Consumers do not need more complexity
in their lives. They need better ways to solve everyday food decisions. That
simple truth continues to reshape retail foodservice, restaurants, grocery
stores, convenience stores, and the broader food industry according to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at
Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.
Since Foodservice Solutions®
identified the Grocerant Niche in 1996, the central premise has remained
consistent: consumers want fresh-prepared, Ready-2-Eat (RTE) and Heat-N-Eat
(HnE) foods that combine flavor, convenience, portability, and value. What has
changed is the number of businesses competing to satisfy those needs.
Today, a consumer can purchase a
prepared meal from a restaurant, grocery deli, convenience store, warehouse
club, or another retailer expanding its foodservice offerings. Consumers do not
necessarily organize these choices into industry categories. They decide what
sounds good, what fits their schedule, what they can afford, and how much
effort they want to invest in getting a meal on the table.
That is the opportunity at the heart
of the Grocerant Niche.
The Data Are Clear: Prepared Food Is
Becoming Part of the Everyday Meal Solution
Consider what recent industry research
tells us about the changing food landscape.
According to FMI—The Food Industry
Association’s 2024 Power of Foodservice at Retail research,
approximately 70.7% of households regularly purchased foodservice products from
retail stores. The research also found that 59% of shoppers wanted the
opportunity to purchase combinations of prepared foods, including main courses,
side dishes, and desserts, at a discounted set price. These findings
demonstrate the importance of making meals easier to assemble and purchase. (FMI, 2024.)
The message for retailers is
straightforward: convenience is not limited to selling a sandwich or a single
prepared entrée. It includes helping consumers complete a meal.
In 2025, FMI reported that the share
of consumers choosing grocery deli-prepared foods instead of restaurant meals
had more than doubled, rising from 12% in 2017 to 28% in 2025. More than half
of Americans, 53%, were also combining deli-prepared foods with items from
their own kitchens to create meals. (FMI, 2025.)
By October 2026, FMI's Power of
Foodservice at Retail research found that 56% of households combined home
preparation with foods prepared outside the home for dinner at least once a
week. The report also identified an opportunity for retailers to offer meal
bundles, heat-and-eat side dishes, family-size options, and combinations of
prepared and grocery items. (FMI, 2026.)
These are not merely statistics about
deli sales. They illustrate a larger shift in how consumers participate in meal
preparation.
Consumers can prepare an entire
dinner, buy a fully prepared meal, or combine the two. They can purchase a
protein and prepare the sides, pick up a complete family meal, or select
several individual items that reflect different tastes and dietary preferences.
The winning proposition is not
necessarily a fully prepared meal. It is the right amount of preparation for
the consumer's needs at that moment.
Convenience Has Become a Food
Marketing Imperative
Convenience is often discussed as
though it simply means faster checkout, drive-thru service, or delivery. The
Grocerant Guru® sees a broader opportunity.
Convenience means reducing the effort
required to decide what to eat, find the desired food, purchase it, transport
it, and serve or consume it.
The National Restaurant Association's
2024 State of the Restaurant Industry report found that 52% of consumers
considered restaurant takeout an essential part of their lifestyle. By April
2025, the Association reported that nearly 75% of restaurant traffic occurred
through off-premises channels, including takeout, drive-thru, and delivery. Its
2025 research also found that speed, good service, easy-to-use ordering
technology, value offers, and loyalty programs were important elements of
repeat business. (National Restaurant Association, 2024 and 2025.)
The implications extend well beyond
restaurants.
A grocery store with an attractive
deli but no coherent meal solution may lose a consumer to a restaurant offering
an easy family bundle. A convenience store with excellent coffee but limited
fresh-food choices may miss lunch and dinner occasions. A restaurant that
excels at flavor but makes ordering, pickup, or reheating unnecessarily
complicated may surrender repeat business to a competitor.
The opportunity is to make the
complete food experience easier without compromising quality.
That means investing in food packaging
that travels well, clear product information, reliable availability, sensible
portion choices, convenient ordering, and menus designed for real-life eating
occasions.
Portable food is not just food that
fits in a container. It is food designed around the consumer's destination,
schedule, appetite, and circumstances.
Differentiation Means Familiar Food
With a Twist
One of the enduring principles of
effective food marketing is that differentiation does not always require
inventing an entirely new food.
Often, it means taking something
familiar and making it more relevant.
Consumers recognize sandwiches,
salads, bowls, pizza, chicken, breakfast items, snacks, and comfort foods.
Retailers can differentiate those familiar choices through seasoning,
ingredients, preparation, portion size, packaging, accompaniments, or a distinctive
flavor profile.
A familiar meal can become more
compelling with a globally inspired sauce, a different protein, a regional
flavor, a plant-forward ingredient, or a convenient format that makes it easier
to eat on the move.
Individualization matters, too. Some
consumers want a complete meal, while others want to select their own sides or
add a preferred snack. Some prioritize protein; others seek vegetarian options,
lighter meals, or familiar comfort food.
The lesson is not that every retailer
needs an enormous menu. It is that every retailer needs a clear food
proposition with enough flexibility to serve different needs.
Food marketing must begin with the
consumer and the occasion—not simply with the products a company already knows
how to sell.
Price Matters. Value Is the Bigger
Equation.
In a competitive food market,
convenience alone will not guarantee success. Consumers still compare prices,
portions, perceived quality, and the total effort required to obtain a meal.
The National Restaurant Association's
2025 off-premises research identified value offers as an important purchase
motivator. Its findings reinforce the need to make the benefit of an offer
clear rather than assuming consumers will pay more simply because a product is
convenient.
