Inflation Is the Enemy of Retail: How Meal Deals and Meal Kits Win the Battle for Price, Time, and Family Mealtime

 

Here is the consumer challenge every food retailer must answer: When the cost of feeding a family keeps climbing, why should a consumer spend more money, more time, or more effort buying a meal from your brand?

Consumers are making that calculation every day. They are weighing restaurant takeout against grocery-prepared meals, convenience-store food against drive-thru combinations, and meal kits against the time and cost of cooking from scratch. They are not loyal to retail channels simply because those channels have always served them. They are looking for the best combination of price, flavor, convenience, quality, and time according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Foodservice Solutions®.

Inflation may be the enemy of retailers, but irrelevance is the enemy of brands. When a meal feels overpriced, takes too long, or fails to deliver on expectations, consumers have alternatives—and increasingly, those alternatives cross traditional retail boundaries.

That is where meal deals and meal kits enter the fight for share of stomach.

A restaurant meal deal can make the total cost of dinner more predictable. A convenience store can turn a quick stop into a satisfying meal occasion. A grocery retailer can combine fresh ingredients, prepared entrées, and ready-to-heat components to help a family put dinner on the table with less planning and preparation.

Each sector has a different advantage, but all face the same challenge: make the consumer's money go further without making the consumer work harder.

At Foodservice Solutions®, we view this through the intersection of Price and Time. Price is what consumers pay at checkout; time includes the effort required to decide, shop, prepare, serve, and clean up. A low-priced meal that consumes an hour of a busy evening may not represent the best value. A convenient meal that strains the household budget may not win the next purchase.

The brands that succeed will understand that consumers are not simply buying food. They are buying solutions to everyday eating occasions.

Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant Guru® Steven Johnson, based in Tacoma, Washington, has long championed the principle that consumers do not think in retail-channel silos. They think about what they want to eat, how much they want to spend, and how much time they have available.

The question is no longer simply, “Who has the lowest price?” It is, “Who delivers the meal solution consumers believe is worth their money and their time?” That is where meal deals, meal kits, and the Grocerant Niche can help brands build relevance, encourage repeat purchases, and compete for a greater share of stomach.

Inflation Changes the Consumer Equation

According to the USDA Economic Research Service, food-at-home prices increased 2.3% in 2025 compared with 2024, while food-away-from-home prices increased 3.8%. The difference matters because restaurants and grocery retailers are competing for consumers whose food budgets remain under pressure.

These annual increases followed years of substantial food-price inflation. Even when inflation slows, consumers do not automatically return to their former spending habits. The higher price level remains, and households continue to make trade-offs.

The challenge for food retailers is to demonstrate value without teaching customers that their brand is worth buying only when it is discounted.

That is where meal deals and meal kits become strategic tools.

A meal deal provides a defined combination of products at a bundled price. A meal kit packages ingredients or components that help consumers prepare a meal with less planning and shopping effort. Depending on the retailer, a kit may be ready to heat, ready to assemble, or ready to cook.

Both formats can reduce decision friction. Both can showcase multiple products under one brand umbrella. And both can give customers a clearer understanding of what their money buys.

The winning equation is not simply lower prices. It is better perceived value for the money and time invested.

The Intersection of Price and Time

Consumers evaluate meals through two interconnected resources: money and time.

A low-priced meal that requires extensive preparation may not fit a busy household. A convenient restaurant meal that exceeds the family's budget may lose to a grocery solution. A supermarket meal kit that eliminates the need to plan several ingredients can compete with both.

Retailers should consider four questions when developing a meal offer:

·       Price: Is the total cost clear, credible, and appropriate for the target household?

·       Time: How much planning, shopping, preparation, and cleanup does the offer require?

·       Choice: Can consumers adapt the meal to different tastes, appetites, and dietary preferences?

·       Experience: Does the meal deliver flavor, freshness, satisfaction, and a reason to buy again?

The answers help explain why meal deals and meal kits should not be treated as interchangeable promotions. They solve different consumer problems, and the strongest retailers can use both.

Restaurants: Turn Meal Deals Into Brand-Building Platforms

Restaurants have a natural advantage in flavor, menu development, and prepared-to-order food. But consumers increasingly expect a clear explanation of what a meal costs and what they receive in return.

