The numbers are quite surprising to say the least. For the 52-week period ended July 16, Information Resources Inc. statistics report a 0.7% decrease in hard/soft tortillas/taco kits and a 2.5% drop in unit sales. These numbers represent total supermarket, drugstore and mass merchandise sales, excluding Wal-Mart.
Is the bright sheen that once coatedthe tortilla industry losing some of its luster? Hardly so, argue many tortilla manufacturers. And it is hard to argue against them. Almost every restaurant in America, whether fast food or casual dining, features some type of tortilla product, including wraps.
On the retail aisle though, figures show hemorrhaging of dollar and unit sales from the top 25 tortilla brands. Of those 25 brands, only seven reported dollar sales increases. In addition, there were seven brands with double-digit sales decreases.
What gives? Speaking to tortilla manufacturers, it's tough to pinpoint the reason for the declining numbers, as everyone interviewed for this story portrayed business as anything but soft. In fact, many manufacturers are excited about the future prospects of the tortilla industry as it moves out of the niche category and into mainstream status.
Opening markets
"Prior to the last five years, tortillas were primarily an authentic food among Hispanics," says Ken Sanchez, Mi Rancho's vice president of marketing. "They have crossed over to the mainstream, and we have markets now that were unavailable before."
Largest among these markets is wraps. One of the seemingly endless trickle-down effects of the low-carbohydrate craze has been the popularity of tortilla wraps as a replacement for bread in foods where a carrier is needed to complete a sandwich. From roast beef to chicken caesar salad carriers, wraps have become commonplace on menus throughout the country.
Although wraps are replacing bread in restaurants, the tortilla category is taking a more notable path in supermarkets. In the past, tortillas were fairly impervious to trends and big swings in consumer preferences because the majority Hispanic consumer base did not view the tortilla market beyond flour and corn. For a long time, food scientists and product developers focused their efforts on making a more pliable tortilla that did not break or crack when eaten.
Today, things have changed. With mainstream success comes the fickle nature of consumers, whose preferences have recently leaned toward more healthful fare. Now, tortilla product developers are being asked to make whole grain, gluten-free and high-fiber tortillas, and an assortment of other tortilla products designed to appeal to mainstream consumer preferences.
This development mirrors the bread industry, where the past reliability of white bread has given way to a wide swath of new product launches in the last couple of years. From whole grains to omega-3 fatty acids, many new tortilla products have been launched recently, aiming to further compete against bread, this time in the better-for-you category. Baking Management surveyed the market for the most interesting and innovative new tortilla products.
Mission® 95% Fat Free "Heart Healthy" Tortillas
This popular brand has been a dominant player in the tortilla industry for years, and recently launched this innovative new product, highlighted by a prominently displayed heart-shaped graphic that contains the words: "Now more heart healthy."
Although the product's biggest selling point is its 96% fat free claim (1.5 grams of fat and 130 calories per tortilla), the most notable ingredient inclusion is flaxseeds. Irving, Texas-based Mission Foods Corp.'s addition of flaxseeds mirrors many bread products that also have boosted omega-3 fatty acid content to take advantage of heart health benefits, which include promoting healthful cholesterol and triglyceride levels.
Cali-Wraps with MEG-3®
Similar to Mission Foods' "Heart Healthy" tortilla, Cali-Wraps also has launched a tortilla product with omega-3 fatty acids. However, instead of using flaxseeds, these products contain an ingredient derived from fish oils. The tortilla is available in Canada and comes in four varieties.
The London, Ontario-based company's Cali-Wraps Whole Grain with Omega-3 lists whole wheat flour as the primary ingredient and contains 0.6 grams of omega-6 and 0.5 grams of omega-3 per serving.
Mi Rancho Organic Wheat Tortillas
For Mi Rancho, a San Leandro, Calif.-based bakery, producing organic tortillas is not a new process. For 10 years, the company has been certified organic. "It's an extremely unique position for us compared to our competitors," Sanchez says. "Retail has been a big market for these products, and we are starting to see foodservice pick up on it."
Don Pancho Organic Tortillas
Don Pancho Mexican Foods, Salem, Ore., produces four varieties of organic flour and whole wheat tortillas in 8- and 10-in. sizes. This product line is made with 95% certified organically grown ingredients, and contains no trans fats and no saturated fat.
Flowers Foods' Mi Casa tortillas
This tortilla brand is not necessarilynoted for its recent innovations, but is known for its potential in the marketplace. Mi Casa now is one of the top 25 tortilla brands with an extremely impressive 19.8% increase in dollar sales and 16.7% increase in unit sales for the 52-week period ended July 16. The financial, developmental, marketing, and—most importantly— distribution power behind Flowers Foods, Thomasville, Ga., make this a brand that everyone in the tortilla industry should keep an eye on.
