The Battle for Share of Stomach: Why Every Retailer Wants to Own Your Next Meal

 

Restaurants, Grocery Stores, Convenience Stores, Dollar Stores, Costco, IKEA and even fashion retailers are competing for more than food dollars. They are competing for consumer occasions, loyalty and Share of Stomach according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

The food fight is underway, and the battleground is bigger than ever. The competition for food dollars has blurred traditional boundaries between restaurants, grocery stores, convenience stores, dollar stores, warehouse clubs and retailers once known primarily for selling nonfood merchandise.

Today, the competitive set can include a neighborhood restaurant, a supermarket deli, a convenience store selling freshly prepared food, a warehouse club offering ready-to-eat meals, or IKEA serving a meal that makes a shopping trip more appealing.

The question is no longer simply, “Where will consumers shop for food?”

The more important question is, “Who will earn the next meal occasion?”

That is the essence of Share of Stomach.

At Foodservice Solutions®, we have long championed the Grocerant Niche: the intersection of fresh-prepared food, retail and foodservice, where Ready-to-Eat (RTE) and Heat-and-Eat (HnE) offerings meet consumers' changing needs for convenience, flavor, portability and value.

Consumers do not necessarily organize their lives around industry classifications. They organize their lives around hunger, schedules, budgets, cravings, family needs and the time available to get a meal on the table.

Retailers that understand this distinction can create new growth opportunities. Those that remain trapped in traditional channel definitions risk losing occasions to competitors they may not even recognize as competitors.

The Numbers Behind the Food Fight

Recent industry research reinforces the importance of looking beyond traditional retail categories.

·       56.3% of U.S. food expenditures went to food away from home in 2025. The USDA Economic Research Service reported that food-away-from-home spending exceeded food-at-home spending, illustrating the substantial role of restaurants and other foodservice occasions in the American food economy.

·       28% of consumers substituted grocery deli-prepared foods for restaurant meals in 2025, up from 12% in 2017. FMI's The Power of Foodservice at Retail 2025 also found that 53% of Americans use a hybrid approach, combining deli-prepared foods with items prepared in their own kitchens. Grocery retailers are not merely selling ingredients; they are increasingly competing to help complete the meal.

·       Nearly 75% of restaurant traffic occurred off-premises in 2025. Takeout, drive-thru and delivery have become central to the restaurant business, making portability, packaging, ordering technology and speed critical parts of the consumer experience.

·       Convenience-store foodservice continues to matter. NACS reported that foodservice and merchandise sales inside U.S. convenience stores reached $341.2 billion in 2025. Foodservice accounted for 28.5% of in-store sales and 38.9% of in-store gross profit dollars. Those figures show why convenience retailers increasingly compete on prepared food, not simply fuel and packaged snacks.

·       Consumers continue to redefine value. Circana reported that U.S. retail food and beverage prices had risen a cumulative 34% over five years in its 2025–2026 outlook. For 2026, Circana forecast continued dollar-sales growth but limited volume growth. That environment makes it more important for brands to demonstrate why their food is worth the price, rather than relying on price increases or promotional discounts alone.

These figures represent different parts of the food economy and should not be added together as if they measure one market. Collectively, however, they demonstrate a powerful competitive reality: consumers have more ways to satisfy the same eating occasion, and retailers must continually earn their consideration.

Ten Clues to Building a Contemporized Food Brand

Legacy food retailers and emerging fresh-food businesses share a common challenge: remain relevant while consumer expectations evolve. A recognizable logo or a long operating history is not enough. A brand must consistently give people a reason to choose it again.

Here are ten clues to building a contemporized food brand and winning a larger share of stomach.

1. Purpose: Give Consumers a Reason to Choose You

Why does your brand exist beyond selling food?

The strongest food brands connect their products to a meaningful consumer need, whether that means saving time, creating a family moment, delivering an indulgent treat, providing dependable quality or making an ordinary day easier.

Purpose must translate into the actual experience. A retailer cannot claim to simplify dinner if the consumer must navigate a confusing ordering process, wait too long or assemble a meal that fails to satisfy.

For a grocer, purpose might mean making dinner easier to complete. For a restaurant, it could mean delivering a dependable flavor experience. For a convenience retailer, it might mean providing a fresh, satisfying meal when time is limited.

The test: Can consumers explain why your brand deserves a place in their daily lives?

2. A Story: Make Your Brand Mean Something

Every strong brand has a story, but food brands need more than a founder's biography or an origin tale.

Their story must connect with what consumers experience today.

A brand story might center on a signature flavor, a regional food tradition, an innovative preparation method, a commitment to convenience or a product that solves a recurring meal problem.

Consider the difference between telling consumers that a store sells sandwiches and demonstrating how its freshly prepared sandwiches help people enjoy a satisfying lunch without sacrificing their limited break time.

