Foodservice outlets account for 40% of all food sales
Since 1985, a lot has changed in the food industry, when about 60% of food sales took place in the grocery aisle, and only about 40% of sales occurred in foodservice outlets. Today, the foodservice share of spending now accounts for more than half of all food sales, surpassing grocery retail by 1.2 percentage points. The 2nd Edition of The Why? Behind The Dine™ — published by Acosta, a full-service sales and marketing agency in the consumer packaged goods industry, and Technomic Inc., a fact-based research and consulting firm in the food industry — provides an update on diners’ path to the plate as the overall food industry has grown to an estimated $1.4 trillion in sales, driven by the emergence of new food and meal solutions.
“There have been a variety of factors affecting the food landscape over the past 30 years,” said Colin Stewart, Senior Vice President at Acosta. “Consumers’ desire for more convenient options in today’s fast-paced world is driving new technologies like mobile apps that can be used to track nutrition, find restaurant and retailer promotions and offers, or order foodservice and groceries for home delivery. Coupled with the local ingredient food movement gaining momentum, foodservice operators must continue to adapt within the evolving food consumption space by embracing digital and mobile tools, and being transparent about ingredients.”
“Our first edition of The Why? Behind The Dine showed the complex meal decisions consumers make each day, and our new research indicates that those options have become even more varied as new food and meal solutions gain traction,” said Bob Goldin, Vice Chairman of Technomic. “It’s also clear that what diners are eating, and where it’s from, matters.”
Convenience is Key
Convenience is driving how diners purchase and consume their meals. Younger diners, those with children at home and diners with a household income of $45,000 or more utilize many of the convenient meal solutions more frequently.
Over the past three months, the top five methods of food consumption were:
• Eating a meal at home (95%)
• Eating a restaurant meal (85%)
• Getting carry-out (63%)
• Using a drive-through (63%)
• Eating grocery-prepared foods (57%)
Over the past three months, diners’ method of food and beverage consumption varied by demographic:
• Sixty-four% of Millennial diners (18-34 years) have consumed grocery-prepared food, versus 51% of Boomer diners (51-69 years).
• Fifty-three% of Gen X diners (35-50 years) have ordered restaurant delivery food, versus 23% of Boomer diners (51-69 years).
• Twenty% of diners with kids have ordered an online meal/ingredient kit, versus two% of diners without kids.