King-Casey Jumps on the Grocerant Niche Bandwagon

The Rendering above by the talented team at King-Casey is a representation of how King-Casey sees the future food retail store, customers, and food sector evolving. (Looks a Lot like a Grocerant :)  Clearly the Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared grocerant niche food is driving all food retailers to rethink, adjust, and manage growth moving forward. Is footprint malaise hindering your customer relevance?

Regular readers of this blog are familiar with the evolving food space specifically the Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh food space aka the Grocerant Niche. Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant Guru™ has introduced, informed, and inspired development within the Drug Store sector, Liquor Store sector, Restaurant sector, Convenience Store sector, and help established new non-traditional points of fresh food distribution.

Convenience Store News asked Westport, Conn.-based design firm King-Casey to present its vision of the future of food retail. Howland Blackiston, principal at King-Casey, said “there are three customer (and non-customer) groups c-store operators must focus on in the years ahead: traditional convenience store users, Millennials and what King-Casey refers to as Balancer Moms. …

Because each of these groups has different needs, c-stores of the future will be divided into "customer operating zones." Each zone, he explained, will be responsive to the unique needs of each different target customer set.” King-Casey envisions four groupings among other things:

·         Multiple Food Zones: The store includes a variety of themed food concepts, like you would find in a mall’s food court. These zones feature informal seating for those in a hurry, and adventuresome variety and choice to satisfy a variety of needs.

·         Upstairs Dining Zone: Comfortable and varied seating zones allow for more leisurely dining. Different areas of the upstairs dining can appeal to different audiences (families, singles, etc.)

·         Car Hop Dining Zone: Drive up, park, order and pay by touchscreen. The customer's meal is brought right to the car.

·         Fast Food Drive-Thru Zone: Drive up, order and pay for choices from any of the store's several themed food concepts. There’s something for everyone.

Success does leave clues.  Clue one footprint malaise is growing.  Brands need to evolve with consumers and success will follow.  If your brand does not have year or year customer count increases. It might be time to revisit customer relevance through the eyes of the grocerant sector. 

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.