The product becomes part of the story.

In the Grocerant Niche, the story can be especially powerful because food crosses channels. A recognizable flavor, meal solution or preparation style can create continuity across grocery, restaurant, convenience and take-home occasions.

The test: Is your story memorable enough that consumers will tell it for you?

3. Consumer Interaction: Let the Experience Build the Brand

Advertising can create awareness, but repeated consumer experiences determine whether that awareness becomes preference and loyalty.

Every interaction matters: the first product image seen online, the accuracy of a digital menu, the ease of placing an order, the appearance of the food, the packaging, the temperature, the flavor and the way a complaint is resolved.

The National Restaurant Association's 2025 off-premises research identified speed, customer service, intuitive ordering and payment technology, value offers and loyalty programs as important elements of the takeout, drive-thru and delivery experience.

For retailers, this means the customer journey is part of the product.

A great meal surrounded by a frustrating experience may lose to a competitor offering a comparable meal with less friction.

Invite feedback, monitor repeat purchases and study what consumers actually buy. Do not assume that social media engagement, advertising impressions or a crowded store automatically translate into lasting brand preference.

The test: Does every touchpoint make the next purchase more likely?

4. Trust: Deliver on the Promise

Trust is earned through repeated performance.

Consumers want confidence that a familiar product will taste right, the price will be clear, the food will be handled appropriately and the promised service will be delivered.

Food retailers face a particular challenge because the product is experiential. A picture may attract the first purchase, but taste, freshness, consistency and perceived value influence whether the customer returns.

Trust also requires transparency. If a product is marketed as freshly prepared, the description should accurately reflect the product and its preparation. If a meal is designed for heating at home, the instructions should be clear and practical.

A promotion that creates confusion or a product that repeatedly disappoints can undermine years of brand-building investment.

The test: Can consumers purchase with confidence without needing to second-guess your promise?

5. Consistency: Meet Expectations Every Time

When consumers choose a brand, they buy an expectation.

That expectation may involve portion size, flavor, food quality, speed, availability or price. The brand earns its position when the actual experience repeatedly meets the expectation.

Consistency does not mean a brand must never change. It means changes should improve the experience without destroying the attributes that made consumers loyal in the first place.

For multi-unit operators, consistency requires disciplined execution across locations, employees, digital platforms and dayparts. For manufacturers and retailers, it requires reliable quality, product availability and accurate communication.

In a world of mobile ordering and off-premises dining, consistency must extend beyond the store. Food must remain appealing after packaging, transport and reheating when those are part of the intended experience.

The test: Would a customer receive the experience they expect regardless of when, where or how they purchase?

6. Differentiation: Give Consumers a Reason to Switch

Food is full of look-alike products, similar menus and competing promotions. Differentiation gives consumers a reason to choose one offering over another.

It can come from flavor, preparation, portion size, packaging, customization, speed, convenience, service or the way products are combined into a complete meal.

The important distinction is that differentiation must matter to the consumer.

A new label or an unfamiliar product name is not necessarily meaningful differentiation. A portable breakfast that is easy to eat on the way to work, a family meal bundle that reduces preparation time, or a fresh-prepared side dish that complements a home-cooked entrée can solve a real problem.

The 2025 FMI finding that 53% of Americans combine deli-prepared foods with items from their own kitchens illustrates an opportunity: consumers do not always need an entirely prepared meal. They may need one or two components that make dinner easier to finish.

The test: What can consumers get from you that makes their day, meal or experience meaningfully better?

7. Imitators: Lead Your Niche Instead of Following

Imitation can be evidence that a concept has attracted attention, but being copied does not guarantee leadership.

When competitors introduce similar products, promotions or services, the original brand must continue to innovate and execute.

That is particularly important in the Grocerant Niche, where restaurant menu items can inspire grocery deli offerings, convenience stores can develop restaurant-style prepared foods, and branded packaged products can move into foodservice or retail-prepared meal programs.

The advantage belongs to businesses that understand the consumer problem behind the trend and solve it better, not merely those that launch first.

Build capabilities that are difficult to replicate: dependable sourcing, distinctive recipes, strong execution, consumer insights, convenient packaging, effective merchandising and trusted brand associations.

The test: If competitors copy your latest idea tomorrow, what will make consumers continue choosing you?

8. Market Leadership: Own a Meaningful Consumer Occasion

Market leadership is not simply about having the largest footprint, the most advertising or the most menu items.

A brand can lead by owning a specific need in the consumer's mind.

Think about breakfast on the go, afternoon snacks, a quick lunch, dinner for two, family meal components or a late-night food occasion. Each represents an opportunity to build a distinctive position.

The opportunity is to understand not only what consumers eat, but when, why and under what circumstances they make the choice.

