Buffett can’t save Kroger and Walmart may not win the Middle

Success does leave clues.  However just because Warren Buffett invested in Kroger does not mean Kroger will thrive or has a plan to beat Walmart for the middle of the grocery sector. Don’t forget that Buffett investment in Kraft Heinz did not go so well.  Just look at the at Walmart’s most recent earnings report where they failed to meet expectations after repositioning to the middle of the grocery sector. 

According to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® Kraft Heinz provides a view on just how difficult it is to reposition a brand.  Aldi, Lidl, and WinCo are all growing garnering share from Walmart, and Kroger. Aldi, and Lidl each offer a greater shopping destination fill with discovery for less driven in large part to private label products for less. 

Facts mater some more than others in the food space.  The number one driver of change within the grocery sector is the U.S. Household size.  Yes, the demographics do drive change, in fact 62.88% of U.S. households comprised of one or two people. With an ageing population there are few households that want to buy 10 porkchops, two stewing hens, or 100 cans of different soups?

Winning in the middle is hard.  There will not be two winners in the middle of the grocery sector.  So, I guess you will have to pick Walmart or Kroger.  For growth the WinCo, Aldi, and Lidl look to continue drive change as the garner incremental customers, build new stores, and innovate fresh foods for smaller sized households. So, who will win the middle of the grocery sector? Or should the question be how many more traditional grocery stores are simply going to fade away.

Invite Foodservice Solutions® to complete a Grocerant Program Assessment, Grocerant ScoreCard, or for product positioning or placement assistance, or call our Grocerant Guru®.  Since 1991 www.FoodserviceSolutions.us  of Tacoma, WA has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche. Contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us or 253-759-7869

Parker’s Kitchen Program is an Open Invitation for Restaurant Customers

Consumers are dynamic not static and Parker’s Convenience stores created a new platform in the way of its Parker’s Kitchen concept that fast-casual restaurant and quick service restaurants will find appealing, attractive and accommodating according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

C-store Decisions recently recognized Parker’s with a “Best Foodservice Launch” designation for its Parker’s Kitchen concept.  Parker’s Kitchen concept is focused on ‘local fresh food favorites’ according to Johnson.  Parker’s Kitchen serves southern-style comfort food, made from scratch daily in small batches using fresh ingredients. The offering includes a selection of breakfast, lunch and dinner items that look to take convenience store food to a new level.  Grocerant niche fresh food fast with southern twist.

Greg Parker, founder and CEO of Parker’s and Parker’s Kitchen stated “All of our new stores are branded as Parker’s Kitchen and include our award-winning menu of Southern-inspired favorites as well as freshly brewed sweet tea, lemonade, fountain drinks with Chewy ice, bean-to-cup gourmet coffee and much more,”

Battle for Share of Stomach

Parker continued “We’re using machine learning and innovative algorithms that incorporate a wide range of data to give us predictive analytics that help us make chicken tenders before the customer orders them to ensure that everything is as fresh as possible,” … “Our goal is for every chicken tender we sell to be cooked within 15 minutes of being delivered to the customer.”

Sounds as if Parkers Kitchen want to sell fresh food fresher that a QSR or Fast Casual Restaurant can while offering more mix & match meal bunding options.  That according to Johnson is the honey on the biscuit that will garner incremental customer frequency and restaurant customer migration.

Targeting grocery store customers as well the new menu also offers family-sized meals for less than $20, which include Southern-style chicken tenders or bone-in chicken, homestyle sides, yeast rolls and freshly brewed iced tea. Mix & Match meal component bunding is one of the hallmarks of the Grocerant niche according to Johnson.

 Parker went on “Our goal is to offer the fastest, most frictionless experience and the highest quality food, allowing our customers to fuel their cars as well as their appetites. We believe technology plays a key role in making foodservice more convenient than ever for our customers,” Who are you targeting for growth?

Invite Foodservice Solutions® to complete a Grocerant Program Assessment, Grocerant ScoreCard, or for product positioning or placement assistance, or call our Grocerant Guru®.  Since 1991 www.FoodserviceSolutions.us  of Tacoma, WA has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche. Contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us or 253-759-7869

Domino’s Customer Carryout is Catching-On

While everyone knows that Domino’s delivers.  What more and more consumers are finding out is that Domino’s carryout is catching on while elevating fresh and fast according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

Domino's was built on speed of service and delivery.  Today, technology is helping Domino’s edify its long standing brand messaging and the foundation it was built on fresh food fast.  The new Pie Pass technology by Domino’s allows customers who order and pay online to skip the line and grab their order.

