Supermarket Perimeter - May 2022 - 16

Lure shoppers back
to the deli -and keep
them coming back -
with innovative, eyecatching
displays.
all the way up to larger family size packaging.
In the early stages of the pandemic, retailers
To compensate, many retailers started looking for
took action to limit consumer touchpoints and
congestion instore, said Andrew Moberly, director
of category solutions for Stamford, Conn.-based
consultancy Daymon.
Self-service hot bars, salad bars, and some service
counters were shut down in favor of pre-packaged
products.
Many of these changes were short-term, though,
and instore delis have returned in a big way with some
lasting changes for the better, including a robust digital
presence, more grab-and-go options, and a strategic
shift to compete like traditional foodservice.
" In the future, we will see more retailers adopt a hybrid
approach where pre-pandemic instore deli operations
like service counters and self-service will play a limited
but essential role in collaboration with pandemicstimulated
changes like grab-and-go and traditional
foodservice with an e-commerce emphasis, " Moberly
said. " We see some retailers already adopting this hybrid
approach and seeing success. "
Adjustments and innovations
The pandemic also had a huge impact on the labor
pool for instore deli. Deli is often an entry point for new
grocery store employees, Stein said. And with entrylevel
positions hit disproportionately hard, retailers
found themselves scrambling to find enough workers to
staff delis.
16 - MAY 2022
Dollar sales in
the instore deli
were up 11%
from 2020 -
even outpacing
2019 levels
by more
than 13%.
IDDBA Covid-19 Impact Report, December
55%
of consumers
want more
hybrid meal
options
FMI
supermarketperimeter.com
partners to help them meet their instore deli needs.
Collaborations with US Foods and other foodservice
leaders for central-kitchen production to supplement
what retailers could do in-house became one option,
Stein said.
Fortunately, with vaccinations going up, restrictions
loosing and attitudes changing, 2021 saw a big jump in
instore deli performance compared to 2020. It's still not
up to 2019 levels, though.
" Some of those changes were permanent, " Stein said.
" What we saw at the end of 2020 and the beginning of
2021 was tremendous movement to grab and go, already
or partially prepared, and we saw equipment reallocated
to accommodate that. "
Salad bars were reengineered to hold pre-made
packaged salads. While not as easy as salad bars,
hot bars have also been pressed into duty to hold
packaged items.
" Our members are reluctant to throw away expensive
equipment, " Stein said.
Fortunately, many homebound consumers during
COVID realized that they were more than happy to
buy prepackaged instore deli foods to help relieve their
increased workloads in their home kitchens. Those
items began to play a central role in what Stein called
" hybrid meals. "
" People had to cook at home, and they were looking
for a side dish or a salad to go with it. Things like
microwaveable mashed potatoes began to be really
DOVER FOOD RETAIL, IDDBA
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Supermarket Perimeter - May 2022

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