Foodservice Solutions: October 2011

Monday, October 31, 2011

Mix and Match meal component bundling is key to foodservice success.

McDonalds learned years ago that positioning bundled meal options in the drive thru saved time in the ordering process. Consumers have learned to appreciate the time saved and continue flock to bundled choice in all retail food channels.

Kathryn Sharpe, professor at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business found in a study “that consumers place a perceived value on combo meals, even if it costs the same as choosing items a la carte.”

Sharpe continued "Based on our research, it appears that they would be just as happy with including smaller portion sizes as part of the combo meal," Sharpe said. "However, consumers are currently given subtle signals that smaller sizes are not appropriate. Realigning the meals to appropriate levels across the industry would make them just as satisfied."

Success does leave clues and many retail food operators are now adopting Foodservice Solutions® 5 P’s of food marketing: Product, Packaging, Placement, Portability and Price. Understanding the role of each P’s and it relationship to each other is key for all companies in today’s retail food environment.

Outside eyes can deliver top sales and bottom line profits. Invite Foodservice Solutions to provide brand and product positioning assistance or a grocerant program assessment. Since 1991 Foodservice Solutions of Tacoma, WA has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche for more on Steven A. Johnson and Foodservice Solutions visit http://www.linkedin.com/in/grocerant or on Facebook at Steven Johnson

Friday, October 28, 2011

Maggiano’s Heat-N-Eat can’t be beat!

Grocerant niche ready-2-eat and heat-N-eat fresh prepared food has been driving top line sales and bottom line profits in every sector of retail foodservice for several years. Regular followers of this blog know that grocery stores, convenience stores and chain drug stores are all chasing share of stomach with ready-2-eat or heat-N-eat fresh prepared food.

Maggiano’s began offering in August a new “Marco’s Meal for Two” it is a classic grocerant niche Mix and Match offer. “The meal includes an appetizer, flatbread or two side salads; two Classic Pastas for a main course; a shared dessert; and two Classic Pastas to take home.”

The marketing team at Maggiano’s understands the power of consumer choice bundled with ever growing trends in the grocerant ready-2-eat and heat-N-eat niche is a sure winner. Maggiano’s sales and customer counts are both up.

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Consumers pick Tap water over Soda at restaurants.

The halo of a better for you product, and better for you price, drives consumers to pick tap water over other beverage options while at restaurants. In fact according to NPD's new report "Beverages at Foodservice: Satisfying Our Thirst for Beverages" and I quote “Individual tap water servings have jumped by 2.8 billion servings since 2006”. That’s a lot of water!

The report goes on to reveal that tap water is one of the fastest-growing beverages ordered in U.S. restaurants. “NPD's CREST service, which tracks consumer use of restaurants, found that tap water servings make up eight percent of the 50 billion beverages servings ordered.”

"Although the economy and high unemployment are factors in tap water's upswing and beverage servings declines, some beverages, like carbonated soft drinks were declining prior to the recession," said Bonnie Riggs, report author and NPD restaurant industry analyst.” I’ll have mine with water.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Foodservice Solutions® 10 steps to building a solid Grocerant brand position.

Purpose. Why you are there contemporized relevance! The most successful brands are inclusive, include values greater than themselves. A lifestyle, a philosophy, an emotion a point in time today that means “ better for you and better for all”.

A story. Most major brands have a story. Examples: if you like Ford vehicles, you might be familiar with the story of Henry Ford or if you love your Nikes, you probably know how the Nike swoosh logo was created.

Consumer interaction. When your business is first starting out, don't fool yourself into believing that your marketing efforts are 'brand building' efforts. They're not because to build a real brand, you have to have an extensive track record with consumers. Consumer will build the brand and the story for you.

Trust. When you've consistently delivered for your customers long enough, you'll gain the type of trust that many brands have. Would you buy a Toyoda today? Maybe so, but how long do they have to rebuild that trust?

Consistency. When a consumer chooses a product or service because of brand association, he or she is buying an expectation. Perhaps it's the expectation that the branded product is of higher quality or that the service will be provided in a more efficient manner. The expectation must be met time after time.

