Restaurant customer migration has been most
difficult for chain restaurants lacking differentiation. While Millennials are seeking food discovery,
others are simply tired of the same old same old. Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant Guru™ Steven
Johnson says “Differentiation does not mean different rather it means familiar
with a twist and today that twist must be clearly defined and noticeable.” I
ask do you have “Braggability’?
In
Henry Ford’s 1922 autobiography “My Life and Work” he famously remarked, “Any
customer can have a car painted any color that he wants so long as it is
black.” In this statement, Ford the pioneer of the assembly line was stating
that mass producing the same product in large numbers was the secret to keeping
prices low.
There
is one problem all things being equal, people like to have things that are made
just for them. Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant Guru™ continually reminds us
that the consumer is dynamic not static. That helps explain the evolving retail
demand for a food platform that includes convenient
meal participation, differentiation and individualization.
Today,
eating-out while eating-at-home, take-out food, and meal component bundling are
leading ways in which people are looking to differentiate themselves, simplify
their lives, and same time.
Prior
to 2005 no one would have thought that the future of food was not a chain
restaurant. Streets were lined with
Look-a-Like Menu-a-Like steakhouses, fern bars and grills, Quick Service
Restaurants and food courts in every mall and city in the United States.
Not
any longer today the Grocerant Niche fresh prepared food has caught
on fire. Once considered uniquely American the grocerant niche is booming in
Europe, Asia, Australia, and Africa of late.
Universal commonalities of time saving, lack of cooking skill-set, meal
component bundling have taken root.
It
has become about discovery, simplicity, and transparency fresh food fast
without the labels of ingredients that no one wants to pronounce let alone
understand. New unique venues and menus are two of the biggest drives companies
the ilk of Pinkies Liquor stores, Wawa is much more than a C-store, Hello-Fresh
is a global Meal Kit success story driving new trends. Each has ‘Braggability,
they are different, notable driving non-traditional meals outlets and occasions
to social consumption acceptance.
Is
your restaurant experiencing positive customer counts? Are you catering to diners who are looking
for differentiation? Do you have a look alike / copycat menu?
Non-traditional
food retailers that serve great food in unusual surroundings offer a side of
‘Braggability’ while creating a social buzz that is becoming a roar. More and more that ‘Braggability’ is in the
form of Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food. The restaurant business
is famously Look-a-Like Menu-a-Like outlets.
What do you give your customers to talk about? Boast about?
So
think about it. Does your restaurant have ‘Braggability’? How do you package
your food? How do you package a meal? Is
the meal you offer today the same as it was ten years ago? If so them maybe
your restaurant is running more like yesterday that today. Create ‘Braggability’ it’s simple it will
make you noticed by new customers and notable by your current customers.
Are
you trapped doing what you have always done and doing 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.
