More than half of customers would like to see more healthy claims on menus.

Consumers’ demand in the deli continues to revolve around freshness, convenience, and health, positioning the department into a true destination as stores reinvent physical space, reinvigorate fresh-prepared items and reinforce culinary inspiration with quality staff.

This is one of hundreds of findings in What’s in Store 2017, the latest edition of the annual trends publication from the International Dairy Deli-Bakery Association (IDDBA), and What’s in Store Online, a collection of over 150 downloadable graphs and tables, as well as links to white papers and trends articles.

Other findings in the book’s “Deli Sales and Retail Trends” chapter include:

• Supermarkets are increasingly seeing the value of corporate executive chefs, who can create theater in the store by connecting food to consumers and curate differentiation under the glass and on the plate.
• Healthy menu items impact dining decisions—68% of consumers would like to see more healthy claims on menus; 76% of 18–34 year olds would eat more prepared meals if they were less processed; and 66% of parents would pay more for healthy food at restaurants.
• Products commonly found in the deli have a strong sales correlation with other store items, especially when it comes to products purchased for entertaining purposes. IDDBA’s new research, Total Store Connectivity—Entertaining Across the Store, details how retailers can boost deli sales and educate consumers on natural food parings through cross-merchandising and -promoting.

“Of the perimeter departments, deli is growing the fastest with a 47% increase in sales from just five years ago,” said Jonathan Whalley, education coordinator, IDDBA. “As we’re seeing storewide, today’s shoppers are seeking healthful, convenient, and innovative food options, and the ability to deliver on these is vital for the department’s continued success.”

With over 30 years of credible reporting, What’s in Store is an essential resource for dairy, deli, bakery, foodservice, and cheese departments and industries, providing vital data on retail and market trends, growth, and category changes shaping the food industry. What’s in Store is a secondary resource that is developed through both interviews with industry experts and sourcing third-party data and trends. (A complete listing of sources can be found here.)

This year’s edition again features a continuous storyline to improve user efficiency and provide greater clarity for professionals needing to understand today’s retail world. Through five themes, readers gain new insights and learn about marketplace influences. They are:

• The Economy & Retail Trends
• Channels and Competition
• Consumer Lifestyles
• Eating Trends
• Technology and Marketing

This themed narrative is carried into each of the product chapters: Bakery, Cheese, Dairy and Deli. The new format, exclusive interview content, and inclusion of key insights, table interpretations, data callouts, and testimonials enable the reader to more efficiently tie back to the broader context and then dig deeper in each of the product sections.

Additionally, What’s in Store 2017 features: redesigned tables; infographics that inform readers why the data matters; key insights; more original expert interviews; and more graphics to illustrate best-in-class examples.

IDDBA members receive a free copy of What’s in Store as part of their membership. Additional copies may be purchased; the price per copy is $99 for members and $399 for nonmembers.