THE GAME IS ON, AND SO IS THE FOOD BUSINESS: Why Winning Game-Day Marketing Is About More Than Wings, Pizza and Nachos

 

Sports viewing has become much more than an opportunity to watch a game. It is a food occasion, a social gathering, a retail opportunity and an increasingly important battleground for restaurants, grocery retailers and convenience stores according to Steven Johnson, The Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

Whether consumers are watching professional football, basketball, hockey, college sports or international soccer, one thing remains remarkably consistent: food is part of the entertainment.

But the game-day food business is changing. Consumers are no longer satisfied with the same predictable assortment of wings, chips and pizza. They want flavor choices, portability, convenience, customization and, increasingly, an affordable way to feed a group without sacrificing quality.

The Grocerant Guru® has long recognized that consumers do not think in retail channels. They think about what they want to eat, when they want it, where they want it and how much they want to spend.

That creates an enormous opportunity for restaurants, grocery stores, convenience stores and other food retailers willing to compete for the same consumer and the same eating occasion.

The 2025 and 2026 food industry data reinforce an important point: Game-day food marketing is no longer just about selling food. It is about owning the occasion.

The Numbers Behind the Game-Day Food Opportunity

Consider several recent industry findings.

·       2026 Chicken Wings: The National Chicken Council projected Americans would consume 1.48 billion chicken wings during Super Bowl LX, approximately 10 million more than the previous year.

·       2025 Restaurant Orders: DoorDash reported more than 639,000 chicken-wing orders and more than 637,000 pizza orders on championship Sunday. Wing orders were nearly 25% higher than on any other day of the year.

·       2026 Grocery Shopping: Instacart reported that Big Game shoppers purchased tortilla chips 106% more often, salsa 96% more often and shelf-stable dips 227% more often than their respective yearly averages.

·       2026 Hosting: Circana reported increased unit sales during the global soccer tournament viewing period, including fresh produce party trays (+1.9%), deli entrees (+1.3%), pretzels (+1.5%) and ready-to-eat popcorn (+1.6%).

·       2025 Grocery Foodservice: FMI reported that consumers choosing grocery deli-prepared foods instead of restaurant meals increased from 12% in 2017 to 28% in 2025. Additionally, 53% of Americans reported taking a hybrid approach to meals, combining deli-prepared foods with items from their own kitchens.

These numbers tell a compelling story. Consumers are assembling their own food experiences across channels. The retailer or restaurant that makes the occasion easier, tastier and more affordable has an opportunity to win the transaction.

Five Game-Day Food Categories That Deserve Attention

1. Sliders: Small Format, Big Opportunity

Sliders deliver something consumers increasingly appreciate: variety without requiring a full-sized meal.

Think beyond traditional beef and cheddar. Consider:

·       Korean barbecue beef sliders with pickled vegetables.

·       Nashville hot chicken sliders with creamy slaw.

·       Pulled pork sliders with sweet barbecue sauce.

·       Crispy fish sliders with spicy tartar sauce.

·       Plant-forward mushroom and cheese sliders.

Sliders allow consumers to sample several flavors without committing to one large sandwich.

For grocery retailers, sliders can be sold in ready-to-heat party packs. Restaurants can offer six-, twelve- or twenty-four-piece assortments. Convenience stores can merchandise smaller individual portions alongside beverages and snacks.

The marketing opportunity is not simply the slider. It is the ability to sell variety, convenience and shareability in one package.

2. Chicken Wings: The Flavor Playground

Chicken wings remain a game-day heavyweight, but consumers increasingly have opportunities to explore different flavor profiles.

Buffalo, honey garlic, Korean gochujang, Nashville hot, lemon pepper, sweet chili and Caribbean jerk provide opportunities to create distinctive assortments.

The 2026 National Chicken Council projection of 1.48 billion wings demonstrates the enormous scale of the occasion.

However, operators should not assume that every customer wants the same wing experience.

Offer bone-in and boneless selections, tenders, chicken bites and sauce flights. Include a choice of dipping sauces and cooling accompaniments.