A well-designed meal deal can make that decision easier.

Family bundles, combination meals, limited-time menu pairings, and meals built around a recognizable entrée can communicate value before the customer reaches checkout. Restaurants can also use bundled offers to introduce appetizers, sides, beverages, desserts, and new menu items.

Consider a restaurant that pairs a signature entrée with a side and beverage at a clearly stated price. The bundle can encourage trial of products that customers might otherwise skip. It can also increase the number of menu components purchased in a transaction, provided the bundle remains profitable.

Meal kits offer another opportunity. Restaurant-developed kits can extend a signature flavor profile into the home through ready-to-cook ingredients, sauces, seasoning blends, or partially prepared components. These offerings can bridge the gap between restaurant-quality inspiration and the consumer's desire to eat at home.

The strategy is not to make every restaurant a grocery store. It is to make the restaurant brand relevant across more eating occasions.

Restaurants should measure bundle profitability, repeat purchases, add-on sales, waste, and customer retention—not just the number of discounted meals sold.

C-Stores: Win the Meal Occasion, Not Just the Snack Purchase

Convenience stores have spent years expanding beyond traditional packaged snacks, beverages, and fuel-related purchases. Prepared food, hot foodservice, grab-and-go meals, and fresh components create opportunities to compete for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and between-meal occasions.

For time-pressed consumers, the C-store proposition can be compelling: a nearby location, quick access, and a meal that requires little or no preparation.

Meal deals can combine a sandwich or hot entrée with a side and beverage. Other offers might pair breakfast items, fresh snacks, or shareable foods into an affordable combination.

Meal kits can take a different form in this channel. Smaller ready-to-heat or ready-to-assemble meal components may appeal to shoppers who need dinner for one, a quick lunch, or an additional item to complete a meal at home.

The opportunity is to match the package to the occasion.

A single-person dinner should not automatically be priced or packaged like a family bundle. A commuter seeking lunch has different needs from a parent stopping for an easy dinner solution.

C-stores can also use branded sauces, signature proteins, recognizable flavor combinations, and seasonal menu items to build differentiation. The goal is to give customers a reason to choose the same store for food—not simply because it is nearby, but because the food is worth returning for.

Grocery: Make Meal Kits and Prepared Components Easier to Discover

Grocery retailers already possess a significant advantage: access to ingredients, fresh departments, private-label products, and established shopping relationships.

Yet having the right products in the store is not enough. Consumers must recognize that those products solve a meal problem.

A 2025 Progressive Grocer report on its 76th Consumer Expenditures Study found that price and value were the leading consideration when shoppers purchased supermarket-prepared foods, selected by 61% of respondents. Quality followed at 57%, taste at 57%, and freshness at 50%. The study also reported that 22% had ordered meal kits.

These findings reinforce a fundamental point: value is multidimensional. A low price may attract attention, but quality, taste, freshness, and convenience help determine whether the purchase feels worthwhile.

Grocery retailers can respond with several complementary strategies.

1. Build meal kits around recognizable occasions.

Offer solutions for family taco night, pasta night, grilled chicken dinners, quick lunches, or weekend entertaining. Use clear preparation times and show what is included.

2. Combine fresh and prepared components.

A prepared entrée, fresh vegetable side, bakery item, and sauce can create a flexible meal without requiring the shopper to purchase a conventional meal kit.

3. Make the total meal price visible.

Display the cost of the complete solution rather than forcing shoppers to calculate the cost of each component independently.

4. Use private-label products strategically.

A retailer can combine private-label sauces, seasonings, sides, and proteins into a coherent meal proposition that encourages customers to buy several products from the same banner.

5. Cross-merchandise with purpose.

Position complementary products together, provide simple recipe suggestions, and make it easy for shoppers to move from inspiration to purchase.

The objective is to help consumers answer the familiar question, “What's for dinner?” before they leave the store.

What the Latest Meal-Kit Data Tell Us

The meal-kit opportunity has evolved considerably since the 2018 growth figures cited in the original version of this article. Those figures were historically important, but they should not be mistaken for current market conditions.

