Fresh Is No Longer a Department — It Is the Foodservice Battleground

 

For years Steven Johnson, The Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® has argued that Fresh Is First.

Today, the data tells us something even more important: Fresh is no longer simply a department, a perimeter strategy, or a grocery-store differentiator. Fresh has become a competitive foodservice platform.

And the retailers, restaurants, convenience stores and food brands that understand that distinction will be the ones capturing the next generation of meal occasions.

The old food marketing playbook was built around categories: grocery, restaurant, convenience, deli, bakery, frozen and center store.

The consumer doesn't think that way anymore.

Consumers think about what they want to eat, when they want it, how much time they have, what it will cost and whether it looks and tastes good.

That is the real battlefield.

The Fresh Revolution Has Become a Foodservice Revolution

Back when this article was originally written, the idea that fresh prepared food could become a major competitive weapon across food retail was still emerging.

Fast-forward to 2024, 2025 and 2026, and the evidence is difficult to ignore.

FMI reported that retail foodservice prepared-food sales reached approximately $50.9 billion in 2024, up 1.4%. At the same time, 70.7% of households regularly purchased foodservice-at-retail products, averaging 9.5 purchase occasions annually.

But perhaps even more revealing is where fresh sits within the overall grocery equation.

FMI reported that fresh foods represented 42% of total grocery sales in 2024. Foodservice within fresh foods reached approximately $56 billion, making prepared food one of the industry's most important differentiation strategies.

That is not a niche.

That is a structural shift.

2024: Fresh Became a Competitive Weapon

Circana's 2024 food-and-beverage outlook predicted that deli would outperform overall food-and-beverage unit sales, with convenient grab-and-go products helping drive the category.

Circana specifically pointed to the need for perimeter departments to optimize turnkey solutions for consumers seeking food on the go.

Meanwhile, Technomic found that convenience stores were increasingly competing on food quality.

In its 2024 research, consumers rated c-store foodservice at least as good as—or better than—quick-service restaurants on several attributes, including price, freshness, cleanliness and quality. Technomic also found that 75% of c-store foodservice patrons prioritize the ability to multitask during the visit.

Think about what just happened.

The supermarket began behaving more like a restaurant.

The convenience store began behaving more like a restaurant.

Restaurants began behaving more like retailers.

And consumers simply kept moving between all of them.

That is Food Channel Blurring.

2025: The Grocery Deli Crossed the Line

Then came an even more important signal.

FMI's 2025 Power of Foodservice at Retail report found that 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.

Retail foodservice dollar sales rose 1.6% to $52.1 billion over the measured period.

Read that again.

The grocery deli is no longer simply competing with another grocery store.

It is competing for restaurant occasions.

And restaurants shouldn't assume the competition is another restaurant.

The competition might be a grocery-store rotisserie chicken, a prepared entrée, a fresh sandwich, a salad, pizza, sushi, a convenience-store meal or something ordered digitally and delivered to the front door.

The consumer doesn't care which industry invented the meal.

They care whether the meal solves the occasion.

Convenience Has Become a Food Attribute

This is where I believe many legacy food marketers still have it wrong.

They continue to treat convenience as a distribution advantage.

It isn't.

Convenience is now part of the product.

A fresh sandwich that requires a 20-minute wait isn't necessarily competing against another sandwich.

It is competing against the sandwich that can be picked up in 90 seconds.

A grocery deli that produces outstanding food but doesn't make it easy to find, order, pay for and carry home is leaving value on the table.

FMI's 2024 research showed that consumers increasingly want restaurant-like capabilities from retail foodservice, including online menus, advance ordering and pickup or delivery.

That is why Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat matter so much.

They collapse the distance between fresh food and immediate consumption.

2026: Fresh Is Moving From Differentiator to Destination

Now look at 2026.

McKinsey reports that grocery shoppers identify convenience (74%) and saving time (68%) among the leading reasons they buy prepared foods from grocers.

Even more important, the frequency of prepared-food purchases increased 9% year over year from August 2024 to August 2025.

And FMI's latest 2026 research reinforces the point: prepared, ready-to-eat and ready-to-heat grocery foods have become part of today's lunch routine because they are fast and convenient.

At the same time, consumers haven't abandoned the home.

Quite the opposite.

