Food Sourcing in America 2025: Fragmentation and Focus
Despite pockets of great success, the American packaged food industry is arguably underperforming. Food service has grown twice as quickly as food at retail in the past 10 years, and retailers are battling for their slice of a seemingly shrinking pie.
“Food Sourcing in America 2025” will illuminate the shifting world of food shopping, uncovering where stores and brands can better align with evolving shopper needs. The report will include channel- and retailer-specific dashboards, plus a new, proprietary segmentation. These rich insights will inform optimized tactics, positioning and planning so you can obtain the right shopper’s attention, attract their food dollars and, ultimately, their loyalty.
Available for pre-purchase now | Publishing June 2025 | U.S. market coverage
- Executive summary
- General report (PowerPoint and PDF)
- Demographic data tables (Excel)
- Primary quantitative research: Nationally representative online survey of U.S. consumers aged 18-78, with a minimum total sample of n=2,000 and readable samples of demographic audiences such as age cohorts or income tiers. Where possible, data will be trended against similar questions fielded in 2022, 2020 and 2017.
- Primary qualitative research: Literature review of marketing, consumer publications and discourse on food sourcing; engagement with writings/podcasts by cultural informants; social listening on key consumer platforms; virtual interviews with shoppers of a variety of retail and food service channels.
- Methodology
- Executive summary
- Primary report content, including charts, graphs and in-depth analysis of key findings
- Channel- and retailer-specific dashboards
- Channel coverage will likely include grocery, mass, club, drug, dollar, discount, natural/specialty and online.
- Retailers likely to be included are Kroger, Albertsons, Ahold, Walmart, Target, Costco, Sam's Club, CVS, Walgreens/Rite Aid, Dollar General, Dollar Tree/Family Dollar, Aldi, Trader Joe's, Whole Foods Market and Amazon.
- Implications and recommendations
- Fragmented sourcing. What are the key reasons for multi-store shopping? Has the possibility of meeting all consumer needs in a single store finally evaporated?
- Value and deal-seeking. Do price-wary shoppers now add trips to find deals, or do they consolidate trips to stores selected for overall value?
- Online shopping. How have digital apps changed trip planning? How has the rise of online browsing altered the pathway to product trial?
- Private brands spotlight. In which channels might private brands be embraced as equivalent to national brands? Which consumers choose where to shop based on private brands?
- Shopper segments. Which shopper segments are most likely to shop certain channels? What sorts of in- and out-of-store communication tools resonate best with each shopper type?
