Why are you cooking and for whom?

At Foodservice Solutions® we believe that differentiation does not mean different it means familiar with a twist. Food innovation blends experimentation with contemporary relevance.  The outcome is a unique point of differentiation that relates directly to the targeted consumer. 

With all the talk today about posting calories, excessive salt there is one thing that we all must keep top of mind and that is customers eat FOOD that taste good.  For all of the pontification and legislative maneuvers requested to change the food you are selling to your customers beware!  If you want your customers to come back, the food had better taste good.

Successful food retailers must keep in the consumer palate top of mind.  Better for you food means many different things to each segmented group of consumers.  Each new menu or product may have one or more new “required constraint” targeted at a specific niche, few will be all things for all groups. The one universal attribute or success clue in food innovation is: it better taste good! 

Invite Foodservice Solutions® to complete a Migration Marketing assessment, grocerant program assessment. For brand, product placement, menu positioning assistance simply call Foodservice Solutions® today.  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

Hand Held Food for Immediate Consumption Ah Breakfast

Kids don’t want breakfast, don’t seem to have time?  Yet all research indicates that students who consumer breakfast do better in school.  It’s no wonder that grocery stores, convenience stores and restaurants are all offering Hand Held Breakfast items that can be eaten on the run.

Successful food retailers are leveraging universal commonalities found within the 5 P’s of Food Marketing to build breakfast success. The grocerant niche filled with ready-2-eat and heat-N-eat fresh prepared food that included breakfast is garnering additional sales because the AM day-part is a perfect match for the 5 P’s of Food Marketing which are: Product, Packaging, Placement, Portability, Price.

Interested in learning how the 5P’s of Food Marketing can edify your retail food brand while creating a platform for consumer convenient meal participation, differentiation and individualization contact us via Email us at: grocerant@q.com or visit Facebook.com/Steven Johnson, Linkedin.com/in/grocerant or twitter.com/grocerant

Do you know Why Grocery Store Deli Sales are Booming?

Supermarket prepared food industry sales were estimated to be $19.5 billion in 2012.  This sector filled with ready-2-eat and heat-N-eat fresh prepared food been continually out-growing all other sectors of grocery-supermarket sector for many years. The reasons are obvious consumers have no time to cook, don’t want to cook and don’t want to clean up after they cook.

Whole Foods, Central Market, Metropolitan Market, Harbor Greens and Fairway  are all examples of companies focused on garnering additional share of stomach while meeting or exceeding today’s consumer demand for fresh prepared food that is ready-2-eat or heat-N-eat offered as a meal component that can be bundled into a customized family meal or a meal for one.

Packaged Facts reports that the cost for a prepared meal is “not on par with fast food and family restaurant options, they beat them …making them accessible to a wide range of household incomes”.  These meals that were once hidden behind an old fashion deli counter are now moving out front as stations.

Invite Foodservice Solutions® to complete a Migration Marketing assessment, grocerant program assessment. For brand, product placement, menu positioning assistance simply call Foodservice Solutions® today.  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

Lacking Innovation Restaurant Customers Choose Customization Over Brand Loyalty

Legacy restaurant chains have been focused on brand execution since 2008 not innovation, capitulating market share to non-traditional retailers.  The opposite of innovation is execution as we all learned in business 101. The void created with the lack of innovation compounded by copy-cat menu items has created additional restaurant consumer discontinuity, most important a plethora of new competitors.

Restaurant customers are dynamic not static.  During February 2013 inContact conducted a survey and found that consumer are “making less of their buying decisions based on brand loyalty, but rather on which companies can match their desired experience..”  Here are some of the key findings:

56 percent of U.S. adults indicated that they would be at least somewhat likely to switch to another brand/company based on customer service options.

25 percent of U.S. adults do not feel loyalty toward any type of brand.

63 percent of U.S. adults indicated that brands that don't offer options for communication other than the 1-800 number seem outdated or old fashioned.

86 percent of U.S. adults expect brands to offer multiple options and flexible timing to interact with customer service.

Women (71 percent) are nearly 10 percent less likely than men (79 percent) to feel loyalty toward a brand.

70 percent of U.S. adults say that mobile apps are at least somewhat important.

