Supermarket Perimeter - January 2025 - 13

TOP TIPS FROM FMI
Signature items serve as a
path to drive trips: Many
grocery stores have signature
foodservice items, which
range from chicken entrees to
sandwiches to pizza. Yet, 46%
of shoppers say their stores
aren't known for a specific
foodservice item. This suggests
there could be an opportunity
for retailers to be more
intentional in driving awareness
of those signature offerings.
Getting beyond the bird:
Chicken will continue to be a
dominant signature offer for
some retailers, but tremendous
opportunity exists to create
tailored foodservice offers
to consumers based on
retailers' core consumers and
geographic locations. Consider
featuring barbeque or Tex-Mex
cuisine in the Southwest.
seen some relief in dairy prices, too. Despite the bad rep grocery has
gotten in much of the press for high prices, particularly in the runup
to the election, grocery prices haven't risen as much as upstream
industry costs for things like raw goods, transportation and storage,
Volpe said.
And in addition to the new consumer cost-saving habits cited
by Markenson, the pandemic and the inflation that followed had
another silver lining, Volpe said.
" It shined a light on issues the supply chain was facing: trucking,
port congestion, labor shortages,. I think the food supply chain is
doing some great work on shoring these up and building resiliency.
Supply and usage are just as strong as they were at the peak of
pandemic. This supply chain is increasingly adaptable, and there is
no evidence of widespread shortages. "
How low can they go?
Despite the overall good news on inflation, Volpe doesn't see prices
reaching their pre-inflation numbers. Efforts to achieve that could
Integrate seafood more
intentionally in the coastal
regions: When catering to
younger consumers, consider
diverse cuisines that might
not be classic grocery
foodservice offers, but have
seen tremendous growth in
quick serve and fast casual
restaurants.
Focus on nutritious/healthful
options: About two-thirds
of shoppers say they put
at least some focus into
eating nutritious/healthful
options when buying deliprepared
foods from grocery
stores. Retailers can help
draw attention to items and
attributes that better meet the
nutrition and health needs of
shoppers. Retailers can support
nutritious and healthful meal
supermarketperimeter.com
planning by offering mix-andmatch
items that balance deliprepared
items with seasonal
fruit, vegetables, whole grains
and other beneficial foods.
Hispanic opportunity:
The rapidly growing and
younger Hispanic segment
represents a prime opportunity
for retail foodservice. Hispanic
shoppers show a strong
propensity to engage with their
grocery store's foodservice
offerings.
Gen Z is coming of age:
With the oldest of Gen Z
now 27 years old, retailers are
focused on attracting them
to their foodservice offerings
before they lock into habits.
This digitally engaged cohort
of shoppers are meal planners
who are open to include
grocery foodservice.
Hybrid is happening:
Meals that involve a
combination of some scratch
and some semi or fully
prepared items is the most
common approach (54%).
Meanwhile, the share of fully
scratch meals has trended
downward.
Meal planning and at-home
prep continues: Shoppers
prepared more dinners at
home, growing slightly from
last year, and reaching levels
not seen since 2020. Weekly
meal planning continues to be
a critical element of shoppers'
routines, with at least twothirds
doing so to some degree
for each meal occasion, often
integrating a 'hybrid' approach
to meal preparation.
JANUARY 2025 - 13
http://www.supermarketperimeter.com
Supermarket Perimeter - January 2025

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Supermarket Perimeter - January 2025
