Take Away, Grab-and-Go, Take-Out aka Grocerant niche food is driving global food sales.

Grocerant niche food is fresh prepared ready-2 -eat and heat-N-eat fresh food.  It can be prepared in restaurants, grocery stores, C-stores, or Drug Stores utilizing traditional preparation or via sous vide /cook chill or frozen. It must have the ability to be portable however.  It can be eaten on-site, in the car, at the office or down the road at the park.  At times it is reheated it is focused on single serve portions or portions for two.

One of the most interesting success clues within the grocerant niche is bundling of the meal components.  It’s a mix and match game that is very empowering for the consumer.  Consumers can buy a fresh prepared sauce, and utilize it on fish, steak, chicken, a burritos or pasta.  Two people in a home may use the same sauce on two different entrees.  The same can be said for each course of the meal.  This mix and match of small portion, fresh products, makes meal time a time of convenient meal participation, differentiation and individualization.

What is the most exciting are the new points of distribution of quality ready-2-eat and heat-N-eat fresh and prepared food.  In Asia, Convenience stores assemble meals on site and many get delivery of fresh food three times a day; focused on the next meal period.  With this focus on freshness and quality consumers are paying respect by spending more and more money on food at C-stores.

Department stores are a source for grocerant food in Asia and Europe you can find outstanding displays of quality prepped, prepared and packaged. In the US you can now find fresh prepared grocerant niche food in most urban chain Drug stores. 

Since 1991 retail food consultancy Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma, WA has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche for more on Steven A. Johnson and Foodservice Solutions® Bing or Google Grocerants or visit http://www.linkedin.com/in/grocerant, twitter.com/grocerant or Facebook Steven