restructuring and expanding opportunities,
reducing costs, and developing new value-
added products. In 2003 there were over
14,000 new food products developed in the
United States. The major focus of this new
product development was on convenience
foods and this trend appears to be continu-
ing with food manufacturers appealing to
on-the-go consumers.
Foodservice (Restaurants and Institutions)
There are approximately 878,000 restau-
rant locations in the United States that pro-
vide employment for approximately 12
million people (almost 9% of the U.S. work-
force). Foodservice outlets account for 84%
of prepared food and meals sold in the
United States. Since the 1980s, the food serv-
ice industry has experienced steady growth.
Several factors, including demographics,
organizational issues (labor, outsourcing or
contracting of services, and the professional
attainment of management), culinary trends,
and technology, have driven this growth and
brought about many changes in the food
service industry. The two largest segments of
the commercial foodservice industry are full-
service and fast food restaurants. Most eat-
ing and drinking establishments are small
businesses, with approximately 70% having
fewer than 20 employees. The U.S. restaurant
industry will continue to experience above-
average growth for the foreseeable future due
to favorable demographic trends. Among
quick-service restaurants, recruiting and
retraining employees remains a major chal-
lenge. Full-service operators also identified
recruiting and retraining employees in their
list of top five challenges that they will face
in the future.
Food Retailing
In recent years, the U.S. retail food indus-
try has also experienced unprecedented con-
solidations and structural changes through
mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, internal
growth, and new competitors. There are over
224,000 food stores in the United States,
with grocery stores (including supermarkets,
commerce stores, and small grocery stores)
accounting for more than 96% of food store
sales. The average retail food store stocks
between 25,000 and 40,000 food items and
provides consumers with a wide variety of
products.
Food retailers are striving to increase
customer satisfaction by developing and
expanding prepared and convenience foods
and providing other products and services.
Supermarkets are meeting consumer demand
for convenience by offering a wide variety of
products in departments such as deli foods,
prepared for takeout, in-store bakeries, and
fresh seafood. Food sanitation plays a very
important role in the retail food industry
because cleanliness is the top factor that
consumers rank as extremely important in
selecting a supermarket.Consumers
Demographic changes have resulted in an
unprecedented shift in the size and structure
of the U.S. population. Today, there are
about 300 million people in the United
States, with approximately 3.5 million people
being added each year. The population is
also aging. As baby boomers reach retire-
ment age, the proportion of the elderly pop-
ulation (≥65 years old) is expected to almost
double, from 11% in 1980 to 21% by the year- Hispanics recently became the nation’s
largest minority. More women are working
and postponing marriage and childbearing.
There are smaller, less “traditional” families.
Today, almost six out of ten women (59.8%)
of working age (age 16 and older) are in the
workforce. In 2002, U.S. consumers spent
slightly more than $900 billion on food, and
46% of this was spent on food away from
home. As previously mentioned, U.S. con-