Fresh Foods

Our Voice of The Food Industry blog offers commentary from FMI subject matter experts on timely and important topics to the food industry.

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  • Grocery Revolution or Evolution

    Mar 3, 2016
    With more shoppers than households, grocery stores are finding ways to set themselves apart in order to grow their business. Differentiation is becoming the new competitive edge. We see this unfolding in FMI’s two annual signature research studies, ...

  • Grocery Stores Catering to a Food Truck Mentality

    Mar 2, 2016
    In the recent research by FMI/IRI on top trends in fresh, supermarkets are expanding their “Specialty Food Service” by installing sushi stations, charcuteries, juice bars, gourmet chocolate stations, Asian, Mexican, and many other specialty food ...

  • 9 Meat Department Shopping Trends in 2016

    Feb 24, 2016
    The meat department is one of the most important categories for many food retailers. A good meat department can help a store differentiate itself from the competition, and can be a significant driver of sales and foot traffic. The 2016 Power of Meat ...

  • Helping Consumer Empowerment Become Food Retailer Empowerment

    Feb 17, 2016
    Consumers have always mentally weighed and emotionally entertained multiple factors when making their decisions about the food products they are considering. For years, those variables could easily be summarized in the easy formula of three words; ...

  • Top Trend in Fresh Foods: Transparency

    Feb 9, 2016
    More than ever before, consumers want to know where there food is from, what is in their food and even how their food will impact their lifestyles over time. The pressure to convey this information is especially relevant to supermarkets’ fresh ...

  • 10 Findings on Fresh Prepared Foods in Grocery Stores

    Feb 5, 2016
    New research from FMI and Technomic, The Sophistication of Supermarket Fresh Prepared Foods, finds that as supermarkets become increasingly skilled in food service, this decision for shoppers becomes more complex. The study details the ...

  • 2015 Year in Review: Top Stories in Sustainability and Fresh Foods

    Dec 29, 2015
    From hot topics like food waste to research insights into consumer shopping behavior pertaining to fresh foods, FMI’s sustainability- and fresh-food-related blogs offered actionable insights to help grocers improve and strengthen business operations ...

  • New Recordkeeping Requirements for Retailers that Grind Raw Beef Products

    Dec 15, 2015
    On Monday, December 14, 2015, the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) released a final rule amending its recordkeeping regulations for all official establishments and retail stores that grind ...

  • Playing Supermarket Myth Whack-A-Mole

    Oct 30, 2015
    The rationale behind the myth busting web page is to provide our members with resources to confront the misperception being perpetuated every time they hear or see it, so we don’t have to play whack-a-mole on an ongoing basis. If we challenge the ...

  • Myth or Treat: Correcting Food Retail Misconceptions

    Oct 14, 2015
    The food retail industry is accessible and customer-service-based, which are positive attributes that sometimes make a supermarket a susceptible target for unsolicited criticism. FMI remains your spokesperson on the public relations challenges that ...

  • It’s A Bird! No A Plane! No An Apple?!

    Aug 3, 2015
    According to the recent Power of Produce research, I’m not alone in this careful selection of produce behavior. The report finds that in the produce purchasing decision, appearance and ripeness are more important than price for shoppers. I can ...

  • Top 5 Stories from FMI So Far This Year

    Jul 27, 2015
    With full inboxes and busy schedules, sometimes we miss things. That’s why it’s good to recap every now and then. With that in mind, here are the top five blog posts from FMI so far in ...

  • How Food Retailers Help Maintain the Produce Cold Chain

    Jul 21, 2015
    FMI had the opportunity to participate in a symposium at IFT 15 titled “Cold Chain for Produce Safety: The Status Quo and Technologies to Minimize Food Safety Risk.” For retailers, the produce department is a key differentiator along with other ...

  • How Do Customers Shop for Produce?

    Jul 1, 2015
    Have you ever had a bird’s-eye view of how people shop the produce aisle? Do they stick to their shopping list, purchase unplanned items, compare prices? What brings them into the store and helps them make a decision on produce once they are in the ...

  • In Their Own Words: Supermarket Chef Showdown Winners

    Jun 19, 2015
    Out of 295 recipes, 15 finalists where chosen to compete at FMI Connect, five went home winners and one is the reigning Grand Champion headed to Calabria, Italy for an all expense-paid culinary immersion program for two at the Italian Culinary ...