Foodservice Solutions: October 2013

Thursday, October 31, 2013

Grocerant Niche Differentiated Fresh Food

The United States from the beginning was populated with immigrants. Things have not changed much today the United States continues to be a melting pot of immigrants from around the world. Today consumers are time starved, the economy continues to flounder and the desire for comfort food is on the rise. However comfort food for many means flavors from the past and former homelands. Increasing what is missing is the skill-set to prepare those meals from scratch at home. Thus the rise of Grocerant food.

Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant Guru™ has identified that “time stared multi-generational households comprised of multi-ethnic family members are key drives demanding fresh Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat prepared food.” While many grocery store chains vary offerings targeting specific ethnic neighborhoods few incorporate those same flavor profiles throughout the chain.

Overall the grocery sector continues to lose customers to new non-traditional fresh food retailers including liquor stores, drug Store, convenience stores, and restaurants that offer mix and match meal components that can be taken home and bundled into a family meal. In fact the grocery sector has lost 1.6% of dollar sales the past few years alone all the while food stamps where on the rise..

The best purveyors of grocerant niche fresh prepared food are the only stores within the grocer sector growing and regular readers of this know that the leaders are Whole Foods, Earth Fare, Fresh Market, Sprouts and all are adding locations (estimates are an additional 320 stores by 2017). They provide a platform of traditional bold flavors and fresh prepared food that creates a level of excitement simultaneously bringing family familiarity to the shopping experience.

Success does leave clues and if legacy retailers want to garner share entering the grocerant niche is a trend that has been developing since 1991 it is not a fad. Is your company ready for a grocerant niche review, assessment or enhancement?

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: info@FoodserviceSolutions.us or visit: www.FoodserviceSolutions.us Facebook.com/Steven Johnson, Linkedin.com/in/grocerant, or twitter.com/grocerant

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Coffee Retail Barista Battle Brewing

Starbucks, McCafe, Wawa, and, Café Coffee Day continue to flourish as consumer attraction, affection, and addiction to coffee seems endless. Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant Guru™ Steven Johnson has been tracking coffee and stated “a barista war is brewing as convenience stores, quick service restaurants, and grocery stores begin branding and expanding into fresh prepared coffee to drive day-part sales.”

Woolworths a leading Australian grocery store has set up private label Woolworths branded (Vittoria) trial coffee kiosk within stores in Melbourne with an eye on expanding into the entire chain. Woolworths is leveraging an existing customer base, and price to entice trial. A Woolworths spokesperson stated “"We know that Australians are increasingly time poor. We are responding by giving them convenient, quality coffee when they shop," The staff at Vittoria counter get barista training on how to make the perfect latte, cappuccino, babycino, espresso, macchiato, hot chocolate and tea.

Café Coffee Day India’s largest chain of coffee houses is running new expanded customer loyalty programs to counter Starbucks expansion in India. In addition it has been well reported that are considering entering the United States Market as well.

Regional convenience store Wawa, known for its proprietary coffee, available only at Wawa stores is growing fast. Wawa reported that since the year 2000, they have served more than 1 billion cups of coffee. Within the brewed coffee market, Wawa ranks #1 in Philadelphia and #8 in share nationally.

Not to be left out or forgotten McDonalds had enhanced its coffee offering and is finding that hot and cold coffee drinks including new Pumpkin Spice is driving sales in AM, PM and Late Night Day parts. Coffee is an affordable indulgence. Success does leave clues and we clearly see a coffee retail barista battle brewing around the globe.

Outside Eyes for Inside Results 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. Visit: www.FoodserviceSolutions.us Facebook.com/Steven Johnson, Linkedin.com/in/grocerant or twitter.com/grocerant

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

What Quality Fast Casual Chain has this New Menu?

Success does leave clues and new fall menu rollouts are one of them according to Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant Guru™ Steven Johnson. In our Omni-Channel retail word Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food continues to fuel growth in all sectors of retail that is enters. Here is the menu can you guess what the name of the chain is?

Ultimate Burger Melts – A one-third-pound Angus beef patty topped with the choice of pastrami, mozzarella sticks, French fries, jalapeño bites or fried pickles. Additionally, customers can choose other traditional burger toppings or unique toppings, such as taco meat, macaroni and cheese, and onion rings.
Ultimate Tacos – Available in Alaskan cod, chicken or steak, these tacos are served two per order in soft taco shells. Customers can add as many toppings as they want to complement their tastes.
Ultimate Quesadillas – The Fish-a-dilla is made with a fried Alaskan cod fillet, while the Mexicali Burger quesadilla is made with taco meat and Rutter's Angus beef burger. Each quesadilla is paired with cheese and the choice of quesadilla toppings melted together and served with salsa.