More recent research provides a useful picture of how meal kits fit into today's food landscape.

A 2024 market analysis published by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, using Euromonitor International data, reported U.S. meal-kit retail sales of approximately $7.9 billion in 2023. The analysis projected slower growth through 2028 than the category experienced during the 2019–2023 period, illustrating how post-pandemic shopping patterns and inflation have changed the market. These figures are estimates for the defined meal-kit category, not a measure of all supermarket prepared foods.

More importantly, newer research points toward the opportunity for store-based meal solutions.

A 2026 KPMG Consumer Pulse Survey, conducted from February 27 to March 18, 2026, found that 22% of all respondents had used meal-kit services in the preceding three months. Among respondents who had used meal-kit services, 34% reported using grocery-store meal kits, while 36% reported using HelloFresh.

These percentages have different denominators: the 22% measures meal-kit usage across all respondents, whereas the 34% and 36% measure reported usage of specific providers among meal-kit users. Because respondents could select multiple providers, the latter figures are not market shares and are not mutually exclusive.

That is an important signal for food retailers: the grocery store can be both an ingredient destination and a source of meal solutions.

The broader lesson is that retailers do not need to depend on one delivery model, one subscription service, or one format. They can combine meal kits, prepared entrées, fresh sides, take-home components, and value bundles to serve different consumer needs.

The New Electricity: Brand Relevance Across Retail Channels

At Foodservice Solutions®, we have long described New Electricity as the energy generated when innovation, relevant products, and new avenues of distribution work together.

For food retailers, that means connecting the right product to the right consumer and eating occasion, then making the purchase easy to understand and complete.

A restaurant can introduce a signature flavor through a meal deal and extend it into a take-home kit. A convenience store can transform a snack stop into a dinner occasion. A grocery retailer can use fresh ingredients and prepared components to create a meal solution that competes with restaurant takeout.

The channels may differ, but the consumer need is often the same.

This is why brand protectionism and rigid channel thinking can become obstacles to growth. Consumers do not necessarily care which department or retail format supplies every component of their meal. They care whether the combination works for them.

Retailers that make it easier to assemble, purchase, carry, prepare, and enjoy a meal can build stronger relationships with their customers.

Artificial intelligence, digital ordering, personalized offers, and better inventory planning may help retailers improve execution. But technology cannot compensate for a poorly designed meal, confusing pricing, inconsistent quality, or an offer that does not fit the consumer's day.

The food itself still matters.

So does the value proposition.

The Bottom Line: Sell a Better Meal Solution

Inflation puts pressure on every food retailer, but competing exclusively on price can damage margins and weaken brand differentiation.

Meal deals and meal kits offer a more productive approach when they are designed around the complete consumer experience.

Restaurants can leverage flavor and menu expertise. C-stores can leverage access, speed, and immediate consumption. Grocery retailers can leverage fresh ingredients, prepared foods, private label, and the ability to build complete meals from individual components.

The opportunity is to connect these strengths rather than treat them as isolated businesses.

Consumers are dynamic, not static. Their needs change by daypart, household size, schedule, budget, and occasion. Retailers that recognize those changes can develop meal solutions that earn both attention and repeat purchases.

At the intersection of price and time, the most relevant brand is not necessarily the cheapest. It is the brand that makes a satisfying meal easier to obtain, easier to afford, and easier to enjoy.

Three Grocerant Guru® Insights

1. Price gets attention; total meal value earns loyalty.

A compelling meal deal must balance price, portion, taste, quality, and convenience. Retailers that protect the customer experience while controlling costs have a better opportunity to build repeat business than those relying on discounts alone.

2. Meal kits and meal deals are distribution strategies, not just promotions.

Each format can introduce products, connect complementary categories, and create new eating occasions. The strongest opportunities emerge when brands extend their relevance beyond their traditional retail channel.

3. Time is part of the price consumers pay.

A meal that reduces planning, shopping, preparation, and cleanup can deliver value even when it is not the lowest-priced option. Retailers that understand the intersection of price and time can build more relevant food solutions for evolving consumers.

