According to the Specialty Food Association, the U.S. specialty food market hit $175 billion in sales in 2021, an increase of 7.4% over 2020. This comes on the heels of a 5.8% increase from last year.
Frozen and refrigerated meat, poultry and seafood led the specialty food categories in retail dollar sales in 2021, followed by cheese and plant-based cheese in second place, and chips, pretzels, and other snacks in third. Three refrigerated categories topped the fastest-growing group: ready-to-drink (RTD) tea and coffee at No. 1, followed by creams and creamers and then entrees, according to the Specialty Foods Association (SFA).
“The specialty food market has prospered amid two difficult years, with our latest research showing specialty continues to grow at a faster rate than all food,” Denise Purcell, vice president of content and education at the Specialty Food Association said in a statement.
The group did cite possible hurdles for the industry to overcome in the near future. “Growth will continue, but at a slower pace than the industry experienced during the 2020 pandemic-influenced whirlwind of grocery shopping and at-home meal preparation and will depend on supply chain bandwidth and shifts in challenges like inflation, shipping issues, cost increases and materials shortages.”
As far as individual products, specialty beverages jumped past food and grew twice as fast in 2021 after a drop in sales in 2020. SFA found consumers have expanded their shopping lists to include more specialty beverage purchases. The SFA found ready-to-drink alcoholic beverages like hard seltzer, hard kombucha and fermented functional cocktails showed rapid growth.