Supermarket News reports that retailers need to reposition their prepared foods line in order to stay afloat as demand for prepared meals spikes, according to a study by Acosta Sales & Marketing in Jacksonville, Florida. To be exact, 27% of shoppers go to supermarkets just to buy a prepared meal. The need to meet the “increasing desire for convenient, healthy and economical prepared meal solutions” is real. The study identifies three main considerations in the shifting supermarket shopping landscape:
- Millennials
- Convenience of buying meals out to eat at home
- Digital shopping
For operators interested in repositioning their aligning their prepared foods with the new face of the consumer market, the study suggests the following:
- Ensure adequate signage and promote prepared foods throughout the store.
- Offer value menu options and low-calorie versions of home-cooked favorites like pizza and macaroni and cheese.
- Offer ready-to-eat options that would typically take a long time to prepare at home, such as barbecued or slow-cooked foods.
- Offer a variety of ethnic meal options geared particularly to the Millennial consumer.
- Focus on add-on sales, since nearly half of shoppers studied said they purchased additional prepared items besides those they had planned to buy.
paigepapers.com 