Steven Johnson is the Grocerant Guru® at Foodservice Solutions®, based in Tacoma, Washington. Foodservice Solutions® focuses on the Grocerant Niche, retail foodservice strategy, outsourced business development, and brand and menu integration.

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Mix-and-Match Meal Components Drive a Happier Home—and a Bigger Food Retail Opportunity

 

The consumer has taken control of dinner. Restaurants, convenience stores, and grocery retailers that help shoppers mix, match, and personalize meal components are positioned to compete for more occasions, bigger baskets, and repeat business according to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

“My mom made two dishes: Take it or Leave it.” Many of us grew up with that dinner-table ultimatum. Today, that approach feels increasingly out of step with consumers who expect choice, convenience, portability, flavor, and value.

Why should everyone in a household eat the same entrée, the same sides, or even eat at the same time?

They shouldn't have to.

Consumers can buy a pizza from a restaurant, a salad from a grocery deli, a beverage from a convenience store, and a dessert from a bakery. They can combine a restaurant burger with vegetables already in the refrigerator, or turn a grocery-store rotisserie chicken into several different meals.

The result is a new way of thinking about dinner: buy the components you want, assemble the meal you need, and let the consumer decide what belongs on the plate.

Once again according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, Washington-based Foodservice Solutions®, this is where the Grocerant Niche creates a compelling opportunity for food manufacturers, restaurant operators, convenience-store retailers, and grocery merchants.

Since 1991, Foodservice Solutions® has championed the evolution of fresh-prepared Ready-2-Eat (RTE) and Heat-N-Eat (HnE) food solutions. The underlying principle remains relevant: consumers do not organize their lives around retail channels. They organize their lives around eating occasions.

The consumer has replaced “Take It or Leave It” with “Mix It and Match It”

Today's dinner decision is rarely just about selecting an entrée. It involves managing time, budgets, appetite, individual preferences, portion sizes, preparation, cleanup, and the competing demands of everyday life.

Some consumers want a complete prepared meal. Others want one signature restaurant item to make dinner special. Some want a quick individual portion, while others need to feed a family with different tastes.

Mix-and-match meal components address those differences without requiring every household to start cooking from scratch.

Consider a simple weeknight dinner:

·       A restaurant supplies pizza or grilled chicken.

·       A convenience store supplies a cold beverage and a ready-to-eat snack.

·       A grocery deli supplies a salad, prepared vegetables, or a side dish.

·       The household adds fresh fruit, bread, or another item already on hand.

Each retailer contributes something different. The consumer combines those products into one occasion.

This is not merely a new way to merchandise food. It is a different way to compete for the consumer's time, attention, appetite, and spending.

The food marketing numbers tell an important story

The latest available industry data provides strong evidence that prepared food, off-premises dining, and food purchasing across channels are commercially significant.

1. Consumers spend more on food away from home than food at home.

The USDA Economic Research Service reported in June 2026 that total U.S. food expenditures reached an inflation-adjusted $2.51 trillion in 2025, measured in 2025 dollars. Of that total, $1.41 trillion went to food away from home and $1.10 trillion to food at home. Food away from home accounted for 56.3% of total food expenditures.

These are expenditure figures, not proof that every consumer prefers restaurant food. But they illustrate the enormous economic importance of foodservice and the opportunity to connect prepared food with meals consumed at home.

2. Convenience-store foodservice is delivering significant profitability.

According to the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS), U.S. convenience-store foodservice accounted for 28.5% of in-store sales and 38.9% of in-store gross profit dollars in 2025. Prepared food—including pizza, chicken, burgers, sandwiches, wraps, and salads—represented 73.9% of convenience-store foodservice sales. Total in-store foodservice and merchandise sales reached $341.2 billion in 2025.

Read those numbers carefully. Foodservice contributes a greater share of gross profit dollars than of sales. For convenience-store operators, prepared food is not simply an accessory to fuel purchases. It is a meaningful business in its own right.

That creates an opening for meal components that pair an entrée with a beverage, a snack, or another ready-to-eat item.

3. Restaurant takeout has become part of everyday consumer behavior.

The National Restaurant Association's 2025 Off-Premises Restaurant Trends report found that 47% of adults picked up restaurant takeout at least once a week, 42% used the drive-thru weekly, and 37% ordered delivery weekly. The report also found that 67% of surveyed consumers expressed interest in bundled meals.

