Source: Supermarket News
While last year’s winners in fresh market — meat, produce and dairy — continue to benefit from changes in consumer lifestyles and shopping behaviors even post-pandemic, this year’s big story in fresh is the comeback of two categories hardest hit last year: deli and bakery.
Thanks to the resurgence of deli-prepared foods as customers returned to stores and supermarkets reopened service departments, deli has seen a remarkable turnaround in the first six months of 2021. Reaching nearly $20 billion in sales, every area within deli increased sales compared with 2020 and 2019 during the first half of this year, according to IRI data. The largest year-on-year growth was achieved by deli-prepared with a 14.7% increase over the same six-month period last year.
