Research

Holiday Meal Planning Made Easy

Amidst the holiday hustle and bustle, foodservice at retail can serve as a critical value-add for shoppers with long to-do lists and a desire to spend less time in the kitchen and more time with their loved ...

A Holiday Game Plan

In July, I started asking my daughter what she wanted for Christmas. I must not be alone in this because stores are moving up Black Friday, offering deals earlier and my neighbor took down their Halloween decorations and replaced them with holiday ...

Thanksgiving, the Consummate Family Meal and Beyond

Thanksgiving is the consummate family meal. It bears all the nutritional, emotional, mental, and social merits that are accrued when we gather at table sharing a common need of physiological substance, and surprisingly discover that our minds and ...

A New Opportunity to Put Retail Foodservice on Consumers’ Radar

There is good news on the retail foodservice front, along with a new opportunity to overcome a longtime growth hurdle. First the good news. Foodservice/prepared foods, hit hard during the pandemic, has solidly rebounded in dollars and units and is ...

Illustrating the Evolving Grocery Experience

We used to debate whether our industry was going through an evolution or a revolution. Depending on your viewpoint regarding the pace of change and the catalysts for it, there has been one constant: Our industry continues to invest heavily in ...

Halloween is Back, Witches

Yes, you guess right. I’ve been watching a lot of Hocus Pocus lately—movie one and two. But I’m not alone! The second movie in the series has been a big hit and in more ways that one. It turns out, Halloween is back in a big way this ...

How Retailers Can Help Grocery Shoppers Navigate This Holiday Season

Our recent U.S. Grocery Shopper Trends: Holiday Season report finds when it comes to holiday plans, many shoppers are concerned about the price of holiday meals (45%) more than travel or gifts. Still, most shoppers feel they are in control of their ...

Where Do Shoppers Look for Plant-based Foods and Beverages In-Store?

A few years ago, several meat alternative companies made headlines with one small change—placing their products alongside traditional meat counterparts in the meat section. A debate ensued that continues today—where should plant-based foods and ...

Navigating an Extreme Obstacle Course

As I look at the results of The Food Retailing Industry Speaks 2022 report, I see many of my professional role models throughout the food industry navigating a different type of obstacle course than my childhood idols. The food industry has had to ...

The Power of Health and Well-being: New Perspectives and Progress

This year’s The Power of Health and Well-being in the Food Industry report is released during a compelling time to be involved in issues around hunger, nutrition and health, as organizations across the country are banding together to work on ...

Why Shoppers Try Plant-based Foods and Beverages

In the Power of Plant-based Foods and Beverages 2022 report, we offer a broad, comprehensive review of the plant-based topic, exploring the landscape of naturally plant-based foods such as fruits, vegetables, beans and whole grains, along with ...

Keeping Fresh in Focus While Navigating an Obstacle Course

As part of this year’s Speaks survey, FMI took a deep dive into what is happening in the fresh perimeter departments, and there was so much to report, that we created a separate deep dive into The State of Fresh Foods. Here are a few of the key ...

The Resilient U.S. Grocery Shopper

The dictionary defines resilient as, “the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness.” Certainly, shoppers have embodied this definition by protecting their own personal health and even navigating the business and operational ...

Who is The Animal-Alternative Product Shopper?

In the inaugural Power of Plant-based Foods and Beverages 2022 report, which is FMI’s first-ever comprehensive review of the plant-based topic broadly, we looked at naturally plant-based foods such as fruits, vegetables, beans and whole grains and ...

Why Do Some Shoppers Order Online, But Still Go In-Store?

You’ve probably seen them—the grocery shoppers who order online, come to the store for curb-side pickup, then lock their car doors and go into the store to pick up something in addition to their online order. This particular online and in-store ...