For Grocerant Niche operators, value
can take several forms:
- Price value: A competitive price, meaningful
promotion, or well-designed meal bundle.
- Quality value: Freshness, flavor, ingredient
quality, and dependable execution.
- Time value: Less shopping, preparation,
cooking, and cleanup.
- Choice value: Options that fit different
appetites, budgets, and preferences.
- Social value: Food that makes it easier to
share a meal with family, friends, or coworkers.
- Portability value: Food that fits the consumer's
schedule and destination.
The lowest-priced item does not
automatically offer the greatest value. A reasonably priced meal that tastes
good, travels well, and requires little additional work can be a stronger
proposition than a cheaper item that leaves the consumer to purchase several
more ingredients.
Retailers should measure value through
the entire meal occasion, not just the shelf price of an individual product.
Retail Foodservice Is Becoming a
Destination
The latest data point to another
opportunity: retailers can build a reputation around a signature food offering.
FMI's 2026 research found that only
about one-third of shoppers considered their primary grocery store known for a
particular deli-prepared food item. Rotisserie chicken, roasted chicken,
sandwiches, sushi, and pizza were among the products shoppers associated with
grocery foodservice departments. The report also found that half of same-day
dinner decisions occurred between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. (FMI, 2026.)
That creates two significant marketing
opportunities.
First, retailers can establish a
signature item that gives consumers a reason to visit. A recognizable product
can become a food destination, encourage repeat purchases, and provide a
platform for complementary products.
Second, retailers can align their
merchandising with the moments when consumers are making food decisions. Dinner
solutions displayed and promoted when shoppers are deciding what to eat may be
more relevant than products presented without regard to the occasion.
A retailer does not need to be
everything to everyone. It needs to be particularly good at solving selected
food needs while offering enough variety to encourage additional purchases.
This is where a disciplined
foodservice strategy can turn the deli, prepared-food counter, or grab-and-go
department into a destination rather than simply another department in the
store.
The Consumer Does Not See Industry
Silos
Consumers are not required to remain
loyal to a single food channel.
The same person might buy breakfast at
a convenience store, lunch from a restaurant, a snack at a grocery store, and
dinner from a warehouse club or another retailer. The next day, those choices
may change.
The consumer's decision is shaped by
the occasion, appetite, budget, schedule, location, and perceived value. Brand
preference matters, but it competes with all those other considerations.
This is why the Grocerant Niche is
best understood as a consumer-driven food marketplace rather than a single
retail category.
Restaurants, supermarkets, convenience
stores, warehouse clubs, and other retailers increasingly compete for
overlapping meal occasions. Each has different operational strengths, but the
competitive question is similar: Can the business offer the food the consumer
wants, when it is needed, at a price that feels worthwhile?
For operators and suppliers, this
creates opportunities for collaboration, product development, co-branding, new
distribution arrangements, and foodservice partnerships. It also demands a
willingness to reconsider established assumptions about who owns a customer or
a meal occasion.
Consumers migrate. Businesses must
adapt.
Is Your Food Marketing Looking
Ahead—or Looking Back?
The growth of prepared-food choices
does not mean every retailer or every prepared-food product will succeed.
Execution matters. Food safety, freshness, consistent quality, labor, waste,
packaging, and profitability remain essential.
Nor should every retailer attempt to
copy the same menu or the same service model. A convenience store, supermarket,
restaurant, and warehouse club have different operating environments and
customer expectations.
The strategic opportunity is to
identify unmet consumer needs and create food solutions that fit the business's
strengths.
Ask yourself:
- Does your food proposition solve a specific consumer problem?
- Are your RTE and HnE products designed for convenience, flavor,
portability, and quality?
- Can customers easily combine prepared foods and grocery items to
complete a meal?
- Do your price points communicate meaningful value?
- Do you have signature foods that can build consumer awareness and
repeat visits?
- Are you competing for the consumer's next meal occasion—or relying
on yesterday's channel boundaries?
At Foodservice Solutions®, we believe
the next phase of food marketing belongs to companies that understand the
evolving consumer and develop products, partnerships, and experiences around
the way people actually eat.
The opportunity is not simply to sell
more prepared food. It is to make convenient meal participation easier, more
appealing, and more relevant.
The Grocerant Niche continues to offer
a useful framework for understanding that opportunity. The businesses that put
the consumer first, deliver consistently, and make the value proposition clear
will be better positioned to earn the next purchase.
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Are you looking a customer ahead?
For food marketing strategy, retail
foodservice ideation, partnership development, and ways to strengthen your
brand's position in the Grocerant Niche, visit FoodserviceSolutions.us.
Steven Johnson is the Grocerant Guru®
at Foodservice Solutions®, Tacoma, Washington.
Three Insights from the Grocerant
Guru®
1. Consumers migrate to solutions, not
silos.
The next meal occasion belongs to the business that best combines flavor,
convenience, quality, and price—not necessarily the business that has
traditionally owned the channel.
2. Fresh-prepared food is a platform
for differentiation, not just another product category.
Signature items, meal bundles, portable formats, and customizable combinations
give retailers and restaurant operators practical ways to build relevance,
encourage repeat purchases, and earn a larger share of the consumer's food
spending.
3. Make the meal easier, and make the
value obvious.
Consumers want more than speed. They want food that fits their schedule,
budget, appetite, and lifestyle. The brands that remove friction while
delivering dependable flavor and quality will be better positioned to win the
next purchase.
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