Year In Review: Bird Food

The following insights are powered by Nielsen in partnership with Unioncrate, an artificial intelligence demand planning platform that combines consumer behavior and historical shipment data to predict sales and inventory with up to 91.6% SKU-level accuracy.

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Welcome to Day 12 of Unioncrate’s Year In Review, spotlighting the bird food category, which grew 12.7% this year (vs. 2019).

Bird Food

• When the pandemic was officially declared in March, domestic bird food sales grew 24.6% in the 4-week period ended 3/21.

• As social distancing pushed us to branch out and seek friends outside of our species, wild bird food sales increased 19% in the 40-week period since March, helping nurture human/avian friendships that will outlast the pandemic.

• The 4-week period ended 5/16 was the peak for bird food sales in 2020, reaching a 26.6% increase.

Flying High-lights

• Bird food producer Henry Bell signed a one-year contract to supply wild and domestic bird food varieties, over 130 products in its range, to 20 nationwide garden-and-pet center locations.

• Mountain States Oilseeds, the nation’s top supplier of safflower seeds for bird food mixes, reported a 40% increase in sales during the pandemic, leading to an expansion of producers and a hopeful future for the 2021 birdseed market.

• Vitakraft Sunseed partnered with national nonprofit GreaterGood and other pet food suppliers to contribute to a donation of over $6 million worth of pet food and supplies to animal shelters and owners in need.

• Irish whiskey brand Redbreast created a limited edition copper bottle case that can be turned into a bird feeder, donating a portion of profits to Bird Life International.

Up Next: Vitamins and Supplements

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About Unioncrate

Unioncrate is an AI-powered Integrated Business Planning (IBP) platform that delivers demand forecasts with unmatched accuracy, collaborative visibility, and actionable intelligence—enabling CPG brands to plan and execute agile supply chain strategies at the click of a button.