February 10/Chicago/Food & Beverage Close-Up -- Consumers taking part in a recent survey conducted by Technomic say they are sourcing prepared meals from a wider range of retail foodservice operations than they were two years ago, many times at the expense of restaurants.

The company said traditional supermarkets, convenience stores and mass merchandisers have been able to grow their share of the food-away-from-home market as they expand their foodservice platforms and build upon consumer desire for convenience, quality and variety of offerings in retail locations.

"Retailers benefit from the fact that consumers are already visiting them for other purchases." says Darren Tristano, executive vice president of Technomic. "If retailers can offer a foodservice option that rivals that of restaurants in terms of quality, freshness and variety, they can build on the advantage they inherently enjoy when it comes to convenience."

Technomic noted its new "Retailer Meal Solutions Consumer Trend Report" was designed to help restaurant operators, manufacturers and retailers stay on top of evolving consumer attitudes and preferences with regard to retailer meal solutions.

From the February 14, 2011, Prepared Foods' Daily News
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