Here is what we know Convenience Stores are adding fresh prepared ready-2-eat and heat-N-eat food at an unprecedented rate and food sales within the C-store sector are propelling unprecedented numbers of new store openings. The only sector of the grocery industry to see same store sales growth the past two years has been the prepared food / deli sector. Retail drug stores are adding fresh prepared food in urban centers with success and when refined plan on expanding into the suburbs. 

Complicating restaurant problems is the continued use of the1960’s, 70’s, 80’s, C-level mind-set of brand protectionism.  If the consumer is dynamic not static your brand should be as well.   Was your brand considered innovative when it began? Why is it not today? It’s not due to the economy, not due to the number of stores you have, and not due to your customers.

If you would like to learn more from the inContact survey contact Paul Jarman CEO of inContact at: incontact.com. If you would like to understand how to best break the shackles of brand protectionism contact Foodservice Solutions at: grocerant@q.com

Grocery stores, Drug stores, Liquor stores, C-stores have all extended brand values to include ready-2-eat and heat-N-eat fresh prepared food. Have you hear of the 65 Inch HDTV Syndrome? If not it just may be time you had.  Success does leave clues moving with the consumer is one very valuable clue.

Invite Foodservice Solutions® to complete a Migration Marketing assessment, grocerant program assessment. For brand, product placement, menu positioning assistance simply call: 253-759-7869 or Visit: www.FoodserviceSolutions.us   Since 1991 Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma, WA has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche.  For more contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us 

Ever Wonder why Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat Food is Driving Retail Sales Success?



Kraft Foods wondered as well.  In fact Kraft Foods new unit Kraft Fresh Take leveraged Kelton research to conduct a survey of 1,071 nationally representative Americans, ages 18 and older to find out.

Here is some of what they found: “Cooking up a Storm: More than four in five (82 percent) Americans are personally preparing meals at-home at least half of the time, if not always. And, of those at-home cooks, 83 percent are likely to get frustrated when cooking; most name time (51 percent) and cleanup (58 percent) as things they would find frustrating”…

“A Case of the Mondays: Almost two in five (39 percent) respondents say they most dread making meals at home on Monday and another 39 percent feel the same way about Friday…”

“Hometown Proud: Americans are loud and proud when associating food with their community – 63 percent of Midwesterners associate burgers with their region; 53 percent of Westerners feel this way about tacos; Southerners believe that seafood (36 percent) is their most representative local dish while Northeasterners identify pasta as their area's dish of choice (40 percent)”

Here is what we know when consumers say they cook at home; what they mean is they assemble a meal from meal components. Our research has proven that time after time. What is interesting about this survey is that the consumer gets frustrated having to clean up.  We have not pushed that info nor have we drilled down enough on it.  But we will in the future.  If success leaves clues I think we have another clue.

 

Invite Foodservice Solutions® to complete a Migration Marketing assessment, grocerant program assessment. For brand, product placement, menu positioning assistance simply call Foodservice Solutions® today.  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

 

Florida is ground zero in the battle for food consumers.

Publix and Walmart are swapping ad’s at each other in an attempt to garner market share from one another all the while Wawa, Thornton’s and RaceTrac are expanding into the state at record rates trying to keep up with 7 Eleven which has refocused it eye’s on Northeast Florida. Restaurant sale are slipping and grocerant prepared food is one reason.

The United States Census reports that 50% of adults over the age of 18 are single. Can anyone be surprised by the developments in the retail food space? Nielsen reports that in 2013 there are more convenience stores in the United States than the number of drugstores, supermarkets and dollar stores combined.

Convenience stores account for 34.8 percent of all retail outlets in the United States. The average shopper who enters the store is in and out in 3 minutes, 33 seconds. Wawa does not sell beer in any of their northeast locations and less than half of the northeast locations offer gas.  Wawa has built its reputation selling fresh prepared food. 7 Eleven currently is opening about 50% of its new locations within the United States without gas.  Food and fresh “better for you” food is the driving force for 7 Elevens growth.

With Walgreens entering the fresh food market place Floridians will have another outlet to find fresh prepared meal components.  Restaurant industry executives will need to adjust menu and marketing messaging in order to maintain market share.

