The Retail Rundown: 2024 Annual Power of Meat Study Recap

The 2024 Power of Meat Study was revealed at the Annual Meat Conference in Nashville, Tennessee this week. Anne-Marie Roerink, Principal at 210 Analytics, presented the findings and identified the trends currently shaping the retail meat sector.

This year’s report found that the number of Americans who describe themselves as meat eaters (80%) and the number of households that purchase meat (98%) were unchanged from 2023. Circana data indicates that overall household penetration across all incomes, ethnicities, household sizes, and ages, averages above 97%...

19th Annual Power of Meat Reports Strong Meat Consumption, Evolving Consumer Trends

The number of Americans who describe themselves as meat eaters (80%) and the number of households that purchase meat (98%) remain steady from 2023, while the number seeking to decrease meat consumption has fallen by 20% since 2020, according to the 19th annual Power of Meat report released today by the Meat Institute and FMI—The Food Industry Association.

According to data cited from Circana, overall household penetration averages above 97% for all incomes, ethnicities, household sizes and ages...

Meat Institute, FMI Announce 2024 Leaders of Tomorrow Program Winners

To kick off the 2024 Annual Meat Conference, the Meat Institute and FMI – The Food Industry Association announced 10 winners for the 2024 Leaders of Tomorrow Program.

The winners are: Kaylee Russell, Tyson Foods; Michael Yeater, Albertsons Companies; Tammy Gonzales, Cargill; Mike Van Drie, SpartanNash Co.; Nicole Koch, Seaboard Foods; Liz Holt Welnhofer, Pre Brands; Hillary Niblock, Superior Farms; Marie-Pier Labarre, Cascades; Zachary Stadler, Associated Wholesale Grocers; and Jennifer Hicks, Mitchell Grocery Corp.

“These 10 Leaders of Tomorrow proved themselves to be rising stars in...

New Research Identifies Opportunities for Aligning on Consumer Eating Occasions

Insights revealed today from FMI – The Food Industry Association, Oliver Wyman and Circana demonstrate new opportunities for food industry trading partners to cater to shoppers’ expanding definitions of value. The research, Finding Growth for Food & Beverage at Retail: Winning Eating Occasions throughout the Day, supports go-to-market strategies and ways in which grocers can attract more shopper relevance regarding needs, experiences, tastes, rewards, health – and especially convenience.

Mark Baum, senior vice president of industry relations and chief collaboration officer, FMI said, “The research showcases how food and...

New FMI Report: Food Industry Committed to Health and Well-Being Initiatives

Most food industry companies are operating with established nutrition, health and well-being strategies to meet increased shopper focus on healthy eating

As Americans’ interest in nutrition and healthy eating has increased in recent years, companies across the food industry have implemented numerous initiatives to support consumers’ health needs and priorities, according to FMI – The Food Industry Association’s new Food Industry Contributions to Health and Well-Being 2024 report. The survey, conducted in October 2023, includes insights from both retailers and product suppliers... 

Fast Food & Quick Service Restaurants Take Off: Market to Reach US$318 Billion by 2034

The fast food and quick service restaurant market is expected to continue its upward trajectory, fueled by convenience, affordability, technological advancements, and evolving consumer preferences. Addressing health concerns and offering innovative, healthy options will be key for market players to thrive in the future.

The valuation for the global fast food & quick service restaurant market was around US$ 1 87,774.1 million in 2023 and is projected to exhibit a CAGR of 4.90% over the forecast period...

Holiday Grocery Shopping Habits

Though technology has undeniably evolved the way we communicate, I’ve found that no text, call, or video chat can replace the warmth of hugging my mom. The holiday season for me is a time of strengthening familial bonds, gifting joy, and indulging in the “Superbowl” of meals. Raised by a large village of multigenerational family and friends, these moments spent together come few and far between and are deeply cherished. Whether hosting or traveling home, our U.S. Grocery Shopper Trends, Holiday Season report finds more than 90% of Americans are celebrating Thanksgiving and the December holidays...

