Strong Year for Packaged Food Sales…and Making the Most of a Marketing Moment

Recently, in a cheeky statement, Goya Foods’ CEO claimed that the company had named New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as honorary “Employee of the Month” for the publicity the company got for its Goya branded food products after a dustup over political statements made by the CEO in July. The CEO – perhaps adhering to the adage that there is no such thing as bad publicity – credited Rep. Ocasio-Cortez with its strong sales in 2020. However, Goya Foods, and other suppliers of packaged food products at grocery stores, benefited from a number of other factors, such as:

• an overall increase in sales of canned goods as US consumers sought to fill pantries during the COVID-19 pandemic
• demand for convenience foods – including canned beans, frozen ingredients and ready-to-eat foods, and pre-made sauces, spices, and marinades – that make home cooking easier
• rising interest in flexitarian diets that incorporate plant-forward protein sources, including legumes
• the increasing number of people in the US of Hispanic/Latinx origin
• interest among home-bound consumers in trying new foods and recipes, particularly those that suit current tastes for foods with spice and heat
• rising interest in baking, spurring sales of confectionary products
• heightened interest in snacking as home-bound workers looked to create alternatives to the coffee break, boosting sales among those products

Indeed, Goya ­– having expanded its Brookshire, Texas, production facility in 2017 ­– made news in October of this year when it was revealed that it planned an additional capacity expansion at the site that would allow it to nearly double production.

For more information and discussion of opportunities, see The Freedonia Group’s extensive collection of off-the-shelf research, including Global Food Processing Machinery; Global Packaging Machinery; and Meat, Poultry & Seafood Packaging; Pouches; Molded Pulp Packaging; and Frozen Food Packaging (coming soon). Related food industry research from our sister publisher Packaged Facts includes Global Meat & Poultry Trends;  Meat, Poultry, & Seafood Alternatives: Plant-Based & Cultured Cell-Based Types; US Food Market Outlook 2020: Home Cooking, Grocery Shopping, & Food Trends in the Age of Coronavirus; and US Beverage Market Outlook 2020: Grocery Shopping & Personal Consumption in the Coronavirus Era. Freedonia Custom Research is also available for questions requiring tailored market intelligence.