Looks can be deceiving and numbers don’t lie, but one thing is for sure: Retail sales of bacon inexplicably continue to increase. While the past year’s sales have dipped a percentage point or two across most brands (from as little as .99 percent for Farmland refrigerated bacon up to 11.95 percent for Carolina Pride), data from Infoscan Reviews, IRI, indicates unit sales showed healthy growth in the 52 weeks ending Sept. 6, 2015.
Most likely due to this past year’s spike in pork prices stemming from an outbreak of PEDv (Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus), consumers paid more for a pound of bacon but demand was as strong as ever. While the change in average price per unit was slightly down over the past year (less than 1 percent across all brands), what the chart doesn’t indicate is the increase in unit sales versus a year ago. Unit sales growth increased in all but three brands while the remaining brands saw unit sales grow as much as 46 percent (Sugardale) to no less than 2.5 percent (Oscar Mayer).
For more data on bacon sales and the breakfast meats category, send a request to: [email protected].
