Consumers crave more from home-meal replacements
It’s 5 p.m. Do you know what you’re having for dinner? On any given weeknight, customers roaming the deli aisles are trying to figure out just that, whether it’s a parent on the way home from the ballpark, a single office worker looking for a quick and healthy dinner, or a couple planning a night in without expensive delivery. In the home-meal replacement (HMR) category, there’s an option for every lifestyle and taste—and consumers looking for convenience are eating it up.
The latest data from NielsenIQ Canada (NIQ) shows a strong appetite for HMR, with dollar sales rising 3.1% in the past year (as of April 25, 2025). Most Canadians (92%) purchased HMR in store in the past year, with 87% buying it for dinner and 58% for lunch.
Convenience and busy lifestyles remain the biggest purchase drivers: 66% of Canadians say they buy HMR for dinner when they don’t have time to cook, while 45% agree HMR offers quick and convenient meals on busy days.
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In today’s tough economic climate, HMR is an attractive alternative to costly restaurant meals. “While people are cooking more at home to save money, they don’t want to cook 24-7, so they’re looking for other options,” says Francis Parisien, NIQ’s senior vice-president of sales for small and medium businesses in Canada. “Since restaurants are so expensive, they’re turning to HMR.”
Despite its appeal, HMR is no longer growing at double-digit rates. “At one point, it was the fastest-growing category in grocery stores—it’s not anymore,” says Parisien. “It’s still growing, but I think we’ve hit a plateau.”
For grocers, there’s a clear opportunity to raise the bar on quality, variety and value—winning over shoppers and bring- ing real momentum back to the category.
The store as a meal solution destination
Running a strong HMR department isn’t easy—it’s more like operating a restaurant than a traditional grocery department, says Joel Gregoire, associate director, food and drink, at Mintel. It demands fresh ingredients, labour-intensive prep and consistency across locations, which can be difficult to execute at scale.
Still, the potential payoff is compelling. “HMR can be a big traffic driver and a point of differentiation for retailers,” he says. “If you can offer an eating experience that your customers can’t get at a competitor, it can strengthen your foodie and convenience ‘bonafides.’ And if it’s done well and you manage shrink, it can be a profit generator. You can elevate your margins in what is typically a low-margin industry.”
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So, how do grocers become a true meal destination? Gregoire suggests focusing on the shopping environment—creating a market-style layout that draws customers in. “Our research shows strong consumer interest in that market feel, so when they shop there it has a point of differentiation,” he says. “From an operational perspective, this allows grocers to maximize floor space and drive sales within the HMR department.”
A dedicated seating area can also help turn the department into a destination. “People can meet and get together for a coffee, a meal or a snack,” Gregoire says. “When grocers are trying to drive traffic throughout the week, that could be a good way to bring people in, particularly older consumers.”
Foundational food rules
When it comes to what shoppers are putting in their carts, sushi and specialty Japanese foods remain prime choices, with dollar sales up 8.1% year over year (as of Oct. 11, 2025), according to NIQ. That’s followed by deli meals (5.8%), prepackaged sandwiches (3.4%), cooked chicken (2.4%) and deli pizza (1.7%)
“There are also opportunities for retailers to sell more items with these staples,” says Parisien, noting that 43% of HMR buyers purchase additional items to add to their ready-made meals. These include fruits and vegetables, beverages, bread, bagged salad, salty snacks and desserts.
Mintel’s 2025 survey on HMR asked Canadians what they typically buy when choosing prepared or made-to-order meals—and roast chicken was the winner by a substantial margin, notes Gregoire.Pizza and salads follow as the next most popular picks.
“These are the fundamental foods that people expect from HMR,” he says. “And chicken makes a lot of sense. As a parent, for example, sometimes it’s just so easy to grab that roast chicken and pair it with a side. That’s the foundation of what people want from HMR—but again, there are a lot of opportunities for innovation.”
Take poké bowls, for example. “It might not be your highest-selling SKU within an HMR section, but if you’re looking for ways to differentiate, offering items like this can help you stand out. For lunch, in particular, a bowl makes a lot of sense because it’s more of a single-serve option. Having that diversity of offerings should help drive traffic throughout the day.”