Interested in learning how the 5P’s of Food Marketing can edify your retail food brand while creating a platform for consumer convenient meal participation, differentiation and individualization contact us via Email us at: grocerant@q.com or visit Facebook.com/Steven Johnson, Linkedin.com/in/grocerant or twitter.com/grocerant

5 P’s of Food Marketing are Driving Retail Food Sales in 2013

Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru at Tacoma, Washington based Foodservice Solutions® has been gathering retail food success clues.  Within the clues he discovered some universal commonalities from those commonalities they developed, The 5’P’s of Food Marketing.  The 5 P’s are:

1. Product
2. Packaging
3. Placement
4. Portability
5. Price

If you are interested in learning how integrating the 5P’s of Food Marketing can edify your retail food products, brand, or restaurants while creating a platform for consumer convenient meal participation, differentiation and individualization contact us at: grocerant@q.com

Interested in Presentations, Key Note or Trade Show Event Speaking or Company Consultative Services contact :Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us

Foodservice Solutions® specializes in global outsourced business development. We can help you identify, quantify and qualify additional food retail segment opportunities or a brand leveraging integration strategy.  Since 1991.  Visit: www.FoodserviceSolutions.us   

Papa Murphy’s Take-N-Bake Pizza Leads Technomic Brand Metrics Survey.

Ready-2-eat and heat-N-eat fresh prepared food is the hallmark of the grocerant niche.  Technomic conducted an extensive in-depth study / survey for its Consumer Restaurant Brand Metrics online database The consumer feedback is based on ongoing data collection and compiled from a nationally representative sample of more than 80,000 annual consumer restaurant visits and found that consumers rank GROCERANT NICHE leader Papa Murphy’s Number One.

Regular readers of this blog know we have highlighted Papa Murphy’s time and time again. However in this quality study by Technomic of 80,000 visits covering 115 branded restaurants Papa Murphy’s is number one.  There can be no doubt that the attributes driving the success of the ready-2-eat and heat-N-eat grocerant niche are top of mind for consumers.

Legacy restaurant chains need to be mindful that grocery stores, c-stores and chain drug stores are all engaging testing grocerant niche products. I can proudly state we are helping lead the way. Nothing could be more flattering than to have a company like Technomic edify our work.  I thank them.

You can receive a complimentary copy of the Consumer Restaurant Brand Metrics report direct from Technomic: Darren Tristano  dtristano@technomic.com or Patrick Noone  pnoone@technomic.com

Success does leave clues and Foodservice Solutions® is the industry leader in the Grocerant Niche is the clue of the day!

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 Johnson and Foodservice Solutions® visit http://www.linkedin.com/in/grocerant or twitter.com/grocerant

Walgreens continues urban location fresh food expansion.

This week Walgreens opened another new fresh food store this time in Washington DC’s Chinatown a first with food in the DC Metro area.  Walgreens has fresh food stores in Boston, New York, Chicago and Los Angeles.  This store is filled with ready-2-eat and heat-N-eat food Walgreens continued expansion proves it is serious about fresh food.

With powerful well financed companies the ilk of Walgreens entering the fresh food space that is something no food retailer should dismiss as not my competitor.  Walgreens with over 78 Billion in sales they can try and try again. Walgreens might just be the Next Biggest Competitor in the retail food space.

It must be noted that Walgreen’s all but exited retail food service when they sold their last Wag’s restaurant.  We all must remember at one time Walgreens was a tier one fresh food retail operator / restaurant. Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh food runs deep in the legacy of Walgreens.

Walgreens Fresh has 7,500+ retail stores.  Who is selling what in your back yard? With Walgreens entering the fresh food area again with meats, wraps, soups "and other on-the-go meal options, as well as convenient alternatives for tonight's family meal, it is clear that the future of fresh food retail leadership may be up in the air. 

Food Retailing Never Takes a Step Backward.  Consumers are dynamic not static always looking to save both time and money.  The grocerant niche is propelling new quality points of fresh food distribution and competitors that are well financed.

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 Johnson and Foodservice Solutions® visit http://www.linkedin.com/in/grocerant or twitter.com/grocerant

Boston Market Focusing on Today’s Consumer: Eat Anytime Anywhere

Boston Market once a national player in the ready-2-eat and heat-N-eat fresh prepared food niche is getting its Mojo back!  Re-sized, refocused and revitalized Boston Market is once again garnering attention of the consumer and targeting the grocerant niche for growth.

When Sun Capital tapped Lane Cardwell to refocus the concept he did an outstanding job while he has moved on you can see his work today in Boston Market’s tagline Eat Anytime Anywhere which reflects Cardwell’s vision and mirrors the desires of consumers in 2013.  Of course regular readers of this blog know we have been touting this shift in consumer thinking since 1991.

