The Top 7 Prepared Meal Trends for 2025

 

The food industry is evolving at a breakneck pace, with consumers craving convenience, variety, and value in their dining choices. Steven Johnson the Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®, has analyzed trends from restaurants, grocery service delis, and convenience stores to identify the top seven prepared meal trends for 2025. Each trend reflects a consumer-centric approach that enhances the Ready-2-Eat and Heat-n-Eat fresh food sector.

1. Global Flavor Mashups

Prepared meals featuring bold and unexpected combinations of global cuisines are gaining traction. Think Korean tacos, Indian butter chicken pizza, and Mediterranean sushi rolls. Restaurants like California Pizza Kitchen have embraced this trend with menu items such as Thai Chicken Pizza, while grocery deli counters offer fusion bowls that combine Asian and Latin flavors. Convenience stores are stepping up by offering mix-and-match bento-style meal kits featuring sushi, dumplings, and edamame, catering to adventurous eaters.

2. Plant-Forward Meal Options

Plant-based meals continue to dominate, but 2025 is all about plant-forward dishes rather than purely vegan options. Grocery service delis have seen success with meals like roasted cauliflower steaks paired with quinoa pilaf. Restaurants like Panera Bread and Chipotle emphasize plant-forward bowls and wraps, while convenience stores have added grab-and-go salads with protein-rich legumes and grains, offering health-conscious consumers nutritious, convenient choices.

3. Personalized Portion Control

Consumers are looking for portion sizes that align with their dietary goals. Restaurants like Sweetgreen and takeout hubs such as Noodles & Company allow customers to customize portions. Grocery delis are offering “single-serve meals” that cater to solo diners and calorie-conscious eaters. Convenience stores like Wawa and Sheetz have introduced modular meal components, enabling customers to select smaller portions of proteins, carbs, and vegetables to build their ideal meal.

4. Comfort Food Redefined

Comfort food never goes out of style, but 2025’s iteration focuses on nostalgic dishes with a modern twist. Grocery delis are leaning into reimagined classics like mac and cheese with truffle oil or mashed potatoes with cauliflower. Restaurants such as Cracker Barrel are revitalizing their menus with comfort classics like meatloaf but offering gluten-free and keto variations. Convenience stores have tapped into this trend with items like handheld pot pies and mini lasagnas that cater to busy customers.

5. All-Day Breakfast Revival

Breakfast is no longer just for mornings. The rise of all-day breakfast offerings is a testament to its universal appeal. Restaurants such as IHOP and McDonald’s continue to push breakfast all day, while grocery delis are preparing ready-to-heat breakfast burritos, frittatas, and smoothie kits. Convenience stores’ prepared food sections are showcasing breakfast sandwiches, wraps, and parfaits available around the clock, appealing to late-night snackers and early risers alike.

6. Sustainable Packaging and Ingredients

Sustainability is a non-negotiable for many consumers. Prepared meals with eco-friendly packaging and responsibly sourced ingredients are increasingly popular. Grocery delis lead with meals packed in biodegradable containers, featuring labels that highlight local and organic sourcing. Restaurants like Chipotle and Sweetgreen emphasize transparent sourcing and compostable packaging, while convenience stores are introducing recyclable and reusable containers for their ready-to-eat meals.

7. Mix-and-Match Meal Bundles

Flexibility is key, and mix-and-match meal bundles are meeting this need head-on. Grocery delis offer customizable meal combos with proteins, sides, and desserts that cater to family dinners and individual preferences. Restaurants like Panda Express allow customers to build their plates with diverse protein and side options. Convenience stores such as 7-Eleven now feature combo deals like chicken tenders paired with mac and cheese or a sandwich, salad, and beverage bundle. These customizable offerings maximize value and minimize food waste.

Final Thoughts

The prepared meal sector is poised for growth as consumers prioritize convenience and quality in their dining habits. By embracing global flavors, sustainability, and customization, restaurants, grocery delis, and convenience stores can capture customer loyalty. As the Grocerant Guru®, my recommendation is to invest in packaging innovation, explore fusion cuisine opportunities, and ensure menu flexibility to remain ahead of the curve. 2025 promises to be a transformative year for the industry, with prepared meals leading the charge in satisfying evolving consumer demands.

