When today’s grocery customers come into the store, they’re not always shopping for ingredients, but for a meal. 

With inflation and high restaurant prices, consumers are eating at home more and are even ordering restaurant delivery service less frequently. But even though they’re watching their budgets, consumers still want restaurant-quality offerings. What’s more, with busy schedules, they want freshly-prepared, grab-and-go options.

Grocery stores are meeting this need. With made-to-order sandwiches, salad, soup, and hot food bars, grocery stores have become mini quick service restaurants. 

These efforts are paying off, explained Chris Dubois, executive vice president, Fresh/Protein Practice Leader, Circana. Circana is a leading market research and technology company. 

However, not all of the deli categories are seeing these results, Dubois added. “While the overall category has seen an increase of nearly 3%, deli meat sales are down 7.1%. As grocers look for ways to increase service deli sales, an exciting and perhaps overlooked opportunity is to grow the category with sushi.

Compelling reasons to add sushi

Sushi sales have exploded since 2020, growing 63% in the last four years to over $2.5 billion a year, Dubois said. “It’s one of the most exciting growth rockets in the store.” With that in mind, Dubois said there are significant benefits for grocers to add sushi:

• Consumers want it. A recent Circana survey conducted on behalf of teh Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI)found that 91% of respondents are likely to purchase sushi– more than any other deli item. 

• Sushi is the second most incremental item in the entire department and outperforms with repeat buyers.

• Sushi is one of the most important categories for attracting new and unique buyers to a strong deli.

• Sushi creates a fundamental building block, allowing grocers to build a department around it, similar to rotisserie chicken.

• Sushi attracts the much-desired Generation Z consumer. Gen Z shoppers buy twice as much sushi as the average US household and they are growing their sushi dollars per buyer by 16% over the last year.  “If retailers want to win young shoppers, sushi is a major category to grow,” Dubois added.

Additional growth through expanded offerings of sushi

Some grocers already sell sushi, however, they could grow even more. “The biggest opportunity is going to be in the expansion of prepared foods,” Dubois said. “Now it’s not ‘all sushi all the time.’ Poke bowls and seafood-as-an-ingredient meals will be popular too.” While Dubois anticipates this demand in the future, consumers are hungry for sushi-related meals now: the Circana survey indicated that 67% of respondents are interested in Bento boxes, and 57% are interested in poke bowls.

An example of expansion is sushi rolls. Many sushi rolls sold in deli counters contain Alaska Surimi, which is a premium-quality, fully-cooked and all-natural real seafood product made from wild Alaska pollock. It looks and tastes like many shellfish, but it can be shellfish allergen free and is less expensive. With its versatile, flaky texture and mild taste, Alaska pollock creates the perfect foundation for Alaska surimi.

Importance of Alaska and wild-caught labelling

Just as some grocers may be new to offering sushi in the deli meat department, shoppers may also be new to purchasing it there. As a result, they look for and are reassured by labels that reinforce the premium quality of the sushi. “Alaska and wild-caught add premium value and are highly important attributes for younger consumers and sushi consumers,” Dubois said. 

The Circana study reinforced this strategy, as four in ten respondents said they were more likely to buy a sushi product if they saw “Alaska” or “Alaska-sourced” because Alaska is known for its seafood. Additionally, respondents said that “wild-caught” was a significantly motivating claim because it indicated freshness. 

Successfully adding sushi to the deli

Grocers who add sushi to their deli meat area need to make it exciting and consistent, Dubois advised. “One tactic that works well is creating a midweek promotion on sushi.  It can be simple like a BOGO so people can buy dinner too, or it can include a free fountain drink and side with a purchase.  Whatever the choice, the key is to run it consistently week to week so customers get used to coming in on that day.  It can be a huge traffic driver.”

Recently, FujiSan Handcrafted Sushi partnered with Alaska Seafood to create an exciting promotion to increase the visibility of its sushi products that were made with Alaska seafood and sold at Sam’s Club. FujiSan prominently advertised an Alaskan cruise giveaway at Sam’s Club and on the businesses’ social media sites. The giveaway reached over 100,000 viewers and generated 60,000 entries in under 30 days, indicating extensive visibility and consumer interest.  

Whether promoting sushi through a giveaway or simply highlighting it as a standard in the store, the Circana survey results offer additional insights for success: 

• Focus on sushi and Bento boxes, as these were the top two areas of consumer interest, followed by poke bowls.

• Consider offering sushi in individual servings to make them convenient for a single meal, especially at lunch.

• Highlight the name “Alaska,” “Alaska-sourced,” “wild,” or “Wild-caught” to increase the perception of freshness and quality

• Offer sushi and related products year-round. Although people eat more sushi in summer, 69% eat it year round. 

• Consider emphasizing sushi at certain times of the year, such as during Lent, when consumers may seek non-meat meals.

Measuring growth beyond the deli department

Adding and expanding sushi can lift deli sales– but the impact can go further to increase total store revenue, Dubois said. “When you look at the value of a trip for sushi, and you look at midweek trips in particular, customers pick up a lot more than just a box of sushi and maybe a drink.  When sushi is on a quick trip, the basket can include another $40 worth of items, so that trip for sushi helps other departments too.”

With the potential to increase deli department sales, basket size, prestige, and ability to attract a desired demographic, instead of overlooking sushi, grocers should see it as a standout.