PLMA 2026: Why Foodservice Operators Should Be Walking the Show Floor

 

The Private Label Manufacturers Association (PLMA) 2026 Private Label Trade Show arrives in Chicago Nov. 15-17 at a particularly interesting moment for the food industry, according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

Private label is no longer simply the lower-priced alternative sitting next to a national brand.

It has become a $330 billion U.S. CPG business, according to Circana, representing approximately 24% of unit share and 23% of dollar share. Circana says food and beverage are leading the expansion, while innovation, premiumization, wellness and sustainability are increasingly important to private-brand growth.

For restaurants, convenience stores and grocery foodservice operators, that makes PLMA 2026 more than a sourcing show.

It is a window into where food retail and foodservice are going next.

The 2025 PLMA event attracted more than 1,900 exhibitors from more than 60 countries. This year's show will feature more than 35,000 products and solutions across three exhibit halls, along with new international pavilions from Japan and Dubai and expanded participation from Australia and South Korea.

For me, as the Grocerant Guru®, that combination is particularly important because the traditional lines separating restaurants, grocery stores and convenience stores continue to disappear.

Consumers aren't thinking about industry channels.

They're thinking about their next meal.

Private Label Has Become a Strategic Food Business

The numbers demonstrate why executives should be paying attention.

PLMA and Circana reported that U.S. store-brand sales reached a record $282.8 billion in 2025, up $9 billion from the prior year. Store-brand dollar sales increased 3.3%, compared with 1.2% growth for national brands. Store-brand unit volume also reached a record 68.7 billion units.

Circana's broader 2026 analysis puts U.S. private-label CPG sales at $330 billion and says private label has moved well beyond its historical role as a low-price alternative. Retailers increasingly are using their own brands to build equity, differentiate themselves, develop premium products and respond to changing consumer lifestyles.

That should get the attention of foodservice executives.

Why?

Because many of the challenges private-label manufacturers are solving are exactly the challenges facing foodservice:

Value. Quality. Convenience. Consistency. Differentiation. Packaging. Portioning. Speed.

Those are foodservice issues, too.

Why Chain Restaurants Should Attend

1. PLMA is an innovation laboratory for menu development

Restaurant R&D teams spend enormous amounts of time looking for new flavors, ingredients, sauces, snacks, desserts, beverages and meal components.

PLMA's World of Ideas, New Product Expo and international exhibits effectively create a massive cross-category innovation laboratory.

The objective shouldn't necessarily be to buy a finished private-label product.

It should be to discover ingredients, flavors, formats and concepts that can inspire the next menu item or limited-time offer.

2. Private label offers another way to think about value

Consumers increasingly define value as something broader than price.

Circana describes today's consumer as pursuing "pervasive value," which can include time savings, convenience, quality and indulgence in addition to price. Its research also found private-label growth alongside premium and super-premium growth.

That is highly relevant to restaurant chains.

The opportunity isn't simply to lower food cost.

It is to create a better Price + Product + Experience = Value equation.

3. The best restaurant ideas may come from outside restaurants

This is one of the reasons I have long advocated that foodservice executives study other channels.

A restaurant executive who only studies restaurants can miss what's happening in grocery, C-stores, international retail and the home.

PLMA brings those worlds together.

The competitor you need to understand may not call itself a restaurant.

Why C-Store Operators Should Attend

1. C-store foodservice is competing for the same meal occasions as restaurants

Today's convenience-store operator increasingly competes on prepared food, snacks, beverages and immediate consumption—not simply fuel and packaged goods.

PLMA gives C-store executives an opportunity to identify products and concepts that can expand those foodservice occasions.

2. Private brands can create differentiation

A national brand can be purchased by virtually every competitor.

A distinctive private brand gives an operator an opportunity to build something customers associate specifically with its stores.

That can become especially valuable as convenience retailers continue expanding their foodservice identities.

3. International innovation can reveal tomorrow's convenience trends

Japan, Dubai, Australia and South Korea aren't simply geographic additions to the show floor.

They are opportunities to see how other markets approach flavor, packaging, wellness, snacking and convenience.

C-store operators should be asking:

What are consumers in other markets doing today that American consumers may be doing tomorrow?

Why Grocery Foodservice and Service Deli Operators Should Attend

Perhaps no foodservice segment has more to gain from PLMA than grocery's prepared-food operation.

Circana has reported that quick grocery trips were increasing while shoppers were buying fewer items per trip—and that those trips included more purchases from the perimeter, including deli-prepared and Heat-N-Eat foods.

FMI's 2025 research takes the story even further.

The share of consumers using deli-prepared foods instead of restaurant meals more than doubled, from 12% in 2017 to 28% in 2025. More than half of Americans—53%—were taking a hybrid approach to meals, combining deli-prepared foods with items prepared at home.

