Ranch Dressing’s World Cup Glow Fades With Salad Safety Worries
This summer’s cyclospora outbreak left many Americans wary of eating leafy greens. That’s bad news for salad dressing.
Ranch dressing's popularity at the World Cup has waned as consumers grapple with salad safety concerns due to a cyclospora outbreak. Sales of Kraft Heinz Co.'s salad dressings dropped 20% over the past four weeks, while Clorox Co.'s Hidden Valley Ranch dressing fell 5%, according to TD Cowen analyst Robert Moskow in a recent note.
Salad dressing accounts for 2% of Kraft Heinz's US retail sales and 11% of Clorox's. The outbreak, linked to contaminated food, made many Americans hesitant to consume leafy greens and salads, causing a significant drop in sales. Iceberg lettuce, which accounts for 37% of the lettuce market, saw a 20% decline in sales compared to the previous year.
Sweetgreen Inc. and Cava Group Inc. also reported a slowdown in sales due to consumer caution. Despite these challenges, consumers have turned to frozen alternatives, with sales of frozen kale up 14% in the past three weeks. The negative impact on Clorox's and Kraft Heinz's sales may persist throughout the third quarter, dragging down their US retail sales by 55 basis points and 40 basis points, respectively.
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