“Family Meals to Go” Who will Win Grocery Stores, C-stores or Restaurants

Now that consumers for the first time, spent more at restaurants ($54.9 billion) than on groceries ($52.5 billion) one has to ask Who is winning in the What’s for Dinner Space?  Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant Guru® Steven Johnson found that at Noon 83.7% of consumers do not know what’s for dinner and at 4PM 68.7% still don’t know what’s for dinner. 

More importantly recent finding edify the fact the consumer don’t want to do dishes, cook from scratch, or go grocery shopping.  Consumers have been migrating to restaurants for years seeking new menu ideations, new flavor profiles and convenience according to Johnson.

What’s it going to take for grocery stores to regain the top of mind status when consumers are thinking What’s for dinner? Well we ask the Grocerant Guru® Steven Johnson and stated “grocery stores need to develop a meal mentality rather than a pantry mentality.  Most consumers do not think about stocking a pantry with everything for dinner this week let alone tonight. “

Consumers like to customize dinner with meal components that can be mixed and matched into a perfect family meal.  Which may include multiple generations, multiple ethnicities, and multiple time periods for the same meal (dinner).

So who has the advantage in last minute meal planning grocery stores, C-stores or restaurants?  .

 Allen adds that restaurants can maintain their competitive advantage through the following strengths:

1.        Convenient Meal Participation over 62 percent of consumers believe grocery stores do not offer customizable meals. Restaurants ability to personalize or customize a meal continues to drive top of mind preferences is a clear advantage for that sector.

2.        Differentiation grocery stores have the ability to offer a wide variety of flavors profiles within the Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat grocerant meal components that restaurants simply cannot do creating a clear advantage for grocery stores.

3.       Individualization today a majority of consumers think prepared foods’ quality at C-stores are ‘restaurant quality” Customization and personalization comes in the form of meal components that can be quickly bundled into a customized family meal C-stores have a top of mind advantage in speed and are increasingly adding new meal components, meal kits, and customizable fresh prepared food for lunch and dinner creating a clear advantage for C-store growth. .

Invite Foodservice Solutions® to complete a grocerant program assessment, grocerant ScoreCard.  For brand, or product placement assistance our Grocerant Guru® has the skill-set you are looking for.  Since 1991 www.FoodserviceSolutions.us  of Tacoma, WA has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche. Contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us or 253-759-7869