Menu’s, Meals, and Small Plates

When is a small plate a snack rather than a meal?  When is a snack a meal? Is it defined by day-part, portion size, or lifestyle?  The team at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® does not think it is that easy.  Just over 45% of the people living in the United Sates that are over the age of 18 are single according to the US Census bureau. 

Today most snack foods are eaten between meals, snack foods eaten at main meals now represent 24 percent of all snack food eating’s, which is up from 21 percent five years ago, according to NPD’s continual tracking of U.S. consumer snacking attitudes and behaviors.

The NPD report found “As Gen Zs and millennials age and move through life stages, their interest in consuming snack food at main meals is expected to ontinue. Annual eating’s per capita of snack food at main meals is forecasted to grow by 12 percent by 2024, according to NPD’s Generation Study: The Evolution of Eating.

Grocerant niche fresh is important to the snacking sector as consumers are shifting toward Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh foods and foods with a healthy halo, which is one reason why fresh fruit and refrigerated yogurt are among the top snack foods included as meals themselves by many.

Now here is some eye opening information to ponder  from NPD “There are 12 billion snack visits made to foodservice outlets, including convenience stores. When snacking replaces an away-from-home meal, the meal is most often lunch. Forty-eight percent of foodservice snack visits occur during the lunch timeframe. Morning snacks represent 23 percent of foodservice snack visits, and evening snacks 30 percent.

When thinking about Small plates, fresh foods, menus and meals grocerant niche mix and match bundling empowers customer choice so edify your product offering empowering consumer flexibility on price, portion size and portability.  Remember you customer will define if it is a snack, small plate or a meal occasion. 

Invite Foodservice Solutions® to complete a Grocerant Program Assessment, Grocerant ScoreCard, or for product positioning or placement assistance, or call our Grocerant Guru®.  Since 1991  www.FoodserviceSolutions.us  of Tacoma, WA has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche. Contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us or 253-759-7869