Fast-food chains launch grocery versions of menu items

Photo: The Canadian Press

Fast-food fans no longer have to go to – or even order from – their favourite eateries to indulge, as grocery stores now stock a wide array of beloved menu items so superfans can heat up a St-Hubert chicken pot pie, slather on Swiss Chalet gravy sauce or whip up a pot of Tim Hortons homestyle chili at home.

The move to sell restaurant-branded goods in supermarket aisles benefits fast-food chains and grocers as competition for consumers' attention intensifies.

"This has been a lot of buzz in the industry," said Robert Carter, a food service analyst with market-research firm NPD Group, of the increasing restaurant fare in grocery stores.

Most recently, Tim Hortons introduced three of its soups and its chili to supermarket shoppers.

The company started selling its cream of broccoli, chicken noodle, and chicken and rice soups, as well as homestyle chili at some retailers in August, said spokeswoman Sarah McConnell in an email.

The four products are now sold at a number of retailers across Canada, including Sobeys, FreshCo and Shoppers Drug Mart, McConnell wrote, adding they plan to make the products available indefinitely as they "do not have a list end date."

This is not Tim's first foray into supermarket aisles. In January, the company announced it would start selling instant coffee, as well as iced cappuccino and iced coffee bottled drinks.

It also revealed plans to release a double-double coffee bar, a snack made without chocolate, which the company says will be available in stores later this year.

The coffee-and-doughnut chain is not alone in expanding where it sells its food.

Quebec-based St-Hubert Group first introduced its barbecue sauce to supermarkets in 1965. Since then, the rotisserie restaurant has grown its supermarket aisle to dozens of items, including a variety of fresh and frozen meat pies, chicken wings, cans of poutine gravy, and fresh coleslaw.

The Keg Steakhouse and Bar, a British Columbia-based chain, sells several salad dressings, sauces, marinades and seasonings, as well as ribs, burgers, and bacon-wrapped scallops.

McDonald's Canada launched Big Mac, McChicken and Filet-O-Fish sandwich sauces for a limited time in 2017 to celebrate its 50th anniversary, wrote spokeswoman Veronica Bart in an email. The bottles sold until supplies ran out, but the burger chain still sells its coffee at grocery stores.

"The competition is becoming so aggressive that all the operators are looking at ways to increase revenue streams," said Carter.