Top 15 tortilla brands | ||||||
| Brands | 52-week dollar sales | % change prior year | Dollar share | 52-week unit sales | % change prior year | Unit share |
| Guerrero | $191,133,400 | 8.6% | 19.8% | 93,636,100 | 9.4% | 18.4% |
| Mission | $165,956,500 | 4.3% | 17.2% | 72,653,140 | 3.1% | 14.3% |
| Old El Paso | $128,105,800 | -1.1% | 13.3% | 59,232,400 | -0.7% | 11.7% |
| Private Label | $79,529,610 | -3.7% | 8.3% | 57,253,120 | -5.1% | 11.3% |
| Tia Rosa | $40,697,230 | -5.8% | 4.2% | 20,137,150 | -12.5% | 4.0% |
| La Banderita | $30,788,740 | -0.2% | 3.2% | 16,141,360 | -0.7% | 3.2% |
| La Tortilla | $28,077,480 | -3.1% | 2.9% | 8,364,206 | -7.7% | 1.6% |
| Ortega | $27,509,440 | 5.4% | 2.9% | 12,628,410 | -0.8% | 2.5% |
| Taco Bell Home Originals | $20,912,490 | -12.2% | 2.2% | 8,470,381 | -13.2% | 1.7% |
| Mission Estilo Casero | $16,058,230 | -9.5% | 1.7% | 6,356,848 | -10.9% | 1.3% |
| Manny's | $14,806,060 | -9.3% | 1.5% | 9,646,034 | -9.3% | 1.9% |
| Taco Bell | $12,306,350 | -9.2% | 1.3% | 6,088,874 | -5.0% | 1.2% |
| Albuquerque | $11,036,600 | -13.6% | 1.1% | 6,691,273 | -10.2% | 1.3% |
| Ole | $9,443,840 | 24.0% | 1.0% | 5,137,599 | 18.4% | 1.0% |
| El Milagro | $9,222,636 | -10.4% | 1.0% | 18,818,980 | -3.3% | 3.7% |
| Source: Information Resources Inc. statistics for the 52-week period ended July 16, excluding Wal-Mart | ||||||
Fresh Bakery Products | ||||
| 52 Weeks Ending July 16 Dollar Sales | % Change Prior Year | 52 Weeks Ending July 16 Unit Sales | % Change Prior Year | |
| Bread | $5,825,710,720 | 0.5% | 3,179,181,120 | -4.9% |
| Cookies | $3,511,072,896 | 0.2% | 1,569,660,416 | -2.6% |
| Crackers | $3,241,249,280 | 1.0% | 1,424,503,680 | -1.8% |
| Rolls/Buns/Croissants | $1,852,379,904 | 2.0% | 1,155,151,232 | -3.4% |
| Cupcakes/Brownies | $787,908,224 | -0.6% | 525,822,016 | -6.6% |
| Donuts | $672,498,816 | -10.8% | 287,377,216 | -10.9% |
| Cakes (excl. snack/coffee) | $671,233,984 | 6.9% | 140,951,024 | 4.0% |
| Pastry/Danish/Coffeecake | $604,414,144 | 1.3% | 283,074,368 | -7.4% |
| Bagels/Bialys | $455,123,040 | 2.7% | 173,291,664 | -0.1% |
| English muffins | $441,059,072 | 8.0% | 202,942,784 | 3.6% |
| Muffins | $240,914,160 | 4.0% | 91,035,072 | -0.5% |
| Pies (excl. snack pies) | $206,754,560 | 2.5% | 50,540,136 | -1.6% |
| Source: Information Resources Inc. | ||||
Frozen Bakery Products | ||||
| Baked bread/Rolls/Biscuit | $463,840,384 | -0.4% | 190,546,352 | -1.7% |
| Pies | $337,105,920 | -1.2% | 88,554,648 | -3.6% |
| Sweetgoods (excl. cheesecakes) | $195,945,520 | -4.8% | 56,556,272 | -13.0% |
| Bread/Rolls/Biscuits/Pastry dough | $114,504,360 | -6.4% | 42,556,880 | -6.4% |
| Pies/Pastry shells | $107,958,960 | -1.9% | 52,809,296 | -5.0% |
| Cheesecakes | $77,762,104 | -6.3% | 16,163,845 | -8.9% |
| Bagels | $51,242,128 | -15.0% | 39,490,644 | -15.1% |
| Cookie dough | $5,904,837 | 0.8 % | 1,379,585 | 4.7% |
| Muffins | $5,920,683 | 7.9 % | 2,014,656 | -9.5% |
| Cookies | $28,779 | -0.2% | 7,543 | -5.8 % |
| Source: Information Resources Inc. | ||||
Refrigerated Bakery Products | ||||
| Cookie/Brownie dough | $418,414,560 | -1.4% | 152,076,208 | 0.0% |
| Biscuit dough | $362,508,160 | -3.8% | 305,045,088 | -8.5% |
| Pastry/Dumpling dough | $257,628,336 | -0.3% | 116,812,360 | -2.9% |
| Bread/Rolls/Bun dough | $234,141,904 | -2.5% | 119,075,848 | -5.2% |
| Cheesecakes | $98,075,504 | -1.5% | 15,803,664 | -9.7% |
| Cakes (excl. snack/coffee) | $58,149,476 | -5.0% | 7,358,741 | -4.9% |
| Bagels/Bialys | $51,267,176 | -9.4% | 39,482,440 | -6.9% |
| English muffins | $29,059,676 | 3.5 % | 16,493,779 | -1.7% |
| Pies (excl. snack pies) | $25,570,714 | -6.4% | 5,138,484 | -7.7% |
| Snack cakes/Donuts | $7,122,508 | 24.6% | 1,880,330 | 20.4% |
| Pastry/Danish/Coffeecakes | $4,378,018 | 7.0% | 1,411,965 | 4.1% |
| Bread | $3,961,552 | -3.7% | 1,494,179 | -15.1% |
| Croissants/Dinner rolls | $1,038,683 | -28.8% | 490,616 | -11.4% |
| Muffins | $45,057 | 16.7% | 8,948 | -4.4% |
| Source: Information Resources Inc. | ||||
Statistics for this chart were supplied by Information Resources Inc., a Chicago-based firm. Its scanner data covers more than 11,300 supermarkets and represents 90% of all supermarket volumes.