Retailers Gain over Restaurants on Prepared Meals

CHICAGO — Retailers continue to gain ground as consumers buy prepared meals from more places. According to food research firm Technomic, consumers over the past two years have been buying these already-prepared "retailer meal solutions" and buying less at restaurants. Traditional supermarkets, convenience stores and mass merchandisers have been able to grow their share of the food-away-from-home market as they expand their foodservice platforms and build upon consumer desire for convenience, quality and variety of offerings in retail locations.

"Retailers benefit from the fact that consumers are already visiting them for other purchases." says Darren Tristano, EVP of Technomic. "If retailers can offer a foodservice option that rivals that of restaurants in terms of quality, freshness and variety, they can build on the advantage they inherently enjoy when it comes to convenience."

Forty percent of consumers who visit mass merchandisers and convenience stores for prepared meals, do so at least once a week from those locations.

The survey shows that health is more of an important factor when buying these retailer meals than restaurant meals. About two in five consumers say that they usually consider nutrition when purchasing prepared foods, compared to only about a quarter who say they consider nutrition when ordering food at restaurants.

Technomic says its Retailer Meal Solutions Consumer Trend Report surveyed 1,500 consumers online, comparing consumer RMS usage in 25 attributes to limited- and full service restaurants.