Differentiation. Expectation is often borne of differentiation. Many brands offer products and services that are commodities but they're successful in developing some differentiation for their products and services that consumers are sold on.

Imitators. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and you're probably not a 'brand' until you have competitors trying to copy you. Do what you do best and lead your niche don’t follow.

Market leadership Top brands are usually looked at as leaders in the markets they compete in. Own the space, and understand why you do.

Grow The best brands are flexible and capable of reshaping and reinventing themselves and their messages over time. Consumers are not static! Your brand must be dynamic and grow, change and adapt over time.

A strong marketing presence. The information super highway is evolving; your message must follow the traffic. Don’t get stuck on the road less traveled.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Heat-N-Eat Ready-made meals drive brand value.

Elizabeth Sloan wrote in Food Technology magazine that the grocerant niche is driving new products and retail growth around the globe while meeting the needs of today’s consumer.

Here is what she had to say.”It's not just taste that is driving this trend. With more than half of woman in developed countries feeling squeezed for time while holding a job and caring for their families, food products that make meal preparation easier and faster continue to grow in demand.

Burgers that you can heat in a toaster along with spaghetti Bolognese that can be microwaved in its own can are just two common examples of foods that are becoming popular in the UK and Europe.

Dried spice blends that double as measuring cups, marinades/stocks sold in six-pack tubes and cooking sauce pouches are designed to make cooking easy without the mess and keep food and seasoning fresh longer.

Some products allow home cooks to make easy additions such as pastry toppings for a pie or noodle base to create a meal that is their own. In addition to regular home-style cooking, the fresh and organic options are also becoming more popular when it comes to ready-made options. Sandwich fillers, sauces and spreads also turn ordinary sandwiches into gourmet, restaurant-style meals.”

Monday, October 24, 2011

Nielsen Grocery stores should focus on the Grocerant niche.

Success does leave clues and Nielsen has been picking then us as well as anyone in the industry. Regular readers of this blog know that fresh prepared reay-2-eat and heat-N-eat food has been driving success in all sectors of retail foodservice.

Last week “ Nielsen analysis indicates fresh foods have been the only departments posting sales increases in the mass merchandiser/supercenter and club channels, up 1.1% in mass merchandisers/supercenters and up 1.9% in club stores, driving their respective fresh food share growth.

Nielsen advises grocery retailers looking to take back fresh food market share to focus on prepared foods, which was the only deli category to show year-over-year growth in Q1 2011 (+3.5%). Leading products in this category by share of sales include prepared chicken (25%), salads (18%), sandwiches (11%) and entrees (also 11%).

In terms of year-over-year growth in dollar and unit sales, dips/spreads/toppings (12.3%) lead in dollar sales growth while platters (14.3%) lead in unit sales growth. None of these products reported negative growth in either dollar or unit sales, pizza had the lowest growth in both areas.” We spotted this trend 7 years ago, welcome to our world Nielsen.

Friday, October 21, 2011

Food price + value + service equilibrium continues resetting.

The price, value, service equilibrium is resetting in Grocery stores, Restaurants and Convenience stores. The wildly successful Subway $5.00 foot-long stated it. The QSR value focused $1.00 menu propelled it and now Walgreens, 7 Eleven, Target, Amazon and Sears are all selling fresh food and prepared meal components. Dollar stores are entering the crowed space and the consumer is going to win.

This is the grocerant niche filled with ready-2-eat and heat-N-eat fresh and prepared food. Consumers are looking for new products, new packaging and time saving options, in ready-2-eat and heat-N-eat food. They are attracted by the fresh prepared focus; new portion size and price points. Which provide a strong margin for increased profitability for the retailer?

All sectors have noticed a discontinuity in consumer food shopping behavior and all are fighting for share of stomach. Contributing to this displacement is a focus on short term market metrics particularly price and away from the consumer. Which in turn has caused a loss is consumer traffic in some sectors. There are other attributes that are much more important to the consumer, yet many don’t take time to look. The consumer is turning to the grocerant sectors ready-2-eat /heat-N-eat prepared food options in each sector that offers it.

Thursday, October 20, 2011

What America Eats: Hand Held Foods for immediate / ease of consumption.

