Is Corner Bakery Café too traditional?

Success does leave clues and Corner Bakery Café famously fresh baked goods, salads and sandwiches have embraced consumer trends and successfully extended the brand beyond the four walls.  Today, Corner Bakery has 300+ customized catering vans delivering famously fresh prepared Ready-2-Eat food around the 160 restaurants locations currently open, driving 20+ percent of total sales.  Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant Guru™ thinks “that is a great way to extend the brand for consumer relevance”.  

In an Omni-channel retail world we have been asked of late where else can companies the ilk of Corner Bakery Café extend the brand in order to drive on-going consumer relevance?  The consumer today while still time-starved, is exploring new flavors profiles, and new non-traditional points of distribution. 

Restaurant chains today must be creating or identifying from existing products or product lines distinctive differentiated food consumable’s as an entity with identity by day part.  Then position those uniquely branded products in multiple non-traditional avenues of distribution that complement existing restaurant locations while embracing consumers. Sounds simple, well it’s not integrating branded product is an art.  

Brand growth can no longer be new store growth only in our Omni-channel retail world. Today, restaurant brand managers must understand the unique balance between palate, price, pleasure and the consumer’s drive for qualitative distinctive differentiated new food consumables in all channels.  

The food value proposition equilibrium for the consumer today balances; better for you, flavor, and traditional products all blended into something with a twist.  Branded crave appeal as an entity with identity.  Then leveraging the branded carve appeal as an entity in new non-traditional avenues of distribution via brand extensions creating top line revenue, bottom line profits, while simultaneously heightening brand value.  Can you name two companies that do this best?  

The Corner Bakery Café is doing a great job attracting new franchise partners, delivering on the brand promise, and executing at the store level daily. Success does leave clues and Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant Guru™ thinks “legacy traditional platform success is the springboard for driving Omni-channel non-traditional success.” 

Outside eyes can deliver inside sales. What are you bundling with you core products? Who are your customers and where and how can you sell them more? For more Visit www.FoodserviceSolutions.us  or http://www.linkedin.com/in/grocerant or twitter.com/grocerant  

Who Will Be Eating What in 2014?

Selling food in any retail channel today requires insights with a global view.  The Culinary & Baking Institute (part of the Campbell Soup Company) has identified what consumers are currently eating, as well as what to expect in 2014. This study was released as part of their first-ever Culinary TrendScape report. Here is what they found would be the 2014; 10 most popular food trends:

• Brazilian cuisine – Rio de Janeiro will bring the country’s seafood stews, grilling techniques and local ingredients into the culinary spotlight when it hosts the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Summer Olympics.
   
• Food waste awareness – Root-to-leaf cooking, repurposing leftovers and composting food scraps at home are all gaining traction with consumers.
   
• Fresh juices – Craving better-for-you balance through “juicing,” the health-conscious are “going green” to refresh and recharge.
   
• Sophisticated sweets – Spices, botanicals and fresh takes on fruit are hitting the dessert scene.
   
• Yogurt goes savory – Greek-style yogurt is showing up in savory, non-spoonable applications like condiments, baked goods and snacks.
   
• Beverage-inspired flavors – The bar has inspired the kitchen, with barrel-aged, bottled and brewed flavors moving beyond public-house glasses into everything from hot sauces to barbecue.
   
• Bolder burgers – America’s iconic sandwich is changing with the times, with new buns, unique burger patty options like chicken, lamb, elk and brisket and a range of toppings.

The insights from a global retailer are important.  Campbell’s culinary monitoring and tracking system that identifies and categorizes impactful food topics highlights how American tastes are evolving as a result of global influences and greater awareness of sustainability and nutrition.

www.FoodserviceSolutions.us Steven Johnson is Grocerant Guru at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions, with extensive experience as a multi-unit operator, consultant and brand/product positioning. Since 1991 Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma, WA has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche

 

C-Store Speedway $925M Capital Infusion Targets QSR Space for Growth.

With a refocused, retooled and refined retail division Speedway has been positioning itself to expand its reach and now, the time has come.  MPC (parent of Speedway) President and CEO Gary Heminger said the Findlay-based company will be allocating capital in the future to drive growth in businesses with more stable cash flow and higher value. Its retail division, Speedway LLC, is one such business.

