The Food Catalog Market Totals 8.7 Million Active Names, according to New York-based list brokerage services firm ParadyszMatera. That amount is down 600,000 — or 6.2% — from the first quarter of 2008, but up by 200,000 since the fourth quarter of 2008.
Looking at the top-five food catalog files, Omaha Steaks, Harry & David and Figi’s all have more than 1 million active names on their buyers file, and Swiss Colony and The Popcorn Factory both have more than 400,000 active buyers.
But the majority of food merchants are niche titles with a loyal customer base, and many do not have their names on the market. One of those is Spanish foods importer La Tienda, which said this past spring that it has a house file of about 130,000, and that it shipped close to 64,000 total orders in 2008.
Some of the other players in the market include HoneyBaked Ham, which has a 12-month buyer list of 139,000; gourmet products title Dean & DeLuca, which has a list of slightly more than 53,000; and Jack Stack Barbecue, with 18,000 names. These merchants also boast fairly sizable average orders: HoneyBaked Ham’s average order is $150, Dean & DeLuca’s is $129, and Jack Stack Barbecue buyers spend $140 per order.
| 1Q 2007 |
2Q 2007 |
3Q 2007 |
4Q 2007 |
1Q 2008 |
2Q 2008 |
3Q 2008 |
4Q 2008 |
1Q 2009 |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total universe | 9.0 | 9.0 | 9.1 | 8.6 | 9.3 | 9.2 | 9.0 | 8.5 | 8.7 |
