Grocerant niche Fresh Food Drives Service Deli Sales

Once again success does leave clues this time its within the withering grocery sector.  In the service deli has become a central focus of customer migration from restaurants to the grocery sector according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

Time-starved and always looking for ways not to have to cook dinner the grocery store service deli has become a hot spot of dinner solutions according to Johnson. Legacy grocery stores and supermarket deli’s have gone through an evolution increasing globally inspired hot and cold food bars with bold flavored foods that can be mix & matched into a customized family meal faster than ordering a meal through a fast food drive-thru.

In a new report published in Progressive Grocer titled 2018 Retail Deli Review, found:

1.       Seventy-two percent of respondents say that their overall deli sales, including prepared foods, grew in 2017 — that’s 2 percent more than those who cited sales growth in 2016.

2.       Larger operators (those with more than 10 stores) have fared particularly well, with 81 percent reporting an increase in sales. Of those retailers who reported an increase, the average sales gain was 8.2 percent.

3.       In total, deli department sales now account for almost 15 percent of all supermarket sales, according to the survey, with independent operators (those with 10 or fewer stores) seeing their average total sales closer to 10 percent.

4.       Retailers’ average deli gross margin was 43.9 percent, with labor accounting for almost 20 percent of sales, and shrink coming in at a more manageable 5.6 percent of sales.

5.        Seventy percent of respondents say that they dedicated more selling space to fresh prepared foods in 2017. Moreover, half of chain respondents say that they increased space significantly.

Are your sales growing at 8.5% plus?  Are your customer counts increasing? Is your restaurant drive-thru delivering on consumers expectations of What’s for Dinner in 2019?

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? Email us at: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us or visit:  www.FoodserviceSolutions.us for more information.