Need Super munchies? Get some Kern carrots
| Friday, Feb 03 2012 09:14 PM
Last Updated Friday, Feb 03 2012 09:15 PM
We like to think the New Year brings an end to the gorging that annually pads our stomachs over the holidays, but there's one more big food day to get beyond before the season of gluttony has passed.
The Super Bowl is coming, and with it, a boon for food producers and the supermarkets that sell their products.
Of those intending to watch the game, nearly 63.6 million plan to attend a party, and another 35.9 million plan to throw a party, according to The Retail Advertising and Marketing Association's 2012 Super Bowl Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey.
Both figures are up from last year.
All those party guests will, of course, have to be fed.
More than half of all Super Bowl watchers are going to be snacking throughout the game, according to the third annual Supervalu Snack Down Survey by Harris Interactive, but only 7 percent said this year's snacking budget will dwarf last year's.
In any case, Kern County's food industry is poised for profit.
Grimmway Farms says its baby cut carrot sales ahead of the Super Bowl exceed even those for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Carrot consumption on Super Bowl Sunday is about 25 percent higher than a typical Sunday, said Grimmway Vice President of Marketing Bob Borda.
"It's one of the single most popular days of the year to consume carrots," he said. "Most of the parties are going to have a vegetable tray that includes carrots as part of their food offering."
Carrots have always been a popular snack on game day, but in recent years their popularity has grown, said Andrew Bianchi, sales manager for Kern Ridge Growers near Arvin.
"People have been eating healthier for several years now," he said. "The Super Bowl and the major holidays are always strong for us."
Retailers start stocking up about two weeks out to be ready for the surge in demand, Bianchi said.
The third annual Supervalu Snack Down Survey by Harris Interactive found fan favorites on Sunday are dips and spreads (32 percent) and chicken wings (23 percent), followed by a tie for third place for pizza and salty snacks such as chips, peanuts, pretzels or popcorn (14 percent).
Americans will spend $644.7 million on Super Bowl snacks on or before game day, according to The Nielsen Company.
Potato chips will account for most of that, followed by tortilla chips, popcorn and pretzels.
The Super Bowl is always among the top sales days of the year for Frito-Lay, said spokesman Chris Kuechenmeister. It's up there with the summer holidays -- Memorial Day, the Fourth of July and so on.
"It's a huge deal for us so we always gear up to make sure we're ready to meet demand," Kuechenmeister said.
