
During a period of record inflation, grocers large and small have adapted to industry challenges with creative innovations to meet shifting shopper behaviors. According to The Food Retailing Industry Speaks report from FMI – The Food Industry Association, despite the fact that 70% of retailers reported earlier this year that supply chain disruptions negatively affected their business, 73% of them adapted by adopting new technologies and methods such as foodservice and delivery, mobile checkout and grocery pickup.
Retailers also expanded their fresh or perimeter departments with more than 80% increasing space for fresh-prepared grab-and-go products and 70% increasing foods that focused on health and well-being, FMI found, specifically expanding locally sourced and organic produce, plant-based foods and animal protein alternatives and allergen-free selections.
“A major trend that has emerged from the pandemic is shoppers are looking for fresher, healthier, more convenient options at their grocery store,” said FMI President and CEO Leslie Sarasin. “Food retailers have absorbed this feedback and are making great strides to create both online and in-person shopping destinations that cater to shoppers’ evolving tastes.”
Private-label steps into the spotlight
With shoppers increasingly looking to get the most for their grocery dollars, food retailers have seized an opportunity to showcase their private-label brands, and 71% of them said they would work with suppliers on pricing and product availability. Sixty-four percent planned to launch new products and 58% said they would improve the packaging of their own brand products, according to FMI’s 2022 Power of Private Brands Report.