Fresh Foods

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

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

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?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 ...