Sauce for the goose and gander

"What is sauce for the goose may be sauce for the gander, but it is not necessarily sauce for the chicken, the duck, the turkey or the Guinea hen," wrote Alice B. Toklas in the 1930s.

Consumers today agree that variety is the spice of life, so it's no wonder that sauces -- particularly cooking sauces -- registered the largest growth within the sauces and seasonings category in 2003. They accounted for more than half the new product introductions, compared to 41 percent in 2002. And why not? Cooking sauces make whipping up an exotic dish a lot easier for the home gourmet.

"There's a distinction between BBQ and grilling flavors," explains Laurie Harrsen, McCormick's director of public relations. "BBQ sauces have a sweeter application and grilling sauces are bolder in flavor. People crave the bolder flavors of grilling sauces, and the brush-and-go simplicity and convenience of BBQ sauces and marinades."

Consumer desire for ethnic flavors has led to such recent product introductions as Pace Mexican Creations Cooking Sauces from Camden, N.J.-based Campbell Soup Co. The five SKU line -- Roasted Ranchero, Verde with Tomatillos and Jalapenos, Sweet Roasted Onion and Garlic, Taco and Cilantro and Lime , incorporates authentic Mexican and Southwest flavors.

Indian curry sauces, Asian stir-fry sauces, and spicy Cajun sauces also are appealing to consumers seeking new flavor experiences.

"Mayonnaise is a $1 billion category," says director of new initiatives Marc Birnbaum. "We decided to use our flavor expertise and leverage it into a gourmet niche in grocery." And he adds, "We like to bring a lot of flavor to typical offerings in categories to satisfy consumer desire for new flavor experiences."

Manufacturers of sauces and seasonings are paying more attention to the appearance of their products, creating packaging for both display value and functionality. Inverted squeeze bottles are proliferating, as is classy packaging and design. Moonachie, N.J.-base Boston Tea Co.'s Boston World of Spice Garlic Powder is packaged in an attractive "press-n-pop" can that provides a great seal on the product. Packaging with a combination of functionality and attractive appearance is being emulated across the specialty food business.

Dressings are particularly strong in the gourmet market sector these days. Many of the new products -- including Wild Thyme's Toasted Sesame Wasabi and Fresh Mango Dressings -- exemplify today's most popular flavors.

"Salad dressing continues to be a household staple in most U.S. households with high penetration (89 percent)," Julie Currie, vice president and group account director of ACNielsen, said at the annual meeting of the Association for Dressings and Sauces this past November. "Sales of salad dressings were up 3.1 percent from 2002, driving $1.7 billion in sales," says Currie. "And although consumers are eating more salads, overall they use less dressing and pay more per bottle -- up to $1.63 vs. $1.56 in 2002."

Ragu tops the spaghetti/Italian sauce category, which fell 1.1 percent to $1.4 billion for the 52 weeks ended Nov. 30, according to Information Resources Inc. Ragu garnered $422 million in sales during that period compared to Prego's $292 million, reportsAdvertising Age.

In this carb-aware era, Unilever Bestfoods' Ragu and Campbell Soup Co.'s Prego are repositioning the sauce as more than just a topping for pasta. Instead, the sauces are being touted as versatile ingredients in meat and other carb-free dishes.