FMI reports that 44% of shoppers say they are having more family meals at home than a year earlier, while 35% say they are cooking more often. Half say they are eating fewer restaurant meals and ordering less takeout and delivery for their families.

This is enormously important.

It means the opportunity isn't simply restaurant versus grocery.

It is foodservice versus friction.

Consumers want the economics, flexibility and comfort of home without necessarily wanting to do all the work required to produce the meal.

That is precisely where the Grocerant niche wins.

Fresh + Prepared + Convenient = The New Value Equation

Foodservice is also confronting a consumer who has become much more deliberate about spending.

Circana reported that U.S. foodservice operator spending reached $357.3 billion for the 12 months ending June 2025, up 3.7%, even though traffic was essentially flat.

And Circana found that 29% of commercial foodservice traffic was purchased on a deal, the highest level recorded in its 50-year historical analysis.

But here is the catch:

Value is not synonymous with cheap.

Consumers are increasingly evaluating the complete equation:

Price + Portion + Quality + Freshness + Convenience + Experience.

That is why a $9 prepared meal can compete with a $15 restaurant meal—and why a $5 meal can still lose if it looks tired, tastes mediocre or creates friction.

The winning proposition isn't simply lower price.

It is better perceived value for the occasion.

The New Food Marketing Battlefield Is the Meal Occasion

This brings us back to the five ideas in the original article:

Fresh.

Health.

Experience.

Instant gratification.

New.

Those ideas haven't disappeared.

They have merged.

Today's consumer increasingly wants food that is:

Fresh enough to feel good.
Convenient enough to fit real life.
Interesting enough to be worth buying.
Affordable enough to justify the purchase.
Available enough to become habitual.

That is why I believe the next phase of food marketing will be less about protecting traditional channels and much more about winning meal occasions.

A grocery store can win breakfast.

A convenience store can win lunch.

A restaurant can win dinner.

A supermarket deli can win the family meal.

A coffee shop can win the afternoon snack.

And a digital platform can win all of them.

The boundaries are gone.

The Fresh Food Opportunity Is Bigger Than the Grocery Store

One of the most telling developments is happening in convenience.

Circana expanded its U.S. convenience-store coverage in 2025 to include approximately $15 billion in annual sales from prepared foods, dispensed beverages and fresh products across 40 major chains. That includes prepared sandwiches, pizza, coffee, bakery and produce.

That should make every food marketer uncomfortable.

Because the c-store isn't merely selling gasoline, beverages and packaged snacks anymore.

It is building a fresh foodservice ecosystem.

And Technomic's research shows operators are continuing to invest in freshness, quality, selection and innovation to make c-stores credible foodservice destinations.

Meanwhile, restaurants are investing heavily in off-premise convenience, digital ordering, loyalty and formats designed around speed.

Everybody is moving toward the same consumer.

The Grocerant Guru® Bottom Line

I have been saying for years that the grocerant niche would expand because consumers don't shop channels—they shop solutions.

The data from 2024, 2025 and 2026 suggests that the transformation is no longer coming.

It is here.

Fresh is first because fresh creates the perception of quality.

Prepared is powerful because it removes labor from the consumer.

Ready-2-Eat wins because it eliminates time.

Heat-N-Eat wins because it gives consumers control.

And foodservice wins when all four are combined with taste and value.

The future belongs to companies that stop asking, "What category are we in?"

The better question is:

"Which meal occasion are we trying to own?"

Two Insights From the Grocerant Guru®

1. Stop merchandising Fresh—start marketing meals.

A beautiful fresh department isn't enough. Consumers don't wake up wanting to visit the perimeter. They wake up wanting breakfast, lunch, dinner, a snack or something they can take home tonight. The next generation of fresh-food marketing must merchandise around meal occasions, dayparts and solutions, not simply departments.

2. The real competitor isn't another food company—it is friction.

If your customer has to search, wait, order, pay, assemble, cook or clean when a competitor eliminates those steps, your brand has a problem. The winners will make fresh food faster, easier, more visible and more craveable without sacrificing quality.

Something to Think About

If Fresh Is First—and consumers are increasingly buying fresh prepared food wherever they can find it—why are so many food companies still organizing their businesses around yesterday's channels instead of tomorrow's meal occasions?

