FMI – The Food Industry Association surveyed nearly 1,600 shoppers in late July to gather intel for the second installment of 2025 of its U.S. Grocery Shopping Trends report, which the association has been generating for 51 years now.
Subtitled “New Routines,” the report “examines the logic behind grocery shopping or the notion of what is eating well, from the shopper’s perspective,” said Allison Febrey, FMI senior manager of research and insights, during an Aug. 26 media briefing.
Febrey noted that the 1,591 shoppers surveyed July 25-31 represented a range of demographics, household structures, income levels, orientations to food and cooking, shopping habits and geographic areas across the U.S.
Despite the challenges of the last five years, “shoppers remain resilient,” she said. “Grocery shopping habits have remained remarkably consistent, and shoppers tell FMI they continue to enjoy grocery shopping. Crucially, shoppers tell us they aspire to eat well, and that notion guides everything about their choices, from what to buy to how to cook and where to shop.”
The definition of “eating well” can vary from person to person. It may be an emphasis on health and nutrition; cooking fresh, healthful food; sharing meals with friends and family; or eating ethically, she said.
Factors driving purchases also vary among consumers, Febrey said. Items that contribute to their health, entertainment, enjoyment and/or convenience can all prompt shoppers to spend more.
Fall calls us back to routines – and family meals
September was National Family Meals Month – a reminder of the importance of families, whatever their configuration, eating meals together. Launched 10 years ago, National Family Meals Month continues to encourage families to have one additional meal together, at home, each week.
FMI’s new research found that peak dinnertime remains 6 p.m., and 36 percent of those surveyed say they have dinner at home, with others, seven days a week. Nearly half of the grocery shoppers have some sort of special weekly dinner routine, either a specific dish or a specific day.
“This indicates a strategic opportunity for food retailers to lean into trends like Taco Tuesday or pizza on Friday,” Febrey said.
Shoppers also were asked which purchase drivers – health, entertainment, exploration or convenience – were most important to eating well at certain eating occasions.
Health and entertainment are most important at all meals, but for breakfast, specifically, shoppers seek health above all else, and for snacking, combining convenience and health is a priority, Febrey said.
The changing season does mark a change in routines and eating occasions, she continued.
“Looking ahead to the fall months, more than two-thirds of shoppers are forming new routines around eating occasions, which includes more than half of Americans leaning toward more meals prepared at home, having dinners at consistent times and having dinners with others at home. It’s particularly clear from these findings that Americans have a strong desire to enjoy meals together.”
Family meals month now a movement
David Fikes, executive director of the FMI Foundation, noted the while National Family Meals Month may have started as a one-month emphasis, it has “evolved into the Family Meals Movement, a year-round … movement that encourages consumers to share more family meals together, however it is that they define family.
“We believe family meals are the foundation for a healthy nation,” Fikes added. “Research upholds the multifaceted power of family meals, finding that people who have more meals together consume more fruits and vegetables and have better diets in general. But it’s not just about nutrition. Family meals deepen familial connections and improve communication skills, expressiveness and even problem-solving abilities.”
In addition, 63 percent of consumers say that “eating in good company” is part of their definition of eating well.
They also said that the top challenges confronting their families include poor communication, conflicting schedules, lack of spending time together and instilling healthy eating habits.
“The good news is all of these things are items that family meals can help address and solve,” Fikes said.
Family meals also may help address an issue that is much broader in scope. FMI Foundation research from this year asked the question, “do you consider America to be more or less civil than it was 10 years ago?”
Seven out of 10 people said it’s less civil, Fikes said.
“We thought, ‘this is something that family meals can help address,’” he said, as they are a prime opportunity to “have those conversations wherein you teach respectful interactions and such. Most people find that when you’re sitting down together, everyone tends to be a little bit more civil toward each other, but it’s also a time when families can address those thorny or societal questions and such.
“So, we see that one of the major benefits of family meals is not only do families get more connected, but the family members become a little bit more civil. We’re trying to move the needle a little bit on that whole notion of making America a more civil society.”
A new tool the FMI Foundation has just launched to hopefully move the needle toward civility is placemats that feature conversation starters.
“You can, as a family or as a group gathering around the table together, share your answers to those topical conversation starters,” Fikes said.
