At Your Convenience: Providing Quick, Delicious and Inspiring Meals for your Shoppers
As more Americans are overstretched with time commitments, convenience has greater impact on food-buying decisions. According to the International Food Information Council Foundation’s 2016 Food and Health Survey, consumers rate convenience after taste, price and healthfulness as the biggest drivers of food purchasing decisions.
Several trends are currently adding value for the store that also offer meal planning solutions and convenience for your shoppers. As a retail dietitian, you have the opportunity to make things easier, while building customer loyalty. Here are some ideas:
- Introduce Value-Added Poultry
The Power of Meat report released in 2017 from the Food Marketing Institute and The Foundation for Meat and Poultry Research Education, states that value-added meat and poultry saw robust volume increases. Furthermore, consumers are also expressing increased interest in broadening their meat choices when eating out. Technomic’s 2017 Center of the Plate: Poultry Consumer Trend Report adds to the increasing case for turkey among foodservice operators and suppliers. It reports that:
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- 38% of consumers would like restaurants to offer turkey as a protein choice for a wider variety of entrées (e.g., entrée salads, soups, stir-fries, etc.)
- 39% of consumers are more likely now than two years ago to consider ordering turkey outside of the holiday season
You can work with your meat department to carry a variety of cuts and value-added product, packaged individually and sized right for everyday meals. Some cuts, such as turkey tenderloin, turkey cutlets and turkey thighs can be made available pre-marinated and ready to roast or grill, depending on your customers' preferences.
- Offer In-Store Meal Kits
One in four adults bought a meal kit in 2016, and 70 percent of purchasers are still buying them, according to a new Harris Poll. Citing convenience and health as the main catalysts, more than 33 percent said they would buy meal kits if they were available at their local grocery stores. Retail locations throughout the country are starting to offer kits, and according to Nielsen Insights, meal kits in U.S. grocery stores generated $80.6 million in sales, up 6.7% over the previous year. As a retail dietitian, you have valuable insights to make this new revenue stream a sought after option that features healthy tasty meals the entire family will enjoy, such as these Turkey Tuscan Cutlets.
- Get Them Grilling
Families love to grill as a quick way to prepare healthy, delicious meals. As you plan your outreach and education programs for the coming months, look beyond the standard burgers and franks to explore turkey as an alternative protein. In fact, June is National Turkey Lovers' Month® - a perfect reason to talk turkey with shoppers. Take this opportunity to expand their turkey horizons with unique turkey burger recipes as well as turkey wings, breasts, kabobs, cutlets, and tenderloins which are all tasty on the grill. For tips on successful grilling, here’s our consumer friendly handout to share with your shoppers.
Visit us at @ServeTurkey on Twitter, Serve Turkey on Facebook, and at ServeTurkey.org to discover convenient meal solutions, unexpected recipes, nutrition facts and more.
