FRESH FOOD
2020 Retail Meat Review Among survey respondents, 77% carry plant-based meats, up from 46% a year ago, and 67% merchandise them in the meat department alongside traditional animal proteins. Nearly 60% report that they’ve been carrying plant-based meats for less than a year, with a quarter stocking them for the past one to five years. And a whopping majority — 94% — say that sales are trending upward. Southern California grocery store chain Gelson’s Markets became the first grocer to carry the plant-based Impossible Burger in its fresh and frozen meat cases, as progressivegrocer.com reported last September. Gelson’s plans for the product extend beyond the meat case, however. “People who shop at Gelson’s know and appreciate great food, and the Impossible Burger is going to become a go-to favorite in home-cooked meals, from dim sum to barbecue,” says Rob McDougall, the Encino, Calif.-based company’s president and CEO. “We’ll also be unveiling delicious new recipes featuring Impossible in Gelson’s Kitchen and offering an Impossible Burger at our Wine & Tapas bars.” In January, The Kroger Co. started rolling out Simple Truth Emerge: Plant Based Fresh Meats, an expansion of the grocer’s natural and organic private brand. The new line offers fresh, pea protein-based meatless burger patties and grinds, an addition to the grocer’s plant-based options added last September. And last spring, Bristol Farms’ Yorba Linda, Calif., store rolled out plantbased meats and entrées at the butcher counter, according to San Diego-based Before the Butcher, which supplies the store with plant-based chicken burgers and breakfast sausage, as well as items like no-meat taco mix, vegetarian meatloaf, vegetarian stuffed cabbage, chorizo-stuffed potatoes and a Mediterranean meatless patty made by Bristol Farms chefs using Before the Butcher’s ground products.
What percent of your store sales comes from the meat department? 20%
21.9% 20% 17.3%
15
10
5
0
Less than 10
10-100
More than 100
Number of Supermarket Stores
What percent of your meat sales comes from case-ready products? 54.4%
50% 40
42.8% 38.5%
30 20 10 0
Less than 10
10-100
More than 100
Number of Supermarket Stores
What percent of your meat sales comes from full-service products? 60%
Meat with European quality
61.5%
57.3%
50 45.6%
40 30 20 10 0
Less than 10
10-100
More than 100
Number of Supermarket Stores
52
progressivegrocer.com
Source: Progressive Grocer market research, 2020