Grocery deli departments can compete with restaurants by offering hot wings, refrigerated prepared wings and heat-and-eat assortments. Restaurants can differentiate themselves through signature sauces and consistent preparation.

The winning strategy is to sell a flavor experience rather than simply selling a dozen wings.

3. Nachos: Build Your Own Food Experience

Nachos are an ideal game-day platform because they allow consumers to customize their food.

Traditional tortilla chips, queso, jalapeños and salsa remain relevant. But the opportunity expands considerably when operators add:

·       Barbecue pulled pork.

·       Birria beef.

·       Buffalo chicken.

·       Street corn.

·       Black beans and roasted vegetables.

·       Fresh pico de gallo.

·       Guacamole and specialty cheeses.

Consider a nacho flight featuring three smaller flavor combinations instead of one enormous platter.

This creates opportunities for incremental purchases and gives consumers something to discuss and share.

For food retailers, ingredient merchandising can make nachos a cross-category opportunity. Chips, deli proteins, cheese, salsa, guacamole and beverages can all become part of one game-day purchase.

4. Pizza: The Reliable Crowd Pleaser Needs Reinvention

Pizza remains a natural choice for sports viewing because it is familiar, portable, shareable and easy to order.

But pizza operators should not confuse familiarity with consumer loyalty.

Consumers have choices ranging from national pizza chains and independent restaurants to supermarket take-and-bake products and refrigerated prepared pizzas.

Consider expanding beyond traditional pepperoni:

·       Hot honey pepperoni.

·       Buffalo chicken and blue cheese.

·       Barbecue brisket.

·       Mediterranean vegetable.

·       Spicy sausage and roasted peppers.

·       Korean barbecue chicken.

Smaller specialty pizzas, half-and-half combinations and pizza bundles provide additional opportunities.

DoorDash's 2025 championship Sunday data, showing more than 637,000 pizza orders, demonstrates how significant the occasion can be for delivery operators.

The lesson is straightforward: consumers want pizza, but operators still need to earn the order through price, quality, convenience and differentiation.

5. Dips, Chips and Snack Boards: The Incremental Sales Engine

Never underestimate the power of the dip.

Instacart's 2026 Big Game research found that shelf-stable dip purchasing was 227% above its yearly average. Tortilla chips were 106% higher, while salsa purchases increased 96%.

These are substantial occasion-driven purchasing differences.

Traditional guacamole, queso, French onion and salsa remain important. However, food retailers should also consider:

·       Buffalo chicken dip.

·       Smoked jalapeño queso.

·       Whipped feta.

·       Roasted red pepper hummus.

·       Street corn dip.

·       Spinach artichoke dip.

·       Specialty dessert dips with pretzels and fruit.

The opportunity extends beyond individual products.

Create complete snack boards combining cheeses, charcuterie, crackers, vegetables, dips, nuts and sweet treats.

Grocery stores can assemble ready-to-serve boards. Convenience stores can offer smaller snack combinations. Restaurants can create appetizer packages designed specifically for delivery and pickup.

The objective is to turn several small purchases into one larger, more satisfying food occasion.

The Next Generation of Game-Day Food Marketing

The traditional game-day menu is evolving. Successful operators need to recognize that consumers want different combinations of food depending on the game, the gathering and the time available.

Here are four strategies worth implementing.

1. Sell the Occasion, Not Just the Individual Menu Item

A dozen wings is a product. A complete game-day package is a solution.

Create packages that combine:

·       Wings and sliders.

·       Pizza and salad.

·       Nachos and specialty dips.

·       Chicken tenders and multiple sauces.

·       Snack boards and desserts.

Offer packages for two, four, six and ten people.

The objective is to simplify purchasing while increasing the overall transaction.

A consumer who might purchase one pizza could be persuaded to purchase a complete food package when the value is clear.

2. Make Price, Value and Convenience Work Together

Affordability matters.

Wells Fargo's 2026 Super Bowl food report estimated that hosting ten people would cost approximately $140, compared with $138 in 2025.

That is approximately $14 per person.

This demonstrates the importance of giving consumers an affordable way to entertain without making the food experience feel inexpensive.

