Supermarket News has released the 2021 Fresh Food Trends Report based on surveys of 116 retailers on their expectations for 2021 and beyond.  Highlights included:-

• Sales in perimeter categories increased from March 2020 to mid-April 2021 by 81 percent. Half of the respondents expect perimeter sales to increase.

• A majority of retailers (60 percent) plan to change perimeter assortment during the next twelve months
• Almost half of the respondents recognize the competition represented by big-box stores with regard to fresh food sales
• A third of the respondents stressed difficulty in recruiting, training and retaining qualified workers in fresh-food departments
• Quality and freshness are regarded as important attributes of fresh foods according to 60 percent of retailers
• During the review period 52 percent of respondents indicated that margins in the dairy department including eggs, increased although 40 percent responded that margins had stayed steady. This response is consistent with the differential between wholesale and shelf prices of eggs that have contributed to higher store margins to the detriment of sales volume. 
• Respondents considered that price was an important consideration in the competitive advantage represented by big-box stores including Walmart and Target over conventional groceries (50 percent of respondents).  Convenience and selection were considered important by 30 percent and 38 percent respectively as competitive advantages offsetting price. 

• Continued home cooking will represent the major competition for prepared food sales by supermarkets according to 43 percent of the respondents. Fast casual restaurants (21 percent of respondents) and quick service restaurants (11 percent) will be less impactful.

• Going forward, conventional supermarkets will offer grab-and-go as the most important strategy to compete with home cooking for sales of prepared food. Promotions and specials in addition to home delivery combined with online ordering will be appropriate strategies to maintain sales of prepared foods.

Contrary to recent opinions expressed in industry media, internationally inspired recipes (12 percent); plant-based meat alternatives (18 percent) and clean labels (24 percent) were far less important than convenience as represented by grab-and-go and home delivery.  Of the respondents, 87 percent offered grab-and-go and 78 percent operated in-store deli counters. Approximately two thirds of respondents offered either curbside pickup with online ordering or online ordering with delivery.