Happiness through meal sharing
More meals together is a beneficial goal, confirmed a report released earlier this year by the University of Oxford’s Wellbeing Research Center, in partnership with Gallup. Their “World Happiness Report,” a global report card on the state of happiness, devoted a whole chapter to how sharing meals supports happiness and social connection throughout the world, Fikes said.
“The report finds that meals together are a top indicator of happiness, higher even than income or employment,” he said.
“The FMI Foundation has focused on family meals for the past decade, and during that time, we’ve seen food retailers and suppliers rise up in support of family meals and develop innovative programs that encourage families to share more meals together.”
Also in recognition of the potential benefits of family meals, the FMI July survey respondents say they’re planning to make changes. Fifty-four percent said they plan to share more dinners; 43 percent want to share more breakfasts; and 40 percent want to share more lunches, Febrey noted.
Making family meals easier
One food retailer that has made strides in helping families achieve their mealtime goals is Hy-Vee, the West Des Moines, Iowa-based company that operates more than 550 retail locations in nine Midwest states.
Tina Potthoff, senior VP of communications for Hy-Vee, said during the press briefing that the company’s operational decisions are all based on “making lives easier, healthier and happier.”
“Everything we do is centered around these three pillars, essentially, and food is a huge, huge part of that. Food has the power to bring people together, and that’s at the heart of Hy-Vee’s family meals movement year-round [and] especially during September.”
The grocer strives to bring attention to family meals in “fun and memorable ways” and attempts to up the creativity year after year, Potthoff said. Once, they invited local celebrities, such as news anchors and sports figures, to bring their families to their local Hy-Vee and sit down for a meal together – “actually sit down and eat and be on display in our stores” to raise awareness of the benefits of family meals, Potthoff said.
One year, the stores highlighted the expertise of its registered dietitians. Another year, free kid’s meals were given to families who dined-in at Hy-Vee Market Grilles, which are located inside Hy-Vee stores.
In 2023, the grocer tied its family meals celebration with National Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs Sept. 15-Oct. 15. During the two weeks of overlap with National Family Meals Month, Hy-Vee offered shoppers recipes that had been translated into Spanish. Stores featured select Hispanic products, along with a cooking guide featuring Hispanic- and Latino-inspired recipes.
The success of that promotion prompted Hy-Vee to incorporate it into its daily strategy. More recipes have been translated into Spanish, and the grocer has made a concerted effort to identify the Latin populations around its stores in efforts to serve their needs.
This year, Hy-Vee is partnering with Food Bank of Iowa to be part of a “Longest Table” event. About 100 people will sit down and share a neighborhood potluck. Potthoff said Hy-Vee’s participation in the event underscores its – and FMI’s – belief that “family goes beyond the traditional family unit,” Potthoff said. “It can mean friends or roommates, neighbors or anyone you choose to share a meal with. We want to encourage more community gatherings and connections.
“Because our ultimate goal is really simple: We want more people to come together over a meal, and we want those meals to both be nourishing and enjoyable at the same time,” Potthoff said.
Another way Hy-Vee has promoted the movement has been to organize endcaps around themes such as taco night or spaghetti night, Potthoff said, grouping “all those ingredients in one convenient place.”
Also in the interest of convenience, Hy-Vee’s dietitians and culinary team work together to create healthy meals for the Mealtime To Go case that can be ready to eat in less than 30 minutes from the oven or grill, thanks to revamped packaging.
“We have a variety of options available for a variety of cuisines and also ethnic backgrounds,” Potthoff said. “These solutions really make it easier for even the busiest households to gather around that 6 p.m. time frame [or] if they need to do it earlier or even in between social activities with their kids.”
These meals are merchandised at the front of the store, with Mealtime To Go signage above. With the current emphasis on protein and GLP-1-friendly diets, Potthoff said Hy-Vee is “trying to position the offerings that we have that have more protein toward the front of the store as well.”
Hy-Vee has found that consumers on high-protein diets don’t always eat the same meal as the rest of the family, so the grocer is trying to develop recipes “that incorporate high protein that the entire family can eat at the same time.”
The grocer’s dietitians also are developing meals that are low carb, low sodium, etc., for those who are seeking meals that meet those criteria. New packaging is being developed for those meals to make them easily identifiable.
“Hy-Vee’s family meals program is all about removing barriers and really bringing people together over food that they can feel really good about,” she said. “By making family meals easier, healthier and more inclusive, we hope to really strengthen not only families but entire communities with FMI, and that’s why we’re really committed to FMI and their Family Meals Movement.”
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