Busy, busy, busy. That’s the story of our lives. And although we want to provide healthy food choices for our families and ourselves, who has the time to prepare these goodies? I barely have time to breathe!

If you’re like me, you take some, shall we say, food prep short-cuts. That is, purchasing “grab-and-go” food.

We’re not alone: According to the Nielsen Company, deli departments, which have a lot of grab-and-go items, have had sales go from $15 billion in 2014 to $20 billion in 2018. Some of the biggest sellers in the deli department include prepared items like salads, sandwiches, wings, and meal kits. 

Further, according to Nielsen, consumers prepare just 4.6 dinners at home each week, and most aren’t interested in spending more than 30 minutes on prep time. Even among home cooks, more than half enjoy using semi-prepared ingredients on occasion to help get food on the table faster.

While some shoppers, according to Nielsen, look for something tasty, but a little indulgent, such as wings, lasagna and pizza, many others look for healthy options.

According to Nielsen data, salad dollar sales grew $193 million between November 2017 and November 2018 — up 49% from the prior-year period — while sales of smoothies increased 32% during the same period. Sales of what Nielsen calls “innovative” plant-based foods, including veggie noodles and plant-based yogurt, grew 18% over the year-long period.

What about you? Are you part of a grab-and-go household? And if so, what do you like to grab-and-go? Let us know in the comments section.

Recording Your Grab-And-Go Purchases
Record all of your household’s prepared foods purchases using the Prepared Foods listing in the Barcode Reference Booklet if you use a handheld scanner, or if you have the NCPMobile App, the Non-Barcoded Items listing in the app.

Record all food items that need no preparation before eating, such as chicken salad, sushi, etc., as well as foods that may need to be heated before you eat/serve them.

These prepared food items can be purchased at supermarkets, warehouse clubs, delicatessens, etc., and may not have a barcode. Do not use this listing to record prepared foods purchased from restaurants or fast food establishments.

NCPMobile users can also record their meal-kit purchases in the app.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Best Regards,
Taylor

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