Supermarket Perimeter - April 2022 - 6

the
WIRE
Power of Meat
'22: Retail sales
keep rising
FMI and the Meat
Institute's 17th
annual Power of
Meat report, released
March 8, reveals that
nearly all American
households (98.5%)
purchase meat, a trend
supported by an increase
in volume sales (up 3.9%
for all meat compared to
pre-pandemic levels).
This increase is due, in
part, to several grocery
shopper trends resulting
from the COVID-19
pandemic, including
increased home cooking,
record-high online
shopping, and a shift to
digital sources for recipe
inspiration.
Seventy-four percent
of Americans describe
themselves as meat
eaters. Meat department
visits declined slightly
less this year (50.4 visits
per shopper per year),
but shoppers spent
a little more during
each trip. In response
to higher prices and
inflation pressures,
shoppers are eating out
and ordering in from
foodservice less often,
while trying to recreate
restaurant experiences
at home instead, and
have adjusted retail meat
purchase habits.
Volume remains
significantly above prepandemic
levels for fresh
(up 3.7% since 2019) and
prepared meats (up 4.3%
since 2019). Fresh beef
volume increased nearly
5% since 2019, bacon
7%, and fresh lamb sales
increased nearly 20%.
More meat consumers
shopped online than
ever (61%, up from just
39% in 2019), and nearly
half of meat shoppers
(46%) today shop online
regularly.
Americans are eating
80% of meals at home
(down from 88% at
the pandemic peak in
April 2020), and 57%
prepare four to seven
dinners per week with
meat. More than half
of meat shoppers (51%)
say websites, apps, and
social media are their
top resources for meat
preparation advice.
Latest BJ's store a
lab for new concepts
Westborough, Mass.based
club store chain
BJ's Wholesale Club's
latest store concept is an
" innovation lab " devoted
to testing new retail
grocery concepts.
Set to open this year in
Warwick, R.I., the store,
which will be named
BJ's Market, will allow
for testing out new
assortments, displays,
product demonstrations
and convenience
initiatives, according to
the company.
The concept store
is one of four BJ's will
open this year. The
others are in Lady Lake,
Fla.; Canton, Mich.; and
Greenburgh, N.Y.
" We continue to
accelerate our expansion
and we're excited
6 - APRIL 2022
supermarketperimeter.com
to open these new
locations, " said Bill
Werner, executive vice
president, strategy and
development for BJ's.
" We're always looking for
ways to bring the value
and convenience of a
BJ's membership to more
shoppers, and extending
our reach is a major way
of achieving that. "
Kroger partners
with Impossible
Foods on private
label products
The Kroger Co., plantbased
food product
developer Impossible
Foods and Custom
Made Meals LLC, a
manufacturer of fresh
entrees and appetizers
for retail, are partnering
to develop plant-based
products for Kroger's
Home Chef business.
" We are incredibly
proud of our Home Chef
brand, which became
a $1 billion brand in
2021, " said Stuart Aitken,
chief merchandising
and marketing officer
for Kroger, during the
retailer's investor day
on May 4. " And we'll
continue to expand
this brand across our
family of companies.
Our assortment is
connecting with the
customer through readyto-eat
meals, rotating
seasonal programs, new
appetizers as well as our
first plant-based protein,
in partnership with
Custom Made Meals and
Impossible (Foods). "
Aitken did not
elaborate on what types
of products may be in
development.
In a note to clients
published March 4,
Robert Moskow, food
and food retail analyst at
Credit Suisse, New York,
said the line may feature
co-branded plant-based
meat products.
" We view this test as
a threat to Beyond Meat,
because it demonstrates
the willingness of a big
competitor to 'margin
down' into co-branded
private label products in
order to maximize the
reach of its products. "
EUGENE CHERNETCOV - STOCK.ADOBE.COM, KROGER
Supermarket Perimeter - April 2022

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