This Easter Boston Market with that understanding in hand has launched Easter holiday with messaging “spend more time with your family and less time in the kitchen”. Easter is Sunday March 31, 2013 and all Boston Markets will be open and offer a “special $10.99 Easter Special Meal, which includes hand-carved ham with two home style sides, freshly baked cornbread and a slice of apple pie.”

However if you want your meal “catered (orders must be placed in advance) to Heat & Serve and A La Carte options” allowing customers to customize and personalize the family meal leveraging meal components to garner a Happy Holiday Boston Market has that option as well.  The point of distribution may be the same but the differentiation in place consumed adds value to the brand and the consumer.

Interested in learning how the 5P’s of Food Marketing can edify your retail food brand while creating a platform for consumer convenient meal participation, differentiation and individualization contact us via Email us at: grocerant@q.com or visit Facebook.com/Steven Johnson, Linkedin.com/in/grocerant or twitter.com/grocerant

Grocer to open new store with 16 Quick Service restaurants inside.

Ready-2-eat and heat-n-eat fresh prepared food has been driving retail food sales in Restaurants, Convenience stores, Dollar stores, Chain Drug Stores and grocery stores while other food categories lag.

This fall Price Chopper will open a new unit “concept store” with 16 quick-service areas within the store.   John Mazzacco Price Chopper manager of foodservice and culinary concepts dubbed this new store the “Store of the Decade” and best store ever filled with fresh meal offerings.

This new store with have a mix of in-house brands and branded food offerings according to Mazzacco who stated “the store will have a hamburger stand, an ice cream area, a Starbucks, a custom sandwich station, a made-to-order salad station, Price Chopper’s Ben & Bill’s Deli, a pizza area, a roasters section, and a chef’s area where shoppers can dine on china plates.”

In an effort to garner a larger share of stomach Price Chopper is going after consumer relevance in the ready-2-eat and heat-N-eat grocerant niche targeting food dollars traditionally going to QSR’s and other restaurants. The question is will this simple food court format work? What do you think?

The grocery store sector with only 1602 new units since 2005 is under pressure to find it place in our new Omni-channel food retail world.  With food stamps at an all-time high this sector lagged other retail sectors since 2005. The economy is driving change as consumers disengage from the SNAP program with an improving economy the grocery store sector is set to get quite a wake-up call.

All indications are legacy grocery retailers should joined C-stores, Restaurants, Dollar stores and Drug stores and called Foodservice Solutions, Grocerant Guru Steven Johnson at 253-759-7869 had they wanted to keep up.

 Interested in learning how the 5P’s of Food Marketing can edify your retail food brand while creating a platform for consumer convenient meal participation, differentiation and individualization contact us via Email us at: grocerant@q.com or visit Facebook.com/Steven Johnson, Linkedin.com/in/grocerant or twitter.com/grocerant

Ready-2-Eat Fresh Food Sales Growing Concern for Legacy Grocery Store Sector.

The grocery sector with only 1,602 new units open since 2005 is falling behind fast within the retail food sector. Competitors with deep pockets including Walgreens the 78 billion dollar retail giant is expanding fresh food offerings from California to New York filled with items from fresh salads, fresh fruit, sandwiches, sushi. 7 Eleven opened 1,000+ new stores in the United Stated in 2012 alone 50% of those units offer no gas, all focus on fresh food.  Chain restaurants continue to offer more drive-thru meal options and take-out.

Meal component mix and match bundling does drives sales within the grocery sector. In fact Todd Hale, Nielsen’s SVP of Consumer & Shopper Insights reported recent findings from Nielsen’s Global Survey of Fresh Foods. While other sectors of the grocery store continued to lag year over year ready-2-eat is thriving.

There were no surprise to regular readers of this blog that that fresh prepared ready-2-eat foods are leading sales within the grocery sector. Consumer’s desire to buy and bundle meal components from fresh food is one of the hallmarks of the grocerant niche. Hale reported that:

Fresh Bakery                            + 3.8%

Fresh Deli Prepared Foods       + 3.1%

Fresh Fruit                                +3.0%

Fresh Deli Meat                         +2.6%

Fresh Deli Cheese                    +1.0%

Customization, personalization, and globalization are key attributes of any grocerant niche fresh prepared food program today. Combine that with the ability for families to mix and match meal components and incremental sales follow.  Successful grocery stores must aggressively pursue a grocerant focus or risk capitulating additional share of stomach to Restaurants, C-stores, Dollar Stores and Chain Drug Stores.

