● Naked Noodle and Batchelors took a bite out of Pot Noodle’s sales, with a £3.6m decline for hot snacks’ biggest brand.

● Batchelors, which launched Super Noodles into a pot format with a four-strong range earlier this year, saw sales rise £5.1m. Half of this growth came from the NPD.

● “The strong growth of Batchelors Pot NPD shows the demand for convenience and the move away from traditional block packs,” says IRI analyst James Dawson.

● The rivalry between the two players shows no sign of abating as they eye pasta pots for further growth. Pot Noodle unveiled its Pot Pasta – including Beefy Bolognese and Creamy Carbonara – in June, followed by Batchelors’ Pasta ‘n’ Sauce pots less than a month later.

● This could make things even tougher for Dolmio’s Pasta Vita, which is already down by a quarter.

● Meanwhile, Symington’s Naked Noodle, which spans Vietnamese, Thai and other Far Eastern cuisines, tripled in value to £8.8m. Despite a 12% drop in average price, it still comes in as one of the most expensive hot snacks per kilo in the top 10, playing on its low fat and high protein credentials.

● Kabuto and Itsu have also benefited from an increased interest in authentic flavours and premium hot snack options. Both have an average price above £20 per kilo, more than double that of Pot Noodle.

● Uncle Ben’s Rice Time suffered the steepest loss in hot snacks, of £4.8m.

● The rice & noodles category saw 1.6% value growth over the past year, bringing an extra £8.1m to the category.

● Pouch rice and other plain rice make up nearly 70% of the market, with the former up 8.2% y-o-y, adding an extra £14.9m. Growth is particularly pronounced in own label.

● The success of pouch rice chimes with the wider trend for convenient meal solutions, and this is driving performance for rice as shoppers are willing to pay a price premium for products that save time.

● In noodles, savoury is performing worse than plain, with penetration rapidly decreasing due to rising prices.

● Forty one per cent of spend comes from products bought on promotion. Promotions are being used more for pouch rice than for other plain rice.

● The mechanics for pouch rice have shifted since last year, with y-for-£x deals reducing from 17% to 9% of spend, a pattern seen at all major mults. This has also resulted in average prices dropping 6.2% year on year due to the deeper discounts offered by TPR deals.

Bianca Draghici/ Kantar Worldpanel

● Own label dominates dry rice and it’s now staking a claim on the pouch rice market as well. Two thirds of own label’s £11.7m value growth was driven by ready-to-heat pack, according to IRI. 

● “The growth has been driven by demand for convenient but also quality food,” says IRI analyst James Dawson. 

● Uncle Ben’s Express and Tilda Steamed Basmati still dominate the ready-to-heat market, but the rise of own label is driving the average price down for rice overall.

● Tilda added £2.1m to sales, but despite its dominance Uncle Ben’s had a tough year, with a £5.3m loss. This was the second biggest of the top 10 brands’ behind Veetee. However, Uncle Ben’s volume losses were not as steep at –1.5%. 

● “Expanded ranges such as Uncle Ben’s Rice Time have added to the sector but the pouch is still the primary format,” Dawson adds. 

● Veetee’s value, on the other hand, was reduced by more than a third as Brits move away from the ready-to-heat tray.

● Household names Birds Eye, Batchelors and Riso Gallo also saw double-digit decline, slightly starker in volume than in value as prices rose across the trio. 

● Traditional dry rice specialist Laila has delivered almost 40% value growth and even bigger volume growth of over 50%. Its decline in average price, notes Dawson, may be due to increasingly early and aggressive promotion around Ramadan, particularly for large bags of 4kg and upwards.

Source: IRI 52w/e 20 May 2017