Grocerant Niche Looking Forward with Consumers

 

Grocerant Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food continues to drive top line sales and bottom-line profits in every sector of retail foodservice. It is at the intersection that Steven Johnson the Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® suggest that all food retailers should take a step back and look how we got here. 

The foundation of consumers comfort with Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared meals and meal components has been building for years. It’s important to understand that once again the past is prolog.

It’s worth noting that the prepared food segment has become increasingly popular due to the rising consumer costs and hectic lifestyles. Many Americans simply don’t have time to prepare meals the way they did years ago. While many consumers have turned to restaurants that offer takeout and delivery and even fast-food chains for quick meal options, the perimeter of the grocery store – fresh and prepared foods – is becoming an increasingly attractive (and more affordable) alternative 

The grocerant niche has been one of the hottest growth segments in the foodservice industry in recent years. According to a survey by Marketforce, more than 70% of consumers have bought prepared food over a 90-day span, and half of that group say that they purchased prepared foods one to five times in that time ¹. The NPD Group reports that grocerants generated 2.4 billion visits and $10 billion in sales in 2016, and grocerant visits have increased close to 30% since 2008 ².

Now consider this the exact growth rate of the grocerant niche over the last 7 years, is reflected in the how the sector is defined.  It is at the intersection or takeout meals from restaurants, grocery store service deli and prepared foods sales, convenience store fresh prepared meals, coffee, and Ready-2-Eat and all fresh prepared Ready-2-Heat meals, snacks, and menu items according to the Grocerant Guru®. The data suggests that the prepared food segment has been growing rapidly in recent years. In fact, according to a report by Technomic, sales from supermarket foodservice have climbed around 10% a year from 2005 to 2015 ³ as regular readers of this blog know. 

Don’t over reach. Are you ready for some fresh ideations? Do your food marketing ideations look more like yesterday than tomorrow? Interested in learning how Foodservice Solutions® 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 us on our social media sites by clicking the following links: Facebook,  LinkedIn, or Twitter