Versatile, convenient, made to order, sandwiches, burgers and wraps encapsulate fresh, personalization, and portability. That by the way just happens to be the heart and soul of the grocerant niche; personalization, portability and portion size.

Bonnie Riggs, of market research company, The NPD Group stated: "Sandwiches, burgers and wraps are the most resilient food category in this economic downturn… The reason is it's one of the few categories that has mass appeal. Sandwiches, burgers and wraps are accessible, customizable, affordable, portable, and can be dressed up gourmet-style or dressed down."

Both quick service and full service restaurants experienced growth in this category all the while the overall restaurant industry traffic experienced consecutive quarterly declines. Safeway’s Lifestyle stores and Kroger have joined in the fresh “sandwich” game and are seeing solid results.

Convenience stores fresh prepared grocerant food leaders Wawa and Sheetz have for years exploited this area to build top line revenue and grow bottom line profits. Now they are adding the Mix & Match combo options and building customers frequency and loyalty.

Outside eyes can deliver top line sales and bottom line profits. Invite Foodservice Solutions® to complete a grocerant program assessment, brand, product placement or positioning assistance. Since 1991 Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma, WA has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche visit Facebook.com/Steven Johnson, Linkedin.com/grocerant or twitter.com/grocerant

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

McDonald's, visceral success with TV extends the brand halo.

Consumer relevant, interactive and participatory McDonalds understand that consumer are dynamic not static and is moving with them. First with several expanded “better for you” menu offerings and now the TV that will be regionally relevant, content specific with the halo of McDonalds Quality.

It’s being called “McDonald's Channel content partners include Walt Disney Co's ABC, BBC America and reality television producer Mark Burnett, who is known for such hits as "Survivor" and "The Apprentice." …

As it evolves, the McDonald's Channel will add more local programing such as high school sports news. “…Programs include "The McDonald's Achievers," profiles of local high school and college athletes; "Mighty Moms," about local mothers balancing families and careers in sports; and "Vimby" (Video In My Backyard), which has partnered with Burnett to cover local lifestyle news including fashion, art, music, action sports and nightlife.

Local will equal sustainability. This program will edify “MY MCDONALDS” extending the brand halo for years to come.

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Publix and Wegmans cultivating success within the Grocerant Niche.

Fresh prepared Ready-2-eat and heat-N-eat food continues to drive top line growth and bottom line profits for all retail food outlets. Joining industry leaders Wegmans, Central Market, Whole Foods is Publix with it’s third “hybrid store”.

Publix hybrid is adding more and more fresh meal component options. “Now in the mix: Unique items on store shelves, more tasting stations, more organic produce, colorful and elegant merchandise displays, cooking demonstrations, more freshly-prepared meals to go, and a sit-down cafe, complete with Wi-Fi.” Grocery store or Grocerant?

All while Wegmans is a grocerant niche leader they opened a new store in Northboro, MA last week and “ Wegmans boasts that one-third of the store is devoted to prepared foods, …and a 300-seat cafe. When it opened the 31 checkout lanes were “Jammed”! Wegmans lifestyle stores have a large footprint. It’s a footprint of grocerant success.

Wegmans understanding of the grocerant niche and embracing the niche has contributed to their industry leadership. Consumer are dynamic not static and have been flocking to high quality ready-2-eat and heat-N-eat fresh and prepared food. No one does it better than Wegmans.

Monday, October 17, 2011

Burger King vs. Wendy’s Big Beef with small differentiation.

Most legacy retailers have been focusing how to expand consumer demand via new points of quality “better for you” food, all the while capitalizing on the popularity of the grocerant niche. Success does leave clues and one clue is that incremental steps count and McDonalds is great at continuous incremental progress.

In a duopoly copy-cat positioning is a requirement; the burger sector is not a duopoly. Regular readers of this blog understand that the burger sector is in the middle of the grocerant niche filled with ready-2-eat and expanding better for you food.

