Category update: Early Easter drives March deli, protein sales.

According to research from 210 Analytics and Circana, the early Easter holiday in March led to an overall gain in food and beverage unit volumes of 1.5%. Strong categories for the month included the deli department, with overall dollar sales up 2.8% and unit volumes rising 5.7%. Deli prepared foods and deli entertaining saw significant increases in sales. Meat categories also performed well, with fresh beef sales up 11.9% and smoked ham sales up 84.5%. In the fresh produce department, dollar sales increased 5.1%, with berries, mandarins, and pineapples being standout items. Frozen fruits also saw gains in sales and unit volumes. [Extracted from the article]