In 1941 when Alice May Brock said” Tomatoes and oregano make it Italian; wine and tarragon make it French. Sour cream makes it Russian; lemon and cinnamon make it Greek. Soy sauce makes it Chinese; and garlic makes it good”.

Can be translated today into a family meal, one of customization, personalized with global flavors for multi-generational, multi-ethic and multi-cultural families are the norm and a meal for one is not a meal for all. Yet families still gather and want to eat and share meal time. 

 

Food retailers are finding that when these tactics are combined with Foodservice Solutions® 5 P’s of Marketing which are: Product, Packaging, Placement, Portability and Price with a consumer focus incremental sales follow.  If success leaves clues bundling meal components is one of them.

Invite Foodservice Solutions® to complete a Migration Marketing assessment, grocerant program assessment. For brand, product placement, menu positioning assistance simply call Foodservice Solutions® today.  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

Foodservice Solutions Grocerant Guru’s 10 Success Steps.

Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant Guru Steven Johnson presented 10 steps required to build your brand or edify positioning.  Win customers while fending off competitors leverage these 10 success steps.  Here is a recap of my presentation.  Success does leave clues below are 10 of them.

1.  Symbolism.   Why you are there! The most successful brands are inclusive include values greater than themselves. Here is an example: A lifestyle, a philosophy, an emotion a point in time.

2.  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.

3.  A track record. 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.

4.  Trust. When you've consistently delivered for your customers long enough, you'll gain the type of trust that many brands have. Case in point: a friend of mine always reminds people that he won't buy an automobile that isn't a BMW. He's had a good experience with his and trusts so much in the company that he doesn't believe there's a better-made car.

5.  Expectation. 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.

6.  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.

7.  Imitators. Imitation is the sincerest of flattery and you're probably not a 'brand' until you have competitors trying to copy you.

8.  Market leadership. Top brands are usually looked at as leaders in the markets they compete in.

9.  Adaptability. The best brands are flexible and capable of reshaping and reinventing themselves and their messages over time. Coca-Cola is a good example of a brand that has never abandoned its core product but has evolved its message over time to keep up with changes in the marketplace and society at large.

10.  A strong marketing presence. Although it's nice to believe that you can market yourself for free on Facebook and Twitter, the reality is that brands aren't advertising on television and radio because they're dumb. Building, maintaining brand equity requires awareness and awareness requires on-going evolving marketing efforts.

Interested in learning how the 5P’s of Food Marketing can edify your retail food brand while creating a platform for consumer convenient meal participation, differentiation and individualization contact us via Email us at: grocerant@q.com or visit Facebook.com/Steven Johnson, Linkedin.com/in/grocerant or twitter.com/grocerant

Where Can I Get Dinner?

81% of American consumers are unsure about what’s for dinner at 4 PM every day! 

Your customers are just beginning to think about what's for dinner. Eighty-one percent of American consumers are unsure about what's for dinner; the opportunity is yours for the asking. Consumers are looking for high quality ready to eat foods and ready to heat meals… I coined them as ready-2-eat and or heat-N-eat. Consumer trends point to this - what today's time starved consumer wants is to purchase meal components that they can bundle into a customized family meal that will please everyone without spending time cooking.

Food is Everywhere

At one time you purchased your food at the grocery store, channel blurring has created food to be everywhere! Consumers today have the opportunity to purchase high quality chef prepared ready-2eat and heat-N-eat food from independent restaurants, grocery stores, chain drugstores (Walgreens) convenience stores, chain restaurants and non-traditional food retailers the ilk of Amazon.com and food trucks. At the convergence of all of these new and legacy meal component points of distribution you find the Grocerant niche.

What is a Grocerant?

The grocerant niche refers to prepared food that is portable, ready-2-eat or heat-N-eat food that is deemed "better for you food". The consumers are finding grocerant niche food in grocery store deli sections including Whole foods, Trader Joes, Safeway Lifestyle stores, Central Market and Wegmans Market Café . Not to be left out, convenience store segment has grocerant pioneers in the brand names of Wawa, Sheetz, Rutter's Farm Stores, and 7 Eleven. Finally chain restaurants and independent restaurants around the world complete the circle of grocerants.