Foodservice Solutions® specializes in outsourced business development. We can help you identify, quantify and qualify additional food retail segment opportunities or a new menu product segment and brand and menu integration strategy.  Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma WA is the global leader in the Grocerant niche visit us on our social media sites by clicking one of the following links: Facebook,  LinkedIn, or Twitter

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Panera’s Bakery-Cafes New Partnership will Drive Incremental Sales

 

Gen Z and Millennials are digital natives, entering the office workplace or returning to an office setting and Panera Bread want to cater to them as they are the primary and secondary target market of consumers that will help drive new electricity into the brand and sales for years to come according to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

Is your brand is searching for the new electricity to help drive the brand forward. So, just what is your brands new electricity? According to Johnson, “Brand relevance is in part driven with innovation in new food products in combination with new avenues of distribution all of which are the platform for the new electricity.”

Johnson stated “that in my minds-eye the new electricity must be very efficient for the supply and includes such things as fresh food catering, meal kits, beer, developing brands, unique urban clothing, grocerant positioning, Fresh food messaging, autonomous delivery, cashier-less retail, plates, glasses, cash-less payments, digital hand-held marketing.

All retailers to survive the next generation of retail must embrace the artificial intelligence revolution while simultaneously embracing fresh food that is portable, fresh, with differentiation that is

Recently, ezCater announced a partnership with Panera Bread to bring the brand’s iconic soups, salads, sandwiches, and more to the ezCater marketplace. The partnership combines ezCater’s extensive reach and authority in food for work with Panera’s deep brand recognition, delicious and diverse menu, and influence as a market leader in fast casual.

“We’re bringing the comfort and warmth of Panera’s crave-worthy offerings and the convenience and reliability of ezCater to workplaces across the country. We’re excited to launch this partnership and continue expanding it in the months and years to come.”

Businesses can now order catering from nearly half of Panera’s bakery-cafes across the U.S. on the ezCater website and mobile app. In the coming months, Panera and ezCater intend to continue to add hundreds more locations to the ezCater marketplace as they continue to roll out the partnership.

“Not only is Panera a market leader in fast casual, but they’re also a powerhouse in catering and one of our customers’ most requested brands,” says Mike O’Hanlon, Chief Partnerships Officer, ezCater. “We’re bringing the comfort and warmth of Panera’s crave-worthy offerings and the convenience and reliability of ezCater to workplaces across the country. We’re excited to launch this partnership and continue expanding it in the months and years to come.”

From their beloved bagel packs and breakfast sandwiches to iconic soups, sandwiches, and delicious salads, Panera offers extensive options and variety for workplaces to satisfy all of their employees’ preferences. New catering offerings, such as the Toasted Baguette Sandwiches Assortment, deliver an abundant meal crafted with freshly prepared ingredients. With the new partnership, businesses can easily order food from Panera for all their food for work needs, while having complete visibility and control over their food spend through ezCater.

Lisa Hamblet, Vice President, Off-Premise, Panera Bread, stated, “As two of the most established providers of food for work, Panera is excited to partner with ezCater to provide workplaces with even more access to our delicious menu of soups, salads, sandwiches, and more,” ... “An ideal complement to Panera’s existing catering service, ezCater adds additional reach and scale to expand to more businesses and take Panera Catering to the next level.”

ezCater has more than 100,000 restaurants and caterers on its platform, from local independent restaurants to national chains. With its extensive expertise in corporate food solutions, ezCater helps its restaurant partners manage, analyze, and grow their catering businesses.

Invite Foodservice Solutions® to complete a Grocerant ScoreCard, or for product positioning or placement assistance, or call our Grocerant Guru®.  Since 1991 Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma, WA has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche. Contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us or 253-759-7869

Panera Gift Cards Can Include Unlimited Premium Coffee

 

Drink-up is the brand messaging Panera is sending to customers this Holiday Season.  Sharing is caring and Panera is empowering consumers to gift of unlimited premium hot drip coffee, iced coffee and hot tea.  That is a brand message that is interactive and participatory according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

If success does leave clues and it does interactive and participatory food marketing a hallmark of grocerant niche sales success, will drive incremental sales according to Johnson. Panera was the first national restaurant company to offer an unlimited subscription for premium hot drip coffee, iced coffee and hot tea.  Last week, Panera announced its popular MyPanera+ Coffee Subscription is now available for gifting. Well foodies get shopping. This is a good deal for office co-workers, friends, and family.

