Page 24 - index

says Maeve Webster, president of Menu Matters, an Arlington, VT-based foodservice consultancy. “These operators are seeking to grab foodservice dollars away from quick- serve and fast-casual restaurants with the addition of take-home, high-quality meals, meal kits and in-store dining. There’s success driven by the lower cost of a supermarket meal and the convenience factor. After all, the retailer already has the customer instore to purchase retail items, and now they can be a one-stop shop for meals too.”
PRODUCE FUELS
DELI ENHANCEMENTS
The deli section of the supermarket is most likely the origin of this blurred line between retail and foodservice, says Shayna Snyder, senior account manager for Olson Communications in Chicago. “Supermarkets started selling sandwiches, and some have evolved to add seating areas for consumers to eat inside the store. Now, we even see some supermarkets that have foodservice kiosks or even full-service
“We’ve expanded the selection of freshly pre- pared foods offered in our full-service deli case, which now includes various entrees, salads and side dishes. These deli enhance- ments are in close to half of our stores today and are truly changing the way our guests shop at Sprouts.
— Kalia Pang, Sprouts Farmers Market
restaurant concepts inside the store.” “Affordable, healthy food” is the biggest trend in all channels right now based on research from the Center for Food Integrity, says Amy Myrdal Miller, MS, RDN, FAND, founder and president of Farmer’s Daughter Consulting in Carmichael, CA. “We’ve seen incredible changes, from the standard deli items of cold cuts and mayonnaise-based salads to a wide variety of prepared ready-
to-eat and ready-to-heat items.”
Indeed, the top three food-related
factors that drive consumer purchase decisions from the supermarket are taste (91 percent), appearance (89 percent) and impression of freshness (88 percent), according to a 2017 assessment of the supermarket foodservice channel as provided by Chicago-headquartered Tech- nomic. Fresh produce figured prominently into each of these points.
A good example is the offerings at the Market Corner Deli at Sprouts Farmers Market, a nearly 300-store chain based in Phoenix and operating in 15 states.
“Over the past couple of years, we have added salad bars, freshly squeezed juice, olive bars, fresh sushi and soup bars
24 / APRIL 2018 / PRODUCE BUSINESS