Restaurants should communicate what a package feeds, what is included and how much consumers save compared with ordering individually.

Grocery retailers should compare ready-to-eat, heat-and-eat and assemble-at-home options.

Convenience stores should emphasize smaller packages and immediate consumption.

Remember the Grocerant Guru's Price Value Service Equilibrium: consumers evaluate price, quality, convenience and the overall experience together.

The lowest price does not automatically win.

3. Embrace Flavor Exploration and Customization

Consumers want familiar foods with interesting twists.

A traditional chicken wing can become a Korean barbecue experience. A pizza can become a hot honey specialty. A nacho platter can become a birria-inspired meal.

This is where limited-time offers become valuable.

Create seasonal and regional flavor combinations that give consumers a reason to purchase now rather than later.

For example, a football rivalry could inspire two competing wing flavors. A hockey promotion could feature a hat-trick sampler with three sauces. An international soccer tournament could introduce regional food combinations reflecting participating countries.

The key is to connect food innovation to consumer participation rather than relying exclusively on team logos and advertising.

4. Connect Grocery, Restaurants and Convenience Retail

One of the most important opportunities is the elimination of traditional food retail silos.

The 2025 FMI research showing that 28% of consumers had replaced restaurant meals with grocery deli-prepared foods illustrates the competitive shift.

A grocery retailer can compete with a restaurant through freshly prepared wings, pizza, sliders and party trays.

A convenience store can compete through hot sandwiches, chicken, pizza, snack combinations and prepared beverages.

A restaurant can compete through family packs, delivery bundles and pickup promotions.

Consumers are not necessarily loyal to a channel. They are loyal to the solution that best meets their needs.

The Grocerant Niche is particularly relevant here. Fresh-prepared, ready-to-eat and heat-and-eat foods allow retailers and restaurants to compete for the same consumer occasions.

Beverages and Desserts: Don't Leave Money on the Table

Game-day food marketing should not stop with the main course.

Beverages and desserts provide important opportunities to increase the average transaction.

Consider pairing:

·       Buffalo wings with lemonade, iced tea or flavored sparkling water.

·       Spicy sliders with citrus beverages.

·       Pizza with specialty sodas.

·       Nachos with fresh fruit beverages.

·       Snack boards with cookies, brownies and bite-sized desserts.

Nonalcoholic beverage choices deserve particular attention. Flavored lemonades, sparkling waters, mocktails and specialty iced teas can broaden the appeal of a game-day package.

Desserts should also be designed for sharing. Mini cheesecakes, cookie assortments, brownie bites and chocolate-dipped treats can complete a party package.

The point is simple: consumers purchasing food for a gathering are often purchasing more than one eating occasion.

Three New Insights from the Grocerant Guru®

1. Own the Occasion, Not the Channel.

The consumer does not care whether the wings come from a restaurant, the grocery deli or a convenience store. They care about flavor, quality, price and convenience. Retailers that compete across channels for the same eating occasion will discover new customer acquisition opportunities.

2. Customization Creates Incremental Revenue.

One flavor of wings is a transaction. Four flavors, three dipping sauces and a shareable side create an experience. Consumers appreciate choices, and operators can use customization to differentiate their offerings, increase average checks and encourage repeat purchases.

3. Convenience Without Value Is a Losing Proposition.

Consumers will pay for convenience, but they expect something in return. Quality, portion size, flavor, portability and price must work together. The brands that understand the intersection of price, time and flavor will be better positioned to attract and retain customers.

The Bottom Line

Sports viewing is not simply a television audience opportunity. It is a recurring food marketing opportunity that crosses restaurants, grocery stores, convenience stores and other retail formats.

Consumers are dynamic, not static. Their expectations, eating habits and purchasing decisions continue to evolve.

Brands that continue selling yesterday's game-day menu without understanding today's consumer risk losing tomorrow's transaction.

The game may be decided on the field, but the food business is decided by the consumer.

Steven Johnson, The Grocerant Guru®, is the founder of Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma, Washington, recognized for identifying the Grocerant Niche in 1996. Foodservice Solutions® specializes in outsourced business development, identifying, quantifying and qualifying additional food retail segment opportunities, new menu product segments, and brand and menu integration strategies.