Successful foodservice operators today understand that differentiation in menu items and food products doesn't mean different, rather it means familiar with a twist; taking ordinary daily menu items, adding contemporary relevance. Then presenting, brand positioning and pricing competitively; these are the universal footprints of success found within the grocerant niche.

Consumers Want Food On Sale.

90 percent of people look for deals to get more value when making food purchases in new national research survey conducted by DiGiorno January 2013.

US consumers estimate that restaurant rewards program would increase their visit rate to a particular restaurant by average of 35%, according to new study; 65% would recommend restaurant more to others if that restaurant offered rewards program in a study by LoyaltyPlus January 2013

US millennials seem to be spending more money than other generations when it comes to dining out, industry officials noted as reported by Ginia Bellafonte of the New York Times as a percent of income January 2013.

I would like to introduce you to Threep.  Threep is a mobile application that rewards users for visiting your business in groups of 3 or more people.  It is consumer interactive and participatory, with real time consumer relevance, adding value to your brand, building sales with incremental group size, and leveraging Micro groups for Macro results.  Threep is a sales building tool that complements restaurant LSM programs. Threep is a platform enabling consumer choice and brand equilibrium.  Let your brand win.

Interested in learning how Foodservice Solutions 5P’s of Food Marketing can edify your retail food brand while creating a platform for consumer convenient meal participation, differentiation and individualization contact us via Email us at: grocerant@q.com or visit Facebook.com/Steven Johnson, Linkedin.com/in/grocerant or twitter.com/grocerant

Dollar Stores Gain Ground Grocery Stores Retreat Food Retail Evolving.

Dollar stores are growing in number daily, with an evolving focus on food and now many have started offering fresh food. Grocery stores are countering entering the small store format as convenience stores. 

Legacy food marketers simply do not understand the evolving Omni-channel consumer.  What they do understand is the customer has moved and they had better move with them. Regular readers of this blog understand our term “Brand Protectionism”.  It’s a term that food retailers must learn quickly and it is exactly what legacy food marketers must abandon or risk capitulating market share.

Companies like Hy-Vee, Giant Eagle, Publix and United Supermarkets are all expanding into the C-store space.  Within that space it is reay-2-eat and heat-N-eat fresh prepared food that is propelling consumer traction. Rutter’s, Sheetz, Wawa and 7 Eleven all have established fresh food programs that other must now mimic in-order to compete within the space.

Growth in the small format store space is not about fuel or gasoline and many think.  The growth leader with 14.4% growth in 2012 was 7 Eleven and 50% of new stores do not sell gas.  Food, Fresh Food is the driver.  The grocerant niche is booming.  Are you practicing Brand Protectionism? Are you evolving with consumers into the ready-2-eat and heat-N-eat fresh food space?

Invite Foodservice Solutions® to complete a Migration Marketing assessment, grocerant program assessment. For brand, product placement, menu positioning assistance simply call Foodservice Solutions® today.  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

Chain Restaurants Face New Increased Competition as Sales Slide Continues.

Restaurants have long won the battle over home cooking. Home cooking is not the problem. Chain restaurants are now facing increasing competition from companies that serve meals To-Go or Take-Away specifically prepared foods, including from grocery stores, chain drug stores, warehouse clubs, delis, convenience stores and yes other restaurants.

GuestMetrics, reported that based on its POS database of over $8 billion in annual sales, while table service restaurants and bars experienced a “slight sales decline of 0.3% in the 4 weeks ending February 24, 2013. That may not seem like much but the numbers were even worst the previous month. What is important is C-store sales were up and so were grocery sales.  If you look at Chain Drug Stores you get a mixed picture however fresh food sales in that sector were up.   

US drugstore chains see potential in offering fresh ready-2-eat and heat-N-eat food urban markets including frozen yogurt, lattes, sushi, and sandwiches. However drugstores don’t yet they consider restaurants competitors yet? Why? More important restaurants don’t consider drugstores competitors either.   This is becoming a race for share of stomach. Everyone is trying to cherry pick the restaurant industry and this sector is doing a very good job of it.

Walgreen’s has opened glossy stores that feature sushi chefs and enormous alcohol selections. In LA one Walgreen’s fresh food section offers high end fare such as octopus salad and green olives with hummus. There's also a juice bar whipping up smoothies.  CVS stores have added fresh sandwiches and produce in many locations. Rite Aid Corp. has been slow but in revamping its locations and bringing in packaged organic and gluten-free food trying to fend off Dollar stores.