The takeaway is significant: restaurant food is already traveling beyond restaurant dining rooms. The next opportunity is to make those products even more relevant to consumers assembling meals at home, at work, or on the go.

These three data points tell a compelling story. Foodservice is economically important, convenience-store prepared food is profitable, and restaurant takeout is a recurring consumer behavior. Together, they make a strong case for thinking beyond the traditional boundaries of a complete meal.

Why mix-and-match meal components work

1. They give consumers control without adding more work

Consumers can choose the portions, flavors, sides, and beverages that suit their needs. They can purchase one component or several, depending on the occasion.

A household does not need to prepare a full dinner to create a satisfying meal. Nor does every family member need to accept the same combination.

For retailers, that flexibility expands the number of ways a product can be purchased and used.

2. They help households manage value

Value is not simply the lowest price on a menu or shelf. It is the relationship between price, quality, portion size, convenience, and satisfaction.

A shopper may buy a prepared entrée and use food already at home for the sides. Another shopper may choose a restaurant entrée, a grocery-store salad, and a beverage from a convenience store.

Consumers can adjust the basket to their budget without giving up every element of the meal they want.

Retailers should make those choices transparent with sensible portions, clear pricing, meal suggestions, and combinations at multiple price points.

3. They support different schedules and appetites

Household members increasingly have different schedules, preferences, and eating routines. Mix-and-match components allow one person to eat now and another later, or enable each person to select a different entrée while sharing sides.

Individually packaged products can also reduce the need to prepare a large meal when only one or two people are eating.

The commercial opportunity is to serve the household as it actually operates—not as a traditional family-dinner advertisement might portray it.

4. They expand food occasions

A prepared chicken breast can become lunch, a dinner entrée, a salad topping, or an ingredient in tomorrow's wrap. Pizza can serve as a meal, a party item, or a late-night bite.

Products that can participate in multiple occasions give brands more opportunities to earn repeat purchases.

The challenge is to design the right portion, packaging, flavor profile, and price for each use.

5. They make discovery and variety easier

Consumers can experiment with new flavors without committing to an entire unfamiliar meal. A signature sauce, a globally inspired side, a new wrap, or a different beverage can refresh a familiar dinner.

Retailers can use limited-time offerings and seasonal combinations to encourage trial while keeping the basic meal-building process familiar.

Where consumers shop for meal components

The Grocerant Niche is not owned by one retail format. Each channel can contribute a different strength to the same food occasion.

Restaurants: The source of signature flavor

Restaurants have an advantage when consumers crave a distinctive product they do not want to make themselves. Pizza, burgers, fried chicken, tacos, sandwiches, fries, and signature sauces can become the centerpiece of a mix-and-match meal.

The opportunity is to think beyond selling a complete menu order. Restaurants can develop products and portions that travel well, retain quality, and combine easily with foods purchased elsewhere.

A restaurant that becomes the preferred source for one memorable meal component may earn a place in more household occasions.

Convenience stores: The source of speed and accessibility

Convenience stores offer quick transactions, convenient locations, extended operating hours, and a growing range of prepared foods and beverages.

The NACS 2025 figures show why this matters financially: prepared food represents nearly three-quarters of convenience-store foodservice sales. Pizza, chicken, burgers, sandwiches, wraps, salads, and beverages can serve as individual meal components or complete quick meals.

For operators, the challenge is to merchandise these products as solutions rather than isolated SKUs. A shopper purchasing a sandwich might also need a side, fruit, or beverage. Clear displays and credible combinations can help shoppers recognize those possibilities.

Grocery stores: The source of breadth and flexibility

Grocery stores can combine deli entrées, rotisserie chicken, prepared sides, fresh-cut fruit, salads, soups, bakery items, beverages, and packaged ingredients.

That breadth allows consumers to mix prepared food with food they already have at home. It also gives retailers opportunities to build meal solutions for one, two, or an entire household.

Grocery merchants should merchandise around occasions—weeknight dinner, lunch, game day, family gatherings, and individual meals—not simply around the department where each item is located.