Amazon’s $25 Thanksgiving Turkey Dinner: A Customer Acquisition Masterstroke or a Warning Shot Across the Food Industry?

 

The Grocerant Guru® Steven Johnson examines customer migration, food marketing, price-value positioning, and why winning the first purchase is only half the battle.

Amazon isn't just selling Thanksgiving dinner for $25. It is selling convenience, affordability, familiarity, and an opportunity to change where consumers shop for food.

That distinction matters.

Amazon's November 2, 2026 announcement of a $25 Thanksgiving meal through Amazon Grocery deserves considerably more attention than another holiday discount promotion. It represents something much bigger: an aggressive attempt to capture food dollars, introduce new grocery customers to its ecosystem, and encourage existing customers to migrate more of their food purchases to Amazon.

The offer includes an 8-pound Butterball frozen turkey, familiar national food brands, Amazon Grocery private-label staples, traditional side dishes, and ingredients for dessert. Customers in more than 2,300 U.S. cities and towns with eligible fresh-grocery same-day delivery can receive the order within hours.

The promotion runs through November 26, while supplies last.

There is a clear marketing message here: Amazon wants consumers to think of it not simply as a place to buy household goods, electronics, or everyday essentials, but as a legitimate destination for putting dinner on the table.

And that is where the Grocerant Niche becomes relevant.

Customer migration: The real prize behind the $25 meal

Consumers do not organize their food purchases according to the traditional industry divisions of restaurants, supermarkets, convenience stores, or online retailers.

They organize purchases around their needs.

What's for dinner? How much time do I have? What will it cost? What tastes good? How easily can I get it?

Amazon understands that the consumer doesn't care which retail channel supplies the meal. The consumer cares about the meal itself and the experience of obtaining it.

That is the foundation of the Grocerant Niche, identified by Foodservice Solutions® in 1996.

Amazon is using a traditional Thanksgiving meal to encourage customer migration from conventional grocery shopping toward an integrated digital purchasing and delivery experience.

Consider the components of the offer:

·       Price: A $25 complete meal proposition creates an exceptionally accessible entry point.

·       Convenience: Same-day delivery eliminates a separate grocery shopping trip for eligible customers.

·       Familiarity: Butterball, Kraft, Ocean Spray, Stove Top, Campbell's, McCormick, French's, and Nestlé reduce the perceived risk of trying an unfamiliar grocery platform.

·       Choice: Customers can combine their Thanksgiving groceries with millions of other products in one cart.

·       Private label: Amazon Grocery gets its own products into the consumer's pantry, refrigerator, and holiday meal.

This is not simply a Thanksgiving promotion. It is a customer acquisition strategy built around a meal occasion.

The smartest part may be the opportunity to turn a one-time holiday shopper into a recurring grocery customer.

The food marketing numbers tell an important story

Amazon is entering a marketplace where consumers have already demonstrated that they are willing to move between shopping channels.

According to FMI and NielsenIQ's 2026 Digital Engagement Transforms Grocery Shopping research:

·       Nearly 94% of grocery shoppers purchased both online and in-store during 2025.

·       Online grocery sales accounted for approximately one-fifth of total grocery spending.

·       Online sales contributed close to 75% of total grocery dollar growth in 2025.

·       Online food sales increased nearly 19% in 2025.

These are significant indicators of customer migration. Digital grocery shopping is no longer a separate or experimental channel. It is part of mainstream food shopping behavior.

Amazon is positioning itself to benefit from that migration.

Another important indicator comes from Circana. Its November 2024 analysis of grocery shopping behavior reported that consumers were making 8.7% more quick grocery trips while purchasing 11% fewer items per trip.

That is a meaningful behavioral shift. Consumers are shopping more frequently for immediate needs while managing the size of their baskets.

Amazon's Thanksgiving bundle offers an alternative: consolidate a significant meal occasion into one transaction.

Price is the hook. Value is the acquisition strategy.

Let's be clear: $25 is an attention-getting price.

But price alone does not create lasting customer relationships.

