32 SPECIALTY FOOD SPECIALTYFOOD.COM
Grocery Refrigerated Frozen
2018
$13.4
$20.7
$17.5
$16.6
$49.3
$41.7
$40.3
$10.6
$10.3
2019 2020
$
billions
Does not include retailers' private-label sales, specialty food perishables (PLU or random-weight
specialty items sold in a supermarket's bakery, deli, meat, and seafood sections), or sales through
online or foodservice channels. Data may not equal totals due to rounding SOURCE: SPINS/SFA
$0
$10
$20
$30
$40
$50
+27%
+18%
+18%
Sales of Specialty Food
by Retail Departments
Source: SPINS/SFA
Top
10
Categories
The Frozen department, with $13.4
billion and 16 percent of sales in 2020,
had the biggest share gain, and growth
of 27 percent. Consumers gravitated to
frozen foods during stay-at-home man-
dates since these items are less perish-
able than fresh options, potentially less
processed than shelf-stable options,
and easy to stockpile in home freezers
between less frequent shopping trips.
The Refrigerated department, with sales
of $20.7 billion, accounted for 15 percent
of sales in 2020. It grew at the pace of the
overall market from 2019 to 2020.
All three of specialty's major segments—center store grocery, refrigerated, and frozen—saw
higher growth in 2020 than the year prior as consumers hunkered down for at-home meal
preparation and consumption. Grocery reached $49.3 billion and 59 percent of all specialty
sales in 2020. While the department dominates the others, it grew slightly slower from 2019
to 2020 than the overall market, 18 percent versus 19 percent.
Specialty Food — What is Selling Now
Top 10 Categories in
Retail Dollar Sales
Meat, poultry, seafood (Frozen, refrigerated)
Cheese and plant-based cheese
Chips, pretzels, snacks
Bread and baked goods
Cožee and hot cocoa, non-RTD
Desserts
(Frozen)
Entrées (Refrigerated)
Chocolate and other confectionery
Entrées, lunch and dinner
(Frozen)
Condiments, dressings, marinades (Shelf stable)
Overall, the $83.4 billion brick-and-mortar specialty retail
market grew 24 percent during 2018-2020. The top 10 cate-
gories, with $38.2 billion in 2020, accounted for 46 percent
of all sales. The top 10 categories have remained fairly static
over the years as the market matured. But the pandemic did
result in consumer behavior shifts that fluctuated category
performance. The meat, poultry, seafood (frozen, refriger-
ated) category ousted cheese and plant-based cheese from
the top spot, growing 30 percent in 2020 alone, and 36
percent from 2018 to 2020. Cheese grew well in 2020 (23
percent) as well, and the two categories each exceeded $5
billion in 2020 sales. Condiments, dressings, marinades
(shelf stable) is new to the top 10, having moved up two slots
from number 12, and a result of more at-home cooking.
Nearly all categories on the top 10 list—from frozen and
refrigerated entrees, to non-RTD cožee and tea, to chips
and snacks—directly correlate to consumers staying at
home in 2020.
