Grain Gains

New promotions and products at retail point up the primacy of rice and pasta.

It may not be new, but rice and pasta are more important staples than ever — and not just in their most common forms.

"Sales of U.S. rice products have seen a steady increase over the last year," asserts Anne Banville, VP domestic production at the Arlington, Va.-based USA Rice Federation. "Regular, milled white rice is still the biggest seller, but packaged, bulk and instant brown rice sales have increased in dollar and pound volume due to the introduction of many new brown rice products aligning with the whole grains trend. Microwaveable/shelf-stable rice packages have seen an increase due to consumer demand for more convenience products, as well as specialty rice products increasing as consumers' global palates evolve."

When it comes to what shoppers want in rice, Banville believes they're "looking for more quicker-cooking rice products on the grocery store shelves. … Consumers also are looking for more variety and flavor in rice products. Since rice is the culinary version of the 'little black dress,' foodmakers find it an easy staple to 'dress up' with a range of savory flavors."

This product innovation includes "quickercooking brown rice, brown rice combined with other whole grains such as quinoa and wild rice, white whole grain rice, and, most recently, lightly milled brown rice [that] offers the benefits of whole grains with the more familiar flavor of white rice," Banville says. "U.S.-grown sprouted brown and white rice is starting to gain in notice and popularity. This is a popular rice food in Asian countries, and now U.S. rice companies are producing it for the health-conscious consumer."

To promote the ubiquitous grain, the federation runs the September National Rice Month campaign, which has played "an integral role across all USA Rice programs for more than 20 years," Banville notes, adding that the campaign's retail programs include a creative rice display contest for U.S. brands at chains and independents, point-of-sale materials containing nutrition information and recipe tear-off pads for consumers, and individual grocer promotions including displays, in-store demonstrations, and specials highlighted in circulars and recipes.

In 2012, the federation printed a recipe using chicken from Springdale, Ark.-based Tyson Foods, a national partner in the effort, on more than 10,000 POS pieces; teamed up with Rancho Dominguez, Calif.-based sushi distributor Advanced Fresh Concepts to conduct sushi promotions featuring U.S.-grown rice in about 2,000 grocery stores and military commissaries; and became a USDA MyPlate partner to communicate the message "Make At Least Half Your Grains Whole."

Aside from National Rice Month, the federation works with supermarket dietitians to help promote rice's health benefits, as well as rice recipes in ad circulars and store communications.

Meanwhile, consumers could celebrate 31 days of eating what recent research by the New York-based National Pasta Association (NPA) says is "America's favorite food," during National Pasta Month in October. The promotion spotlighted easy-to-prepare seasonal recipes such as Acorn Squash 'n Pasta Soup and Pasta with Turkey-Black Bean Chili on NPA's website, www.ilovepasta.org. Additionally, the trade association's ongoing "Pasta Fits" program demonstrates how the food can be incorporated into a healthy diet.

International Flavor

Many of the latest rice and pasta offerings hail from a range of cultures, predominantly those of the Far East.

"Rice is a staple that is used in recipes from nearly every country around the world," notes John Khoury, VP of sales and marketing at Woodland, Calif.-based SunFoods LLC, parent company of Hinode Rice. "Consumers are starting to differentiate rice varieties with recipes and ingredients from different regions." The company offers a popular heritage rice variety, Calrose medium-grain sticky rice from California.

In addition to two new premium varieties, Black Rice and Sprouted Brown Rice, aimed at the "foodie" demographic, Hinode has introduced 17 microwavable rice items over past two years.

Rice may be an age-old product, but Hinode's approach to marketing and merchandising is right up to the minute. "Online digital advertising provides targeted promotional offers that benefit consumers, retailers and producers alike," says Khoury. "By combining broad-reaching media buys with targeted digital couponing, inline ads and social media, Hinode Rice is able to efficiently grow brand awareness and trial simultaneously. … Hinode also receives positive feedback from retailers and consumers for establishing color coding for each variety of rice across product lines. This helps consumers find their favorite variety of rice in any format."