The 2025 American Farm Bureau Federation Thanksgiving survey put the average cost of a traditional Thanksgiving meal for 10 at $55.18, approximately $5.52 per person. That was 5% below the previous year's estimate, although still 13% above 2019.

Amazon's $25 offer is not an identical basket, so a direct price comparison would be misleading. The turkey size, quantities, recipes, and serving assumptions differ.

Nevertheless, the promotional message is unmistakable: Amazon wants to own the consumer's perception of holiday affordability.

And competitors should pay attention.

Thanksgiving has become an important competitive battleground for customer acquisition. Grocery retailers have increasingly used complete meal bundles, discounted turkeys, private-label ingredients, and promotional pricing to bring consumers through their doors or onto their digital platforms.

Amazon is taking that same strategy and connecting it to an existing digital shopping ecosystem.

The hidden economics: What does it really cost to acquire a food customer?

This is where Amazon's strategy becomes particularly interesting to foodservice operators and grocery executives.

Customer acquisition cost (CAC) is the amount a business spends in marketing and sales to bring in a new customer.

The calculation is straightforward:

Customer acquisition cost = Total acquisition marketing and sales expense ÷ Number of new customers acquired.

However, the true economics are more complicated.

A retailer can spend heavily to acquire a customer, offer a deeply discounted meal, and still lose that customer immediately after Thanksgiving.

The question isn't how many people redeem the $25 promotion. The question is how many return to purchase groceries in December, January, and throughout the year.

Research from Upside's 2025 Consumer Spend Report, drawing on transaction data from 7.7 million consumers across grocery, restaurants, and fuel retailers, offers a warning:

·       50% of new grocery customers shopping in a given month did not return during the following year.

·       64% of new restaurant customers did not return during the following year.

·       31% of grocery customers shopping in a given month did not return during the following year.

The same research found that regular grocery customers were 46 percentage points more likely than new customers to remain active after a year.

These findings illustrate why customer retention matters so much. Acquiring a customer is an expense. Developing a repeat customer creates an opportunity for cumulative revenue.

Amazon's potential customer acquisition advantage

Amazon has something that traditional grocery retailers and independent restaurants often lack: an established customer relationship across multiple purchasing categories.

A new Thanksgiving grocery customer may already be an Amazon customer for household products, clothing, electronics, or other merchandise.

That means Amazon may not need to acquire an entirely new customer relationship. It may need to acquire a new food-shopping behavior.

There is an important distinction.

The cost of acquiring a brand-new Amazon account is different from the incremental cost of converting an existing account holder into a grocery customer.

The $25 meal can serve as a low-friction trial offer. Amazon can potentially introduce consumers to grocery ordering, private-label products, delivery convenience, and repeat purchasing.

However, Amazon has not disclosed the acquisition cost, promotional subsidy, or incremental lifetime value associated with this particular Thanksgiving promotion. It would be irresponsible to assign a dollar figure to those measures without company data.

The strategic opportunity is clear, but the financial return still needs to be measured.

Food brands are doing some of Amazon's marketing for it

There is another smart element to this promotion.

Amazon didn't build its Thanksgiving meal around unfamiliar products.

It assembled a recognizable collection of national brands alongside Amazon Grocery private-label products.

That is important because familiar brands help reduce trial barriers.

Butterball brings turkey recognition. Kraft brings mac and cheese familiarity. Ocean Spray brings cranberry credibility. Stove Top brings stuffing familiarity. Campbell's and French's contribute to recognizable holiday recipes.

Amazon is effectively borrowing the accumulated consumer recognition of established food manufacturers while introducing its own private-label products into the same basket.

This is a powerful food marketing combination.

It also demonstrates why manufacturers should pay attention to how their brands are positioned in bundled meal solutions.

The consumer may enter the transaction because of the $25 price, but the individual products help deliver confidence in the meal.

The private-label products, meanwhile, create an opportunity for Amazon to establish another purchase habit.

The lesson: Food brands should not evaluate marketing solely by individual product sales. They should evaluate their role in meal solutions, occasions, and the consumer's overall purchasing journey.

