● The £58.4m loss for canned foods is mainly due to a decrease in price per kg in most sectors of –1.8%, equivalent to £40.2m.

● The 2.9% growth for own label has primarily been driven by more frequent trips (+3.1%) as shoppers switch more spend from brands. Own label’s price decline has been steeper.

● Brands face an increasing battle to justify their premium pricing and differentiate themselves as shoppers purchase less.

● Tesco has seen own-label sales increase 7%, but this has not been enough to offset branded losses: it has declined 3.3% at total canned goods level. Asda and Morrisons fell 9.3% and 6% respectively.

● Losses among the big four are primarily driven by shoppers spending less. Asda is also seeing shoppers switch spend to other retailers, especially Aldi and Tesco.

● Aldi and Iceland have bucked the trend with sales up 9.1% and 8.6% respectively.

● Some subcategory declines could be due to the general shift to meals with lower fat and salt. 

● Canned fish is in decline at a total market level, but own-label sales rose 9.3%.

● The percentage sold on promotion has fallen from 40.2% to 37.5%.

Bianca Draghici/Kantar Worldpanel

● It’s hard to find many winners in a category that has seen sales plunge 4.1% on volumes down 3.5% (according to IRI, whose read does not include the discounters).

● But there are some: Del Monte is defying the downturn in canned food by emphasising the health benefits of fruit and developing exotic fruit mixes in a variety of formats; Fray Bentos is up partly as a result of lower prices

● Own label is the real winner, however, having grown 3.3%. Tesco has been the biggest driver of this, according to further analysis from Kantar, with its canned & ambient own label sales up 7%. That the retailer’s overall sector sales are still down (see p56) suggests that brands are still crucial to the health of the category.

● So long as they offer a tangible, significant point of difference to own label, that is. With Princes’ sales down a whopping £40.7m in the past year, you could argue the brand has failed to do this. Princes has suffered huge losses of shelf space; its fish products have been the biggest casualty, losing £29.1m (25.7% of its value), while its meat products lost £8m (13.8%) and fruit declined by £3.4m (16.7%).

●Heinz’s performance points to the humble can’s fall from favour. Tinned beans are the greatest contributor to the brand’s £8.9m loss – they’re down £4.1m (2.2%) – followed by its Classic soups, which have lost £3.8m or 2.6%. Meanwhile, Heinz Beanz Snap Pots are flying, up 9.3% to £13.4m. Pasta Snap Pots are up 548.3%, albeit from a smaller base.