Based in Pennsylvania the chain is convenience stores operator Rutter's with 58 stores throughout central Pennsylvania you can see convenience store food is more much more than just fast food.

Success does leave clues and the Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food aka the grocerant niche food bundled meal components that can be mix and matched work. Is your company bundling the proper meals and meal components to drive sales up? Have you integrated Foodservice Solutions® 5P’s of food marketing into your brand platform?

Monday, October 28, 2013

Dollar General Garners Customers as Food Migration Continues

In every channel of food retail today the fastest growing sector is Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food. That is one reason that Publix for one as expanded its fresh prepared food section beyond just the traditional deli section. Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant Guru™ Steven Johnson has been asking “will expanding grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food be enough to save the legacy grocery store model?” It didn’t seem to work for Safeway did it? Here is one reason why:

CSNews reported “Dollar General once again took the top spot in Kantar Retails' opening price point (OPP) survey.” Regular readers of this blog know that this is the second consecutive year Dollar General was in the No. 1 spot. In addition we have expressed concern for the legacy grocery model as the Dollar store sector has been as the Grocerant Guru would say been “Cherry Picking” CPG products from the grocery sector.

The Kantor OPP survey, determines how each retailer meets the grocery and consumable needs of shoppers looking for the lowest shelf prices to fulfill their basket requirements. According to the Kantar Retail, Dollar General's total basket was the least expensive among retailers surveyed, including edging out Walmart Supercenter's basket by 12 cents.

What the real concern is within the retail food space is more and more food is now purchased in meal component from and is Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food. What happens to the grocery model as the Dollar sector and C-store begin to enter the Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food space? Restaurants, drug stores (Walgreens) have entered the Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food space and show signs of growing demand.

This is a battle for share of stomach and it appears that from Amazon to Zoe’s Kitchen everyone is trying to win share. Is your model working today? Are your customer counts and sales up? If not it just might be time for a strategic review or a grocerant assessment?

Sunday, October 27, 2013

Fresh Food Drives All Sales at Amazon

Amazon Photo

AmazonFresh the grocery delivery service of Amazon is garnering attention from all retailers as Amazon reported that it is seeing sales increases in all other lines of merchandise as a result of its grocery delivery service. Has Amazon found its last mile solutions in fresh food? Will AmazonSpotlight that delivers restaurant hot Ready-2-Eat fresh prepared food be its next success?

Thomas Szkutak Amazons Chief Financial Officer said during the company's third-quarter earnings call, that Amazon was happy with AmazonFresh's latest entry into the Los Angeles market. In addition Szkutak stated "It's very, very early in LA, but what we see so far we like. We're adding a lot of selection there on behalf of customers,"

Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant Guru™ Steven Johnson thinks that everyone in retail should paying attention to Amazon for when asked if the company was selling more non-grocery items as a result of the more frequent deliveries to AmazonFresh customers, Szkutak simply replied, "Yes."

Amazon has been working on and with fresh food delivery for the past five years and is has been testing AmazonSpotlight for only one year. All food retailers should be aware, prepared, and focused on new competition from non-traditional fresh food retailers. Here is another example other than Amazon’s success, Walgreens is finding with fresh prepared food in it urban locations.

Today, Amazon in the LA area is on track and preparing for customers that order fresh groceries as well as other merchandise that they will be able to receive the items the same day for most items or the next. If Amazon can do that today do you think that other non-traditional retailers won’t at least look at food?

Saturday, October 26, 2013

Maggiano’s Set to Grow Again while Chili Repositions Flavor Profile

Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant Guru™ Steven Johnson considers Maggiano’s Today & Tomorrow one of the best grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat marketing positioning statements in the industry. It is so good in fact struggling Darden concept Olive Garden has now leveraged it twice.

Maggiano’s has a consumer understand that few other have and can be seen in how they leverage multiple avenues of distribution simultaneously. Success does leave clues and Maggiano’s has picked many of the right ones up. Now Maggiano’s is back in growth more and will building new stores soon.