That may be the most important question in food marketing today.

Success does leave clues.

The Grocerant Guru® continues to believe that the greatest opportunity in food retail and foodservice is at the intersection of Fresh + Taste + Technology + Convenience + Value.

The companies that connect those dots first won't just sell more food.

They will own more occasions.

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

Campbell's Frozen Meal Expansion Aligns with the Future of Food Retail

 

For more than 155 years, Campbell's has demonstrated an extraordinary ability to evolve alongside the American consumer according to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®. Founded in 1869 as the Joseph A. Campbell Preserve Company, the company transformed the grocery industry with condensed soup, built one of the world's most recognizable food brands, and created an advertising icon with the timeless slogan, "M'm! M'm! Good!"

Today, Campbell's is once again adapting to changing consumer behavior—this time by expanding its presence in frozen meals. From the perspective of the Grocerant Guru®, this is not simply a line extension; it is a strategic move that reflects where the food retail industry is headed. It strengthens the Campbell's brand, creates new growth opportunities for retailers, and addresses the evolving expectations of today's consumer.

Consumers Have Moved Beyond Categories

One of the most significant shifts in food retail over the past decade is that consumers no longer shop by grocery department—they shop by meal occasion.

The traditional distinction between canned goods, frozen foods, deli, prepared foods, restaurants, convenience stores, and meal kits has blurred. Today's shopper is looking for solutions that answer one question: "What's for dinner?"

Consumers increasingly prioritize convenience, quality, value, and flexibility over where a product is merchandised in the store.

This consumer evolution has fueled the growth of what the Grocerant Guru® has long identified as the Fresh Food Fast movement. Shoppers are seeking meals that are easy to prepare, deliver restaurant-quality experiences, and fit seamlessly into busy lifestyles.

Frozen meals have become one of the strongest vehicles for meeting those expectations.

"M'm! M'm! Good!" Is Ready for Its Next Chapter

Campbell's legendary slogan remains one of the most recognized in food marketing. While it has historically represented comfort through soup, today's consumer defines comfort differently.

Comfort now means saving time without sacrificing quality. It means reducing the stress of meal planning, minimizing cleanup, and offering choices that satisfy every member of the household.

Rather than relying solely on nostalgia, Campbell's has the opportunity to redefine "M'm! M'm! Good!" for a new generation. The promise is no longer limited to soup—it becomes shorthand for flavorful, dependable meal solutions that fit modern lifestyles.

That evolution preserves the brand's heritage while expanding its relevance.

Frozen Foods Have Become a Strategic Growth Platform

The frozen food category has undergone a remarkable transformation.

Advances in freezing technology have improved taste, texture, and nutritional quality, while consumers have become more accepting of frozen products as premium meal options rather than last-minute alternatives.

For Campbell's, expanding into frozen meals creates opportunities to compete not only within grocery stores but also against restaurants, meal kits, convenience stores, and food delivery services.

In today's marketplace, the frozen aisle is increasingly competing for the same meal occasions once dominated by takeout.

That represents a significant opportunity.

Mix-and-Match Meal Bundling Drives Larger Baskets

Retailers are discovering that consumers rarely purchase a single item for dinner. Instead, they assemble meals by combining products across multiple departments.

A frozen entrée may be paired with Campbell's soup, fresh salad, frozen vegetables, bakery bread, beverages, or dessert.

This mix-and-match meal bundling approach encourages incremental purchases while simplifying meal planning for shoppers.

For retailers, these merchandising strategies can increase basket size, encourage cross-category shopping, and strengthen customer loyalty.

For Campbell's, frozen meals become another component within a broader meal solutions portfolio rather than a standalone product.

That distinction matters.

Family Meal Customization Has Become the New Dinner Table

Today's households look very different from those of previous generations.

Families often eat at different times, children and adults have distinct preferences, and dietary needs vary widely within the same household.

Consumers increasingly prefer customizable meal components over a single meal prepared for everyone.

Frozen meals support this trend exceptionally well. One family member may select chicken, another pasta, another a vegetarian option—while everyone still shares the same dining experience.

This flexibility aligns with one of the strongest behavioral shifts in food retail: personalization.

Brands that enable customization are increasingly becoming preferred choices.

