1.6%. The company attributes this growth to an aggressive marketing campaign targeted at the dessert section of the frozen food aisle in supermarkets, and to the popularity of its low-carbohydrate cheesecake.
Love and Quiches Desserts, Freeport, N.Y., also will introduce their own version of a low-carbohydrate cheesecake. Due to hit supermarkets in six months, the cheesecake uses a small amount of sugar-free cookie-crumb sprinkles to give the cheesecake a very thin crust. This formulation was intended to cut carbohydrates. The cheesecake comes unsliced and is 7 ins. in diameter. The company also has a food service version that has 200 calories and 15 grams of sugar alcohol per 81-gram slice. The total carbohydrate amount is 18 grams, and when the sugar alcohol is subtracted from the total carbohydrates, the result is three net carbohydrates.
Another cheesecake manufacturer's low-carbohydrate and no-sugar-dded cheesecakes target people with diabetes. Eli's Cheesecake Co., Chicago, uses a sugar-free graham crust to reduce sugar. The cheesecake has one gram of sugar, which occurs naturally in the cheese filling. A 70-gram slice has 200 calories.
Adding Hispanic twist
To satiate consumer demands for indulgent cheesecake, Mother's Kitchen has created a line of Latininspired, fruit-flavored cheesecakes. The La Cocina de Mama cheesecake line provides a contrast to other dietingcrazed offerings.
"There is a paradox among consumers who are cutting carbohydrates and watching what they eat," McLean says. "However, they still enjoy eating something decadent when it comes to dessert. Consumers don't want to make the trade off that is so often there with low-carbohydrate, low-fat, low-sugar products."
The La Cocina de Mama cheesecake line has four flavors: Passion Fruit Swirl, Mango Swirl, Guava, and Guava with Passion Fruit Swirl. The different flavors are packaged together, and the cheesecake is 10 ins. in diameter. The cheesecake also is presliced into 16 pieces. The cheesecake line does not use artificial flavors.
Mother's Kitchen and Jon Donaire Desserts have seen double-digit growth in the cheesecake category. Mother's Kitchen increased unit sales by 12.4% and Jon Donaire Desserts increased unit sales by 28.5%.
New cheesecakes that satiate dieting demands and the growing Hispanic population are having success according to their manufacturers. These cheesecakes bring a competitive edge to an otherwise declining retail category.
| Fresh Bakery Products | 52 Weeks | % Change | 4-week | % Change |
| Bread | $3,490,284,096 | -2.0% | 261,379,996 | -4.3% |
| Cookies | $1,675,554,768 | -4.5% | 125,063,644 | -5.9% |
| Crackers | $1,464,614,144 | -2.6% | 108,835,680 | -4.0% |
| Rolls/Buns/Croissants | $1,221,911,040 | 0.0% | 74,023,352 | -2.7% |
| Cupcakes/Brownies | $613,485,504 | -2.9% | 48,766,228 | -3.5% |
| Pastry/Danish/Coffeecakes | $305,070,304 | -0.4% | 23,625,906 | -6.6% |
| Donuts | $343,930,656 | 8.6% | 26,945,928 | -0.2% |
| Cakes (excl. snack/coffeecakes) | $128,695,672 | -0.6% | 9,560,924 | -7.0% |
| Bagels/Bialys | $168,400,960 | -4.5% | 13,770,913 | -1.2% |
| English Muffins | $193,026,272 | -6.5% | 14,647,626 | -12.3% |
| Muffins | $83,342,264 | 1.5% | 7,021,772 | 3.3% |
| Pies (excl. snack pies) | $47,552,372 | -6.3% | 2,640,334 | -0.7% |
| Frozen Bakery Products | ||||
| Sweetgoods (excl. cheesecake) | $114,515,848 | 1.7% | 9,875,316 | -0.1% |
| Bread/Rolls/Biscuits/Pastry Dough | $48,505,232 | -6.8% | 3,312,914 | -14.4% |
| Pies | $84,235,632 | 4.6% | 4,028,986 | -8.6% |
| Bagels | $58,636,104 | -21.8% | 4,253,107 | -27.8% |
| Cheesecakes | $19,846,132 | 9.0% | 1,545,137 | 1.3% |
| Pies/Pastry Shells | $56,834,344 | -2.7% | 2,288,353 | -7.9% |
| Baked Bread/Rolls/Biscuits | $185,186,080 | 1.7% | 15,524,523 | -0.8% |
| Cookie Dough | $1,118,911 | -52.7% | 74,824 | -56.4% |
| Muffins | $1,917,472 | -18.3% | 157,823 | -25.1% |
| Cookies | $23,951 | 100.0% | 1,029 | 100.0% |
| Refrigerated Bakery Products | ||||
| Biscuit Dough | $366,076,416 | -7.6% | 26,848,162 | -15.5% |
| Pastry/Dumpling Dough | $118,920,288 | -8.1% | 7,566,503 | -10.6% |
| Bread/Roll/Bun Dough | $123,597,288 | -4.1% | 8,606,829 | -5.9% |
| Cookie/Brownie Dough | $151,129,632 | 3.0% | 9,599,198 | 0.9% |
| Cheesecakes | $16,143,092 | -11.2% | 1,264,990 | 3.0% |
| Bagels/Bialys | $51,798,196 | -2.2% | 3,982,418 | -10.3% |
| English Muffins | $18,059,248 | -7.5% | 1,380,274 | -10.7% |
| Cakes (excl. snack/coffeecakes) | $8,691,722 | 43.3% | 638,839 | 30.9% |
| Pies (excl. snack pies) | $7,254,539 | 2.2% | 370,815 | -19.1% |
| Bread | $2,894,183 | -1.5% | 190,397 | 39.0% |
| Pastry/Danish/Coffeecakes | $2,855,876 | % -8.9% | 100,196 | % -60.1% |
| Snack Cakes/Donuts | $979,868 | 95.3% | 82,238 | 100.0% |
| Croissants/Dinner Rolls | $388,520 | 81.2% | 21,380 | 100.0% |
| Muffins | $12,595 | 100.0% | 782 | 100.0% |
| Statistics for this chart were supplied by Information Resources Inc., a Chicago-based firm whose scanner data covers more than 11,300 supermarkets, and represents 90% of all supermarket volumes. | ||||
