Food Portability drives top line sales and bottom line profits.

Consumers are ready to eat! They want breakfast on the run, lunch on the go, dinner on the fly, take-out or take-away food is ingrained in food shopping patterns today.  Quick Service Restaurants, Quick Casual and Casual dining dinner houses all are focusing on Drive-thru’s, quick pick-up, or delivery.

When it comes to new menu items restaurateurs consider the items ability to travel as a key success driver.

Food manufactures are rushing into the business with “better for you” portable meal component options.  Dole has better for you DOLE Fruit Bowls, and Dole Fruit Crisp. Orchard Hand Pies are handheld fruit pies baked in muffin tins for a quick grab-and-go desert. Crunch Pak continues to innovate with fresh fruit bundled in kits for meal components or simply healthy snacking.

NPD Group reported that there were 12.4 billion drive-thru visits in 2011 that was up 2% from 2010.  There is no doubt that the number will simply continue to grow.  That is one of the reason we included portability into Foodservice Solutions 5 P’s of food marketing.

According to Bonnie Riggs of NPD Group at 57% of business comes from the drive-thru in the QSR burger segment. Less than 27% of the burger segment eat on the restaurant premises. Within the QSR Mexican segment 40% of the business is from the drive-thru and QSR chicken segment 38% of the business is from the drive-thru. 

Food retailers must remember that 50% of adults over the age of 18 are single. Meal time or snacking it makes little difference in the eye of the consumer. Men are slightly more likely than women to snack alone at 54% to 51%.  Yet snacking also increased with age going from 46% of mellennials to 63% for baby boomers and most snacks are portable.

Consumer today have or are replacing entire meals with better for you bundled in mix and match components.  Restaurateurs, Grocery stores, C-stores and Dollar stores are all looking for products to fit complement meal/snack portability. 5 P’s of food marketing are Product, Packaging, Placement, Portability and Price.

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/in/grocerant or twitter.com/grocerant.