Snack Brands Capitalize on Marketing in Week Before Super Bowl
Budweiser may not have been a big presence at the Super Bowl, but its products ranked high with consumers among snack brands the week of the big game.
Snack brands that leveraged the excitement and anticipation leading up to the Super Bowl can tap into a captive audience of millions and create campaigns that leave a lasting impact on brand awareness and loyalty.
Veryfi, using artificial intelligence technology to instantly transform documents into structured data that consumer packaged goods companies use for cross-basket insights, analyzed supermarket shopper receipts in the week leading up to the Super Bowl.
Veryfi Insights used shopper receipt data to identify factors that contribute to the success of snack brands during the Super Bowl, and what strategies brands can employ to improve their sales in the future.
“Veryfi’s analysis of supermarket shopper receipts in the week leading up to the Super Bowl is a powerful demonstration of the potential of cross-basket analytics in understanding consumer behavior,” said Ernest Semerda, co-founder and CEO, Veryfi. “By launching campaigns in the week leading up to the Super Bowl, brands can trigger a jump in sales while connecting more closely with customers and the Super Bowl audience.”
The ability of AI to instantly transform receipts into structured data provides insights that were previously impossible to obtain. By analyzing supermarket shopper receipts, Veryfi was able to identify shifting preferences in consumer behavior in the lead-up to the Super Bowl, and this information can be used by brands to inform their loyalty marketing and advertising strategies.
Anheuser-Busch InBev dominated the beer category during the Super Bowl – with Bud Light, Budweiser, and Michelob Ultra all ranking in the top three in sales for the week leading up to the event. Coca-Cola’s success in the soft drink category is also notable, with the brand outperforming Pepsi by a significant margin. However, it’s worth noting the large increase in sales for Pepsi Zero in the week leading up to the Super Bowl, which suggests that the brand’s advertising campaign preceding the big game may have paid off.
In the chip category, PepsiCo’s Lays and Doritos brands emerged as clear leaders, indicating the popularity of salty snacks during the Super Bowl. Contrary to some predictions, despite more affordable avocado prices, a lack of increase in avocado or guacamole sales versus the preceding year’s worth of sales data may suggest that customers were not motivated by any price changes.
Hellman’s mayonnaise is the leading U.S. mayo product. However, the substantially greater popularity of Hellman’s mayonnaise over Heinz ketchup and French’s mustard is a surprising finding, as ketchup and mustard are often considered staple condiments for Super Bowl parties.
“Through Veryfi Insights, we’ve proven that consumer shopping receipts deliver cross-basket insights, greater personalization, and better customer loyalty to CPG brands and the marketing agencies supporting them,” continued Semerda. “Building on our momentum gained in 2022 with loyalty marketing organizations, we see increasing numbers of CPG brands and agencies that are using receipts to drive customer loyalty and mitigate any impacts caused by economic uncertainty.”
Unlike most consumer surveys that solicit feedback from a few thousand people, Veryfi draws its insights on data collected in the aggregate from millions of opt-in receipts extracted by the Veryfi OCR API Platform. In this way, Veryfi’s technology offers an unprecedented real-world view into shopping trends. Veryfi customers in the CPG industry can gain insights into consumer behavior through analysis of “cross-basket” purchases, that is, by examining all line items on a purchase receipt.
Veryfi provides the only mobile receipt capture technology that includes AI computer vision for receipt detection and image enhancement, as well as a long receipt capture mode. It helps transform unstructured documents into structured data – tapping into data that was previously unavailable for analysis.
By eliminating manual data entry, Veryfi enables organizations to accurately capture, extract and transform documents such as receipts, invoices, purchase orders, checks, credit cards, and W-9 forms into structured data, at scale. Veryfi uses advanced AI/ML technology, trained by hundreds of millions of documents over the past five years, to extract data and transform it into a structured format for 85 currencies, 39 languages, and over 110 defined fields such as vendor, total, bill to/ship to, purchase order and invoice numbers, any line item (product name, SKU, description), taxes, and more, which can then be accessed for a wide variety of business applications.
For more on The Super Bowl Snack Battle, go to https://www.veryfi.com/insights/the-super-bowl-snack-battle-which-brands-came-out-on-top-and-why/.
Go here to learn more about turning receipts into valuable consumer insights: info.veryfi.com/value-of-receipt-infographic.
