Ready-to-eat and ready-to-heat fresh prepared food is deemed “better for you”.

The grocerant niche filled with ready-to-eat and ready-to-heat fresh prepared food continues to propel retail foodservice building top line sales while contributing to bottom line profits. The Grocerant niche is about convenient meal participation, differentiation and individualization.

Consumer continue to be time starved and searching for fresh convenient options Two particular attributes that resonate with consumer are package size and packaging that is resealable.

Healthy snacking is becoming mainstream with both adults and children. The ability to cross merchandize the same product to an adult as a work snack and better for you alternative for children is garnering attention from manufactures and retailers alike.

Single serve portions of any item seem to be flying off the shelf. These items fly off the shelf particularly well if they are capped at 100 calories per pack. In most cases these are snack or between meal items. The ability for a family to mix and match flavors and items is an additional bonus.

The ability to reseal a package, including a single serve item is an additional attribute that consumer are responding well too. The grocerant niche is benefiting the most from these trends and the results can be seen converging in the fresh food isle of retail foodservice operators.

The ability for a family to select from a single controlled portion of salmon, meat loaf or salad bundling entrée’s ala entire family meal with customization while allowing for individualization is driving the consumer back to grocery deli/ fresh food sections.

Outside eyes can deliver top line insights and bottom line profits. Invite Foodservice Solutions to provide brand and product positioning assistance or a grocerant program assessment. Since 1991 Foodservice Solutions of Tacoma, WA has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche for more on Steven Johnson BING: Steven Johnson Grocerants or Google: Steven Johnson Grocerants.