Kroger has become the biggest seller of sushi in the U.S., a development that says as much about where and how we shop for food as it does about the country’s evolving palate.

The nation’s biggest grocery-store operator sells more than 40 million pieces of sushi in a typical year, in the process helping turn slices of raw fish, real and imitation, and rice into an American consumer staple.

Kroger, based in Cincinnati, owns the Ralphs, Smith’s and Harris Teeter chains, among others. It runs more than 2,700 stores across 35 states and the District of Columbia and employs nearly 430,000 people. The company, which generated about $148 billion of sales last year, has agreed to buy rival Albertsons for about $20 billion. The deal is pending regulatory approval.

Sushi is a central component in Kroger’s strategy to expand beyond our grocery-shopping lists, and grab some of the dollars people budget for restaurants and eating out. The company’s executives say it’s working: Kroger’s data shows that the rolls bring new customers to its stores and encourage existing shoppers to visit more often. The grocery operator says it noticed in 2020 when it was reviewing data from consumer-research firm Circana Group that it was the nation’s biggest sushi retailer. It’s been grabbing an ever-larger share of the U.S. sushi market in the three years since.

[Gas station chicken writhes in envy. Also, say “sushi seller” five times fast – I dare you. ~ Beege]