Supermarkets are vying for a piece of consumers’ shrinking foodservice budgets by recreating prepared meals and reducing prices, reports The Wall Street Journal.
“There’s been resistance from the consumer for the prices that they were paying at restaurants,” said Mark Van Buskirk, who oversees merchandising at Save Mart Supermarkets, which recently introduced a line of gourmet sandwiches and added more packaged meals. “We think we have an advantage,” he said.
Restaurants are in turn creating new menu items that would be difficult to recreate at home, according to the report.
Taco Bell is selling a burrito with cheese grilled on top, and KFC introduced hand-breaded nuggets, said Chris Turner, chief financial officer of parent company Yum Brands. “The craveability is impossible to replicate at home,” he said.
The tug of war comes at a time when grocery prices increased at a faster rate last year than restaurants. In March, they traded places. Last month, grocery prices rose 3.6 percent while restaurant prices grew 7.1 percent compared to the previous year, according to the Labor Department. Full Story (Subscription Required)
Related: Food Prices Rose in July; Restaurants Experiment With Shortened Work Week.
Image: Wegmans