Restaurant Chain Marketers worried about customer migration Caused by Growth Hacking C-stores.

Many chain restaurant brand marketers while focusing on their brand, customers and restaurant industry competitors may have over looked a shift in current trends in consumer food buying patterns. Restaurant customer migration is underway and some markerts may have inadvertently neglected some very important key drivers of restaurant customer migration. Our Grocerant niche study found three key drivers:

1. Convenient Meal Participation
2.  Differentiation
3.  Individualization / Family Customization

C-stores Growth Hacking was highlighted last week at NACS when Nielsen reveled that “Ready-2-Eat / Meals On The Go sales at Convenience Stores were up 38%” from August 2011 thru August 2012. When non-traditional fresh food retailers sales Jump The Curve 38% year over year; that is Growth Hacking. That is how fast the evolving fresh prepared food niche is growing. Customer Migration is market share capitulation if a blind eye to consumer trends in food retailing are denied or ignored.

Restaurateurs need to be particularly mindful of developments within grocerant niche for they are driving the change within the price, value, service equilibrium in retail foodservice.  Do you understand Why? We Do.

It is at the intersection of the consumer, technology and The 5 P’s of Food Marketing: Product, Packaging, Placement, Portability, and Price that retail food sales competition is expanding. Driving ever greater Mix and Match bundled meal options and new points of distribution for consumers. 

The grocerant niche is the result of the blurring line between restaurants, grocery stores, convenience stores, and drug stores all selling fresh prepared, portable, convenient meal solutions.  Targeted at the time-starved consumer with Ready-2-Eat or Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food components that are perceived “better for you”, and portioned for one or two. Interested in how to regain market share?

Steven Johnson is Grocerant Guru at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions, with extensive experience as a multi-unit operator, consultant and brand/product positioning. 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 twitter.com/grocerant