So, here is how it works; consumers can now give the gift of either two or three months of the brand's unlimited premium coffee subscription for a discounted price. Available for purchase beginning Cyber Monday (November 30), Panera coffee is the ultimate holiday pick-me-up for friends, family, or any coffee or tea lover on your list this year.

Customers will be able to purchase two kinds of digital gifts: two months of coffee for $15 plus tax or three months of coffee for $20 plus tax. Regularly available for $8.99/month plus tax, not only is the gift of MyPanera+ Coffee Subscription budget-friendly, it's also a simple way to give your holiday gifts, easily available for purchase from your phone or desktop.

Panera Bread Chief Brand & Concept Officer Eduardo Luz  stated "Our unlimited, premium coffee subscription has provided quality and value to our guests and has continued to grow in popularity since we launched this past March,"  "We are excited to provide our guests with this fun and unique gift option that is perfect for anyone on your list who needs a cup of optimism this time of year – whether it be neighbors, teachers, delivery workers or friends and family."

With the MyPanera+ Coffee Subscription, guests can get any size, any flavor of hot drip coffee, iced coffee and hot tea with unlimited refills in the bakery-cafe—that means plenty of coffee to pair with your favorite bagel, sandwich or afternoon sweet treat. Panera's drip and iced coffee offerings include two coffee blends—Light Roast and Dark Roast, freshly ground every day and made from 100% Arabica whole beans. Both coffee blends are available, along with Decaf and Hazelnut, as part of the coffee subscription program. Are you going to empower your friends to Drink-Up on you?

Foodservice Solutions® specializes in outsourced business development. We can help you identify, quantify and qualify additional food retail segment opportunities or a new menu product segment and brand and menu integration strategy.  Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma WA is the global leader in the Grocerant niche visit us on our social media sites by clicking one of the following links: Facebook,  LinkedIn, or Twitter

Sneak a Peak at Panera’s Undercurrents of Customer Attraction

Success does leave clues and regular readers of this blog know that integrating the Foodservice Solutions® FIVE P’s of food marketing drives top line sales, brand awareness, and bottom line profits according to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

The line between retail channels has nearly vanished as it gets thinner and thinner brands must edify their relationships with consumers by extending an invitation in new non-traditional channels of distribution. Panera Bread said that its retail sales for Panera at Home’s refrigerated soups exceeded $100 million in 2017. Its retail sales grew by nearly 27 percent in 2017, according to company press releases.

Mike Bufano, Panera at Home’s senior vice president and general manager stated “Consumers are gravitating towards the perimeter of grocery stores, looking for food with our cafe-fresh taste, made with real ingredients,”…“Across categories, Panera at Home delivers on this consumer need for food that is not only 100% clean, but convenient and craveable too, from a brand they love and trust. It is a true extension of the Panera Bread brand beyond the bakery-cafe.”

It’s not a surprise to anyone that Panera’s strong growth in refrigerated soups can be attributed to the company’s commitment to 100 percent clean food, which is free from artificial preservatives, sweeteners, flavors and colors, according to Bufano.

Did you know that the Panera at Home portfolio, consists of approximately 100 products available at grocery retailers, supercenters and club stores nationwide. Panera at Home offers more than 15 varieties of soup, including broccoli cheddar, kale & quinoa and turkey sausage. The broccoli cheddar soup is Panera’s best-seller across its restaurants and grocery retailers, the company said.

In addition to soups, Panera at Home also includes mac & cheese, salad dressings, sliced sandwich bread and ground coffee. So we ask you what are you selling and where?  Are you ready to sell fresh prepared food in a new non-traditional, non-grocery, non-conveniences store outlet?

Are you trapped doing what you have always done and doing it the same way?  Interested in learning how www.FoodserviceSolutions.us 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:  www.FoodserviceSolutions.us for more information.