" Dennis Maloney, Domino's senior vice president and chief innovation officer  stated “We know that carryout customers value speed and simplicity, and that is exactly what they'll receive with Pie Pass," … "Gone are the days of waiting for your carryout order—now when customers arrive at the store, they'll be greeted by name on our digital signage and handed their order. It's the ultimate VIP carryout experience where customers don't have to be a regular customer to be treated like one."

So, Domino's carryout customers who order and pay online or via the app will be eligible to use Pie Pass. When they arrive in the parking lot and are about to enter the store, they can check in on the Domino's Tracker or order confirmation page, which will give the store team members a head start on making sure the order is ready to go. The in-store digital menu board will welcome the customer by name, and store team members will be ready for a speedy handoff.

Today, carry-out business accounts for close to 45 percent of total domestic orders at Domino's. Who knew?  Price, Value, Service Domino’s is empowering consumers to save both time and money with carryout orders.  It is clearly driving sales.  Success does leave clues.   Are you opening new points of distribution for your customers?

For international corporate presentations, regional chain presentations, local educational forums, or keynotes contact: Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions.  His extensive experience as a multi-unit restaurant operator, consultant, brand / product positioning expert and public speaking will leave success clues for all. For more information visit www.GrocerantGuru.com , www.FoodserviceSolutions.us or call 1-253-759-7869

Is Eating Fake Meat for Lent OK

There is no doubt that ‘fake’ meat, aka the Impossible Foods, Burger and or Beyond Meat, products are hot products and top of mind with consumer this year. Driven in large part Millennials quest for food discovery. It is also true that ‘fake meat’ products in the minds-eye of the consumer have the ‘Halo’ of better for you.

Close to 25 percent of Americans will be observing Lent this year.  Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® stated “given that Pope Francis’s Encyclical on the Environment  “pulls no punches” lamenting pollution, climate change, a lack of clean water, and biodiversity.  Then ‘fake’ meat should be and OK replacement for meat during Lent.

However, not being as close to the Pope as others, he decided to check in with his own parish priest. His priest said that yes, making a conscious choice to forgo meat and select a meat replacement would be inline with the directive to not eat meat. Johnson, then went on to say clearly this elevates the ‘halo’ around fake meat.  

That means Wayback Burgers new Impossible Melt (coming Feb 26) that starts with the Impossible plant-based patty, and features spicy garlic aioli sauce, topped with swiss cheese and sautéed onions, all sandwiched between two toasted, inverted buttered buns is OK to eat during Lent. 

Demand for plant-based meat options continue to grow and a nearly 80 percent increase in plant-based burgers consumed at restaurants last year, according to the NPD Group.  Then again there will be lots of other options including fist for those of you that are more traditional: Including  

Arby’s Fish ‘N Cheddar Sandwich: A crispy fish filet with cheddar cheese sauce, lettuce, and tartar sauce all on a sesame bun, $2 for $6.

A&W Restaurants Cod Sliders: Premium pub-style battered cod topped with tartar sauce and pickles, served on a soft potato bun. Served two-sliders to a basket with fries and coleslaw at the suggested price of $8.99.

Bojangles BojAngler Fish Sandwich:  Wild-caught Alaskan Pollock filet dusted with Bojangles’ Cajun-inspired seasoning blend, served with a slice of American cheese and a dollop of creamy tartar sauce on a toasted, buttered bun, $5 for two sandwiches or a combo meal.

Mission Taco Joint Jamaican Jerk Salmon Taco:  Salmon filet rubbed with Jamaican jerk spices and grilled in a banana leaf, served in a house-made flour tortilla with grilled pineapple pico de gallo, shredded lettuce, Scorpion Chile aioli and fried pickled onions, $3.75.