Campbell's Competitive Advantage Is Consumer Trust

Brand equity remains one of Campbell's greatest assets.

Consumers are far more willing to experiment with new products when they come from brands they already know and trust.

For Campbell's, expanding into frozen meals allows the company to leverage more than a century and a half of consumer confidence while entering one of grocery's most dynamic categories.

Few companies possess both the heritage and household recognition necessary to make this transition as effectively.

Retailers Should Think Beyond the Frozen Aisle

Campbell's frozen meal strategy also presents retailers with opportunities to rethink merchandising.

Rather than merchandising products solely within departments, retailers should merchandise complete meal occasions.

Cross-merchandising frozen entrées with soups, side dishes, fresh produce, bakery items, beverages, and desserts creates a more intuitive shopping experience while increasing overall sales.

Consumers purchase meals—not departments.

Retail merchandising should reflect that reality.

The Bottom Line

Campbell's expansion into frozen meals is more than portfolio diversification. It reflects a broader transformation in consumer behavior and food retail strategy.

As shoppers increasingly demand Fresh Food Fast, embrace mix-and-match meal bundling, and expect family meal customization, brands that deliver complete meal solutions will outperform those that remain focused on traditional product categories.

Campbell's has spent more than 155 years earning the trust of American consumers. By extending that trust into frozen meal solutions, the company is positioning itself to remain relevant for the next generation of shoppers.

The iconic "M'm! M'm! Good!" message still resonates—but its meaning has evolved. Today, it represents convenience, quality, flexibility, and confidence at the intersection of modern food retail and contemporary consumer lifestyles.

Grocerant Guru® Insights

Insight #1: The winners in food retail will compete around meal occasions, not grocery categories. Consumers want solutions that simplify daily decision-making while delivering quality and value.

Insight #2: Frozen foods have become a cornerstone of the Fresh Food Fast movement. As technology and product quality continue to improve, frozen meals will capture an even larger share of at-home dining occasions.

Insight #3: Campbell's is uniquely positioned to bridge its rich heritage with the future of food retail. By combining trusted branding with innovation in frozen meal solutions, the company can strengthen consumer loyalty, help retailers grow basket size, and redefine what "M'm! M'm! Good!" means for a new generation of shoppers.

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

Europe's Next Fresh Food Battle Has Begun: Why Couche-Tard's Acquisition of Żabka Signals the Future of Handheld Food Retail

 

For decades, convenience retailing in Europe has been defined by location. Today, it is increasingly being defined by food, particularly fresh, portable, ready-to-eat food designed for immediate consumption. The proposed $8.6 billion acquisition of Poland's Żabka Group by Alimentation Couche-Tard is far more than the largest acquisition in the Canadian retailer's history—it is a strategic investment in the future of European food retail.

From the perspective of the Grocerant Guru®, this transaction is not fundamentally about acquiring 13,000 stores. It is about acquiring one of Europe's most advanced platforms for fresh prepared food, digital engagement, and convenience-driven meal occasions.

The companies that ultimately win the next decade will not simply sell groceries or fuel. They will become the preferred destination for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, and impulse food purchases consumed immediately or within the next few hours.

Żabka has already demonstrated that model.

Serving approximately 4.3 million customers every day through more than 13,000 locations across Poland and Romania, Żabka has evolved well beyond traditional convenience retailing. Its combination of digital ordering, loyalty integration, franchise entrepreneurship, private label development, foodservice, and rapid urban expansion has created one of Europe's most dynamic convenience ecosystems.

Couche-Tard recognizes this.

The acquisition immediately strengthens Circle K's position in Central and Eastern Europe while giving the company a proven operating model that can be leveraged across multiple European markets.

Fresh Food Is Becoming the New Competitive Currency

Across Europe, consumers are increasingly replacing traditional scheduled meals with multiple eating occasions throughout the day.

The National Restaurant Association, Circana, Technomic and numerous European market studies continue to document consumers' growing preference for:

·       Fresh Ready-2-Eat meals

·       Handheld foods

·       Grab-and-go breakfast

·       Premium sandwiches and wraps

·       Fresh bakery items

·       Portable protein snacks

·       Heat-N-Eat meal solutions

·       Mobile ordering and digital loyalty

This trend extends well beyond convenience stores.

