FMI — The Food Industry Association has released The Power of Foodservice at Retail 2026, finding that grocery foodservice items have become fully integrated into consumers’ meal landscape, with more than half of households combining home preparation with foods prepared outside the home for dinner at least once a week.
“We’re seeing more and more households replace home-cooked and restaurant meals with deli-prepared foods,” said David Haaf, VP of fresh foods for FMI. “The opportunity for food retailers is to reframe their foodservice department as a go-to resource.”
The 11th report in the annual series is based on a survey of 1,480 U.S. grocery shoppers conducted July 8-15.
Key findings
- 56 percent of households combine home preparation with foods prepared outside the home for dinner at least once a week.
- Retailers have an opportunity to position prepared foods as flexible building blocks supporting the way shoppers already cook, with interest in meal bundles, heat-and-eat sides, family-size options and combinations of prepared and grocery items.
- Distinct decision windows exist throughout the day: half of same-day dinner decisions occur between 3-7 p.m., with similar windows for breakfast and lunch.
- Only one-third of shoppers say their primary grocery store is known for a deli-prepared food item, most often citing rotisserie or roasted chicken, subs, deli meat, sushi or pizza.
“In some cases, the foodservice department may only need to solve a part of the meal a shopper seeks to make,” Haaf said. “Often, the shopper is searching for meal inspiration more than the actual main dish or side component.”
Need ‘solid reputational offering’
On building a departmental reputation, Haaf added: “Put your foodservice department on the map with a solid reputational offering. Shoppers tell us they are open to culturally diverse foodservice options and that prepared foods can often be a trip driver. There is real value in being a store known for a certain foodservice item and offering enough variety that entices shoppers beyond the grocery foodservice department.”
The report is sponsored by Hillphoenix, A Dover Company. Arlington, Virginia-based FMI works with and on behalf of the food industry to advance a safer, healthier and more efficient consumer food supply chain.
Related: FMI Study Highlights Grocery Stores’ Role In Convenient, Affordable Dining