Euromonitor has reported that the 2016 value of the retail packaged food market in Bermuda to be US$50.6 million, an increase of 3.5% or US$1.7 million from 2012. They also forecast the packaged food retail market to increase slightly
to US$55.8 million by 2021, a growth of 8.3% or US$4.3 million. Top growth categories in the forecast include savory snacks, sweet biscuits snack bars and fruit snacks, processed meat and seafood, confectionery, dairy, baked goods, and sauces dressings
and condiments.
According to Euromonitor data, in 2016 total retail sales (excluding sales tax) of the Bermudian grocery retail industry were US$282.9 million, of which about 53% were channeled through modern grocery
retailers and just over 28% through small independent grocers. The industry is estimated to have declined by 0.8% in 2016 and is expected to decline by 5.3% or US$14.8 million over the next five years.
Post has reported that Bermudian’s
high GDP per capita is reflected in their purchasing of very high-end, premium quality, and name brand products. Locals are very brand loyal and thus, difficult to sway. Major U.S. brands present in the market include Del Monte, Nestle, Heinz,
Kraft, Kellogg’s, and many others. Lack of shelf space continues to be a problem, making competition for the little space available quite fierce. As a result, only the products with the most demand are awarded prime shelf space. For many stores,
if a new product is brought in, another is bumped out.
The U.S. maintains a dominant presence in the market as Bermuda’s primary trading partner. The major drivers pushing the success of U.S. goods are the availability,
abundance, and quality of the products imported. Most U.S. products are shipped out of New Jersey and to a lesser extent out of Jacksonville, Florida. In the last report, U.S. food imports destined to the foodservice sector account for approximately
35%-45% of total U.S. food imports while the retail sector is estimated to account for 55%-65% of the total.
Large supermarkets purchase their goods from local wholesalers because they offer convenience and reliability of the items being supplied. However,
some supermarkets have significant purchasing power and import directly from U.S. manufacturers. For example, Market Place and Lindo’s Market import from the U.S. on a regular basis. In addition, most supermarkets and grocery stores will order
mixed container loads to their New Jersey consolidators if they can offer better prices than the local wholesalers. It is important to emphasize that although direct imports do take place, it is not the norm in the nation’s retail sector. Bermuda
has a well-established distribution network that channels most food imports through local importer/distributors.