By Denise Purcell

Ready-made cooking sauces and marinades have the potential to flourish as convenience items for time-pressed consumers. Yet, the category has remained flat. Data from Mintel International shows that the $1.7-billion cooking sauce and marinade market in total posted a 2 percent drop in constant dollar sales from 1999 to 2004.

The outlook is brighter on the specialty side, although not as promising as in other categories. In 2004, 825 new specialty cooking sauces were introduced, a drop from the 903 that debuted in 2003. And while the condiment category increased by 9.8 percent in retail sales in 2004, much of that increase was in mustards and related items, not in cooking sauces.

Nevertheless, suppliers and retailers have a marketing opportunity to show that sauces can help prepare quick, tasty meals or add a personal touch to home meal replacements. Young consumers, who have increasingly limited cooking skills, are a promising market.

Sauces need to be updated to appeal to broader palates, particularly of the under-35 set. In the three segments Mintel used to define the market—Gravy and Sauce Mixes (both liquid and dry), Oriental Sauces (soy, teriyaki) and Other Sauces (marinades, glazes, grilling sauces, barbecue sauces, ethnic sauces, etc.)—top products have been the same for decades. (Editor’s Note: Mintel limits cooking sauces to sauces poured or brushed on food before or during meal preparation.)

New Products
As consumers are besieged with information about health and weight control, more natural and organic cooking sauce options are taking center stage. Mintel reports that low-calorie varieties comprised about 6 percent of the more than 6,000 new product launches and line extensions since 2001. These products often focus on full or exotic flavors to provide users with taste at a fraction of the fat content. Though fading, low-carb entries accounted for nearly 2 percent of roll-outs during that period. Mintel predicts a market for vitamin- or mineral-fortified cooking sauces, to reinforce consumers’ desires for a convenient but healthful meal. In addition, ethnic flavors are becoming more specialized: Cantonese, Burmese and other regional specialties are increasingly available.

Denise Purcell is managing editor of Specialty Food Magazine.