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.
  • Health and Well-being in the Meat Department – Seize the Opportunity!

    Mar 31, 2021
    Over the past year, consumers have flocked to the meat department like never before. Retailers and product suppliers have a prime opportunity to ensure consumers are satisfied with their product selections and choices. Research indicates that while ...
  • Next Steps for Enhancing Meat Industry Strategies

    Mar 30, 2021
    Fast forward to today, a year after lockdowns began, and the picture is brighter. The meat industry has worked hard to address its challenges — and has succeeded in getting past the worst of ...
  • What’s the Verdict on Plant-Based Fish Alternatives?

    Mar 23, 2021
    Our 2021 Power of Seafood report finds the biggest reason behind an increase in grocery seafood sales is consumers are trying to eat healthier (59%). In fact, 72% of frequent seafood consumers are putting more effort into making healthy and ...
  • Three Features of the 2021 Annual Meat Conference

    Mar 4, 2021
    FMI and the North American Meat Institute took inspiration from the retail meat industry, rolled up our sleeves and innovatively redesigned the 2021 Annual Meat Conference (AMC), happening virtually March 22-25, 2021. We think you’ll find that one ...
  • Get To Know the Sustainable Seafood Shopper

    Mar 2, 2021
    Today’s shoppers have stocked pantries, full freezers and overused cookbooks due to the changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. In a time where grocery shopping habits have changed for so many, one would expect seafood sustainability to drop ...
  • Differentiating in Fresh Through Better Forecasting

    Feb 19, 2021
    As a result, retailers need to increasingly focus on how to succeed with fresh across their omnichannel enterprises. They have to make sure fresh remains a differentiator regardless of the selling channel — from in-store to ...
  • Speaking from the Heart on Valentine’s Day

    Feb 12, 2021
    I am seizing this opportunity to issue this blog as my heartfelt Valentine’s Day card to the food industry, the community I have always admired and respected, but have come to appreciate and dare I say, love, in some new and more profound ways over ...
  • State of Change in the Meat Industry: What You Need to Know

    Feb 10, 2021
    Even though the average consumer may not think much about how it gets there, a lot of work, thought and resources go into each product in the retail meat case. And behind every piece of protein there are many people who make it happen, from the farm,...
  • Embracing New Retail Foodservice Opportunities

    Jan 21, 2021
    Retailers have stepped up throughout the pandemic to help consumers become more creative with meals ­– and now they have new opportunities to serve needs in the coming ...
  • Fresh Foods Well Positioned in Changing Landscape

    Jan 19, 2021
    This year began with the hope that society will gradually return to pre-pandemic normality — but some things will not revert back. One of the trends likely to stick is increased consumer interest in home-based meals — especially those incorporating ...
  • Celebrating Supermarket Employee Day

    Jan 14, 2021
    On February 22, 2021, I will be celebrating the hard-working heroes of the supermarket by joining with the industry to proclaim it Supermarket Employee Day. The supermarket has long been acknowledged as the backbone of our communities, but its role ...
  • The Power of the Annual Meat Conference

    Jan 12, 2021
    For 15 years, the Power of Meat report has been a highly anticipated part of the Annual Meat Conference. For everyone, 2020 was quite a year and for the meat department that was particularly true. As a result, FMI and NAMI decided to break our ...
  • Don’t Overlook Foodservice-at-Retail in the Path Forward

    Dec 15, 2020
    Already a hybrid of restaurants and retail, grocery foodservice programs straddle concurrent shopper interest in convenient, high quality, good-tasting, nutritious and safe meals, snacks and drinks. Consumers may not be able to share a utensil at ...
  • Fresh Foods Consumers Relay New Pandemic-Driven Perspectives

    Dec 11, 2020
    The COVID-19 pandemic has been a giant learning experience about many things — and one of these is how consumer perspectives are ...
  • 2020: The Year of the Food Industry

    Dec 3, 2020
    From the cashiers and stockers to the store managers and executives, the drivers and food processors and pharmacist and nutritionists, to the data analysts, delivery experts and farmers, our industry is filled with true Food Industry Heroes who have ...