Sales in the roll category experienced minor gains on a national level for the 52 weeks ending June 26, 2010. Dollar sales have been leveling in the wake of a strong performance across all regions in the previous year, correlating with increased frequency of at-home meals.
Bread and rolls is the second largest supercategory in the bakery department behind desserts. Rolls accounted for 36.6 percent of the supercategory’s sales during the latest year. Nationally, rolls averaged sales of $1,055 per week per store, a 0.9 percent increase from the previous year. Rolls contributed 10.9 percent to total bakery dollar sales, down 0.1 percent from the previous year’s contribution.
Roll sales peaked during the week of Christmas, thanks to at-home holiday eating occasions, with $1,601 per week. Spikes also occurred on Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Easter. The roll category is composed of sandwich rolls, dinner rolls, crusty/specialty rolls, assorted/variety bulk rolls, hamburger/ hot dog buns, croissants, roll trays and roll dough.
The top three roll subcategories (sandwich rolls, dinner rolls and crusty/specialty) made up nearly 60 percent of the total share. Roll trays and roll dough had the smallest dollar share with a combined share total of 0.1 percent.
Across the United States, hamburger/hot dog buns and crusty/specialty rolls grew most, with average per week per store dollar sales up 4.4 percent and 3.4 percent, respectively. Assorted/variety bulk rolls and croissants also increased average dollar sales. The two largest category contributors, sandwich and dinner rolls, lost sales compared to the previous year, down 0.5 percent and 1.8 percent respectively.
The East region sold the most rolls on average with $2,140 per store per week, down 1.8 percent from the previous year. Roll contribution to total bakery in the East region was 15.5 percent of all bakery sales, the largest contribution of any region. Crusty/specialty rolls were the only subcategory to grow in the East region, up 4.5 percent. The largest rate of loss occurred in roll trays, down 12.6 percent.
The Central region’s average roll sales made up 8.4 percent of all bakery sales, the lowest contribution of any region. Dollar sales decreased 2.2 percent to $868 per store per week, down from $887 the previous year. The region displayed different preferences than the other regions, as assorted/variety bulk rolls increased the most in this region, up 34.9 percent, while dinner rolls declined 12.7 percent.
The South region had the most growth in average dollar sales, up 3.5 percent, and was the only region to grow in terms of overall bakery dollar contribution, up 0.1 percent.
In the West region, roll sales jumped 1.4 percent to an average of $862, driven by a 3.8 percent increase in dinner rolls.
This sales review, provided by the Perishables Group FreshFacts® powered by Nielsen, includes supermarket in-store bakery scanner data results from the 52 weeks ending June 26, 2010, representing 63.2 percent of national supermarket ACV share. For more information, contact the Perishables Group’s Kelli Beckel by phone: 773/929- 7013, or e-mail: KelliB@perishablesgroup.com.