Brinker’s other concept Chili’s leveraging the same quality consumer attributes is “Mexican-izing the menu, adding delivery service at 450 stores, and rolling out new kitchen technology.” What an outstanding move!

Wyman Roberts Brinker CEO stated “Our research has shown that we can build upon our current credibility with tacos, fajitas, quesadillas, chips and salsas to further strengthen this platform,” He continued that Mexican choices constitute the chain’s biggest menu category—“bigger than burgers,”

Differentiation does not mean different it means familiar and Mexican will be a perfect platform to begin to garner back the customers that migrated to other brands and other points of distribution. Chili’s will also begin delivering food at 450 locations. When Chili’s completes integrating the 5 P’s of food marketing success be at hand.

Friday, October 25, 2013

Restaurant marketers should be asking how do we best bridge the challenge of customer deferred buying?

Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant Guru Steven Johnson asked in 2010 on our blog “Can selling restaurant products in grocery stores create channel blurring?” Since then the retail foodservice industry and customer have both evolved. In 2013 consumers are informed, brand interactive, and in-control. If your goal is to expand brand value, drive year over year same store sales, you can’t simply continue to do what you have always done.

Should restaurants sell proprietary products in drug stores, department stores, grocery stores, supermarkets and convenience stores? What we know now is that entering the frozen food court is one path to success but not the only one. The channels of retail foodservice offering both fresh and frozen food have expanded. If you are a restaurant selling “thaw-2-fresh” customers understand it and that becomes the intersection of a new normal in the price, service equilibrium. If you cook from scratch consumers know that as well. If you sell in non-traditional food channels consumers not only know it they like it.

While we continue to see most legacy restaurant chains and the vast majority of start-up restaurants focused on a single avenue of distribution. We have now learned that channel blurring is only in the minds-eye of marketing agencies, chain marketers, and never in the minds-eye of the consumer. Today we are working in an Omni-channel retail world. The mounting disadvantages to selling within a single channel are three to one over advantages of selling in a multiple channels.

Restaurant marketers should be asking how do we best bridge the challenge of customer deferred buying? Today department stores, chain drug stores, liquor stores are selling Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food that is deemed restaurant quality by consumers. If restaurant consumers are in a different channel of foodservice, then it is your obligation to extend the brand experience and brand promise. If you do not you heighten the risk of a non-traditional fresh food retailer capturing your customer increases dramatically.

Non-traditional fresh prepared food retailer’s specifically convenience stores and grocery stores have been experiencing double digit growth in fresh prepared food sales over the past three years. The leading companies the ilk of Sheetz, Casey’s General Store, and Wawa for more years than that. They are branding fresh prepared food items as an entity with identity with great success. Do you think they are going to sell in only one channel? No they are not and we have plenty of examples.

So the simple answer to the question how do restaurant markets best bridge the challenge of customer deferred buying, is reduce the brand experience gap by extending the brand into new non-traditional avenues of distribution with fresh prepared food. If your customer counts are flat or in decline for more than 3 consecutive quarters it just might be a clue that your customers are migrating to a new channel.

www.FoodserviceSolutions.us Outside Eyes for Inside Results 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. Visit: www.FoodserviceSolutions.us Facebook.com/Steven Johnson, Linkedin.com/in/grocerant or twitter.com/grocerant

Thursday, October 24, 2013

Mama Fu’s Fresh, Fresh, Fresh, and is Fast To You

Not taking the path of the past and the most comfortable path for most legacy emerging restaurant chains. Mama Fu’s has elected to evolve with consumers in the fastest growing sector of food retail today the Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food space aka the grocerant niche. The Grocerant niche where non-traditional retailers abound and food retailing success stories surround.

Mama Fu’s is an emerging growth restaurant concept began with traditional 3.000 square foot locations that offered take-out, delivery, and catering in addition its regular “flex-casual” offered at its 80 seats or so.

Randy Murphy’s, CEO of Mama Fu’s not only drinks the tea he clearly can read the tea leaves. This move is all about customers and customer demand which in this case complements the business model and edifies the bottom line. The new prototype requires half the space, a less conspicuous location, less FF&E.

Here is how Murphy put it “ “This new smaller model prototype is a natural evolution for the brand,” …“Not only is it a way to meet consumer demand, but it makes sense in our business model, considering today’s real estate challenges of finding larger units in preferred locations. On top of that, nearly fifty-percent of our business is already off-premise sales, and that number is growing.”

Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant Guru™ has documented restaurant customer migration noting time and time again that consumers are in search of mix and match meal component options and that consumer are looking for them in non-traditional avenues of distribution. Johnson repeatedly remarks that differentiation does not mean different it means familiar.

Mama Fu’s menu is different yet familiar to consumer edified with hand held foods complementing today’s most popular food consumptions patterns. The time is right for a national chain of fresh better for you Asian Food. Mama Fu’s is poised for rapid growth. Here’s why:

Murphy stated “Our franchise partners are excited about the new low-investment option with significant ROI,” … in comparison to revenues in the pizza/wing segment and higher ticket average of Mama Fu’s typical off-premise guest. “We have also invested more in operational and consumer focused technology, service, training, and packaging to increase the guest’s value experience.”

Success does leave clues and you don’t have to be different to win you simply need to follow your customers.

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Grab-N-Go Ready-2-Eat Heat-N-Eat Launch C-store Sector Sales

Consumers looking for food have found something new, something fast, something good and found it within the convenience store sector. Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant Guru® Steven Johnson has chronicled much of the success companies the ilk of Rutter’s, Sheetz, Wawa and 7 Eleven have found selling restaurant quality Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food that is “better for you” during industry presentations and within this blog now it seems everyone has taken notice.

Last week at the National Association of Convenience Stores conference Wells Fargo industry analyst Bonnie Herzog stated that the convenience store sector is entering “a new era of growth and sophistication”. Regular readers of this blog know we agree 100% and we believe that the face of food sector retail is leadership will shift soon as well.

Foodservice Solutions® team continues to track the growing success of meal component bundling and from all accounts companies the ilk of Casey’s General Store and Sheetz are currently leading on that front but all others are taking notice and the entire sector is evolving faster than any other food retail sector including the retail drug store sector.

Herzog pointed out “We are encouraged by food industry innovation efforts and expect that the convenience channel, still small in terms of absolute contribution, can continue to deliver channel-leading rates of sales growth”

The innovative way c-stores have leveraged Foodservice Solutions® 5 P’s of food marketing bundling meal components and mix and match options have drawn focus from every other sector of food retailing. In fact the c-store channel was the only food channel to post positive growth in unit sales and dollar sales in 2012 compared to 2011 and the highest rate of growth for the past 5 years.

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Dinner in a bag: Pick-Up Food

Non-traditional points of fresh food distribution continue to grow. The confluence of money, technology and consumers is a force much greater than legacy brick and mortar stores. Technology advances, the evolving food consumers combined with intense interest from the likes of Google chairman Eric Schmidt the future of food retail is entering a new era of dynamic change.

Could your local grocery store be replaced or become obsolete as fast as Kodak cameras have or tower records? Relay Foods raised $14.5 million dollars from venture capital firms including from Google chairman Eric Schmidt’s Tomorrow Ventures. The reason for the money Relay Foods has 35 locations in the D.C. area offering online ordering and food pick-up and plans to expand to 100 locations. Smaller footprints faster service Relay is not alone.

Giant Foods is turning gas stations into locations you can simply stop by and pick up your prepared food. You can order anything from a gallon of milk and to unlimited groceries. Not only do you not have to go shopping in the store when you pull up at the remote stations an employee will place all your food in your trunk.

Amazon will in some cities deliver directly to your home and Walmart and Kroger are also testing deliver and different online ordering systems. Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food continues to expand. These new points of distribution with smaller footprints extend the brands value while maintaining or gaining customers.

While many of these current offerings require advance ordering some up to the night before it is clear that those times will diminish with increased usage. The confluence of money, technology and consumers is a force much greater than legacy brick and mortar stores. Where are your customers buying food today and where will they be picking it up tomorrow?

www.FoodserviceSolutions.us of Tacoma WA is the global leader in the Grocerant niche visit Facebook.com/Steven Johnson, Linkedin.com/in/grocerant or twitter.com/grocerant or Contact our Grocerant Guru at: info@FoodserviceSolutions.us

Monday, October 21, 2013

Digital Signage is Consumer Comfort Food

Unless you have been living under a rock somewhere you know 51% of Americans now have smartphones and 35% have tablets. Do you have a Smartphone? Well most of your customers do. Visceral digital signage is all around us in fact most of your customer carry it with them all day long. Restaurants, grocery delis and C-stores all need to migrate to digital signage in order to maintain consumer relevance.