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Seafood Products Debut in Red Lobster Frozen Food Line
Red Lobster is bringing the heat, and seafood, to the frozen aisle with the launch of its first line of Red Lobster frozen food seafood products available at retail. Inspired by craveable guest favorites, the new Red Lobster frozen food retail entrées include Cheddar Bay Biscuit Shrimp, which combines the Cheddar Bay Biscuit with sweet, succulent shrimp, and Coconut Shrimp Bites, both making it easier than ever to enjoy delicious seafood whenever the craving hits.
A quick and convenient dinner, the perfect party appetizer or a reliable late-night shrimpy snack, the lineup of new seafood products builds on the existing retail line of Cheddar Bay Biscuit offerings and features:
- CHEDDAR BAY BISCUIT SHRIMP – What happens when warm, buttery Cheddar Bay Biscuits and tender, crispy shrimp collide? You get NEW Cheddar Bay Biscuit Shrimp. It’s impossible to eat just one!
- COCONUT SHRIMP BITES – These bite-sized goodies are slightly sweet, perfectly crunchy and dangerously delicious. The Coconut Shrimp Bites are tossed in real shredded coconut and paired with the Sweet Chili Sauce.
- CHEDDAR BAY BISCUIT COD – Wild-caught cod breaded with legendary Cheddar Bay Biscuit seasoning makes this like no other fish you’ll ever get from the sea. It’s so easy to make you’ll want it on the weekly dinner rotation.
- PARMESAN CRUSTED GARLIC & HERB STUFFED SHRIMP – Sweet shrimp stuffed with garlic, herbs and cream cheese coated with a parmesan-crusted breading, it’s the perfect bite of shrimp every time. It’s second to yum at every meal.
The new frozen seafood offerings join a lineup of popular biscuit retail products including Red Lobster’s award-winning FROZEN, READY-TO-BAKE CHEDDAR BAY BISCUITS, GLUTEN-FREE CHEDDAR BAY BISCUIT MIX, TRADITIONAL MIX, and HONEY BUTTER BISCUIT MIX. Visit RED LOBSTER AT HOME for recipes and meal inspiration and to find where to catch Red Lobster at Home creations in your local retailer.
Red Lobster is the world’s largest and most-loved seafood restaurant company, headquartered in Orlando, Fla. With a proud heritage and an even brighter future, Red Lobster is focused on serving the highest quality, freshly prepared seafood that is traceable, sustainable and responsibly-sourced. To learn more about Red Lobster’s sourcing standards and where the seafood we serve comes from, please visit WWW.REDLOBSTER.COM/SEAFOODWITHSTANDARDS.
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Vollrath’s Bartelt Retires; Lampe to Join as CEO, President
After successfully navigating the global supply chain challenges and having a record-breaking year of sales in 2022, Vollrath Company President and CEO Paul Bartelt has decided to retire after leading the organization for over 15 years.
Erik Lampe will join the company in March to assume the position of president initially and then take over as CEO in June. He comes to Vollrath with a background in general management, strategic growth, innovation, and operational performance for industrial companies. He spent the majority of his career working for Oshkosh Corporation and McKinsey & Company, where he served in a variety of strategic leadership roles. For the last year, he worked as a principal for Comvest Partners’ Operating Advisory Group, where he served as a leader for the firm’s privately held companies, guiding them through the recent dynamic environment.Bartelt says: “There comes a time for all of us to move on, and I feel confident that this is the right moment for me to transition to the next phase of my life. It’s been the privilege of a lifetime to be the President and CEO of this great company, and with Erik, I am confident to leave the organization in the most competent hands.” Bartelt will remain on the Vollrath Board for the foreseeable future and will continue to provide support for the company and the new CEO.
“Given Vollrath’s family-held history and long-term orientation into the future, I am proud to be a part of the company’s next chapter as it surpasses the 150-year anniversary,” says Lampe.
Additionally, VP of Finance and CFO Steve Heun has also decided to step down after being with the company for over 15 years also.
Tina Kreidler, the current director of finance & controller at Vollrath, will be promoted to VP of Finance and will work closely with Heun until his departure this fall.
Danielle Kohler, Chairwoman of the Vollrath Board, said: “The family wants to thank Paul and Steve for doing a tremendous job over their 15-year tenure. They have built an incredible company and team. We are also grateful they will both be with us for a smooth transition into the next chapter of the company. We are confident that Erik Lampe, who is stepping into Paul’s shoes as our next CEO, is highly qualified and will fit well into our culture as our new leader.”
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