The grocers winning the perimeter aren't running isolated departments. They're running a self-reinforcing flywheel where:
Elevated foodservice programs drive store traffic
Traffic turns into discovery with increased orders and basket size
Orders empower teams with digital production tools
Teams and digital orders generate data
Data drives better decisions for continued foodservice program improvement
Every cycle is stronger than the last.
This white paper lays out the framework and roadmap to make it real no matter where you are in your grocery foodservice jounrey.
Today the deli foodservice category alone is worth $52.1 billion. Deli and prepared foods are tied as the #1 driver of store traffic, cited by 56% of retailers. 70% percent of consumers buy deli-prepared foods at least once a month, 33% once a week. And prepared foods are projected to be an 8% sales growth driver in 2026 alone.
62% of retailers plan to increase their technology spend this year while only 20% have reached an advanced, fully integrated omnichannel strategy. Most are still running their perimeter counters on analog infrastructure that wasn't built for today's consumer or the complexity of grocery foodservice.
The gap between perimeter potential and perimeter performance isn't a staffing problem or a technology problem. It's a systems problem.
The Foodservice Flywheel is the framework that remedies it.
Why foodservice is grocery's biggest growth opportunity right now, and the consumer and economic forces making it urgent.
How prepared foods deliver deep margins, differentiation, demand, and discovery potential that center-store can't match.
An honest look at what's holding grocers back, from staffing and training to manual ordering workflows.
A four-pillar system (Expanded Reach → Customer Experience → Team Member Experience → Business Insights) designed to compound over time.
How purpose-built technology turns the flywheel framework from concept into measurable results.
A practical starting point for retailers at every stage of their digital foodservice journey.
This white paper is written for grocery retail leaders making decisions about their perimeter counter programs: SVPs of Fresh, Category VPs, VP/Directors of Deli & Foodservice, and Chief Merchandising Officers who know the opportunity is real but want a clear, data-backed framework for how to capture it.
Research draws on FMI Power of Foodservice at Retail 2025, FMI U.S. Grocery Shopper Trends 2026, Progressive Grocer State of the Industry 2026, and more.
Download the White PaperDeli foodservice category value
of retailers say deli/prepared foods are their #1 store traffic driver
of deli/foodservice sales lost annually due to lack of modernization
of grocery industry leaders say they need to increase or optimize prepared food services
Prepared foods continue to grow as shoppers seek convenient, better-for-you meal options that offer real value. For retailers entering the space, the key is designing a program that's intuitive for customers and easy for stores to execute. FoodStorm was the right fit for us because it supports that streamlined approach and integrates seamlessly with our broader technology ecosystem.
Mark Bramhall, VP of Deli, Sprouts
Early movers in perimeter digitization are pulling ahead and the compounding nature of the flywheel makes the gap harder to close over time. Whether you're running analog operations or already have one or two digitized counters, there's a starting point in this framework built for where you are today.