Today, when looking at Speedway's numbers, merchandise sales are on pace to reach $3.2 billion, noted Tony Kenney, president of Speedway LLC. From 2011 to 2013, two-thirds of Speedway's sales have come from inside the stores. Much like other C-store operators Speedway has focused, retooled and refined its fresh prepared food offerings and the results are now paying off. 

"Consumers continue to show a preference to shop in convenience stores," Kenney said,  that  they will be targeting both organic growth and, small operators are under pressure and could offer an attractive opportunity for Speedway.

In Fact Speedway has identified 280 "fill-in" opportunities for organic growth in its existing markets, with the Chicago, Indianapolis and Louisville areas tapped as key growth markets. In addition, the company has identified 230 existing stores as candidates for rebuilds, Kenney detailed.

Success does leave clues and as of today I do not know of any QSR operator planning on opening 500 U.S. stores in a defined market?  Today’s C-stores operators are well financed, fresh food focused, and driven by customers looking for bundled meal solutions. The retail food consumer is evolving are you?

Outside eyes can deliver inside sales. What are you bundling with you core products? Who are your customers and where and how can you sell them more? For more Visit www.FoodserviceSolutions.us  or http://www.linkedin.com/in/grocerant or twitter.com/grocerant  

 

 

Meal Components Make Meal Time Mix and Match Opportunity Time

Family meal time continues to evolve.  Most of Foodservice Solutions® regular Grocerant Guru™ readers when thinking about growing up harken back to the day Mom cooked one meal from scratch and everyone sat down and ate dinner at the same time.  That is not the case any longer.

Today, multigenerational households are once again growing in numbers, but the family meal has changed.  With the advent of quality Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food available from restaurants, grocery stores, drug stores, and convenience stores. Dinner time has become a happy time again but filled with mix and match meal components that can be customized per person and eaten at will or simultaneously. 

The Pew Research Center found that “the number of multigenerational households in the U.S., climbing to 49 million or 16% of all U.S. households. The number is even higher for age groups 25-to-34 and 65 and older, where one in five, or 20%, live in these extended families.”  Today, multigenerational families are more ethnically diverse than every before. That diversity has created even greater palate flavor diversity according to Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant Guru™ creating meal time comfort food conflict. 

That conflict can be easily remedied with customized, meal components bundled into a family meal. Pew identified four key drives of the growth in multigenerational households they are:

1.       High unemployment and the housing foreclosures of the recession.

2.       Rising number of immigrants.

3.       Rising average age of young-adult marriages.

4.       Aging population and need for caregiving.

Pew found that Multigenerational households “mean a shift in the key influencer for household needs and media habits. As families bring in aging parents, the need for larger healthier meals could increase. It also offers marketers a chance to influence the caregiver vs. the senior for brand switching opportunities.”  The ability for a family to bundled meal components by portion sizes, entrée, varying locations and flavor profiles is a key to family cohesiveness.

Interested in learning how the 5P’s of Food Marketing can edify your retail food brand while creating a platform for consumer convenient meal participation, differentiation and individualization contact us via Email us at: info@FoodserivceSolutions.us  

Success does leave clues and if legacy retailers want to garner share entering the grocerant niche is a trend that has been developing since 1991 it is not a fad.  Is your company ready for a grocerant niche review, assessment or enhancement? Visit: www.FoodserviceSolutions.us

Casey’s General Stores now Fresh Food Fanatics

Last year Casey’s General Stores sold about 12 million whole pies and 48 million pizza slices. Success does leave clues and Casey’s has found success in Pizza.  What are you trying to sell that is new?  C-stores don’t just sell gas any more.  Casey’s is in the process of becoming a Fresh Food Focused company.  

For those of you who are not regular readers of this blog; Casey’s is a convenience store chain with over 1770 units which sells gas, pizzas, doughnuts, fountain drinks and snacks at its stores in 14 states. They began selling pizza in 2010 and did not add delivery until 2012. They only have delivery in 350 of their locations today but have found such successful metric’s they are expanding the pizza program dramatically.

It was just a year ago Casey’s General store opened its first “Pizza Only” store/restaurant.  Casey’s announced that they are now planning on adding five additional restaurants in Des Moines, Iowa near the first unit in Pleasant Hill next year.

Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food is driving increased customer frequency within the c-store sector and specifically at Casey’s.  In addition Casey’s plans to add frozen yogurt to its delivery service from the Pizza Express store and is working on launching online pizza ordering from the Casey’s website. Clearly Fresh Food is the key driver for Casey’s growth moving forward.

