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PLMA annual trade show to put spotlight on foodservice

Demand for affordable, restaurant-style meals expected to rise as pandemic recedes

Russell Redman

June 11, 2021

4 Min Read
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PLMA said grocery stores have become more competitive with restaurant takeout than ever before, including through private-label prepared foods.Russell Redman

With the COVID-19 pandemic easing and online grocery still booming, the Private Label Manufacturers Association (PLMA) plans to highlight foodservice at its annual Private Label Trade Show.

PLMA announced this week that the 2021 Private Label Trade Show, to be held in-person on Nov. 14 to 16 in Chicago, will feature expanded participation by foodservice suppliers across food, nonfood and beverage categories. Overall, the event is expected to draw more than 2,000 exhibitors and over 5,000 visitors.

Grocery stores have become more competitive with restaurant takeout than ever before, PLMA said, citing a spike in demand for prepackaged, ready-to-eat prepared foods, more convenient snacks and meals to go as many consumers tire of the months of cooking at home during the pandemic. At the same time, the New York-based association noted, a surge of in-app and online ordering for home delivery and curbside pickup have blurred the lines between retail grocery, convenience and restaurant channels.

According to PLMA Vice President Anthony Aloia, all signs are pointing to growth in private-label foodservice as more Americans get vaccinated and the incidence of COVID-19 recedes.

“Consumers have become more accustomed to finding freshly made, restaurant-style meals in supermarkets — whether prepared by in-store bakery, deli and meat departments, or brought in from a ghost kitchen or commissary — which are sold at extremely reasonable prices under the retailer’s own brands,” Aloia explained.

Related:Grocers turn to e-commerce to boost prepared foods

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Private brands can capitalize on a spike in demand for prepackaged, grab-and-go foods, according to PLMA.

 

Representatives from some the nation’s largest foodservice and restaurant suppliers — such as Sysco, US Foods, Aramark and McLane, among other — will on the show floor at this year’s event along with buyers from major grocery retail chains, PLMA said. These foodservice distributors and wholesalers offer highly developed brand programs, ranging from value labels in food, nonfood and takeout packaging to proprietary labels in such categories as coffee blends, farm-raised meat and produce, craft cheese, artisan bakery, sustainably sourced seafood and ethnic fare, including Italian, Latin and Asian specialty foods, the association said.

Last year, the top 20 private-brand categories by dollar volume included frozen prepared foods at $2.3 billion (with an 11.1% market share), deli prepared foods at $2.2 billion (with a 38.7% share) and grocery prepared foods at $2 billion (with a 12% share), according to the 2021 PLMA Yearbook. By unit volume, grocery prepared foods (1.3 billion, with a 13.1% share) and frozen prepared foods (763.7 million, with a 12.9% share) were among the top 20 private-label categories.

Related:Thrive Market serves up frozen meals with Beyond Meat

Many “best in class” retail chains already have expanded their convenience-focused food offerings for prepared, kitchen and table-ready meals, either packaged for online pickup or delivery or for grab-and-go from stores, according to PLMA. Retailers simultaneously have rolled out new mobile purchasing, shop-from-home and last-mile delivery options to make it easier for customers to get prepared foods. In addition, grocery retailers have latched onto restaurant food trends, including farm-fresh and locally sourced ingredients, better-for-you fare (natural, organic and minimally processed foods), more options for special diets (plant-based, vegetarian and vegan) and international cuisine.

After climbing to over 50% of total U.S. food spending in recent years, foodservice market share plunged to a low of 30% in April 2020 while retail food spending soared to a 70% share, according to the FMI-The Food Industry Association’s U.S. Grocery Shopper Trends 2021 study. Through March 2021, that has shrunk to a 12% gap in favor of food retail, with restaurants’ monthly revenue still 17% below earlier levels, FMI reported.

“As the pendulum swings back towards normalcy in months ahead, restaurants — whether fast food, takeout fast-casual or fine dining — are sure to feel pressured to engage the challenge posed by all this expansion of foodservice at retail. Expect them to fight to woo their customers back,” PLMA stated. “Ordering convenience and delivery will be among the battle lines for fast food and takeout. Less crowding, touchless payments and visible sanitation will no doubt continue to matter for in-dining experiences. But coinciding with the additional expense for such improvements and a possible rise in labor costs, we can also expect to see more aggressive promotions and lower prices. Taken together, these likelihoods are sure to make all manner of private-label products from foodservice suppliers increasingly attractive to restauranteurs from a margin perspective.”

About the Author

Russell Redman

Senior Editor
Supermarket News

Russell Redman has served as senior editor at Supermarket News since April 2018, his second tour with the publication. In his current role, he handles daily news coverage for the SN website and contributes news and features for the print magazine, as well as participates in special projects, podcasts and webinars and attends industry events. Russ joined SN from Racher Press Inc.’s Chain Drug Review and Mass Market Retailers magazines, where he served as desk/online editor for more than nine years, covering the food/drug/mass retail sector. 

Russell Redman’s more than 30 years of experience in journalism span a range of editorial manager, editor, reporter/writer and digital roles at a variety of publications and websites covering a breadth of industries, including retailing, pharmacy/health care, IT, digital home, financial technology, financial services, real estate/commercial property, pro audio/video and film. He started his career in 1989 as a local news reporter and editor, covering community news and politics in Long Island, N.Y. His background also includes an earlier stint at Supermarket News as center store editor and then financial editor in the mid-1990s. Russ holds a B.A. in journalism (minor in political science) from Hofstra University, where he also earned a certificate in digital/social media marketing in November 2016.

Russell Redman’s experience:

Supermarket News - Informa
Senior Editor 
April 2018 - present

Chain Drug Review/Mass Market Retailers - Racher Press
Desk/Online Editor 
Sept. 2008 - March 2018

CRN magazine - CMP Media
Managing Editor
May 2000 - June 2007

Bank Systems & Technology - Miller Freeman
Executive Editor/Managing Editor
Dec. 1996 - May 2000

Supermarket News - Fairchild Publications
Financial Editor/Associate Editor
April 1995 - Dec. 1996 

Shopping Centers Today Magazine - ICSC 
Desk Editor/Assistant Editor
Dec. 1992 - April 1995

Testa Communications
Assistant Editor/Contributing Editor (Music & Sound Retailer, Post, Producer, Sound & Communications and DJ Times magazines)
Jan. 1991 - Dec. 1992 

American Banker/Bond Buyer
Copy Editor
Oct. 1990 - Jan. 1991 

This Week newspaper - Chanry Communications
Reporter/Editor
May 1989 - July 1990

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