The foodservice consumer is on the move and the advantaged is now in prepared ready-to-eat and ready-to-heat food.

The NPD Group recently reported that restaurant sales for 2009 will be flat or down “NPD noted that it does not expect traffic trends to turn positive until after June 2010.” NPD Analyst Bonnie Riggs said. "Food prices at supermarkets are less than a year ago, while restaurant prices are higher than a year ago."In addition Technomic Inc., said there is "a ways to go before we see a [traffic] rebound," while forecasting that 2009 and 2010 would mark the industry's first ever consecutive years of sales declines.


Foodservice consumer discontinuity is the focus on much attention from consultants to chain executives. . As an industry our concern is and should be share of stomach, first by company, second by niche-marketshare and third the restaurant industry overall. The economy is not our largest problem it is competition for share of stomach; specifically by the ready-to-eat and ready-to-heat prepared meal section of the grocery stores and C-stores or as I call it the Grocerant section. Under reported but signifently noted first here at Foodservice Solutions in 2005; was the first year that recorded a consumer increase in percent household spending for food in grocery stores and away from restaurants in 25 years. We here at Foodservice Solutions have been discussing this fact since 2005 and studying the grocerant niche since 1997.

Restaurants, Grocery stores and the Convenience store sectors are all competing for share of stomach and the consumers are attracted to the options presented by within the Grocerant niche. Is your company in need of a grocerant niche assessment, national or global grocerant store tour?

Contact me for more at: http://www.linkedin.com/in/grocerant or leave a comment below. www.FoodserviceSolutions.us Email: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us 253-759-7869