Grocerant Niche Success Expanding

At home or school today’s consumers are informed, seeking ‘better for you’ Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food for breakfast, lunch, snacking, and or dinner.  The number of new fresh prepared food outlets, differentiated product offerings, and avenues of distribution have excited a new generation of food entrepreneurs.

The need for an expanded Grocerant Index is clear to most in the foodservice financial industry including success clues.  Given that plethora of factors behind the recent acquisition of Roundy’s, which also included the Mariano’s chain was in large part because Mariano’s while viscerally attractive to consumers they were hugely operationally inefficient and reported continued drain on cash.  Would you like to drive positive cash flow and positive consumer migration to your grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food? 

Kroger with Main & Vine is struggling with many of the same issues.  We saw that when provided our readers the first view of Main & Vine but when you combine parts of Harris Teeter with Mariano’s that’s what one would expect. However the team at Main & Vine is giving it a good go as we have been back many times.  We ask are they monitoring the right things, looking at the consumer or at the legacy grocery store business model. 

 Success does leave clues and the customer loves grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food.  They are finding it in more and more locations.  Legacy grocery retailers mimicking Harris Teeter and Mariano’s are going to end up out of the industry do to the cost of doing business and the current business model utilized.  

The new expanded Grocerant Index with success clues will help shed light of the rainbow of success that will help propel the legacy grocery industry back from its dependence on slotting fees and SNAP to a customer driven, fresh food focus. 

Steven Johnson is the Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®, with extensive experience as a multi-unit operator, foodservice grocerant consultant, and brand/product positioning expert Since 1991 Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma, WA has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche.