SUMMER 2021 29
The specialty food market reached total sales of $170.4 billion in 2020, a 13 percent increase
since 2018. Brick-and-mortar retail channels represent the bulk of sales with $136.3 billion
(including sales estimates for Whole Foods Market, Trader Joe's and PLU sales).
$0
$50B
$100B
$150B
$200B
$
150.4
2018 2019 2020
$
158.5
$
170.4
$
114
$
32.8
$
3.6
$
118.3
$
34.8
$
5.4
$
136.3
$
24.4
$
9.8
U.S. Sales of Specialty Food—
Brick-and-mortar
retail channels*
Online retail
channel**
Foodservice
*Brick-and-mortar retail channel includes sales from
natural, specialty, and MULO, as well as an estimate
for specialty food perishables (PLU or random-weight
specialty items sold in a supermarket's bakery, deli,
meat, and seafood sections) sold in these outlets. In
addition, these figures include estimated specialty
food sales from Trader Joe's and WFM (including
their private-label sales).
**Online retail channel estimated by the SFA
Data may not equal totals due to rounding Source:
SPINS/SFA
$
Billions
$114
$118.3
$136.3
2018 2019 2020
$32.8
$34.8
$24.4
2018 2019 2020
Foodservice (Billions)
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
Brick-and-mortar
retail channels
0
30
60
90
120
150
Online Retail
Channel
(Billions)
2018 2019 2020
$
3.6
$
5.4
$
9.8
0
5
10
(Billions)
Retail, Foodservice,
and Online
(Billions)
The Size of the Specialty Food Market
at Retail and Foodservice
The foodservice channel has been particularly devastated
over the past year with stay-at-home mandates, indoor
dining restrictions, and restaurant closures. While it has
accounted for 20-22 percent of the total specialty food
market in the past with solid year-on-year growth, in 2020
it comprised 15 percent of specialty food sales. Specialty
foodservice sales declined a staggering 30 percent to $24.4
billion in 2020, but were o›set by increases on the retail
side of the market.
The meteoric rise of online (either pure play ecommerce or
brick-and-mortar retailer ecommerce sales) continues, with
sales hitting $9.8 billion in 2020, a 170 percent leap since
2018. This growth was prominent pre-COVID but was
certainly spurred on by the pandemic. In 2020, online sales
grew 80 percent.
