CIRCANA DELI OUTLOOK
Not only is there significant sales growth, deli prepared and entertaining are continuing to be relevant for consumers. Buyers are growing for both sections year to date 2025 ending 11-30-25, deli prepared seeing growth of new buyers by +2.3% vs YA and deli entertaining seeing +0.9%. Both deli prepared and entertaining are seeing similar trends of consumers increasing their trips buying these items by over +3% vs YA. A significant growth seen for YTD 2025, the amount of units bought per buyer is increasing at +3.6% for deli prepared and +2.4% for deli entertaining.
Deli Review of 2025 & Outlook for 2026: Bailey Furtado, Senior Fresh Foods Industry Analyst,
Circana
In 2025 year to date ending 11-30-25, total Deli (including meat, cheese and prepared foods) saw a total of $49.9 billion sales in Total US MULO+, a growth of $1.2B vs. year ago. Growth came both in dollar sales (+2.5%) and unit sales (+1.4%). Deli’s sales percentage increase is substantial, outpacing the food & beverage retail average in both dollar and unit sales growth as well as outpacing both the grocery and fresh aisles for unit sales growth. From a consumer perspective, Deli saw growth in new buyers to the department (+0.7%, 128M total buyers), increased trips buying Deli per buyer by +2.5% and saw growth in average number of units per buyer throughout the year (+3.0%).
“In 2025, deli has become a growth engine for U.S. retailers, driven by convenience, variety, and customization that fit today’s just-in- time shopping habits. Key trends—snacking over full meals, cutting back on dining out without sacrificing taste, craving global flavors and freshness, and ‘what I need now’ trips—are fueling demand. Despite economic pressures, deli gained more buyers, more trips, and more units. Retailers not seeing similar growth should rethink strategies to meet specific customer needs. Those who innovate and differentiate are pulling ahead,” says Jonna Parker, Fresh Foods Vice President, Circana.
While deli is showing year over year growth, there are parts of the deli that are on fire while some other areas struggle.
Deli Prepared and Entertaining:
Much of the growth in deli is generated by deli prepared and entertaining spaces. Deli prepared (including entrees, side dishes, appetizers, prepared meats such as rotisserie chicken and more) saw growth of +4.0% in dollars and units up +1.4% for year to date 2025 ending 11-30-25. Deli entertaining (including dips, spreads, trays and pickles/relish/olives) paced slightly behind in growth of +2.3% in dollars and +1.7% in units. Trays of all sizes, but especially single serve/snacking options, performed particularly well.
Deli continues to expand assortment- the average U.S. retail store has 15 more items in their deli for the first 11 months of 2025 compared to last year- notable at a time many other aisles and departments are rationalizing items carried for efficiency. Deli prepared saw nearly 12 more average items per store per week this year and deli entertaining saw nearly 3 more items on average. This growth and expansion will continue to catapult deli prepared and entertaining.
WHAT’S IN STORE | 2026 © 2026 International Dairy Deli Bakery Association IDDBA Reports 98
“Retailers respond to demand – and the need for more fresh prepared meals, snacking and entertaining options only grows among consumers. Expansion isn’t just for the sake of ‘me too’- retailers who are seeing the most growth are innovating around global flavors difficult for consumers to make themselves: Indian and Mediterranean flavors in particular saw growth in entrees among the retailers who carried those items. Deli salads also had a stand-out year – both as consumers seek more protein and grain- based options as well as the value of having lettuce-based salads ready to mix and eat. Anchoring on what specific consumers want in this space and how they are eating today is the future to keep this momentum growing,” said Parker.
Deli Meat & Cheese:
2025 continued to be a year of challenge for deli meat which includes service/sliced-to-order; grab and go by-the-pound but previously packaged for convenience; and pre-sliced UPC meats from known deli brands. Year to date 2025 ending 11-30-25 deli meat saw declines in dollar sales of -2.8% and pound sales declines of -3.5% in Total US MULO+. Pricing remained relatively stable YTD, seeing a price per volume slight increase of +0.8% vs YA.
“Even with 40% of US consumers looking to eat more protein and all-time-high sales in the meat department, that did not translate to the deli sliced lunchmeats space in 2025. Our at-home
consumption data also showed a slightly downward trend in eating sandwiches for lunch with leftovers as the #1 go-to mid-day. Additional direct-to-consumer advertising is needed in the space to drive home differentiation and value as we’re not seeing the same purchase patterns that price discounts might have driven in past years,” Parker said.
Deli meat did see some pockets of growth, pre-sliced lunchmeat YTD 2025 saw growth in dollars of
+2.4% and pounds up +6.0%, that’s +7.9M pounds, very significant. Grab & go deli lunchmeat also saw slight growth of +0.2% in dollars and +0.3% in pounds YTD 2025 vs YA. The significant decreases affecting the deli meat category is service lunchmeat, down -6.2% in dollars and -8.6% in pounds.
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