Many grocers count on food service to help them pad their bottom line

Many grocers count on food service to help them pad their bottom line. And yet the COVID-19 pandemic decimated that segment. Only now is it beginning to show life again, with food service and prepared foods sales hitting $31.3 billion in the 52 weeks ending Aug. 27, up 9.3% from the year-ago period, and deli sales reaching $47.9 billion in the same time period, up 12.3% from a year ago, according to NielsenIQ data cited in The Power of Foodservice at Retail 2022 report.