FMI has released a web experience that explains how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected grocery prices more than any other category of consumer spending. The website is based on insights from The Fundamentals of Food Prices: Costs, Consumer Demand and COVID-19, prepared for FMI by Ricky Volpe, Ph.D., associate professor for Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, California.
The report found that the pandemic caused four major changes that impacted food prices in a short period of time, including a rapid shift to eating at home, the loss of foodservice demand, an increase in production and processing costs, and an increase in operating costs for grocery stores.
“The food industry is sensitive to the fact that American consumers remain highly concerned about COVID-19 and food sourcing – but appear to be acquiring more confidence,” said Leslie G. Sarasin, president and CEO of FMI, in a statement. “This web experience is designed to educate the public, so grocery shoppers better understand how food prices are determined and how the COVID-19 shock to the supply chain affected food prices.”
“Our research indicates there will continue to be a higher level of retail-sector food spending for the foreseeable future as home cooking displaces spending on foodservice,” Sarasin continued. “However, grocery shoppers can rest assured that cost increases are not related to increased profits, and instead result from a spike in expenses due to labor, lower capacity production, cleaning and sanitation protocols and even transportation demands.”
Related: Majority of Americans Will Stockpile Groceries; Consumer Behaviors Shift Around Fresh Food.
from Specialty Food News https://ift.tt/3o3MNqf
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