The key insight is that consumers can move among all three channels to assemble a meal. A restaurant, a convenience store, and a grocery retailer may each win part of the same occasion.

How retailers turn mix-and-match into measurable sales

A successful strategy requires more than placing prepared foods together. It requires thoughtful product development, merchandising, pricing, and measurement.

Build baskets around occasions. Pair entrées with sides, sauces, desserts, and beverages. Make suggested combinations visible and easy to understand.

Offer flexible portions. Serve solo diners, couples, and larger households with appropriate package sizes. Portion flexibility can reduce waste and make products more accessible to different budgets.

Make value easy to recognize. Test bundles and combination pricing, but measure profitability rather than relying on sales volume alone. A discount that increases transactions but erodes margins may not create lasting value.

Protect food quality during transport. Packaging should support temperature control, food safety, texture, and appearance. Keep reheating and storage instructions clear where applicable.

Make products easy to combine. Compatible flavors, complementary textures, and convenient packaging can help consumers see how items fit together. Clear allergen and ingredient information also helps shoppers make informed choices.

Measure the results. Track units per transaction, attachment rates, repeat purchases, average basket size, gross margin, food waste, and customer response to different combinations. Compare test locations or periods where practical to distinguish real improvement from normal fluctuations.

The objective is not simply to sell more items. It is to build profitable, repeatable consumer occasions.

The competitive threat: Brands that think in channels instead of consumers

Traditional food marketing often separates restaurant customers from grocery shoppers and convenience-store customers. Consumers routinely cross those boundaries.

A person can buy lunch at a restaurant, pick up a beverage at a convenience store, and purchase dinner components at a supermarket on the same day. The next day, the pattern may be entirely different.

This is why brand protectionism and channel-centric thinking can become liabilities. When brands focus too narrowly on defending a traditional channel, they risk overlooking how consumers actually build meals.

The relevant questions are:

·       Which meal occasion is the consumer trying to solve?

·       What role can our product play in that occasion?

·       Does the product deliver the right flavor, portion, portability, quality, and price?

·       Can we make it easier for consumers to combine our product with other foods they already enjoy?

Brands that answer these questions can expand their relevance beyond a single transaction or traditional sales channel.

The bottom line: The consumer builds the meal—and decides who wins

Mix-and-match meal components are a practical response to modern consumer behavior. They provide choice, help households manage time and budgets, support different appetites, and allow prepared food to participate in more eating occasions.

The market evidence reinforces the opportunity. USDA expenditure data shows the scale of food away from home. NACS data highlights the profitability of convenience-store foodservice. National Restaurant Association research demonstrates the frequency of off-premises restaurant use and consumer interest in bundled meals.

Together, these indicators point toward a larger strategic opportunity: restaurants, convenience stores, and grocery retailers can compete more effectively when they make it easy for consumers to assemble the meal they want, wherever they choose to shop.

The old rule was “Take it or leave it.” The new rule is “Mix it, match it, and make it yours.”

The brands that understand this shift can earn more occasions and build stronger consumer relationships. Those that ignore it risk losing relevance as consumers migrate toward the products and retailers that best fit their lives.

Three insights from the Grocerant Guru®

1. The consumer's meal is the real competitive battleground. Stop defining competition only by retail channel. A restaurant entrée, a convenience-store side, and a grocery deli salad may all compete for a place in the same dinner.

2. Convenience without choice is an incomplete value proposition. Consumers want products that fit their schedules, appetites, budgets, and flavor preferences. Make meal components easy to select, combine, carry, and serve.

3. Build the basket by earning the next component. A successful entrée can lead to a side, a beverage, a snack, or a future purchase. Measure whether your products generate incremental, profitable sales and repeat occasions. Consumers ultimately decide which brands earn their loyalty—and where their next food dollar goes.

Steven Johnson is the Grocerant Guru® at Foodservice Solutions®, based in Tacoma, Washington. Foodservice Solutions® has championed the Grocerant Niche since 1991, focusing on the convergence of restaurant, grocery, and convenience retail through fresh-prepared Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat food solutions. Learn more at FoodserviceSolutions.us and Grocerant Guru on LinkedIn.