Smashburger, Five Guy’s and In & Out Burger are all expanding new units with defined points of consumer better for you quality differentiation. Wawa, Sheetz, and 7 Eleven are all expanding both with new locations and new fresh prepared better for you food. Yet, these two legacy retailers are in a battle for the bigger burger title while growth is on hold. Can copy-cat positioning replace innovation, niche expansion or authentic differentation?

Burger King Corp. introduced for a limited-time BK Toppers line of three cheeseburgers available at participating restaurants until Dec. 31, 2011. Each of the burgers weighs 3.2 ounces and has a suggested retail selling price of $1.99.

Wendy’s® is giving its cheeseburgers a complete “taste-lift” by totally reinventing it – beef patty, bun and toppings -- and aptly naming it Dave’s Hot ‘N Juicy™ ‘Here’s the Beef!™’” The new made-to-order cheeseburger starts with fresh, North American* beef, and the patty is thicker so it will be juicier.

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Heinz out customizes Jones Soda

Food manufactures are attracted to the Mix and Match meal component opportunities in the grocerant niche by consumer demand. Heinz hits a home run building brand value while leveraging a legacy of quality with contemporize consumer relevance via social media with customization and personalization both are hallmarks of the grocerant niche.

Utilizing Facebook you can now send personalized get well soup to your Facebook friends. Matthew Cullun, Heinz Soup Marketing Controller stated “Because Facebook is a place people choose to engage with our brand, we want to be there. Soup can be an emotive product and Facebook taps into that. Our use of these channels doesn’t replace TV, but it is a great compliment to it because it allows the consumer to spread the word and they engage more than they would with traditional channels such as TV or Radio.”

If you start noticing more of your friends catching a cold. Instead of sending them a Get Well Soon card, you can now send them a can of Heinz soup with a personalized label. Note: The promotion is only available for Heinz Soup UK’s Facebook fans. Each personalized soup come in two flavors, either Heinz Cream of Chicken or Heinz Cream of Tomato. For £1.99, Facebook fans can send a Get Well soup to their friends featuring the friend’s name on the label.

While Jones Soda popularized manufacturing personalization in the US, it’s clear that Heinz has taken things too a new level. Watch for additional manufactures entering the direct to consumer market with

customization and personalization products.

Saturday, October 15, 2011

5 Reasons consumers buy ready-2-eat or heat-N-eat fresh prepared food.

Companies that develop a platform that enabling consumer meal co-creation for the car, at the office or at home are building top line sales and bottom line profits. The grocerant niche comprised of the ready-2-eat and heat-N-eat fresh prepared food is driving the success of the retail foodservice today.

Each sector has innovators; Restaurants started with Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), Chipotle Mexican Grill, Panera Bread, Domino’s Pizza, MCD, BK and a whole lot more! Grocery started with Wegmans, Harris Tetter, Whole Food and now fast charging Safeway and the “lifestyle stores. Convenience Stores have Sheetz, Wawa, with fast charging Casey’s General stores and 7 & Eleven.

1. Visceral presentation, Freshness based on how it looks and is presented.

2. Bundling, the ability to build your meal with components family member will eat.

3. Individualized portions, power to select quality and quantity of items viewed.

4. Convenience, unit /store location on the drive home from work.

5. Time Saving, ability to evaluate price vs. time to cook from scratch.

Join me here on my blog for food insights, information and inspiration. Since 1991 Foodservice Solutions of Tacoma, WA has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche for more on Steven A. Johnson and Foodservice Solutions visit http://www.linkedin.com/in/grocerant or on Facebook at Steven Johnson.

Friday, October 14, 2011

Food spending up, by lower-income consumers.

While lower-income consumers have cut discretionary spending, 31% have increased their purchases of food and beverages. According to SymphonyIRI’s report “The Lower-Income Shopper Report: Serving Lower-Income/Multicultural Shopper Micro-Segments. Overall the market represents $115bn in incremental spending over the next decade. While much of the increase is due to price hikes and a reduction in restaurant meals, the effect on retailers is undeniable. The report suggests different lower-income groups require separate marketing efforts. For example, African-American consumers shop more often than any other group, followed by seniors and Hispanics.

