Figure 23: Food Away From Home vs Grocery Store Sales Growth, 2019–2025
Indexed sales growth (2019 = 100). Foodservice collapsed during the pandemic lockdowns but recovered faster than grocery. By 2025 foodservice spending has grown 56% above pre-pandemic levels — outpacing grocery store growth by 17 percentage points. This matters for snow crab: crab dollars are split between these two channels, and the two channels are now moving in opposite directions.
Food Away From Home 2025
$1,182B
+56% vs 2019
Grocery Store Sales 2025
$915B
+39% vs 2019
FS Growth Premium
+17 pts
FS outpacing grocery since 2021
Source: U.S. Census Bureau via FRED — RSFSDP (Food Services & Drinking Places), MRTSSM4451USN (Grocery Stores) / Seafood Datasearch