That is Grocerant behavior in action.

1. PLMA can help the deli develop its next generation of meal solutions

Grocery foodservice operators can look for new ingredients, sauces, sides, proteins, snacks, desserts and packaging that can become part of Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat programs.

2. Private brand can turn prepared food into a destination

The strongest grocery deli isn't simply selling food.

It is building a foodservice brand within the grocery store.

Private-brand prepared foods can provide consistency, differentiation and an opportunity to build consumer recognition around signature products.

3. Packaging deserves as much attention as the food

A great prepared meal that doesn't travel well, reheat well or look appealing at home isn't a great meal solution.

Packaging increasingly affects the consumer's perception of freshness, quality, convenience and value.

PLMA's emphasis on packaging innovation makes the show particularly relevant to operators expanding takeout and Heat-N-Eat.

What Foodservice Executives Should Be Looking For

With more than 35,000 products and solutions on display, nobody should attempt to see everything.

PLMA itself recommends planning ahead using its Show Navigator, which provides an interactive floor plan, exhibitor information, schedules, meeting-planning tools and information about products featured in the World of Ideas.

I would add another recommendation:

Don't walk the show looking only for products you can buy today. Walk it looking for ideas you can use tomorrow.

Look for:

·       New flavor combinations

·       International food trends

·       Ready-2-Eat concepts

·       Heat-N-Eat formats

·       Packaging innovations

·       Portion-control opportunities

·       Premium private brands

·       Better-for-you products

·       Wellness-oriented products

·       New snacking occasions

·       Foodservice components

·       New approaches to value

·       Products that can travel well through delivery

That is where the strategic value of PLMA becomes apparent.

Four Grocerant Guru® Insights From PLMA 2026

1. Private Label Is Becoming a Foodservice Innovation Pipeline

Private label should no longer be viewed strictly as a grocery phenomenon.

Manufacturers developing private-brand products are working on many of the same challenges foodservice operators face.

The result is a potentially powerful innovation pipeline for restaurants, C-stores and grocery foodservice.

2. Value Is Moving Beyond Price

Private label's growth demonstrates that consumers can embrace a product because it delivers a combination of price, quality, convenience, wellness, differentiation and trust.

Circana's research reinforces that private label has moved beyond simply being the cheap alternative. Retailers increasingly are investing in premiumization, innovation and brand equity.

For foodservice operators, that's an important lesson.

The cheapest meal doesn't necessarily win. The meal that delivers the strongest perceived value can win.

3. Food Channel Blurring Is Creating New Competition for Every Meal Occasion

Restaurants compete with grocery.

Grocery competes with C-stores.

C-stores compete with restaurants.

And all three compete with the consumer's kitchen.

That is the Grocerant marketplace.

FMI's finding that 28% of consumers now use deli-prepared food in place of restaurant meals is a powerful reminder that grocery foodservice has moved directly into the restaurant competitive set.

The battle isn't necessarily over where consumers shop.

It's over who gets the meal occasion.

4. The Biggest PLMA Discovery May Not Be Something You Can Put on a Purchase Order

Trade shows are often judged by how many meetings executives have, how many samples they collect or how many suppliers they identify.

I would use a different measurement.

How many ideas did you bring home?

A new product can generate a sale.

A new idea can generate an entirely new business model.

That is why I believe PLMA 2026 deserves a place on the calendar of foodservice executives—not just private-label buyers.

The Grocerant Guru® Bottom Line

PLMA 2026 is a private-label trade show.

But it is also something more.

It is a cross-channel laboratory for understanding where food is going.

The record growth of private label, the continued consumer search for value, the rise of premium store brands, the growth of wellness-oriented products and the increasing importance of prepared foods all point toward the same conclusion:

The food industry is becoming less about channels and more about consumer solutions.

Restaurants need to understand grocery.

Grocery needs to understand restaurants.

C-stores need to understand both.

And everyone needs to understand what consumers are taking home.

That is why I would encourage restaurant-chain executives, C-store operators and grocery foodservice/service-deli leaders to attend PLMA 2026 with an open mind.

Don't go simply looking for a private-label supplier.

Go looking for your next competitive advantage.

Are you ready for some fresh ideations? Do your food marketing ideas look more like yesterday than tomorrow? Interested in learning how our Grocerant Guru® 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 one of the following links: Facebook,  LinkedIn, or Twitter

Beating QSRs at the Foodservice Game: The Grocerant Has Been Playing This Game for Years

 

The foodservice battlefield is changing again, according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

Convenience stores are investing more heavily in prepared food. Quick-service restaurants (QSRs) are accelerating menu innovation. Grocery stores are expanding fresh prepared foods. Restaurants are improving takeout and delivery. And consumers continue to move seamlessly among all of these channels looking for one thing:

A good meal, when they want it, where they want it, at a price they believe represents real value.

