RetailWire’s Post

NEW YORK (AP) — With Thanksgiving less than two weeks away, Walmart, Target, Aldi and other grocers are competing for a place on holiday tables with turkey dinner deals and other promotions to tempt Americans who haven’t recovered from recent food price inflation. Walmart, the nation’s largest food retailer, first bundled the makings of a traditional turkey feast into a meal deal three years ago. This year, the 29-item offer, which includes a frozen turkey and ingredients for side dishes, costs less than $55 and is intended to serve eight. That calculates to less than $7 per person. Target’s version for four people costs $20, $5 less than the company’s 2023 Thanksgiving meal, and includes a frozen turkey, stuffing mix and canned green beans and canned jellied cranberry sauce. Aldi’s offers a frozen Butterball turkey with gravy mix as well as pumpkin ingredients for pumpkin pie and ingredients for side dishes like sweet potato casserole. The German-owned supermarket chain priced it for $47 and said that was less than it charged for the same items in 2019. Comparing the respective menus to determine which represents the best value is difficult since recommended serving sizes and contents vary. But the promotions, introduced earlier than ever and at a time when many households remain put off by higher prices, underscore the importance of Thanksgiving to grocers, analysts said. While consumer perceptions of grocery prices is based on the cost of staples like eggs and milk, “the Thanksgiving meal has become essentially a new benchmark,” Jason Goldberg, chief commerce strategy officer at Publicis Groupe, a global marketing and communications company. my story The Associated Press

KFC on Monday announced it is offering a value menu through the end of 2024 featuring a $4.99 two-piece chicken meal for one; a variably priced four-piece, two-person chicken meal; and a $20 six-piece chicken family meal. The menu is called “Taste of KFC Deals.” The two-piece meal includes a chicken thigh, drumstick, a side of mashed potatoes and a biscuit. All three value meals exclude the drinks usually included in KFC’s combo meals. KFC framed the long-running pricing deal explicitly as a response to consumer pullback due to menu price increases.“It’s been 30 years since food ate up this much of people’s incomes, and 56% of consumers are budgeting their finances more now due to inflation,” the chain said, citing U.S. Agriculture Department data.

The Christmas food and drink trends supermarkets are backing in 2024 With Christmas around the corner, major retailers have picked out what we will be eating and drinking in the run up too and on the big day! 🧀 - Tesco is betting on cheese being a big purchase - with over 61% of UK adults say they would rather make up their own cheeseboard/grazing board versus buying a prepared one. Cheaper and personalised I guess! 🥪🦃 All retailers seem to have brought out new festive food-to-go! Co-op is boosting its lunchtime meal deal offer and Asda have put a different spin on it, launching a new Let It Spice Festive Curry Wrap with chicken breast. 🌿🌍 A veggie Christmas. Recent data shows more than 27% of shoppers are prioritising vegetarian or plant-based options as part of their main Christmas fare. All major supermarkets are providing many tasty options to choose from. Including, Plant Chef Seeded Roast, Finest Butternut Wellington and Finest Chef’s Collection Feta. & FINALLY... 🍾🥤To booze or not to booze??? This is a big one! With 24% of people drinking less alcohol this Christmas than previous years, retailers have put more thought into low and no alcohol drinks. Exciting new products include, Elderflower Spritzi and Blood Orange Spritzi drinks - yum 🍸 Do any of the above take your fancy? 🍴🍴 #fmcgnews #christmastrends2024 #food #consumertrends

As BBQ's, family get-togethers, and Fourth of July parties commence, frozen foods ❄ step in to provide the better overall value shoppers seek to support these occasions - from frozen meats to sides and dessert novelties. According to Chelsey Capps, "'It’s really important for retailers to create custom strategies for their private-brand programs. For some, it would behoove them to go after some of these larger pack sizes. This could prevent a larger family going from one store to another store, simply because one store doesn’t have larger-sized items that offer a greater value.’”      Continue reading in Progressive Grocer for addition frozen insights ➡ https://lnkd.in/e-UJRNMP     #Daymon #PrivateBrands #Frozen #Value 

