ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Home meal replacement has been a industry buzz phrase for several years now, but as shoppers headed out to make their last sweep before Thanksgiving last week, grocery stores showed just how well positioned they are to capitalize on the trend of consumers wanting to spend less time in the kitchen, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.
Supermarkets are showcasing more upscale prepared meals this holiday season -- not just precooked turkeys, but also prime rib and fancy sides such as poached-pear salad and maple pumpkin [image-nocss] mousse -- as part of broad store overhauls that give ready-to-eat food more room and a brighter spotlight.
For at least a decade, grocers have been expanding their array of rotisserie chickens, single-serve lasagna slices and other prepared food for time-pressed shoppers. But the efforts have accelerated so much that major grocers such as Safeway Inc. and the Associated Food Stores cooperative are tearing up their layouts and redesigning stores so they have more space for fresh foods. Some are even squeezing canned goods and cooking staples onto fewer shelves in the middle of the store.
Wegmans Food Markets Inc., a 69-store chain based in Rochester, N.Y., has expanded its prepared-foods menu this year to include a complete prime-rib dinner and side dishes that feature shallots and butternut squash. The grocery chain says it expects prepared-dinner sales to triple this year from 2001. Whole Foods Market Inc. this Thanksgiving supplemented traditional turkey with a raw, vegetarian Thanksgiving meal that included nut-based meat substitutes and a kale salad.
Safeway is selling a new rotisserie turkey this holiday season, as well as "single-serve" pumpkin and apple pies aimed at reaching smaller households. Having struggled in recent years to increase its sales and profits, Safeway has staked its turnaround on so-called lifestyle stores with higher-end delis and fancier produce, according to the WSJ report.
Like so much in retailing, the trend is being driven by a familiar name: Wal-Mart. The redesign is meant in part to differentiate traditional grocers from discount competitors that have taken a huge chunk of the grocery-shopping business.
At the same time, supermarkets are trying to adapt to a fundamental shift in eating behavior: Families are cooking less and relying on prepared foods more, causing groceries to lose business in their center aisles, home to canned tomatoes, flour and other cooking staples. The volume of "dry" grocery items sold at supermarkets, drug stores and mass merchandisers excluding Wal-Mart fell 8.3% from 2001 to 2005, according to ACNielsen. Meanwhile, sales of deli items rose 22.1%. Fresh foods typically offer a wider profit margin than packaged goods.
In response, some grocers are actually reducing the number of center aisles. Associated Food Stores in Salt Lake City, which helps manage 400 independent grocers in seven mountain states and owns 23 of its own stores, is pulling one or two center aisles out of new store layouts and reallocating that space for fresh produce, meat and, eventually, prepared meals.
"We couldn't differentiate as easily in the center store as we could with fresh foods," David Rice, director of the center store business units for Associated Food Stores, told WSJ. For the first time, the grocery cooperative put together a page this year highlighting its prepackaged Thanksgiving meals and holiday party trays that it added to the advertising circular.
And for those who are still too tired to cook the morning after Thanksgiving, Whole Foods also had a four-person breakfast of French toast and frittatas on its holiday menu. "Most people are working Wednesday before Thanksgiving," said Jamie Powell, food director for Whole Foods' flagship store in Austin, where the company is headquartered. "They're still looking for a great meal ... they just don't have the time."
While prepared foods generally cost more than cooking yourself, the holiday offerings come in a range of prices. The costs vary from $23.99 at Schnuck Markets Inc. for a meal that serves 8 to 10 to $145.99 at some Whole Foods stores for a meal that serves six to eight.
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