Digital signage is interactive, participatory, consumer relevant and comforting. Wal-Mart recently added digital signage to select end caps within their stores. I had friend remark that after a recent visit to Wal-Mart she was impressed and please to see how viscerally attractive the store was. Digital Visceral attractiveness is now a contemporary standard in retailing. If a picture is worth 1000 words how valuable is an inviting visceral message?

British Petroleum is installing Digital Signage at the Pump and in the store at over 1,000 units. Even Michael Porter does not believe that digital signage is an operational efficiency. When consumer expect digital contemporized relevance it becomes required. Are we at that point in time? The consumer is not static they are dynamic all retailers must keep pace with the customer.

Supermarkets, Convenience stores and Restaurants all must avoid unwittingly practicing Brand Protectionism and saying no to items that consumer comes to expect. Visceral attractiveness is now as important as cleanliness and service. Is you’re brand leveraging digital informational tools to edify consumer relevance?

Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant Guru Steven Johnson say’s” success does leave clues and one clue he picked us is customers do not take a step back they are dynamic and moving forward. Don’t let your brand unwittingly practice “Brand Protectionism”.”

Brand messaging is fast becoming visceral, Multi-channel, Multi-social, Comforting, Inviting, and reinforcing. In store messaging is as important as messaging outside the four-walls. Digital Signage is no longer high end consumer comfort food it is the mainstay of most consumers from computers, smartphones and tables 90% of consumers expect digital relevance.

www.FoodserviceSolutions.us since 1991 retail food consultancy Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma, WA has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche visit http://www.linkedin.com/in/grocerant, twitter.com/grocerant or Facebook Steven Johnson

Sunday, October 20, 2013

Whole Foods Selling Fresh Food.

Focusing on Ready-2-Eat & Heat-N-Eat fresh and prepared food that is “better for you” Whole Foods is doing Fast Fresh Food better than most restaurants. Whole Foods is no longer Whole Paycheck but Whole Fresh Food Fast and consumers find that is “better for you” with restaurant quality.

Whole Foods is driving customer frequency while building loyalty with Fresh prepared Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat better for you food. Whole Foods focus is on convenient meal participation, better for you differentiation, and individualization.

In a survey, conducted online by U.S. by Harris Interactive among 2,274 adults age 18 and older, found “nearly three out of four Americans (71 percent) prefer to buy natural and/or organic foods over conventional foods if prices are comparable. One in four Americans (27 percent) are devoting more than a quarter of their grocery dollars to natural and/or organic products, up 35 percent from four years ago….

"We see that Americans from all demographics are seeking more natural and organic foods; especially if the price is right," said A.C. Gallo, president and COO of Whole Foods Market. "We don't believe shoppers should have to sacrifice quality for price, so we aim to offer high quality food that fits every budget through competitive pricing and expanding our 365 Everyday Value line."

Harris research disclosed that many Americans are willing to pay more for foods that meet certain criteria:

Nearly half (47 percent) are willing to pay higher prices for locally produced foods

Nearly a third (32 percent) are willing to pay more for foods with no artificial ingredients, preservatives or colorings

Nearly one out of three (30 percent) are willing to pay more for meats raised with no antibiotics or added growth hormones and one in four (24 percent) are willing to pay more for meats raised under humane animal husbandry standards

Saturday, October 19, 2013

IKEA 2 Billion Reasons You Should Consider Entering the Grocerant Niche

Non-Traditional fresh food retailers have been exploring, entering, or exploiting the Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food space aka the Grocerant Niche, at an increasing pace, and with outstanding success. Walgreens and Pinkies Liquor stores are both selling fresh prepared food, Brooks Brothers is entering and both Costco and Ikea sell over a billion dollars a year in Ready-2-Eat fresh prepared food alone.

Ikea the Swedish company best known for its inexpensive furniture and household products has very large Blue and Yellow stores around the world that also sell fresh prepared food. In an article in the Wall Street Journal Ikea’s Johannes Ledel explains how the fresh food unit brings in nearly $2 billion in annual revenue.

Two Billion in annual sales places Ikea in the top tier of food retailer’s period. Non-traditional food retailers in this case a furniture store sells much more food than most of the chains reported on in restaurant industry magazines. These retailers are often not considered competitors. Selling food and winning is about garnering share of stomach. Ikea garners $2 billion year and has become a destination for food.

