Florida is Ground Zero in the Battle for Ready-2-Eat Fresh Prepared Food.

While Amazon garners attention in the press with the rollout of online grocery ordering in LA and continued testing of Amazon Spotlight. The share of market within grocery Amazon is after is in fact inconsequential to legacy food retailers looking to win the hearts and minds of consumers today and 10 years from now.  

Florida is ground zero in the batter of share of stomach. The consumer is looking for fresh prepared ready-2-eat and heat-N-eat meal options. Amazon can garner online business because their strategy is to find a last mile solution grocery deliver akin to the milkman will provide them that.

If success leaves clues, evolving with the consumer is one of them.  The consumer continues to migrate to the ready-2-eat and heat-eat space.  There is no sign that the rate of migration will slow.

Publix and Wal-Mart 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 and Wawa has committed $574+ millions for new units alone.  7 Eleven has refocused it eye’s on Northeast Florida buying units or opening new ones. All while Florida restaurant sales are flat or slipping and grocerant fresh prepared ready-2-eat and heat-N-eat food is one reason. Publix, Whole Foods, Bi-Lo, Wawa, 7Eleven, Walmart, and Racetrac are all selling fresh prepared food.

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