Todd Kluger, VP of marketing for Richvale, Calif.-based Lundberg Family Farms, observes that culinary fusion has been ongoing in the United States, with each new wave of immigrant culture putting its imprint on the nation's dining habits. "From Korean tacos to brisket egg rolls, chefs like to experiment with new flavors and textures, and rice has been part of the increase in cross-culture food creation," says Kluger, whose company's most popular brown rice products include its Wild Blend, Organic Brown Basmati Rice, Sea Salt Rice Chips and Creamy Parmesan Risotto. The company is rolling out new standup recloseable packaging for all varieties of its packaged rice, supported by new displays and promotions.

Beyond the increase in global offerings, "[t]he increase in availability of organic, whole grain, multigrain and gluten-free pastas have further increased the category while responding to consumer demand," says Kluger.

At Berkeley, Calif.-based Simply Asia Foods LLC, the Thai Kitchen noodle segment "is currently growing [by] double digits," notes Stefanie Woodhouse, senior marketing manager, noting that the brand's recently launched Specialty Noodles line offers Red Rice, Brown Rice, and Purple Corn & Rice varieties. Additionally, Simply Asia's newly introduced Singapore Street Noodles in four flavors "have gained extremely fast acceptance from our retailers and are exceeding our expectations," she says, adding that as well as offering an authentic taste of the East, many of the company's products are gluten-free.

When it comes to promotions, according to Woodhouse, "The two biggest times of year for Simply Asia and Thai Kitchen are Chinese New Year (January-February) and back-to-school/off-to-college. Both of these promotional events are supported through in-store displays and communication as well as an emphasis on a digital campaign."

Ancient Wisdom

Besides traditional rice and pasta, the so-called "ancient grains," among them spelt, einkorn and kamut, have elbowed their way into the national consciousness, landing in modern consumers' shopping carts in unprecedented numbers. These foods have become a "huge growing category," affirms Lisa Kartzman, director of public relations at New York-based American Roland Food Corp.

Among the company's recent introductions are lines of flavored quinoa (like its cousin kañiwa, technically a seed) and a flavored Israeli couscous, the latter of which, as Kartzman explains, "is a pasta and not the traditional couscous."

In common with Simply Asia, Roland promotes its gluten-free grain and grain-like products "on the packages, with advertising, and all forms of media, including social media," asserts Kartzman.

Over at Livermore, Calif.-based Enray Inc., home of the TruRoots brand, "our lines of specialty rice and other grains, whole and sprouted, have have shown consistent high growth year over year for the past three or four years," notes CEO Esha Ray. She says the company's innovative product lineup is based on "traditional wisdom and specialty rice and grains from around the world, and this ancient-grain awareness has definitely helped boost sales for TruRoots."

To raise awareness of its products, TruRoots commits to "educate many retailers and consumers on the benefits of eating sprouted grains over regular grains, due to the fact that they have more bioavailable nutrients," explains Ray. Additional ways to encourage trial and purchase include sampling products to food bloggers, offering recipe cards and demos to retailers, and routinely running scans to reduce pricing on shelf.

The Shape of Things to Come

What's ahead for the category? As far as pasta's concerned, a whole new look and feel are in the offing. "[T]he consumer is looking for different shapes and textures beyond those that they are already familiar with," says Lundberg's Kluger.

He further believes that "as consumers of white rice adopt more whole grains into their diet, they will move from white to brown to other color varieties like black, red, striped and purple rice. More adventurous chefs will seek out the proper variety to make their dishes with, such as basmati, jasmine and arborio rice, and rice flour will continue to be used to innovate new baked items and popped snacks."

With forward-looking suppliers, however, the sky's the limit. As Ray of Enray puts it, "The rice and pasta category is fast-growing and will continue to evolve as long as there are innovative brands … that push the limits and continue to be trendsetters, instead of followers."

"Since rice is the culinary version of the 'little black dress," foodmakers find it an easy staple to 'dress up' with a range of savory flavors."

—Anne Banville, USA Rice Federation

"The consumer is looking for different shapes and textures of pasta beyond those that they are already familiar with."

—Todd Kluger, Lundberg Family Farms