Leveraging Restaurant Brand Power via “The Frozen Food Court”

If success leaves clues and listening is a key to success then we all need to listen when grocery store category managers refer to the freezer aisle turning into the new restaurant "frozen food court".  Regular readers of this blog know I first wrote about the “Frozen Food Court” in 2009. Expanding restaurant brands has never been as important as it is today.

Channel blurring only exists in the blind eye of Neanderthal restaurant chain brand managers. Today restaurant brand managers must understand their brand and their customers. If they do they can integrate marketing plans that complement their consumer’s food consumptions footprint while positioning the brand in multiple channels of distribution.  

Walmart, Costco, Kroger, Safeway each has incorporated a "frozen food court" in the frozen food aisle. Utilizing both national and regional restaurant branded food. Companies the ilk of Boston Market, TGI Friday's, PF Chang's, California Pizza Kitchen,  Taco Bell, Burger King are the most-thorough players with complete or nearly-complete programs at retail. But many restaurants are either looking at leveraging their brands or are jumping in feet first, including Romano's Macaroni Grill, El Pollo Loco, Captain D's, O'Charley's, while others are like Darden trying it by just dipping their toes in. The grocery store and the restaurant brand all garner additional top line revenue and bottom line profits leveraging branded products.

Repeated evidence shows that the distinction in differentiation is a value of the brand. Leveraging that value within additional retail segments is simply contemporary consumer relevance. Is your brand relevant? Restaurant consumers are dynamic not static, leveraging new channels of distribution works wonders.

Foodservice Solutions® specializes in outsourced business development. We can help you identify, quantify and qualify additional food retail segment opportunities or a brand leveraging integration strategy www.FoodserviceSolutions.us .  Foodservice Solutions of Tacoma WA is the global leader in the Grocerant niche visit Facebook.com/Steven Johnson, Linkedin.com/in/grocerant or twitter.com/grocerant.