Dollar stores are offering steak and fresh fruit and regular readers of this blog know that fresh fruit is FAST FOOD.  Times are evolving in the retail food space.  The battle is about share of stomach and consumers do not worry about channel blurring.  Channel Blurring is only in the minds-eye of the legacy food retailers.

Invite Foodservice Solutions® to complete a Migration Marketing assessment, grocerant program assessment. For brand, product placement, menu positioning assistance call Foodservice Solutions® today at 253-759-7869.  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

7 Clues Driving Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat Fresh Food Sales.

Companies that develop a platform empowering meal creation in the car, at the office or at home are winning the hearts and minds of today’s retail food consumer.  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 has Central Market, HEB, Metropolitan Market, Whole Foods.  Convenience Stores have Rutter’s, Sheetz, Wawa, Casey’s General stores and 7 Eleven. The 7 Clues are:

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.

6. Portability, empowering choice eat in or take home / office

7. Quick Meal Assembly, the way people prepare food at home today.

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.

Outside eyes can deliver top line 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 Johnson and Foodservice Solutions® visit http://www.linkedin.com/in/grocerant or twitter.com/grocerant 

Restaurant Food Share of Stomach Trumps in Shrinking Food Retail Business.

Photo by Tony French / Alamy

The Food Network and Food Reality Shows garner more viewers watching there 65 inch HDTV’s today than ever before.  One after another new Food programing continues to prove successful for CNN, NBC and Cable channels all. What is even clearer is that consumers do not want to cook!  They love to watch Food cooking on TV, learning about food on TV; but most people do not know how to cook beyond the basics.  In fact research shows most do not want to cook and do not want to clean a kitchen.

Tesco a global force in food retail has research, refined, revised its expansion plans to include restaurants. If a food retailer today wants to be successful 10 years from now they will have to sell food differently.  When Tesco bought up-market fast food restaurant Giraffe, it signaled they want to maintain and grow share of stomach over share of retail grocery.

Consumers today assemble meals they do not cook from scratch.  They are migrating to convenience stores the ilk of Wawa, Sheets, Rutter’s and 7 Eleven to same both time and money. Tesco has stores around the world and it is not just in the U.S. that this is happening but everywhere and Tesco knows it.

With consumers buying fewer and fewer food ingredients the need for large format grocery stores of the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s has pasted. Whole Foods only builds 30,000 Sq. stores today and most of the space is allotted to ready-2-eat fresh prepared food. Earlier this week we talked about General Mills testing direct meal delivery leveraging their brand Betty Crocker. How are you selling food today? How will you be selling it 10 years from now?

Foodservice Solutions® specializes in global outsourced business development. We can help you identify, quantify and qualify additional food retail segment opportunities or a brand leveraging integration strategy.  Since 1991 Foodservice Solutions of Tacoma, WA has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche for more visit http://www.linkedin.com/in/grocerant

Migrating Restaurant Customers Flock to Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat Food

Legacy restaurant chains in every sector continue to blame the economy, health care, weather on customer migration to lower price restaurants as a reason that sales are off, profits miss and growth has slowed. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Consumers are dynamic not static. Consumers have moved on and many restaurant chains continue to practice brand protectionism, obviously comfortable where they were 10 years ago, 15 years ago and some 20 years ago and still are today. During the golden era of the restaurant industry 1960 -1995 brand protectionism worked. While the restaurants, flourished the grocery store channel was greatly diminished. The grocery store sector woke up and began experimenting with what I have termed the Grocerant niche.  That is to say they began to test fresh prepared ready-2-eat and heat-N-eat offering in stores.  Some worked some did not. 

Packaged Facts estimated that in 2012 the ready-2-eat and heat-N-eat fresh prepared food sector of the grocery store / supermarket reached $32.45 billion.  More interesting that was an increase of 7.5% from 2011. We all know that the restaurant sector was flat and many companies were down in both sales and customer counts in 2012.

Garnering such positive results grocery stores are now expanding day-part food sales moving into breakfast, lunch and dinner.  With each new day-part success the grocery sector is positioning for a battle of share of stomach like consumers and restaurants have never seen.  Is your company prepared for new competitors?

