Thanks to the pandemic, a huge chunk of grocery shoppers have found a new love for cooking. Not only are they loving this hobby in quarantine, but they admit that they will continue cooking for themselves more often, post pandemic. The companies benefiting highly from this newfound love? Spice companies.
Eating the same meals over and over again gets boring. Many home cooks have been getting more creative and making their dishes more colorful with spices. McCormick & Company reports that their sales have spiked 35% in 2019. In fact, their spices have been in such high demand that when the holidays came, many couldn’t find the the products they typically buy. Garlic powder, vanilla extract, and pumpkin spice, to name a few, are typically seasonal spices. However, they sold off shelves practically as soon as stores restocked.
International cooperation has been crucial in restocking. As many spices are not native to the United States, other countries’ support has been super helpful to keep this market up and thriving. Expansion among spice companies has also been happening, as it is necessary to keep up with demand. McCormick and Company announced that they were opening up a new plant just to keep up. Penzeys Spices reportedly had to make major changes in order to keep their employees safe while competing with the other big names.
Post pandemic, nobody is quite sure where they will be getting their food. However, it should be noted that restaurant dining has been trending downward since 2000. After having cooked their own meals for over year, home cooks might have gotten used to being their own personal chef. If the money saving wasn’t enough of a draw, the health benefits of cooking at home are astronomical. Not to mention, technology is ever expanding. Instapot is able to help home cooks complete complicated dishes. Air fryers are able to make help them cook something easy and fast. Add some of their favorite spice to either, and restaurants might just have a cause for concern.
What are your thoughts on the increase in spice sales? Let us know down in the comments.
This article originally published on GREY Journal.
