With the hybrid work environment and people eating more at home, prepared meals and the deli segment have expanded significantly in the past few years. Over
such as fried chicken, sandwiches/wraps, and sushi at the grocery store as of February 2025. The
of the food market in Canada was forecast to continuously increase between 2025 and 2030 by 34.21 percent reaching over 10 billion U.S. dollars.
Deli department
With over three billion Canadian dollars in retail sales value, meal replacement was the
leading segment of deli department in 2024. Deli cheese had the second largest total sales at just below one billion Canadian dollars. That year,
deli luncheon meat dominated the deli meat segment with over 600 million Canadian dollars in sales value. For the 52 weeks ending on April 6, 2024, the sales value of
deli meal replacements grew by over seven percent, while deli meat sales declined in comparison to the previous year. This showed the growing popularity of meal replacements among grocery shoppers in Canada. On average, about 21 percent of grocery shoppers in Canada
consumed ready made meals regularly.
Price is the main barrier of this growing market
When purchasing prepared foods, Canadians cared about
quality and freshness more than taste or portion. Price and value of the product were still the most important factor chosen by over 60 percent of respondents as of 2024. When it comes to deli meat, however, the
quality of the meat was the main purchasing driver, with about 70 percent of Canadian consumers agreeing.
With inflation rising, price has also become the main barrier for Canadians when purchasing convenience foods. A recent survey showed
being too expensive was the main reason why Canadians did not buy prepared foods at grocery stores. On average, half of consumers in Canada were planning to
cut back on convenience foods in response to potential increases in food prices. With prices growing it is important for the ready to eat and deli food segments to offer more than just convenience foods. Focusing on health and freshness as well as bringing in international options and flavors could bring in a great market opportunity in this food segment.
This text provides general information. Statista assumes no
liability for the information given being complete or correct.
Due to varying update cycles, statistics can display more up-to-date
data than referenced in the text.
