Dive Brief:
- Weis Markets, Kroger banner Fry's Food Stores and Price Chopper are working with Restaurant Technologies to implement its Total Oil Management System, a technology that automates the entire life cycle of fryer oil, to their stores, according to Progressive Grocer.
- Jim English, Restaurant Technologies’ director of national accounts, noted the prepared foods category has increased from $12.5 billion to $28 billion in the last few years. “For this reason, more progressive grocery operators are modernizing the high-risk task of manually managing fryer oil in order to safely and efficiently offer a variety of quality fried foods," he told the publication. "These three brands see the value of having a deli operation that functions as efficiently as any commercial kitchen.”
- The cooking oil management solution is already in approximately 2,350 grocery stores.
Dive Insight:
A growing number of consumers are seeking healthier alternatives to fast food when eating out, which is part of the reason prepared meal sections in grocery stores are expanding so rapidly. According to the NPD Group, grocery prepared foods and in-store dining has jumped nearly 30% since 2008, and resulted in 2.4 billion foodservice visits and $10 billion in consumer spending in 2015.
Analysts say the rise in premium grocery foodservice is not expected to dwindle anytime soon as consumer demand for convenient, on-the-go offerings and top-quality grocery experiences increases. According to an NPD Group study on home food preparation and consumption, both men and women are spending less time in the kitchen. On average, the two genders spend roughly 110 minutes combined cooking each day, compared with about 140 minutes per day in the 1970s and closer to 150 minutes per day in the 1960s.
Expanded food bars call for ramped up safety measures, and it will be interesting to see if more grocers form similar partnerships with restaurant tech companies to ensure they have the best equipment available. There have been some incidents of problems at food bars that have required grocers to reconsider safety and staffing improvements. But even with increased food safety risks, the growth prospects will likely push more stores to include prepared food stations. This could be a prime opportunity for grocers to steal market share back from restaurants.