Hand Held Food Sells For Eating-In or Eat-Out

It takes a lot of work and effort to cook lunch or dinner from scratch for just one person and according to the U.S. Census Bureau 50% of Americans over the age of 18 are single today.  So if they are not cooking from scratch just what are they eating and how is it prepared? 

David Sprinkle, research director for Rockville, Md.-based Packaged Facts has some clues for us and it looks as if hand held food is clue one.  Packaged Facts research “indicates the sandwich is a staple food across the full spectrum of U.S. adults regardless of gender, age, household income, race or geographic location. Roughly 79 percent of all adults have eaten a sandwich in the past seven days, according to data in a new Packaged Facts Sandwiches: Market Trends and Opportunities".

Sprinkle found “Sandwiches typically carry a healthier halo than other menu items, such as their burger cousins, which is a factor that has sustained the popularity of sandwiches among parents and other adults who are increasingly seeking healthier food options, especially when dining away from home. Subway is perhaps the most well-known example of a restaurant chain that has successfully positioned itself as a health-forward brand in the limited-service foodservice landscape through the strength of its sandwich-centric menu.”

Eating at home is not dead the report went on to find “Despite the proliferation of restaurant choice, making sandwiches at home remains the more prevalent option: some 83 percent of adults say that, in the last week, they have eaten a sandwich made at home, versus 62 percent for sandwiches made outside the home.”

What we found most interesting and regular readers of this blog will too is just how closely the findings in this report tie in with our findings on the Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat grocerant niche fresh prepared food.  The Packaged Facts report found four themes including 

1.       Healthfulness

2.       Culinary innovation

3.       Customization

4.       Consumer choice

I know, everyone gets it now, simply put the halo of the grocerant niche is expanding both in new points of distribution and industry understanding. 

Visit: www.FoodserviceSolutions.us  if you are interested in learning how Foodservice Solutions 5P’s of Food Marketing can edify your retail food brand while creating a platform for consumer convenient meal participation, differentiation and individualization or you can learn more at Facebook.com/Steven Johnson, Linkedin.com/in/grocerant or twitter.com/grocerant