A recent Convenience Store News webinar, “QSRs vs. C-Stores: The Battle for Foodservice Dollars,” offered plenty of smart observations about how convenience stores can compete with QSRs.

But from my perspective as the Grocerant Guru®, there is a bigger story here.

Much of what the industry is now describing as the future of foodservice has actually been developing for decades.

Leading non-traditional food operators have been selling prepared food for takeout, delivery and consumption at home for years. They have been blurring the lines between restaurants, grocery stores, convenience stores and foodservice long before the word grocerant became part of the industry vocabulary.

Foodservice Did Not Begin With the Drive-Thru

The foodservice industry sometimes talks about innovation as if every new foodservice idea begins with a restaurant.

It doesn't.

The history of food sold for consumption away from the traditional restaurant table is much broader.

Takeout has been part of food culture for generations. Delicatessens, bakeries, pizzerias, Chinese restaurants, supermarkets, butcher shops and neighborhood markets have long prepared food specifically for customers to take home.

Then came increasingly sophisticated prepared-food departments in supermarkets.

Consumers could buy a rotisserie chicken, deli sandwich, prepared salad, soup, entrée or side dish and take it home for dinner.

That was an early version of what I call the Grocerant Revolution.

The restaurant wasn't necessarily preparing the meal.

The grocery store was.

Then convenience stores began expanding beyond gasoline, cigarettes and packaged snacks into fresh sandwiches, pizza, roller-grill food, coffee, breakfast and increasingly sophisticated prepared meals.

Delivery created another major shift.

Pizza companies demonstrated that the restaurant did not have to be the destination. The meal could come to the consumer.

Then technology accelerated everything.

Online ordering, mobile apps, third-party delivery platforms, curbside pickup, drive-thru, grocery pickup and increasingly sophisticated foodservice programs have transformed the consumer's relationship with food.

The consumer doesn't think in channels.

The consumer thinks in occasions.

“I'm hungry.”

“I need dinner.”

“I don't have time to cook.”

“I need something for the family.”

“I want something quick.”

“I want something healthier.”

“I want a good deal.”

“I want it delivered.”

That is the real foodservice competition.

Welcome to the Food Channel Blurring Era

This is why I have spent years talking about Food Channel Blurring.

The traditional definitions of restaurant, grocery store and convenience store are becoming less meaningful.

A supermarket can operate like a restaurant.

A convenience store can operate like a restaurant.

A restaurant can operate like a grocery store.

A grocery deli can compete with a QSR.

A c-store can compete with a fast-casual restaurant.

And a restaurant can compete with the supermarket's dinner solution.

The consumer simply sees food.

That is the fundamental premise behind the Grocerant niche: fresh prepared Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat food moving across traditional and non-traditional channels.

And this is precisely why the current QSR-versus-c-store conversation is so interesting.

What QSRs Do Well

The webinar correctly identifies several areas where QSRs have developed significant competitive advantages.

They understand operational consistency.

They understand portion control.

They understand speed.

They understand menu simplification.

They understand promotions.

They understand limited-time offers.

They understand marketing.

And perhaps most importantly, they understand that consumers need a reason to come back.

QSRs are also increasing the cadence of menu innovation.

Limited-time offers create urgency. New flavors create excitement. Sauces create differentiation. Chicken remains a powerful traffic driver. Beverages continue to expand. Better-for-you options address changing consumer expectations.

But there is another important point here.

Innovation isn't innovation simply because it is new.

The real question is whether the consumer believes the new product is better.

That brings us to perhaps the most important part of the current foodservice value equation.

Price Is Important. Value Is Bigger.

Consumers absolutely care about price.

But price by itself does not define value.

Consumers increasingly ask:

“What am I getting for what I'm paying?”

That is a very different question.

A $10 meal can be expensive if the consumer doesn't like it.

A $12 meal can be a bargain if the consumer believes the quality, portion, convenience and experience justify the price.

This is why I believe foodservice operators should think about Price, Value and Service as an equilibrium.

Lowering price is not always the answer.

Improving the food may be more powerful.

Improving packaging may be more powerful.

Improving portion size may be more powerful.

Improving speed may be more powerful.

Improving convenience may be more powerful.

Making the customer feel recognized may be more powerful.

The winning foodservice operator doesn't necessarily offer the lowest price.

The winner delivers the strongest perceived value.

The C-Store Has a Different Weapon

This is where convenience stores have an enormous opportunity.

QSRs are highly structured businesses.

That structure creates consistency, but it can also create limitations.

The convenience store has something different:

Convenience.

It is right there.

It can be open when other foodservice operators are closed.

It can sell gasoline, beverages, snacks, grocery items and prepared food during the same visit.

It can create a highly localized assortment.

It can know its customers.

