US Foods' Jennifer Wandler: Seafood "will always have a place on the menu"

U.S. food-price inflation for the 12 months ending February 2023 was 10.2 percent at home and 8.4 percent away from home,

Despite inflation, direct consumer foodservice spending rose 6 percent last year and resulted in USD 606 billion (EUR 559 billion) in sales, according to Circana, formerly IRI and The NPD Group.

Speaking at the CircanaGrowth Summit in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.A., 20 to 22 March, 2023, Circana Food and Foodservice Industry Advisor David Portalatin said although the rate of away-from-home inflation is not as high as at-home inflation, foodservice costs are more than four times those of at-home eating occasions, with the absolute dollar gap widening. Higher food costs impacted overall retail discretionary spending last year, he said.

Even so, as a result of consumers’ pent-up demand for eating out post-Covid-19, many restaurant chains are reporting higher sales. Orlando, Florida, U.S.A.-based Darden Restaurants reported total sales increased 13.8 percent to USD 2.8 billion (EUR 2.6 billion) for its fiscal third quarter ending 26 February, driven by a blend of same-restaurant sales increase of 11.7 percent and sales from 35 net new restaurants. Same-restaurant sales for Olive Garden soared 12.3 percent during the quarter, while LongHorn Steakhouse sales were up 10.8 percent. Sales in Darden’s Fine Dining segment, which includes The Capital Grille and Season’s 52, rose 11.7 percent, and its sales at other restaurants it operates rose 11.7 percent.

"I'm proud that we significantly exceeded the industry for both same-restaurant sales and traffic this quarter, outperforming even more on traffic than on sales," Darden President and CEO Rick Cardenas said. "Our ability to invest in pricing below inflation over time provides strong value to our guests and reinforces the power of our strategy and our restaurant teams' commitment to being brilliant with the basics.”

In other good news for restaurants facing higher costs, consumers are basing food decisions on other values besides price, Portalatin said.

“Price will always be important, but consumers define value differently. For example, consumers who visit a restaurant aren’t necessarily looking for the cheapest meal,” Portalatin said. “They’re looking for the menu items they crave or foodservice outlets that offer quality and variety and enable them to treat themselves.”

Recent consumer research from Rosemont, Illinois, U.S.A.-based US Foods provides further backing to the theory U.S. consumers are more interested in intriguing new food experiences rather than cost when dining out, US Foods Seafood Category Senior Director Jennifer Wandler told SeafoodSource.

“So we’ve designed our two new seafood products to align with diner trends,” Wandler said.

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Photo courtesy of US Foods