A grocery retailer might own the occasion of completing dinner with fresh-prepared entrées and sides. A convenience store might become the preferred stop for a satisfying breakfast. A restaurant might build loyalty around a distinctive portable meal.

The strategic objective is to become an easy answer when a particular need arises.

The test: For which consumer occasion is your brand the first one people think of?

9. Growth: Evolve Because Consumers Are Not Static

Consumers change their routines, preferences, budgets and expectations. Brands must change with them.

A business that relies exclusively on yesterday's successful products can become less relevant even when its historical performance looks strong.

The challenge is to evolve without losing brand identity.

That may mean developing smaller portions, more flexible meal bundles, new flavor profiles, fresh-prepared options, Heat-and-Eat solutions or digital ordering. It may mean extending a successful product into another daypart or creating new ways for consumers to purchase it.

The data supports continued attention to flexibility. FMI's 2025 research found that consumers increasingly substitute deli-prepared food for restaurant meals and combine prepared food with home-prepared items. These behaviors suggest opportunities for retailers to serve consumers who want control over both the effort and composition of a meal.

Growth requires more than adding products. It requires identifying unmet needs, testing solutions and learning which changes encourage repeat purchasing.

The test: Is your brand evolving with consumers, or expecting consumers to remain loyal to the past?

10. Marketing Presence: Follow the Consumer, Not the Old Playbook

A strong marketing presence is not simply about spending more. It is about being visible, relevant and useful wherever consumers make decisions.

Today, those decisions may begin with a mobile search, a loyalty-app offer, a digital menu, a social post, an online grocery order or a product seen while shopping for something entirely different.

Marketing should connect discovery to purchase and purchase to repeat business.

That requires more than posting content. Retailers need clear product descriptions, appetizing and accurate imagery, easy ordering, understandable offers and a way to measure results.

Promotions should also reinforce the brand's positioning. A discount can generate trial, but constant discounting may teach consumers to wait for a lower price. A compelling meal bundle can communicate value more effectively when the combination itself solves a consumer problem.

The 2025 National Restaurant Association research found that value offers matter to many off-premises customers. Yet price is only one part of the decision: convenience, service and the quality of the experience also affect whether consumers return.

The test: Does your marketing move consumers from awareness to trial, from trial to satisfaction, and from satisfaction to loyalty?

The Grocerant Niche: Where the Battle for Share of Stomach Becomes Visible

The convergence of retail and foodservice is not simply a contest over which business sells the most meals. It is a contest over who can deliver the right food, at the right time, in the right format, at a price the consumer considers worthwhile.

Restaurants have strengths in flavor, menu development, culinary identity and foodservice execution. Grocery stores have strengths in assortment, shopping frequency, ingredients and the ability to combine prepared foods with products from across the store. Convenience stores compete on accessibility, speed and immediate consumption. Warehouse clubs compete through scale, assortment and perceived value.

Other retailers can also use food to enhance a broader shopping experience, extend visits or create additional reasons to return.

No single channel owns every occasion.

The consumer can purchase a prepared entrée from a restaurant, add a grocery deli side dish, pick up a beverage at a convenience store and finish the meal at home. Tomorrow, the same consumer may choose an entirely different combination.

This is why channel labels can obscure more than they reveal. Consumers are not necessarily choosing between a grocery store and a restaurant in the abstract. They are choosing between solutions to a specific need.

The winners will be those that understand the occasion, recognize their real competitive set and make the choice easy.

Three New Insights from the Grocerant Guru®

1. Share of Stomach is earned one occasion at a time.

Stop measuring competition only by traditional industry categories. Map the consumer's breakfast, lunch, snack and dinner decisions. Identify where your brand wins, where it loses and which competitors are solving the same need. The next growth opportunity may come from a retailer you have never considered a direct competitor.

2. Convenience is not just speed; it is the removal of friction.

Consumers value solutions that reduce the effort required to decide, purchase, transport, assemble and enjoy a meal. A well-designed meal bundle, dependable ordering process or complementary RTE and HnE offering can create value without relying exclusively on a lower price. Make the entire eating occasion easier, not merely the transaction faster.

3. The strongest contemporary food brands own a promise, not a channel.

A brand that consistently delivers distinctive flavor, dependable quality, appropriate pricing and useful convenience can earn loyalty across changing consumer routines. Build around the needs your brand serves, then adapt the products, formats and distribution channels required to serve those needs.

The bottom line: The battle for food dollars will continue, but the more important contest is for Share of Stomach. Consumers are dynamic, not static. Retailers and foodservice operators that adapt to those consumers—and make every meal occasion count—will be better positioned to build relevance, loyalty and profitable growth.

For corporate presentations, confidential engagements, educational forums or keynote opportunities, contact Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, Washington-based Foodservice Solutions®.

FoodserviceSolutions.us
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/grocerant
Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us

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.