Thanksgiving Side Dish Showdown: What Do Americans Want to Ban from the Buffet

A New Survey Reveals the Dishes You Can Cut from the Menu to Save Money this Holiday Season.

Thanksgiving is America’s favorite non-denominational holiday. It’s a festive occasion marked by feasts, football, family…and occasional feuding. Tensions may run exceptionally high at the grown-ups’ table this election year, so Savings.com suggests an alternate arena to settle more playful disputes.

White meat or dark? Stuffing or spuds? Should we even call it Turkey Day? Keep conversation light with these collegial controversies and... 

The Retail Rundown: Late-Season Push for Grilling Cuts

As October ends, beef and seafood promotions are neck and neck, each occupying about 25 percent of total advertising space. During the final week of "Pork-tober, pork features account for 20.8 percent of buying opportunities, closely followed by chicken at 20.6 percent.

Though the shift from grilling cuts to roasts has been in motion for a few weeks, a forecast of record warmth in parts of the central and eastern U.S. this week offers a last chance for backyard cooking before winter sets in.

This could spur late-season promotions...

New Butterball Togetherness Report Provides Insight on Thanksgiving Plans

Butterball, the best known and most loved* brand of turkey in the U.S., today announced the findings of the Butterball Togetherness Report: 2024 Thanksgiving Outlook, which reveals the Thanksgiving plans of hosts and attendees alike.

The holiday report reveals that 86% of consumers plan to celebrate Thanksgiving with others and an anticipated average celebration size of nine people. And turkey reigns supreme, as 87% of hosts plan to serve turkey this year. It's also consumers' favorite part of the Thanksgiving meal (51%), followed by stuffing (44%), pie (32%) and potatoes (27%)...

The Retail Rundown: Tuning in to Turkey

Retail promotions for seafood continue to dominate the protein category this week, capturing nearly a third of ad circular space (32 percent). Beef and pork follow, taking up 23 percent and 21.3 percent, respectively. Chicken is up slightly from the previous week at 16 percent. Egg ads held steady at about 3 percent.

Several items were featured at lower prices compared to 2023 last week, with chicken leg quarters averaging $1.55 per pound, 5 cents cheaper than last year. Fresh pork loin prices were down by 2 percent...

Walmart Sets the Table Early With a Thanksgiving Meal for Less Than $7 per Person

Today Walmart officially launched its holiday meal, bringing customers incredible savings on mealtime favorites, earlier and at an even lower price than last year. And to help spread more joy during the season of giving, Walmart is offering customers the opportunity to gift a meal directly to loved ones anywhere in the country and, new this year, donate an entire meal to their local Salvation Army unit.

As food prices remain top of mind, more customers want to begin saving earlier...

ALDI Commits to Thanksgiving Prices Lower Than 2019, Feeding 10 People for Less than $47

This holiday season, ALDI is offering its lowest-priced Thanksgiving basket in five years – a full meal for 10 people at less than $47.* With reports showing grocery prices are up 50% across the industry on hundreds of items compared to 2019,** shoppers will get welcome relief at ALDI on their favorite Thanksgiving fixings.

Throughout the Thanksgiving season, holiday hosts can shop ALDI for all the fresh ingredients and award-winning products they need to assemble...

The Retail Rundown: Thanksgiving Turkey Retail Prices Reported Higher Despite Wholesale Drop

With Thanksgiving in the rearview mirror, Urner Barry is looking back at how this year’s retail Thanksgiving sales compared to recent years. 

According to Circana data, retail turkey prices on both a discounted and non-discounted basis have consistently trended higher in the past five years. Generally, distribution has also seen an uptrend in recent years. 

Distribution is a measure that reports the distribution of discounted and non-discounted items. It takes into account the number of Universal Product Codes (UPCs) selling within a given aggregate...

Mintec Releases "Thanksgiving Dinner Index 2023" Report; Read It Here

Mintec enables the world's largest food and manufacturing brands to implement more efficient and sustainable procurement strategies. We do this through our cutting-edge SaaS platform, Mintec Analytics, which delivers market prices and analysis for thousands of commodities, food ingredients and associated materials. Our data and tools empower our customers to understand prices better, analyze their spend and negotiate with confidence.

Mintec’s latest report, “Thanksgiving Dinner Index 2023,” is a look at the components that make up the traditional holiday dinner...

The Retail Rundown: Feasting on Holiday Features

Thanksgiving is here and the retail segment is teeming with all things turkeys, sides, sweets, and treats!