Invite Foodservice Solutions® to complete a Migration Marketing assessment, grocerant program assessment. For brand, product placement, menu positioning assistance simply call Foodservice Solutions® today.  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

Betty Crocker Targets Restaurant Meal Delivery

Betty Crocker just might be on her way you your house with dinner. Legacy food manufactures are being replaced in grocery stores with fresh ready-2-eat and heat-N-eat prepared food.  General Mills the one time owner of Red Lobster and Olive Garden understand the evolving consumer marketplace and does not want to miss playing a vital role in retail foodservice moving forward. 

In a quest to reintroduce and introduce Betty Crocker to an entire new generation of dinners while leveraging and targeting seniors with the familiar trusted Betty Crocker Brands; face, food, and flavors, General Mills continues industry leader.

This week General Mill’s is launching a unique food delivery service in the Minneapolis -Saint Paul, Minnesota area.  Under the General Mills umbrella named “Betty Crocker Kitchens”. The program is beginning with “25 meals under the Betty Crocker Kitchens banner, including what the company calls “homestyle favorites” such as pot roast, meatloaf, chicken dishes and pasta. The frozen meals, rooted in recipes from the Betty Crocker cookbook, are in single-serving trays with easy-to-open packaging.”

If you line in the Twin City area you can order food online at: www.BettyCrockerKitchens.com, a General Mills 800 phone number, or through CobornsDelivers a regional grocery will be doing the delivery.” General Mills say’s Orders are to be “filled within 24 hours” there is a  minimum order is seven meals for $55, including delivery.

How are you leveraging you brand at retail.  The consumer is dynamic not static.  Is your company moving with your customers? Is your brand simultaneously extending the brand to new consumer while edifying legacy customers?  No; Why not?

Interested in learning how the 5P’s of Food Marketing can edify your retail food brand while creating a platform for consumer convenient meal participation, differentiation and individualization contact us via Email us at: grocerant@q.com or visit Facebook.com/Steven Johnson, Linkedin.com/in/grocerant or twitter.com/grocerant

Restaurants Rotating Executives Leaves Legacy Chains Reeling

Red Lobster, Olive Garden, Chili’s and Tony Roma’s have replaced, removed, repositioned c-level managers over the past 7 years some have even relocated corporate headquarters. Each appears to operating under a legacy food CEO retail mind-set “do no harm”.  Well doing no harm has done them no good either. Tony Roma’s has gone from 153 units to 40 during the period.  Who will be next to follow?

Since 2008 the full service restaurant industry particular mid-price legacy chains have seen on average a 2% drop in customer visits each year.  For that particular sector it is a total drop of almost 600 million annual visits which is hovering around 6.4 billion in 2012.

Bonnie Riggs industry leading restaurant researcher with the NPD Group thinks many legacy restaurant chains in the casual dining sector “have not stayed as relevant” in meeting consumer’s needs. Regular readers of this blog know we consumers are dynamic not static.  I ask once again: Why do legacy restaurants practice brand protectionism?

Foodservice Solutions® proprietary research led us to develop the “HDTV Syndrome” consumers want convenience yet they desire social.  Consumers love going out to eat.  Restaurants that drive top line growth and bottom line profits today must elevate brand positioning to reflect 2013-2015 not 1985.

Consumers have a fond affection for Branded Restaurant Concepts. While consumers evolve it is critical that companies move with consumers.   In a new Technomic study found that “More than any other factor, 69 percent of consumers report that dining with friends contributes to a fun, exciting restaurant experience (2013 Menu Positioning & Occasion Driver Consumer Trend Report).

If success leaves clues legacy chains must become more dynamic, social, mobile and digital.  How chains market to customers, is critical. Friends want to eat with friends.  The U. S Census says that 50% of Americans over the age of 18 are single. Is your restaurant chain attractive to, inviting to consumers that are single? Singles of all ages prefer not to eat alone?  Do you make it easy for groups of singles of any age to visit your restaurants?   Rotating executives leaves legacy chains reeling focusing on the consumer is rewarding.

Since 1991 Foodservice Solutions® a Tacoma, WA based retail foodservice consultancy has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche. For product or brand positioning assistance contact via: grocerant@q.com, the Grocerant LinkedIn page or on Facebook at Steven Johnson, BING / GOOGLE: Steven Johnson Grocerants or Grocerant on Twitter