The Grocerant Niche connection: Consumers are migrating toward meal solutions

Amazon's Thanksgiving offer also reinforces a larger food industry trend: consumers increasingly want solutions rather than individual ingredients or isolated menu items.

The National Restaurant Association's 2025 Off-Premises Restaurant Trends research found:

·       Nearly 75% of restaurant traffic occurred off-premises.

·       67% of consumers expressed interest in bundled meals.

·       70% expressed interest in meal kits.

·       More than 80% of consumers used value deals such as combination meals, buy-one-get-one offers, or real-time specials.

·       94% said speed was critical to their off-premises experience.

These findings cross traditional channel boundaries.

A grocery retailer can sell a meal solution. A restaurant can sell a family meal kit. A convenience store can offer a complete dinner. An online retailer can deliver the ingredients for a holiday gathering.

The consumer sees food and convenience, not industry categories.

This is precisely why the Grocerant Niche remains relevant.

The winning business will be the one that understands the consumer's immediate food needs and delivers the right combination of price, quality, convenience, portability, and service.

What Amazon gets right — and what food retailers should learn

There are five particularly important marketing lessons in this promotion.

1. Sell the occasion, not just the products.

Amazon isn't advertising 16 individual grocery products. It is advertising Thanksgiving dinner. Consumers understand the benefit immediately.

2. Make the entry price easy to understand.

A single $25 price communicates value faster than a long list of individual discounts.

3. Reduce friction in the purchasing process.

One cart, one checkout, and same-day delivery simplify the shopping experience.

4. Combine national brands and private label.

Recognizable national brands provide reassurance while private-label products create additional exposure and potential future sales.

5. Build a reason to return.

The holiday promotion is the opening transaction. Amazon needs to follow it with relevant weekly grocery offers, meal inspiration, personalized recommendations, and dependable fulfillment.

But there is a sixth lesson worth emphasizing: don't confuse promotional traffic with customer loyalty.

A consumer who purchases a $25 Thanksgiving bundle may simply be taking advantage of a good deal. That consumer has not necessarily become loyal to Amazon Grocery.

The retailer must earn the next transaction.

Price, Value, Service Equilibrium: The real competitive battleground

The Grocerant Guru® has long emphasized that consumers evaluate food purchases through more than price.

Price, quality, convenience, and service collectively establish value.

Amazon's Thanksgiving offer makes a strong play on price and convenience. Its established national brands help communicate product familiarity and expected quality.

But the delivery experience, product availability, accuracy, and condition of fresh and frozen products ultimately determine whether consumers return.

For restaurants, grocers, convenience stores, and other food retailers, this should be a wake-up call.

Amazon is not simply competing with grocery stores on the price of turkey. It is competing for the consumer's next food-shopping decision.

And customer migration rarely happens all at once. It happens one occasion, one meal, one transaction, and one successful experience at a time.

The retailers that understand that will be better positioned to grow.

Grocerant Guru® insights on customer acquisition

1. The first transaction is not the victory; the second transaction is.

A $25 Thanksgiving meal can generate tremendous trial, but the real marketing success is converting that trial into repeat grocery purchases. Measure customer acquisition by retention and lifetime value, not simply promotional redemptions.

2. Acquire customers through food occasions, not advertising impressions.

Consumers have reasons to purchase food every day. Dinner tonight, lunch tomorrow, snacks for the weekend, and Thanksgiving next month are all acquisition opportunities. Complete meal solutions create a compelling reason to try a new retailer, restaurant, or foodservice brand.

3. Stop paying repeatedly to reacquire customers you already have.

Use first-party purchasing data, relevant personalized offers, meal bundles, and dependable service to create purchasing habits. The smartest customer acquisition strategy is one that makes the next purchase easier, more valuable, and more relevant than the first.

The Grocerant Guru® bottom line: Amazon's $25 Thanksgiving meal isn't just about selling turkey. It is about changing consumer shopping behavior, capturing food dollars, and making Amazon Grocery part of the consumer's everyday meal solution. The food industry should recognize the strategy for what it is: a customer acquisition campaign disguised as Thanksgiving dinner.

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