April 3, 2020
Consumer goods giant Unilever has prioritized restocking shelves with popular and larger sizes of its products as consumers stock their pantries, kitchens and freezers with more ice cream, condiments and easy-to-prepare meals — even if that means some of its other items are out of stock at retailers.
Food and beverages have been flying off the shelves in recent weeks as consumers limit trips outside the home or prepare for stay-at-home orders being put in place across the country. Ice cream sales, for example, have risen 20% during the four-week period ended March 21 compared to a year earlier, according to Nielsen data. Other products including canned meats, beans, soups and dairy also have posted robust increases during the same period.
Unilever is seeing “a substantial increase in purchases” for its food products, led by Knorr, condiments such as Hellmann’s and Sir Kensington’s, teas like Lipton and its ice creams. The growth in ice cream, which includes Ben & Jerry’s, Breyers and Magnum, has been less robust as the products compete for space at homes with meals in consumers’ freezers.
This has been a moment when food companies really do have to step up, because they have a unique role to play as they feed people. As an industry, food companies have an important role in the crisis: to provide the food and as much normalcy as in terms of what’s available.
Large F&B companies have remained cautious publicly as to how long the surge in demand for their products will last, preferring to keep a watch on sales in the coming weeks to get a better feel for the long-term impact from the coronavirus outbreak.
Unilever is seeing demand fluctuate in some areas “depending on the phases that you’re in as a community, as a region.. Sales in the coming months also are expected to be impacted by factors such an increase in unemployment, a recession and the struggle of small businesses, even after the virus has abated.