In the half-decade since the twenty-first century began, the line between food retailing and food service has become increasingly difficult to draw, as both sectors compete fiercely for the growing dollar value of convenience and quality in food that American consumers can enjoy in the comfort and privacy of their own homes. According to a 2004 article in Newsweek, American households took out an average of 118 meals annually from restaurants, up by 64 per cent over 20 years ago. The National Restaurant Association’s 2003 Consumer Survey showed that, in all age groups, a majority of consumers agreed that “having carryout or delivery meals means they have more time to spend on other activities.” A third of respondents said they’d like to use carryout and delivery more often than they do, suggesting that this market will continue to grow as the economy recovers. In 2002, prepared-food sales in grocery stores were up 38% from five years before.

Takeout sales, which have been growing at 6-8 per cent annually, are the brightest spot in restaurant food service, in which dine-in business has been nearly flat for a decade and a half. With lunch hours down to 36 minutes, and meals eaten in the car up to 14 annually, food and food service packaging marketers who can meet the needs of busy, fast-moving consumers stand to cash in on a large market with considerable growth still ahead. Even the cautious projections of the U.S. Department of Agriculture predict another 8.1 per cent growth in the sale of prepared foods by 2020.

It’s with this backdrop that Packaged Facts introduces Packaged Facts Foodservice reports, a new look at trends and developments in the foodservice and retail industries. Our new report, Foodservice and Retail: The Blurring of the Channels, examines the undeniable movement between restaurants, supermarkets, and even convenience stores. Using a rich source of data on prepared food product sales, foodservice trends and consumer behavior (including teens), the report offers a unique look at the status of the foodservice industry today, from the perspective of where people are going when they “go out for dinner.”

Report Methodology
The information in Foodservice and Retail: The Blurring of the Channels is based on both primary and secondary research. Primary research involved on-site examination of the retail milieu, interviews with marketing, public relations and industry analysts within the food market and consultants to the industry. Secondary research entailed data-gathering from relevant trade, business, and government sources, including company literature. New product information is gathered via literature research, personal interviews and data compiled by ProductScan, a service of Datamonitor. Consumer information was derived from Simmons Market Research Bureau, fall 2004 National Consumer Survey.

What You’ll Get in this Report
Foodservice and Retail: The Blurring of the Channels makes important predictions and recommendations regarding the future of this market, and pinpoints ways current and prospective marketers can capitalize on current trends and spearhead new ones. No other market research report provides both the comprehensive analysis and extensive data that Foodservice and Retail: The Blurring of the Channels offers. The report addresses the following segments:

• The Market
• The Marketers (including discussions of specific marketer brand and market shares)
• Competitive Profiles (of the mainstream marketers, specialists and up-and-coming niche players, and analyses of the products they market)
• The Consumer, including a special look at the Teen consumer (who’s buying what, and where)
• Trends and Opportunities

Plus, you’ll benefit from extensive data, presented in easy-to-read and practical charts, tables and graphs.

How You Will Benefit from this Report
If your company is already competing in the foodservice or retail industries, or is considering making the leap, you will find this report invaluable, as it provides a comprehensive package of information and insight not offered in any other single source. You will gain a thorough understanding of the current flux between foodservice and retail channels. Contributing to that understanding will be a detailed discussion of consumer attitudes regarding cooking, eating out and shopping, based on Simmons and other published data.

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