Fittingly, turkey leads the protein category with 31.1% of total feature volume, up from 22.5% the week prior. Pork follows with 22.8%. Seafood narrowly overtakes beef for the third spot, with 18.8%. Beef claimed 17.4%, nearly flat with last week.

Mintec recently took a look at the components that make up the traditional holiday dinner in its "Thanksgiving Dinner Index 2023" report. The index, which measures price fluctuations across key food commodities that make up a...

Now is the Time to Enjoy White Castle Stuffing Season

It's WCS season! That's "White Castle Stuffing" season for those not in the know. White Castle, the iconic, family-owned business, reminds people that before the bells start jingling, before the yule tides, and before everyone starts belting what they want for Christmas, Thanksgiving must be celebrated! Of course, that celebration should include a freshly baked legendary White Castle stuffing recipe.

White Castle's Original Slider Stuffing set a new standard on how Thanksgiving Day stuffing should be prepared. The recipe was first introduced in 1991 when a White...

More People Than Ever Expected to Shop During Thanksgiving Holiday Weekend

An estimated 182 million people are planning to shop in-store and online from Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday this year, according to the annual survey released today by the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics. This figure is 15.7 million more people than last year and is the highest estimate since NRF began tracking this data in 2017.

“The Thanksgiving holiday weekend marks some of the busiest shopping days of the year, as consumers enjoy the tradition of shopping for the perfect gifts for friends and loved...

Cost of Thanksgiving Dinner Down Slightly from Record High in 2022

Gathering around the table for a Thanksgiving dinner won’t take as much of a toll on your pocketbook this year compared to 2022, but the meal still reflects historically high costs. The American Farm Bureau Federation’s 38th annual survey provides a snapshot of the average cost of this year’s classic holiday feast for 10, which is $61.17 or less than $6.20 per person.

This is a 4.5% decrease from last year’s record-high average of $64.05, but a Thanksgiving meal is still...

The Retail Rundown: 2023 Thanksgiving Outlook

Thanksgiving is just one week out and grocers are bracing for a busy weekend ahead as shoppers secure any remaining needs for the holiday feast. Below, we have the latest outlook on what Turkey Day 2023 may bring.

The Star of the Show 

Shoppers this Thanksgiving may breathe a sigh of relief when looking at prices for the big bird. Last year, households shelled out more money for their turkeys due to factors including highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) complications, low cold storage holdings, and inflation.

A lull in bird flu detections following the initial outbreak...

Kroger's Freshgiving Prices are Even Low, Low, Lower than Last Year's

The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR) today shared its zero-compromise Freshgiving meal offering customers a holiday basket that includes all the staples for less than $5 per person—even more affordable than the retailer's turkey day bundle last year. Complete with pumpkin pie, turkey at the center of the plate and plenty of fresh sides, this feast is sure to please.

"No matter how families gather, Kroger's Thanksgiving is Fresh for Everyone," said Rodney McMullen, Kroger's Chairman and CEO...

Majority of Thanksgiving Celebrations Predicted to Include Whole Turkeys this Year

As Thanksgiving quickly approaches, Cargill's U.S.-focused Future of Turkey study indicates a return to traditional Thanksgiving celebrations, with more than 8 in 10 consumers who responded saying they plan to purchase a whole turkey this year. This marks a turnaround from previous years when consumers often purchased individual turkey parts such as turkey breasts as they exercised caution during the pandemic with smaller gatherings and celebrations.

“Americans hold onto the belief that a whole turkey should be the centerpiece of a Thanksgiving meal with family and friends,”...

The Retail Rundown: Tuning in to Holiday Turkey Features

For this week's retail rundown, we're tuning in to holiday turkey features as Thanksgiving inches closer. Grocers are making room for the big bird in their meat cases and freezers for the millions of turkeys that will be gobbled down in two weeks. 

Seafood maintains the top spot among protein ads with 23.8% of features this week. Turkey ads captured nearly 9% of protein features this week, up from 6.9% the previous week. Within the turkey complex, frozen whole turkey features account for 56.5% of features, up from 25% a week...

Sprouts Farmers Market Partners with Instacart's FoodStorm to Enhance Holiday Catering Services

Sprouts Farmers Market, one of the largest and fastest growing specialty retailers of fresh, natural, and organic food in the United States, and Instacart (NASDAQ: CART), the leading grocery technology company in North America, today announced a new partnership to launch FoodStorm, Instacart's order management system (OMS), across all of Sprouts' 400+ locations. The new partnership will help streamline Sprouts' existing catering operations and modernize its holiday inventory management, ensuring a seamless holiday season experience for its customers and store team members...

