Making Grab-and-Go Delicious and Convenient

Offer snacks, sides, and full meals in the grab-and-go area.

CHAPTER 1

Making Grab-and-Go Delicious and Convenient

MEET CUSTOMER NEEDS WITH GRAB-AND-GO

Consumers will always want delicious food. But over the last few years, they’ve increasingly started demanding convenient food. Many have decided that they no longer want to waste time cooking, and with so many new ways to obtain food, from delivery to grab-and-go, they don’t have to. Circana reports that total dollar sales for deli prepared foods and meals topped $24.5 billion in the year ending July 2023, which is a 6.7% increase year-over-year.

More than half of the operators who have added grab-and-go or prepared food stations are enjoying increased sales.

Some consumers are shopping the grab-and-go section for handheld snacks to hold them over between meals (wraps, soup, cheese, etc), while others are looking for sides to complement a meal later in the day (deli salads and cheese plates). Some want a more substantial protein source to build a meal around (frozen casseroles, fried chicken, sushi, etc), and still others simply want a salad to accompany dinner. Building diversity into your offerings, where possible, will help meet customer needs, including any dietary restrictions and portion size preferences.

Depending on the type of food, size, and format a customer is seeking, they can visit a limited-service fast-casual restaurant, micro market, grocery deli, or any number of venues to find the grab-and-go items they want. And today, some of these operators have expanded to feature refrigerated and/or frozen items as well as the option of delivery, pickup, and drive-through windows. The more convenient for the customer, the better.

What is a Micro Market?
Micro markets let consumers shop for grab-and-go food and beverages from an unattended retail area using a cashless checkout system.

The point of convenience is to be fast, so technology is playing a growing role in grab-and-go services. Savvy operators are installing cashless payment systems that allow patrons the freedom to get in and out on their own time schedules.

And, as the grab-and-go market grows to include more competition, we’re seeing more flavor creativity and customization options; more visual impact with plating and colors; local and sustainable sourcing of ingredients and packaging; healthier ingredient options; and more global flavors enter the fold.

POPULAR GRAB-AND-GO FOODS

1. Breakfast items (sandwiches, muffins, yogurt, baked goods)
2. Pre-portioned smoothies, iced coffee, and other chilled beverages
3. Self-service hot and cold beverages
4. Sandwiches, salads, and handheld items
5. Prepared deli items (pasta salads, chicken salad)
6. Packaged prepared foods for a hot case (pot pies, wings, macaroni and cheese)
7. Chips and other packaged snacks for impulse sales
8. Cookies, cupcakes, baked goods

Find more ideas at Get in on Grab-and-Go

OPERATOR SPOTLIGHT
Inside grocery stores like The Fresh Market, shoppers can pick up meal kits, oven-ready seafood, four-serving dinners, marinated meat ready for the grill, sushi, pre-cut produce, and items that help busy singles and families save time.

OPERATOR SPOTLIGHT
Convenience store customers at 2,200 Circle K locations can now use touchless self-checkout technology when purchasing grab-and-go items, beverages, packaged goods, and more.

CONVENIENCE: BY THE NUMBERS

In 2022, the value of the convenience services industry was $22.4 billion (as measured in overall industry revenue)
The convenience services industry, which includes micro markets, traditional vending, office coffee service, and pantry services, is expected to be 54% larger in value in 2028 than in 2023 (including organic growth and inflation)
Consumer demand for touchless ordering options and grab-and-go meals provides new opportunities for vending operators to expand
Micro markets have grown from 2% of the industry in 2014 to 20% of the industry in 2023
Technology will continue to evolve, creating more unattended tech-based solutions in the segment, such as nano markets and smart coolers
57% of surveyed convenience services operators follow sustainable practices with 41% expecting sustainability to play a larger role within two years

_{^{Sources: The Food Institute: Convenience Still Fueling Prepared Food Sales (August 2023); Datassential, Snacking, Keynote Report (July 2023); NAMA Foundation: The State of Convenience Services (2023); Convenience Store News, Circle K Ramps Up Self-Checkout Service (September 2023).}}