Supermarkets, quick-service restaurants, bakeries, petrol forecourts and even discount grocers are all competing for what the Grocerant Guru® calls "share of stomach."

Increasingly, consumers are asking one question:

"What can I eat right now?"

Retailers capable of answering that question with high-quality fresh food will continue taking market share from traditional grocery formats.

Handheld Food Is No Longer a Category—It Is a Retail Strategy

One of the biggest opportunities emerging throughout Europe is handheld food for immediate consumption.

Consumers increasingly value meals that are:

·       portable

·       affordable

·       freshly prepared

·       easy to eat while commuting

·       digitally ordered

·       available throughout the day

That explains why premium sandwiches, wraps, breakfast rolls, hot bakery items, sushi, salads, pizza slices, fresh coffee and prepared snacks continue driving higher traffic than many traditional grocery categories.

The future belongs to retailers that blur the distinction between restaurant and supermarket.

Żabka has embraced this model exceptionally well.

Couche-Tard clearly intends to learn from it rather than replace it.

Maintaining the existing management team, franchise model and local operating expertise suggests the company understands that local execution—not corporate standardization—is one of Żabka's greatest competitive advantages.

The Generational Divide Is Reshaping European Food Retail

One of the most overlooked drivers behind this acquisition is generational purchasing behavior.

Baby Boomers generally continue shopping with planned grocery lists and weekly household replenishment.

Generation X increasingly combines grocery shopping with restaurant purchases.

Millennials have normalized multiple meal occasions purchased away from traditional supermarkets.

Generation Z often shops based on convenience, mobile engagement, social discovery and immediate consumption rather than weekly meal planning.

These younger consumers are less loyal to traditional grocery formats and significantly more willing to purchase fresh prepared foods several times each week.

For them, convenience stores are becoming neighborhood restaurants.

This shift is accelerating throughout Europe as urbanization, hybrid work, single-person households and changing lifestyles continue reshaping food purchasing behavior.

Digital Loyalty Is Becoming a Food Business

Żabka's digital ecosystem—with approximately 11.7 million users—may ultimately become as valuable as its physical stores.

Digital engagement allows retailers to personalize promotions, influence meal decisions throughout the day, encourage repeat visits and build stronger customer relationships.

The combination of fresh prepared food, mobile ordering, personalized offers and loyalty programs creates a competitive advantage that traditional supermarkets often struggle to match.

Food is becoming increasingly digital before it ever becomes physical.

Europe Is Entering a New Era of Fresh Food Competition

Couche-Tard expects approximately $250 million in annual cost and revenue synergies within three years following the acquisition.

Yet the largest opportunity may not be operational efficiencies.

The bigger opportunity is exporting Żabka's foodservice expertise, digital innovation, franchise discipline and customer engagement strategies across Circle K's broader European network.

As fuel margins continue facing long-term pressure and electric vehicle adoption expands across Europe, fresh food becomes an increasingly important growth engine.

Retailers that successfully transform forecourts into fresh food destinations will generate higher visit frequency, larger baskets and stronger customer loyalty.

The future of convenience retailing will be measured less by litres of fuel sold and more by fresh meals served.

For European retailers, this acquisition should be viewed as a signal—not simply a transaction.

The race to become Europe's preferred destination for fresh, handheld, immediate-consumption food has entered a new phase.

Three Insights from the Grocerant Guru®

1. Handheld Fresh Food Will Outperform Traditional Grocery Growth.
Consumers increasingly purchase meals based on convenience, portability and immediacy rather than weekly grocery planning. Retailers investing in fresh handheld foods—including premium sandwiches, wraps, bakery products, sushi and ready-to-eat meals—will capture more meal occasions and larger shares of consumer food spending.

2. Digital Engagement Is Becoming as Important as Store Location.
The retailers that combine loyalty, mobile ordering, personalized promotions and frictionless payment with compelling fresh food offers will build stronger customer frequency than competitors relying primarily on price promotions.

3. The Future Belongs to Grocerants, Not Traditional Retail Formats.
The lines separating grocery stores, convenience stores, cafés and quick-service restaurants continue to disappear. Europe's most successful retailers will increasingly compete on fresh food quality, speed, portability and immediate consumption, creating hybrid "grocerant" destinations that satisfy consumers whenever and wherever hunger strikes.

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