Regular readers of this blog know Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant Guru™ Steven Johnson regularly writes about and includes Ikea slides at industry conferences and client presentations. IKEA’s Food division rivals Panera Bread and Arby's, with nearly $2 billion in annual revenue. Ikea “estimates about 700 million people this year will eat in one of the cafeterias that are located in 300 IKEA stores world-wide.” I’ll let you do the math 300 stores $ 2 Billion in fresh food sales Equals $__________ per store. What are your sales per store? Ikea is a food destination.

Fresh Food Fast Ikea’s not just fast food but priced inexpensively with tables and chairs the limited menu consist of Salmon, roast beef, Salads and Sweden's beloved meatballs with mashed potatoes and gravy. Price is a focal point for the Ikea brand and in the fresh prepared food division it holds true. As an example in Brooklyn, NY”, a plate of 15 meatballs is $5. Kids' meals start out at $2.99, and breakfast, including eggs, bacon and potatoes, starts out at 99 cents.”

Non-traditional fresh food retailers are finding success where many legacy restaurant chains refuse to look, consider opportunity. Non-traditional retailers are exploring, entering, or exploiting opportunities that others simply dismiss. Are you doing $ 2 Billion a year? Are you expanding points of distribution?

Friday, October 18, 2013

Roll, Roll, Roll Away Roller Grill 7 Eleven Fresh Food Repositions the Brand.

No the roller grills are not gone. Well not gone yet. Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant Guru in his November 2009 article Roll, Roll, Roll Away Roller Grill suggested that the end of the Roller Grill was on the way. Since then he has documented the evolving consumer and their desire for fresh food. He has highlighted the fact that Fresh Fruit is Fast Food and as you can see from the photo’s 7 Eleven is expanding the halo of fresh throughout the store.

(Note: all photo’s from http://www.fastcodesign.com/3020110/7-11-rebrands-to-target-health-conscious-millennials)

Regular readers of this blog know that 50%+ of 7 Eleven’s new units do not sell gasoline. They focus on fresh food. Many might say that 7 Eleven is rebranding. What 7 Eleven has been doing is evolving with the consumer. In fact today with 51,000+ units open around the world 7 Eleven had been evolving with the consumer better than almost any other food retailer.

When Dublin, Ohio-based WD Partners, the company that was tasked to "reposition and rejuvenate [7-Eleven]'s stores in order to better capture the millennial and female demographics." it looks as if they have done a very good job from shots provided in the article. Don’t forget fresh fruit is fast food.

Consumers desire for “better for you” products does not mean that don’t want legacy favorites. Simply look around at the retail food chains doing well. However the new environment, color scheme, logo, and product placement will elevate the halo of “better for you” at 7 Eleven driving customer frequency and garnering additional share of stomach.

While the roller grill is still around and you can still get the “big bite”. I for one continue to say Roll, roll, roll away roller grill. Success does leave clues and 7 Eleven is evolving fast.

Thursday, October 17, 2013

What National Chain with 1759+ units had Same-Store Sales up 11% in September?

Where your sales up 5%, 7%, 9%, or more year over year in September? Have you heard of or integrated the Foodservice Solutions® 5P’s of food marketing into your brand platform? No, here is your first hint the company was founded in 1959 by Don Lamberti. Ok, what company is it?

Not quite sure yet it was not Wendy’s, not Burger King and not Subway. Was it your company most likely not because few food retail companies and even fewer restaurants have reported up sales and even fewer up 11%. Ok, I will tell you who and why their sales are up.

This week Casey’s General Stores, Inc. a convenience store reported September 2013 same-store sales results for stores open for one full year. Same-store sales for prepared food and fountain soda increased 11.0%, and grocery and other merchandise increased 9.2% in September 2013 compared to September 2012. Success does leave clues Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food continues to be a success clue in every sector of food retail.

Four years ago Casey’s began extending it presents into Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food. The results have been stunning to say the least. Consumers have responded to the fresh quality mix and match offerings and meal component bundling opportunities. Then when Casey’s added pizza and delivery options customer satisfaction, purchase frequency increased as well.

Casey's does a lot of things right fresh food product and food placement are key drives of their success. That of courses has been complemented by clean stores, restrooms, and the friendly employees who pride themselves in customer service.