Meijer Turkey Prices Help Families Combat Inflation, Celebrate Thanksgiving

With Thanksgiving fast approaching, Meijer is stocked and ready with a wide selection of turkeys at prices that roll back the clock to lessen the impact of inflation on families.

The Midwest retailer anticipates selling 1 million turkeys this holiday season, which is the equivalent of 520 truckloads. Customers can purchase Meijer brand frozen turkeys for only 59 cents per pound through Nov. 25, which is roughly the same cost Meijer offered its customers in the 1930s, said Josh Potts, Meijer Poultry Buyer...

Spend More Time Making Family Memories with Cracker Barrel's Holiday Heat n' Serve Meals

With the average American spending over nine hours in the kitchen preparing Thanksgiving dinner from scratch, Cracker Barrel Old Country Store® can handle the cooking – all season long – with convenient catering and holiday meal options for any size gathering.

Entertaining just got easier with the return Thanksgiving Heat n' Serve meals and new catering menu items like Country Fried Turkey and Broccoli Cheese Casserole. Plus, popular holiday dishes like Cinnamon Roll Pie are back by popular demand for dine-in or curbside pickup...

Maggiano's Little Italy® Celebrates the Holidays with Festive Favorites for Thanksgiving

Maggiano's Little Italy® has everyone set for the perfect dinner this Thanksgiving with delicious holiday dine-in and carryout offerings as well as seasonal fall menu features! As a brand known for bringing people around the table, Maggiano's will be open on Thanksgiving Day with an elevated dine-in menu and as well as hot and cold carryout options for up to five people.

Thanksgiving has become an increasingly popular time for the family-focused Italian-American restaurant. This year, guests are invited to celebrate the Maggiano's...

Target's Serving Up an Easy, Affordable Thanksgiving Meal for Under $25

Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT) today announced how it is helping guests serve up an effortlessly delicious Thanksgiving meal that won't stretch their budgets. Starting today, guests can shop Target's Thanksgiving meal for under $25 online and in store, including the following must-have staples to serve four:

• Good & Gather Premium Basted Young Turkey (Frozen) – 10 lb.
• Good & Gather Russet Potatoes – 5 lb.
• Good & Gather Cut Green Beans – 14.5 oz.
• Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup – 22 oz.
• Ocean Spray Jellied Cranberry Sauce – 14 oz...

The Fresh Market Ushers in the Thanksgiving Season Earlier Than Ever This Year!

The Fresh Market is helping its guests prepare for a fabulous Thanksgiving celebration this year, with order-ahead now available, a special holiday print edition of The Fresh Market Magazine, and a bodacious livestream featuring brand ambassador and Chef Anna Rossi.

With the holiday season quickly approaching, The Fresh Market wants to take the stress out of cooking by saving guests time in the kitchen so they can focus on what matters most this time of year: being with family and friends...

The Retail Rundown: A Nod to November

Winter is seemingly giving a nod to November, as frigid and record-cold temperatures impact much of the central and southern United States this week.

While households hunker down for the colder weather, retailers are quickening the seasonal transition to comfort foods and indoor oven cooking. Moreover, grocers are gearing up for the inpouring of holiday shoppers now that  Thanksgiving is just three short weeks away.

The holiday centerpiece—turkey—is under close watch as highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), also known as bird flu...

It’s Turkey Time: BJ’s Wholesale Club Thanks its Members with Free Thanksgiving Turkeys

BJ's Wholesale Club (NYSE: BJ), a leading operator of membership warehouse clubs, today announced its annual free turkey promotion, helping members take advantage of incredible savings as they shop for their holiday essentials.

From November 1 through November 9, BJ’s members will be eligible to receive a digital coupon for a FREE fresh or frozen Butterball whole turkey when they spend $150 in the same transaction, in-club or online.

The free turkey coupon will appear in members digital coupon gallery beginning November 11...

Bob Evans Restaurants Celebrates This Holiday Season with the Return of Farmhouse Feasts

To celebrate the Thanksgiving season, Bob Evans holiday meals allow guests to spend less time cooking and more time making memories – the true meaning of the season. For years, Bob Evans has mastered their signature Thanksgiving recipes to alleviate the burden of making a Thanksgiving meal for its guests. This year, the return of Bob Evans’ Farmhouse Feasts feature a collection of holiday meals to-go that can accommodate gatherings of any size and are packed cold, ready to heat and serve in two hours or less...