Loblaw is a retailer that has embraced this approach. “Our HMR offering has significantly evolved to meet customer demands for quick, healthy and convenient single-serve meals, exemplified by our nutritious power bowls,” says Joe Difalco, vice-president super market, fresh at Loblaw. “We’ve also introduced ready-to-heat one-pan meals for families and a premium service sandwich program featuring authentic Romanaccia bread, reflecting our commitment to innovation and diverse formats.”
Global flavours and seasonal takes
Known for its chef-prepared heat-and-serve meals, Toronto-based Summerhill Market continues to expand its HMR offerings. “Our lineup has evolved to reflect how customers eat today, with a wide variety of single-serving options available in store,” says Mari Loewen, who handles marketing and culinary innovations for Summerhill.
Alongside classic comfort foods such as chicken pot pie, steak and mushroom pie and tourtière, the menu includes plant-forward options, hearty salads, specialty sides and mains for entertaining, and holiday prix-fixe dinners.
Summerhill also embraces global flavours, with Thai dishes such as Massaman chicken curry and Thai coconut chicken soup. There’s also a range of Italian dishes. “Our culinary team travels, tastes and researches to bring global dishes home to Toronto, always with Summerhill’s signature simple, elevated style,” says Loewen.
At Loblaw, a few top internationally inspired dishes include Shanghai noodles, shawarma bowls, ramen kits, samosas and Mexican bowls. The grocery retailer has also significantly expanded its halal meal options, including chicken tenders and BBQ chickens.
Metro’s HMR offering also includes a wide variety of international flavours, with staples including Italian pastas, South Asian curries, and Mexican and Spanish dishes. Recently, the grocer expanded into Asian-inspired heat-and- serve meals. “These dishes continue to grow in popularity and are well received by a broad segment of our customers,” says Matthew Reilly, director of deli and HMR at Metro.
Lately, Metro’s main area of development in HMR has been seasonal innovation. “Similar to QSR, we have focused on limited-time-offer products that drive trial and explore new flavour profiles that are on trend,” says Reilly. “Occasionally, these items become core listings and part of our menu based on their success. The constant rotation of the menu keeps things fresh and allows customers to try something new. Limited-time offers also drive immediacy, so customers are inclined to get it before it’s gone.”
Investing in freshness and quality
As more people turn to HMR in place of dining out, expectations are rising. According to FMI’s The Power of Foodservice at Retail 2025 report, consumers are starting to see deli-prepared dishes as comparable to restaurant fare, but there’s still room to improve perceptions of quality. Only 37% of U.S. shoppers find deli-prepared foods very appetizing, while 50% say they’re somewhat appetizing. The report states that raising the reputation of deli-prepared foods is vital to success.
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According to NIQ, the top reason Canadians don’t buy HMR is price (57%), with 54% saying they would buy ready-made meals if they were more affordable, and 46% on the hunt for HMR promotions. Beyond cost, 26% would buy HMR if there was more variety, 25% would do so if there were more healthy options available and 21% would buy HMR if there was a wider variety of high-quality items.
For grocers such as Summerhill Market, maintaining the quality and freshness its customers expect is a top priority, says Loewen. To that end, the grocer has invested in improved packaging and labelling systems to preserve texture and flavour, as well as temperature-controlled storage and transportation to ensure every dish arrives in peak condition.
“We’ve also expanded our in-house culinary facilities and refined our production and reheating instructions, so the final experience at home is as close as possible to freshly made,” Loewen says. Metro is also making investments to support freshness and consistency in the HMR department across its stores. The company’s new fresh distribution centre in Toronto enables just-in-time deliveries to its stores, says Reilly.
“Products ship out to stores with optimal freshness, and we work closely with our vendor partners to maintain a mini- mum of overstock to ensure the freshest product possible,” he says. “Additionally, by bringing many HMR products from direct-store delivery to the DC, we are able to maximize order efficiencies and allow stores to order more frequently throughout the week.”
At Loblaw, skilled staff are an essential part of maintaining high standards for quality and freshness. “We continuously invest in the training and development of our HMR staff—particularly for new launches—to ensure consistent, high-quality offerings across all our stores,” says Difalco. “Our recipes are meticulously developed by our in-house chefs who draw inspiration from the best restaurants and grocery stores globally, guaranteeing optimal freshness and exceptional quality in every HMR product.”
Efforts like these speak directly to what shoppers are asking for, and for grocers that can tick all these boxes, the future of HMR has nowhere to go but up.