Foodservice Solutions® specializes in outsourced business development. We can help you identify, quantify and qualify additional food retail segment opportunities or a new menu product segment and brand and menu integration strategy.  Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma WA is the global leader in the Grocerant niche visit Facebook.com/Steven Johnson, Linkedin.com/in/grocerant/ or twitter.com/grocerant

In the Battle for Share of Stomach

Does your menu have a 'Halo' of better for you?

中国食品包装、设备及食品制造

不要让 Coronavirus 旅行限制限制您的公司继续在美国贸易展览会上销售、分销或展览的能力。®餐饮服务解决方案团队®可以帮助您实现目标，提供一对一的介绍，或代表您的公司参加在美国举行的贸易展。

如果您想在食品领域进行代理，食品部门包括：

杂货行业

便利店行业

餐饮业

教育部门

商业部门

联系人：Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us史蒂文·约翰逊是位于华盛顿州塔科马的食品服务解决方案®的杂货大师® 自1991年以来，食品服务解决方案®一直在提供一个成功的服务平台。寻找介绍帮助，成功线索，销售协助，营销相关性或行业特定见解访问：FoodserviceSolutions.us

Casey's is a Growing Grocerant selling Fresh Food Faster

Regular readers of this blog know just how Casey’s General Stores has been expanding fresh food fast and growing both top line sales and bottom line profits. Today, fresh pizza sales represent a full 20 percent of the $9 billion-plus retailer’s $1.1 billion foodservice business.

Grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh food drives sales its that simple according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.  In order to continue expanding sales of Pizza and more Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh food Casey’s needed an app that befit the needs of its 2,000-plus-store chain serving almost 20 million pizzas, burgers, sandwiches and other Mix & Match items.

So, Art Sebastian, vice president of digital, who joined Casey’s 19 months ago is going to leverage technology to drive a native mobile app that facilitates ordering and delivery.  He will be revamping the customer relationship management (CRM) and marketing automation capabilities and launched the chain’s first digital loyalty program, Casey’s Rewards.

Customer-facing experiences are fully integrated with its kitchen order management system to create a frictionless experience for both customers and in-store teams.

Sebastian stated, “We developed the best technology and architected the best tech stack for the modern era for a truly seamless experience,”. “We wanted to be relevant and contemporary to customers moving forward, making a unique value proposition and putting guests at the center of decision making.”

Note: Sebastian said digital ordering has increased “significantly.” While he would not divulge numbers, he believes that “in very short order,” half of Casey’s pies will be ordered digitally. How are you advancing grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh food sales with relevance?

Looking for success clues of your own? Foodservice Solutions® specializes in outsourced food marketing and business development ideations. We can help you identify, quantify and qualify additional food retail segment opportunities, technology, or a new menu product segment.  Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma WA is the global leader in the Grocerant niche visit Facebook.com/Steven Johnson, www.Linkedin.com/in/grocerant/  or www.twitter.com/grocerant

Fresh Food Fast C-Stores & Quick Service Restaurants Drive Growth

In a growing battle for share of stomach, meal time, snacking, and share of food dollars retail food sales continue to grow in the chain sector for both restaurants and c-stores according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®. 

Johnson notes that 95% of all meal purchased at a quick service restaurants (QSR’s) or convenience store is consumed within 5 minutes of purchase. While 67.3% of QSR’s food sales occur via the ‘drive-thru’ in 2019.  Today 36% of all C-store meals are eaten inside the car.  There is no sign this trend will ebb.

David Portalatin, NPD food industry advisor and author of Eating Patterns in America found: Quick-serve chains, which represent the bulk of industry transactions, grew transactions by 2 percent in January (2020) following four consecutive weeks of gains compared to the declines experienced last January. The full-service restaurant segment, which includes casual dining and midscale/family dining chains, didn’t fare as well as quick service, and experienced transaction declines throughout the month. Customer transactions at casual dining restaurants declined by 4 percent and midscale/family dining transactions decreased by 2 percent, reports NPD.

Grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh food continues to drive customer adoption.  How is your company evolving with customer relevance? Are your customer counts growing?

Invite Foodservice Solutions® to complete a Grocerant Program Assessment, Grocerant ScoreCard, or for product positioning or placement assistance, or call our Grocerant Guru®.  Since 1991 www.FoodserviceSolutions.us  of Tacoma, WA has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche. Contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us or 253-759-7869

Battle for Share of Stomach