Grocery stores, C-stores, and Restaurants All Benefit

From Canada to Mexico retailers are readjusting their product mix in order to court younger customers, maintain market share, and increase sales productivity.  Walmart’s express format C-store works.  It may have been late to the game but Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food drives sales.

In Canada Loblaw has been seeing customers embrace fresh food, specifically on perishables and foodservice prepared food across all Loblaw’s store formats. In turn they are expanding Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food all outlets including its discount brands. Grocerant Niche fresh prepared food drives retail food sales success today according to Foodservice Solutions® GrocerantGuru™.

In the Convenience Store News 2014 Foodservice Study theyfound:

1.       Fully 81 percent of the c-store operators predict an increase in their foodservice sales.

2.       Fully 63.5 percent of all respondents anticipating that their foodservice profits will grow in 2014 compared to 2013.

3.       Three-quarters of c-stores opt for proprietary programs vs. branded.

4.       Foodservice promotions, via coupons, social media, loyalty programs and more, increased industrywide by a third over the past year.

5.       Nearly two-thirds of responding operators said they offer customer seating in-store alongside their foodservice selection, and approximately one-quarter provide outdoor seating.

6.       Take-home, heat-and-eat dinner solutions are offered by 30.5 percent of retailers.

7.       The lunch daypart is still bringing in the largest share of foodservice sales for c-stores (30.3 percent), but the breakfast daypart is not far behind (26.4 percent).

Technomic found restaurateurs need to pay attention to Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food as well. More important it’s the much sought after Millennial customer driving adoption of grocerant niche products.  Restaurants in a tight battle for share of stomach must court this group or risk excluding a generation of customers. In Mexico Oxxo's the  fast growing C-store  retailer opened a net 348 new stores in Q2, to reach 1,189 with same store sales continuing to post positive results. A Technomic infographic reflecting Millennial purchase preferences can be see below. 

Success does leave clues many can be found within your Grocerant Niche Scorecard. The Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food space is getting crowed.  Is your company prepared to extend your brand to Millennials? Do you understand the undercurrents of change in the retail food space today? Call Foodservice Solutions® to get your Grocerant Scorecard at: 1-253-759-7869.

Are you trapped doing what you have always done and doing it the same way?  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? Email us at: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us or visit:  www.FoodserviceSolutions.us for more information.