Last updated on January 27th, 2017 at 10:53 am
Food retailers know the retail landscape is changing, particularly as the store perimeter plays a bigger role in grocery trips, but do they know how to respond to those changes?
The Food Marketing Institute (FMI) and its Fresh Executive Committee have teamed up with IRI for the second consecutive year to highlight the trends that will have the biggest impact on perimeter sales, including fresh meat, deli, produce, bakery, seafood and prepared foods. These trends will be discussed at the FMI Midwinter Executive Conference, Jan. 27-30 in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Rick Stein, FMI’s VP of fresh foods, and IRI’s Steve Ramsey and Sally Lyons-Wyatt will unveil the latest research in fresh food during a special presentation titled “Top Trends in Fresh.” The session—from 1:30-2:15 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 29—will present the top five fresh food trends that will guide food retail sales in 2017.
Holistic Health: Growth in fresh foods will continue to increase as consumers continue to evolve their holistic health practices to enhance their lifestyles.
Social and Cultural Alignment: Understanding and alignment with key claims, attributes and insights can help increase sales more quickly than competition and improve brand equity.
Atomization of Personalization: There will be continued rise of specialty departments and customized services as well as an explosion of assortment demands driving the need for personalization.
Hyperlocalization: As consumers refine their definition of local, new business models are being created that challenge established ones and are forming a new landscape of competition.
Customization to the New Consumerism: Retailers are experimenting with radical new formats and assortments to meet new consumer needs. Item management is transforming to preparation management.
IRI and FMI will further expand on each trend through a series of free monthly webinars, kicking off in February and extending through June. The first webinar will focus on Holistic Health and will be held Feb. 23, with registration beginning in early February.
*Editor’s note: Read a special column from Rick Stein for The Shelby Report here.