And it can potentially change its food offer much faster than a large national restaurant chain.

That last point deserves considerably more attention.

A national QSR may have to navigate corporate development, testing, supply chains, packaging, equipment, training, marketing and technology before a new concept reaches thousands of restaurants.

A well-run convenience retailer can sometimes identify a local opportunity and move much faster.

Speed to market is a competitive weapon.

The question is whether c-stores will actually use it.

The Grocerant Advantage: Think Beyond the Store

The biggest mistake any foodservice operator can make is thinking only about what happens inside the four walls.

The future of foodservice is about the food occasion.

Breakfast on the way to work.

Lunch at the job site.

Dinner on the way home.

A family meal when nobody wants to cook.

A prepared meal for an older consumer.

A protein-rich snack between activities.

A beverage occasion.

A late-night meal.

A weekend gathering.

A meal ordered for delivery.

A meal purchased for pickup.

These are all foodservice occasions.

The operator that understands the occasion can build the offer around the consumer rather than forcing the consumer to adapt to the operator's business model.

That is exactly what leading non-traditional food operators have been doing.

Prepared Food for the Home Changed Everything

The growth of prepared food for home consumption may ultimately be more important than the battle between QSRs and c-stores.

For decades, consumers were taught that dinner meant buying ingredients and preparing the meal at home—or going to a restaurant.

That binary choice has largely disappeared.

Today, consumers can buy a fully prepared meal at a grocery store.

They can buy a partially prepared meal.

They can buy a restaurant meal for takeout.

They can have a restaurant meal delivered.

They can pick up a hot meal at a convenience store.

They can order groceries and prepared foods together.

They can purchase a refrigerated or frozen prepared entrée and finish it at home.

The kitchen has become an extension of the foodservice industry.

That is the Grocerant opportunity.

The New Competition Isn't QSR vs. C-Store

I don't believe the real battle is QSRs versus convenience stores.

The real battle is for the consumer's next meal occasion.

That competition includes:

·       QSRs

·       Fast-casual restaurants

·       Convenience stores

·       Grocery stores

·       Supermarket delis

·       Club stores

·       Food halls

·       Delivery platforms

·       Prepared-meal companies

·       Specialty food retailers

·       And increasingly, retailers that never traditionally considered themselves foodservice operators

The consumer doesn't care who wins the channel battle.

The consumer wants the best answer to today's meal occasion.

That changes the competitive equation.

What Should Foodservice Operators Do?

The lessons from QSRs are valuable.

Build a strong innovation pipeline.

Use LTOs.

Improve existing products.

Manage portions.

Control execution.

Create compelling promotions.

Use culturally relevant marketing.

Deliver consistent quality.

But don't simply copy the QSR playbook.

Use the strengths of your own channel.

For convenience stores, that means using convenience, speed, location, extended hours, product diversity and local customer relationships.

For grocery stores, it means leveraging fresh food, shopping frequency, prepared meals and the ability to combine ingredients and finished foods in one trip.

For restaurants, it means recognizing that the restaurant is no longer limited to the dining room.

And for every operator, it means understanding that foodservice is no longer a channel. It is an ecosystem.

Three Insights from the Grocerant Guru®

1. Stop Thinking in Channels. Start Thinking in Food Occasions.

The consumer doesn't wake up thinking, “Today I'm going to give my foodservice dollars to a QSR.”

They think, “What's for breakfast?”

“What's for lunch?”

“What's for dinner?”

“I'm hungry.”

The operator that solves the occasion better wins the transaction.

2. Convenience Is More Than Location.

Convenience isn't simply being five minutes away.

Convenience means reducing friction.

It means having the right food, at the right time, in the right format, at the right price, with easy ordering, pickup or delivery.

Convenience is the new currency of foodservice.

The winners will be the operators that make the consumer's life easier—not merely the operators with the lowest price.

3. The Grocerant Is Not the Future. It Is the Evolution of Foodservice.

For decades, innovative non-traditional food operators have been preparing food for people to take home, delivering meals, selling prepared foods through grocery stores and convenience stores, and blurring the line between retail and restaurants.

What is happening today isn't the beginning of that movement.

It is the acceleration of it.

The next generation of foodservice winners will not ask, “Are we a restaurant, grocery store or convenience store?”

They will ask a much better question:

“What foodservice problem can we solve for the consumer today?”

That is where the real growth opportunity lies.

And that is why I believe the Grocerant niche—fresh prepared Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat food—isn't taking foodservice away from traditional operators. It is redefining what foodservice means.

For international corporate presentations, educational forums, or keynotes contact: Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions.  His extensive experience as a multi-unit restaurant operator, consultant, brand / product positioning expert and public speaking will leave success clues for all. For more information visit www.GrocerantGuru.com , www.FoodserviceSolutions.us or call    1-253-759-7869