Terry Handley, Casey’s chief operating officer stated “The efforts are aimed at expanding company’s growth area, which is prepared food”. The new pizza shops will sell self-serve frozen yogurt, fountain drinks, breadsticks, pasta and chicken wings.  Are your sales up 11%+?  Is it time you reposition?

For international corporate presentations, educational forums, or keynotes contact: Steven Johnson at www.FoodserviceSolutions.us    His extensive experience as a multi-unit restaurant operator, consultant, brand / product positioning expert and public speaking will leave success clues for all.

Chain Compliancy Opened the Door for Restaurant Growth Hackers

Sometimes an industry gets lazy and the restaurant industry became so use to doing the same things the same way over and over they became complacent.  They became great at brand protectionism. Seemingly restaurants are the last to embrace competitors, the under-currents of change, and technology.

The restaurant sector customers continues evolving at a rapid pace albeit without many restaurant chains keeping up as 2013 proved to be a breakthrough year for the consumer rise in use of  mobile technology. In 2014, more advanced technology systems are on the way, driven by consumer demand. Mobile payments are becoming as normal for Millennials as credit cards are to their parents. Are you prepared to accept their business? Is your brand evolving with consumers or simply following them?

The line between restaurants and food retailers is growing ever thinner. The fight for America’s food dollars continues to intensify as consumers find fresh prepared ready-2-eat food options at a wide and growing array of outlets across almost every channel: convenience stores, chain drug stores, restaurants, grocery stores, club stores, vending and even more non-food retailers like dollar stores.  While manufacturers, retailers and restaurants worry about choice overload, consumers have embraced their new choices and show no signs of returning to the old ways.

The restaurant industry is not an industry known for trying to be first as in fastest to market with an ideation, food or technology advance. In the United States the larger the chain in almost all cases the more slowly they are to adopt something than a smaller chain or independent restaurants will.  Chain restaurants goal has traditionally been, simply feed one meal at a time in the restaurant while protecting and edifying the brand. That is not enough in our rapidly evolving Onmi-channel retail world.

Today the food industry fresh prepared food growth hackers are chain drug stores, Liquor stores, clothing retailers the ilk of Casey's General Stores, Tommy Bahama, Urban Outfitters, Brooks Brothers, and Ann Taylor. 

www.FoodserviceSolutions.us Steven Johnson is Grocerant Guru at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions, with extensive experience as a multi-unit operator, consultant and brand/product positioning. Since 1991 Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma, WA has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche

Can’t Cook visit Whole Foods for Whole Holiday Season

 

 

Can’t cook and the in-laws are coming for the weekend this holiday season? Simply remember these five words.  Whole Foods Fast, Fabulous, Food. Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food that is considered restaurant quality and “better for you” can be found in a plethora of locations.  However if quality consistency, variety, and differentiated flavor are important Whole Foods is the place.

Today Whole Foods non longer stands for whole pay check. Whole Foods is in the United Sates from coast to coast is Fresh, Fast, Fabulous, Food that is Ready-2-Eat or Heat-N-Eat prepared fresh and deemed by consumers “better for you”.  

Breakfast, Lunch or Dinner Whole Foods offers mix and match meal components that can be customized into a cohesive family meal and you don’t have to cook at all.  Depending on location you can order online or simply visit and pick up in-store.   

Breakfast can include such favorites as a Smoked Salmon Platter with fresh Bagels, Fresh Fruit Platter or Pastry Platter with a selection of mini fresh baked pastries. Lunch you can get a selection of salads, croissant platter, wrap platter or traditional sandwich platter.  

Dinner can be a breeze with a Heat-N-Eat or Ready-2-Eat meal from a traditional Boneless Prime Rib or Ham with traditional side orders or you can customize your meal with appetizers including prosciutto wraps, grilled vegetables, crostini’s,  and side orders including Mashed Potatoes, Wild Rice Stuffing, Wild Mushroom Gravy, Cranberry Sauce, Green Beans with Spiced Nuts, Dinner rolls, Saffron Poached Pears. 

So if you can’t cook, don’t worry.  Grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food can make every holiday and happy holiday.

 

Outside eyes can deliver inside sales. What are you bundling with you core products? Who are your customers and where and how can you sell them more? For more Visit www.FoodserviceSolutions.us  or http://www.linkedin.com/in/grocerant or twitter.com/grocerant