Passion For Foods

New Study Reveal Consumers Searching For Variations to Familiar Themes

A recent study completed by Restaurants and Institutions reveals some very interesting trends in what consumers are searching for these days when it comes to making their favorite soup selections.  Long gone are the days where people are committed solely to to those ubiquitous red and white cans of soup that our grandparents first began using more than 50 years ago.  Rather, various “twists” and “interesting new taste variations” that combine traditional soups with unusual and exciting new flavors are becoming increasingly popular.

Combinations of Old and New Soups Gaining in Popularity

To cite a pertinent example, the report reviews the recent experience of The Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. There, traditional Chicken Noodle Soup is (not surprisingly) a staple with patients.  However, it’s a different story, in the hospital’s eight busy cafeterias for employees and visitors.

There, the classic “feel-better” soup’s popularity is challenged by the such interesting soups varieties such as Lebanese Vegetable, Italian Pasta e Fagiole and Racy Red Lentil, an Indian-inspired recipe with cumin, fennel, ginger and garlic. When asked why they have adopted an international approach to their soup selections, senior cafeteria management stated the reason simply: growing consumer interest.

“Our customer base demanded that we become more daring,” explains Susan Barraclough, director of nutrition and food services for the hospital. “Six years ago, we wouldn’t have had a soup like Racy Red Lentil.”

Consumers Interested in Ethnic Flavors At Home & While Dining Out

Ethnic soups are once again becoming a very popular selection for consumers both at home and while dining out. While it is true that the percentage of consumers who order soup at restaurants has declined to 14% in 2009 from 25% in 2007, according to Chicago-based market researcher Technomic’s 2009 Soup Consumer Trend Report, today, 40% of soup consumers indicate that they would be particularly interested in a wider variety of ethnic soups—especially those with underlying Italian, Asian and Mexican taste themes.

Gourmet Soup Palates Becoming More Sophisticated

I find it very interesting that the research findings of this prestigious industry association are very close to what we have been discovering with our sales patterns and customer requests at Epicurean Foods.  For some time now, our customers have been asking for soups that are “different than what they can find at the local grocery store”.  To address this ongoing need, we offer two lines of gourmet soups: Connor Creek and Turtle Island.  Both have interesting flavors and represent excellent value to the consumer.  The Connor Creek line of gourmet soup mixes is primarily bean-based, while the Turtle Island flavors are cheese-based.

Whatever the flavors used, we have found that these “cross-cultural combinations” can be very popular if  the soup still delivers warming, savory flavors.  Soup still remains a classic year-round  “comfort food”  and is one of  the most satisfying dishes that people enjoy.  As such, watch for Epicurean Foods to continue to add more great value, interesting soups in the weeks and months ahead.

Greg Sprout, Co-Founder,

www.epicureanfoods.com

This entry was posted on Monday, November 9th, 2009 at 10:48 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.