Grab & go: how Hannaford, Cargill are elevating carryout meals
- Consumers are looking to stretch their budgets while still enjoying easy, flavorful, satisfying meals. That means convenient dinner solutions from grocery retailers are becoming a go-to alternative to eating out.
- To meet this demand, Cargill collaborates with customers across the entire global food system — from restaurants and grocery retailers to food manufacturers. The shared goal? Innovate to deliver the meals people want and need today.
Today’s shoppers want more than traditional comfort food; they’re craving variety, high-protein meals, global flavors and easy-to-serve options that fit busy lifestyles. According to the latest insights from The Cargill North America Protein Profile, consumers are looking for, on average, quick “dinner tonight” solutions two times a week — and most consumers want more globally-inspired food at their local grocery store.
To meet this demand, Cargill collaborates with customers across the entire global food system — from restaurants and grocery retailers to food manufacturers. The shared goal? Innovate to deliver the meals people want and need today.
“Insights must lead to innovation,” says Tammy Gonzales, marketing manager at Cargill. “We saw that shoppers wanted more — more flavor, more protein, more options and more convenience. Working hand-in-hand with our retail customers, we turned those insights into tasty solutions.”
Globally-inspired, on the go
Take Hannaford, for example — a popular local grocery chain serving communities in the northeastern United States.
We created an innovative line of fully cooked, multicultural protein carryout meals, and partnered with Hannaford to launch in August, 2023 at their hot bar — a store area that offers ready-to-eat hot food items. With options like chicken teriyaki, Korean BBQ chicken and pork burnt ends, these meals make it easy for Hannaford shoppers to enjoy convenient, globally-inspired dishes on the go.
“I like the variety," says Braedon, a New York shopper. "Some hot bars will have chicken wings and they’re all the same thing with a different sauce. These items all seemed unique from each other. There’s an option regardless of what someone might be in the mood for, and I like that.”
‘More flavors, please.’
Since the program's launch, Hannaford has seen a significant increase in the popularity of its hot bar offerings each year.
“That's the result of giving the customer the product they want and working together with partners like Cargill to create solutions that fit Hannaford’s needs,” says Lara Favreau, home meal solution analyst at Hannaford. “We were looking for prepared options that go beyond the usual comfort food. These products have allowed us to offer more global variety, keeping our offerings fresh and on-trend, without adding back-of-house complexity.”
Frozen bags that reheat quickly help save on labor costs and allow for quick preparation, which is part of why Hannaford recently expanded the line with new flavors like Hawaiian chicken and white wine mushroom chicken.
With a third flavor expansion coming to Hannaford later this year, Cargill’s hot bar innovations are helping retailers like Hannaford transform their hot bar programs into flavorful, globally inspired destinations.
“As retailers look for solutions that balance cost, quality and consumer appeal, we’re proud to be the partner who helps bring those solutions to life. Our goal is to help customers like Hannaford not just keep up with trends, but lead them.”
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