Three standout examples of grab-and-go food from US supermarkets
We took these photos on store visits in 2026, and they're grouped by supermarket below. Here's what stood out:
H-E-B
We took the most photos at H-E-B, because it has nailed grab-and-go. Notice how easy it is to shop by taste, diet, craving or portion size: High Protein, Low Carb Lifestyle, Mediterranean, Asian, Mexican, Italian and Snacks each have their own sign. In the close-ups, the food looks good, too. The signs, the layout and food that looks this good are what let a supermarket known for low prices charge $7 to $9 for a prepared meal.
Notice the portion sizes: side salads are $4, entrée salads mostly $5.28 to $5.68 and family-size salads $7.48, with dressings at 50 cents each.
Right next to the salads, protein salads are sold by the pound, so shoppers can add protein to a base salad. A tub of tarragon chicken salad comes to about $9.
Shoppers can pick by diet first: the prepared-meals case is signed High Protein and Low Carb Lifestyle, and further along the signs switch to cuisines.
Shoppers can also go by craving: further along, the same case runs from Low Carb Lifestyle to Mediterranean, Asian and Mexican, each under its own sign. Most meals here are $7 to $9.
If you're counting carbs, the pack says Low Carb Lifestyle and the shelf tag shows the net carbs, 5 to 10 grams. This garlic pesto salmon is $7.50, with 34g of protein.
The same salmon comes in different flavors, shelved by cuisine: teriyaki under Asian and margarita salmon under Mexican, $8 each. Each pack lists its protein, 32g and 36g.
Under "Chef-inspired meals in minutes," comfort food, Italian, BBQ and sides, and pizza each have their own sign. The comfort-food meals are $5.99 to $7.99.
Smaller appetites get their own Snacks section: trays that pair chicken salad, cheese or fruit with crackers, mostly $4.50 to $8.49.
The in-store Sushiya counter makes sushi and custom poke bowls. In our view, how well H-E-B runs the rest of the section is what earns it the right to sell sushi.
Wegmans
Single protein portions sold next to the salads, so shoppers can top a base salad with chicken, salmon, shrimp, eggs or tofu. Notice the shelf strip lists the grams of protein in each. Most portions are $5 to $6; the grilled lemon garlic chicken is $6 for 4 oz, or $24 a pound.
Sprouts Farmers Market
Notice the "Build a meal" and "Pick a protein" signs: proteins roasted in the store are sold on their own, in the same case as roasted vegetables and mashed potatoes, next to $9.99 Wellness Bowls.
Above the grab-and-go salad case, a sign offers diced and seared chicken breast at 2 for $2.99 (usually $4 each). The chicken is sold in the case, next to salads that are mostly $9.99.
Spotting these ideas is the easy part. Knowing whether they'd pay off at your stores is harder.
Let's say you launch a new foodservice concept at some of your stores, like protein add-ons sold next to the salads. Seurat compares each of those stores with its twin: a weighted mix of your stores that don't have the new concept yet. We pick the weights so the twin's sales match the store's own sales, week by week, for a year or more before the launch. After the launch, the twin shows what the store would have sold without the new concept.
Twinning matters because it isolates the effect of the new concept from everything else happening in the store at the same time. The twin stores experience the same weather, holidays and chain-wide promotions as the store with the new concept. Those effects show up in both the twin and the store's actual sales, so subtracting the twin removes them, along with anything else that affects all your stores alike. What's left is the sales lift from the new concept alone.
The read determines:
Photos taken by Seurat Analytics on store visits in 2026. Prices are as shown on the shelf tags on the day of each visit.