New FMI Holiday Season Trends Survey: Grocery Shoppers Exhibit Cautious Optimism Ahead of Holiday 

Despite ongoing concerns about high prices, shoppers are optimistic about their financial situations heading into the holidays and are finding ways to feed their families and meet their needs at the grocery store, according to FMI—The Food Industry Association’s new U.S. Grocery Shopper Trends, Holiday Season report.

“While consumers are understandably concerned about their finances amidst continued inflation heading into the holidays, shoppers are proving to be just as resilient when it comes to preparing for their holiday meal celebrations,” said FMI President and CEO...

FMI: FMI: Parents’ Grocery Shopping Habits Reveal Evolving Shopper Behaviors

The most recent survey of grocery shoppers’ spending habits and attitudes by FMI – The Food Industry Association reveals surprising differences between the shopping habits of parents and those of consumers as a whole.

With summer vacation winding down and families returning to their normal routines, FMI’s 2023 U.S. Grocery Shopping Trends 2023 series “Back to School” report found that busy parents are utilizing online grocery shopping more than most consumers to help manage their busy schedules...

The Model Store: How Supply Chain Challenges and Sustainability are Driving Decisions

As the last few years have shown, it’s an ever-evolving operational climate for doing business. Food retailers building new stores or remodeling existing locations are simultaneously dealing with supply chain challenges and the drive toward sustainability.

Just as retailers have had to circumvent delays and shortages in products that they sell to consumers, they faced similar internal circumstances when designing and outfitting their stores. Sourcing materials and resources from both domestic and global suppliers is often tricky, as the pandemic, war in Ukraine, weather events, high...

Benchmarking the Food Industry Supply Chain Ecosystem

The food industry is emerging from post-pandemic supply chain disruptions; however, there is much work needed to restore supply chain equilibrium. There continue to be ongoing disruptions creating demand forecasting challenges and supply chain fulfillment volatility.

2020 was a challenging year for the food industry supply chain, with many disruptions requiring enhanced trading partner collaboration and an industry-wide coordinated response to address high inflation, volatile consumer shopping behaviors, softening demand, labor shortages, the war in Ukraine, extreme weather conditions and challenges associated with product allocations...

Food Retailers & Suppliers Continue to Innovate as Inflation, Workforce, Supply Chain Issues Persist

Food retailers and suppliers, facing formidable challenges with a changing workforce, inflation, The Food Retailing Industry Speaks 2023supply chain hurdles, intense competition and shifting consumer buying habits, are investing in more creative and proactive approaches to future-proof their businesses, according to FMI—The Food Industry Association’s annual comprehensive research analysis The Food Retailing Industry Speaks 2023.

The 74th annual report finds the food industry is prioritizing innovation to increase efficiency and foster redundancies across product supply and assortments; investing in technology for worker recruiting, training... 

FMI Study Finds Grocers Poised to Jumpstart Innovation with Supplier Partners

More than 80% of respondents to a recent FMI survey of industry executives for its report, The Power of Private Brands 2023: Innovation that Drives Winning Private Brands, said they plan to increase private brand investments moderately or significantly in the next two years, which helps set the stage for more innovation opportunities. The analysis suggests, at the same time, only 10% of the executives responding said their organizations are “very far along” with innovation, indicating opportunities for progress, even after considerable successes.  

“After temporary pauses to some...

Grocery Shoppers Expand Perception of Value Beyond Price

The latest survey of grocery shoppers by FMI – The Food Industry Association for its U.S. Grocery Shopping Trends 2023 series, reveals that the meaning of “good value” is becoming more complex as consumers navigate

The analysis revealed several common considerations for how shoppers think about value, both for the food and beverages they buy and the stores and channels they choose to shop, as inflation, while slowly edging downward in April, persists. Emerging dimensions of value regarding quality, relevance, experience and convenience are bucking the long-held definition of value being...