While the old saws lower-income shoppers carefully plan shopping trips with lists, etc., over 50% make spontaneous purchases when at the store. Just under 49% of lower-income consumers are likely to track their spending during the store visit or make “budget-driven impulsive decisions,” whereas only 38% of higher-income shoppers will do the same. Private label products are making inroads with lower-income consumers, but nearly 30% of older ones believe brands are worth the extra money. That number soars to 46% among African American households. At the other end, 70% of households with kids and 64% of younger families, and 60% of African-Americans will give up quality in order to get a lower price (as compared to 51% of older shoppers).

Today’s blog is in large part a copy of a Broad Street Licensing blog and first appeared on its blog at: http://www.bslg.com/news/. On a side note: I would like to say that If success leaves clues crafting crab cakes from Millers Select Lump Crab Meat should be clue number 1. Firm yet sweet as butter the Millers Select Lump Crab Meat is shelf stable and should be a require staple in ever cooks cubboard.

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Let’s Move America for Food Parity

Sometimes there are important issues that need to be worked, quickly, for the betterment of both consumers (really) and corporations.

At the intersection of contemporary consumer meal consumption trends and the confluence of the time starved consumer is the grocerant niche filled with fresh ready-2-eat and heat-N-eat prepared food. Driven by consumer demand these items can be found in Grocery Stores, Chain & Independent Restaurants, Convenience Stores, Chain Drug Stores and increasing at food trucks and online food portals.

It’s time to allow Americans receiving food assistance to purchase fresh and prepared ready-2-eat and heat-N-eat food from Grocery Stores, Chain & Independent Restaurants, Convenience Stores, Chain Drug Stores and the like.

One such issue is expanding governmental food assistance eligibility

Recession, stagnation or double dip, 45 million plus Americans are currently receiving assistance from the Food and Nutrition Service division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees the food stamp program. Like most legacy government programs its time to up date this program ensuring participant parity and a contemporized relevance.

While the US unemployment rate is roughly 9.1% it is estimated that combined with the underemployed and those not even looking any longer the rate is 15.7% it’s clear a large portion of America is going without. Unemployment numbers are disproportionately high for those under 24 and over 55 increasing anxiety while creating a climate of disorder in the workforce.

Why is this good thing for all of us?

For consumers:

Over the past 20 years there has been a transition in home cooking where the vast majority of meals are not cooked from scratch but assembled meal components. Components like rotisserie chicken, fresh vegetables, ribs, soups, take-N-bake pizza, casseroles, Chinese entrees, build your own salad. This trend in large part was driven by the ever increasing growth of multi-cultural multi-generational households where meal time consisted of more divergent flavors than ever before. The skill set to cook multi-cultural meals has not been handed down as in the past. The anxiety of being cash strapped, frustration and desire for comfort food is heightened. Allowing consumer to buy fresh prepared meal components edifies the family unit of today while easing the frustration and pain of economic turmoil.

For small business:

Small business nestled in each community across the country, understand the flavor profiles and competitive business environment and are best equipped meet the consumers needs while building community cohesiveness. Independent restaurants will benefit creating more Jobs.

For big business:

Large corporations particularly grocery stores have witnessed the migration of there consumer from the “center of the store” to the perimeter where grocerant niche ready-2-eat and heat-N-eat fresh and prepared food can be found. National retailers understand the consumer is dynamic not static and want to maintain consumer relevance. These changes will do just that more jobs.

We agree with letsmove.gov when they say” Make Healthy Food Affordable and Accessible More than 23 million Americans, including 6.5 million children, live in low-income urban and rural neighborhoods that are more than a mile from a supermarket. These communities are known as “food deserts” since they lack access to affordable, nutritious food. Lack of access is one reason why many children are not eating recommended levels of fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Food insecurity and hunger among children is widespread. A recent USDA report showed that in 2008, an estimated 49 million people, including 17 million children, lived in households that experienced hunger multiple times throughout the year. Let’s Move! to ensure that all families have access to healthy, affordable food in their communities”.

This can be done simply by allowing Americans receiving food assistance to purchase fresh and prepared ready-2-eat and heat-N-eat food from Grocery Stores, Chain & Independent Restaurants, Convenience Stores, Chain Drug Stores and the like. Problem solved.