Some 🦃 news: Retailers are tripping over themselves this year to offer inflation-weary shoppers the lowest deals on must-have ingredients for their #Thanksgiving dinner. So where can families to expect find the best food deals ahead of Thanksgiving? The best value might not be in where you shop, but how you shop, according to Wells Fargo’s annual Thanksgiving food report, which estimated how much it will cost to prepare the meal for a party of 10. Read more ⬇ https://lnkd.in/exK4_hQH Wells Fargo #inflation #foodprices #retail

Consumers increasingly mix and match items they cook fresh scratch with items that are semi- and fully-prepared. Likewise, consumers complement restaurant-bought items with store-bought items. Deli-prepared foods is also experiencing sales growth for complete meal solutions, replacing both home-cooked and restaurant meals. This has fueled robust for the grocery deli-prepared department pre- and post pandemic. Over the past year, deli-prepared appetizer sales have reached $2.1 billion, which is an increase of 4.9% versus last year and 16% compared to three years ago. Unit sales are on a three-year winning streak as well. Year-over-year, unit sales of deli-prepared appetizers increased 4.8%. While the nation’s eye is on price and promotions, convenience remains important. For more data, insights and merchandising inspiration, visit www.mushroomcouncil.org #MushroomsAtRetail #Mushrooms #DeliPrepared

📣 Hot off the press: FoodStorm's State of Grocery Order Ahead 2023 Report A current trend within the grocery food service industry is that customer demand for prepared foods is growing and grocers are capitalizing. Customers are seeing their local grocer as a convenient, cost-effective and healthy option for prepared foods versus fast food or restaurant takeaway. The 2023 Supermarket News Fresh Food Trends Survey found that 65% of grocery retailer survey respondents will increase their assortment of prepared foods over the next 12 months. FoodStorm’s annual State of Catering Report has subsequently broadened its scope to go beyond just catering to accommodate this expanded definition in grocery food service. Our annual report will now include insights into all the prepared food use cases our grocery retailers are serving, including: 🍝 Everyday catering 🦃 Holiday catering 🥪 Made-to-order meals 🥩 Deli pre-orders 🎂 Custom cakes 💐 And more FoodStorm’s State of Grocery Order Ahead 2023 Report uncovered many interesting trends and findings. Key highlights include:  📲 Roughly 56% of orders being placed online, showing the ongoing importance of both online and in-store ordering channels for grocers and their customers. 🥡 A growing demand for Pickup orders versus 2022, increasing from 26% to 35% of orders, showing In-Store Fulfillment continues to gain importance. 🖥 A surprising shift from almost equal Desktop versus Mobile online orders in 2022 to 60% and 40% respectively. 👩🍳 Evidence that expanding order ahead across in-store counters is a top priority for FoodStorm’s grocery retailers with 95% and 86% utilizing Weighted Items (i.e. deli items and holiday meats) and Configurable Items (i.e. custom sandwiches and cakes) functionality, respectively. Continue reading our infographic below or click here for the entire report: https://lnkd.in/g49urskT

Consumer deli visits increased by 5% per household last year, outpacing other grocery departments. I recently discussed the factors behind this trend, including improved deli selections and expanded prepared food choices, for a Supermarket News article. Read the full article, “Optimism Abounds For Deli In 2024,” here: https://lnkd.in/gJjZiujR

“Our Dine In range is intended to cater to busy and budget-conscious customers who are looking for quick and easy meals for their families that both kids and their parents will love,” Woolworths merchandise manager for chilled meals Matt Harbich ICYMI Woolies are trialling 'dine in' options in chilled. All SKUs can be cooked within 35 minutes and air-fryer friendly. With shoppers focus on COL (cost of living) the challenge may be sell price. For example, 1.6kg whole roast chicken dinner with herb roasted potatoes, corn cobs, carrot and pumpkin wedges for $25 vs hot whole roast chicken (deli) for $12 ... will be interesting to see sales in premium / UP stores vs value stores ...