Safeway and Albertsons momentum slows.



Fresh & Easy stumbled a bit when they first opened stores in California with service style, product mix and pricing. After a few management changes and refocusing on the US consumer needs, meal preparation habits and competitors they have pick up considerable momentum of late and market share.

Fresh & Easy has bought into Foodservice Solutions® ideation that Meal time is now becoming a time of convenient meal participation, with differentiation and individualization for the entire family.

In addition Fresh & Easy understands Foodservice Solutions® 5 P’s of food marketing: Product, Packaging, Placement, Portability and Price. You can see that in their new eatwell line offerings of “steak and spinach salad, curry chicken wrap, minestrone soup and garlic alfredo salmon. All eatwell products carry front-of-pack nutritional labels listing the calories, fat, saturated fat and sodium. The new products sell for under $4. The company also recently introduced frozen eatwell meals that sell for $1.99.”

Now come the new Gourmet line up upscale fresh prepared and prepared frozen meals. With 17 different items, such as crab and sweet potato bisque, braised lamb shank, portabella Pappardelle, an apricot pork tenderloin, lemon tartlets and dark chocolate raspberry gelato truffles priced from $2.99 to $6.99.

While it is reported that both Albertsons and Safeway are struggling to figure out the labor metrics for fresh prepared food and both have been cutting back staffing in that area. Wawa, Sheetz and 7 Eleven have been beefing up service quality and staffing levels in their stores.

The grocerant niche is filled with Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh and prepared food. Operators must understand that service is a differentiator that will propel success. Restaurants have understood that for years and are refocusing on it again.

Outdated meal solution research, positioning and operating templates of the 70’s and 80’s will not provide the insights to success today or 2015. Are you benchmarking outdated legacy metrics for success in 1990 or are you utilizing GROCERANT CENTRIC MODELING?

Since 1991 Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma, WA has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche. For product or brand positioning assistance contact Steven A. Johnson and Foodservice Solutions® or visit http://www.linkedin.com/in/grocerant or on Facebook at Steven Johnson, GOOGLE: Steven Johnson Grocerants or twitter.com/grocerant