Dive Brief:
- McCormick and Co., a maker of dry spices, plans to expand into an already crowded market for liquid sauces for one-skillet meals.
- The skillet sauces, in flavors like "Stir-fry" and "Fajita" put McCormick into direct competition with similar offerings from Campbell Soup, General Mills, Frontera, and others.
- The announcement came as McCormick reported a 1% drop in sales in the U.S. Overall sales rose 3% on rising demand in China, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.
Dive Insight:
McCormick's decision to try selling liquid sauces says less about McCormick than it does about American's cooking style in recent years. McCormick has built a massive global business providing the spices cooks around the globe use when preparing meals. But here in the States, sales slipped as Americans turned to prepared foods.
But that trend is reversing. The millennial generation likes to cook. And a company like McCormick stands to benefit from that. Those little jars of dry seasoning are due for a comeback.