Specialty Food Stores NAICS 4452

Apr 13, 2025 - Record High Meat Department Sales

• Record high prices for products like ground beef and steak drove meat department sales to a record $104.6 billion in 2024, making meat the largest perimeter department in grocery stores, according to The Food Association’s latest Power of Meat report. Dollar sales growth was driven by drought, high grain prices and interest rates that drove producer prices to record highs last year. Still, shoppers remained resilient, with nearly all (96%) of shoppers surveyed saying they are open to spending more on meat and poultry, especially during special occasions and holidays, per FMI. In 2024, annual average spend per household on meat and poultry was $871, while the average number of times US shoppers purchased meat rose 4% from 2023. Fresh meat outperformed processed meat sales last year and stood out with “above-average gains,” per FMI’s report.
• The food industry has very thin profit margins – just 1.6% for retailers and 7.5% for food manufacturers -- according to the Food Industry Association (FMI). Amid the record high food price inflation of recent years, specialty food stores have struggled to protect their margins while keeping prices low. Now, faced with significant new cost pressures from import tariffs, the food industry may have little choice but to raise prices to maintain their margins and stay in business. Specialty food stores are especially vulnerable to import tariffs because many of the products they sell are imported. More than three-quarters (76%) of shoppers surveyed plan to change their shopping habits to brace for higher prices, according to data analytics company Numerator. In addition to higher prices, retailers and consumers are worried about product availability being impacted by tariffs on imports to the US.

• Rising concern among consumers for their own health and that of the planet is driving outsized gains in sales of organic produce compared to conventionally-grown fruits and vegetables, Supermarket News reports. For the 52 weeks ending December 1, sales of fresh organic produce – a key product category for many specialty food retailers – rose 7.2% compared to 3.3% for conventional selections, according to new data from market research firm Circana. While more consumers across all segments are buying organic produce, boomers (persons aged 61 to 79 in 2025) account for the greatest share of organic produce spending (34%), followed closely by millennials/Gen Y (ages 29 to 44, 33%), and Gen X (ages 45 to 60, 27%), NielsenIQ reported. “Organic is not niche, it is mainstream,” said Sherry Frey, VP of Health & Wellness Thought Leadership for NIQ.
• Employment by specialty food retailers grew 1.1% in January compared to a year ago while average industry wages rose 5.3% over the same period to $19.12 per hour, $0.07 shy of their peak in October, according to the latest US Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Sales at food and beverage stores were up nearly 5% year over year in January but sank 7.6% from December, a peak selling period for specialty foods, Census Bureau data shows. Looking ahead, sales for the US specialty food stores industry are forecast to grow at a 2.81% compounded annual rate from 2025 to 2029, slower than the growth of the overall economy, according to a new forecast by the Interindustry Economic Research Fund.