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