Foodservice Retail Discontinuity

Notice was given when Foodservice Solutions®, Grocerant Guru®, Steven Johnson first warned foodservice industry professionals in 1991 about the undercurrents change within the consumer mind-set at COEX.  Then in 1996 Johnson wrote an Op-Ed article titled: Call Them Grocerants in August and it was published in both FoodService Director and Nation’s Restaurant News.

Looking A Customer Ahead

Globally Restaurants are in a fight for consumer relevance today as Tesco, Sainsbury, Walmart, are capitulating market share. Aldi, Lidl, and WinCo Foods  lure fresh food consumers with lower prices  (seven percent lower), and are expanding grocerant niche fresh prepared food. 

All the while retail restaurant prices continue to rise according to Nation’s Restaurant News the paradox of price choice is driving consumers away from restaurants back to grocery stores and too C-stores.

In a new report from Euromonitor showed that growth in home delivery and takeaway food has outpaced that of restaurants each year since the financial crisis. Between 2009 and 2014, the UK market for take away and delivery expanded 2.7 per cent to £6.5bn, while the value of food bought in restaurants fell 5 per cent to £17.1bn.”

Restaurateurs need to be mindful consumers have determined that they can find restaurant quality food at non-traditional locations including chain drug stores, Grocery store deli’s, C-store, Online Meal-Kit’s, and Furniture stores the ilk of Ikea according to Foodservice Solutions® team. 

Save Money Eating “Better for You’

Consumers have been migrating to new avenues of fresh food distribution as our Grocerant Guru® regularly reports here on this blog. Many legacy retailers are responding to demand for eating at home yet still wanting to eat out at their favorite restaurant or as Grocerant Guru® calls it Eating-Out with Eating-In. One question remains as legacy grocery stores expand the ‘branded’ frozen food-court is that enough to slow the migration to non-traditional fresh food outlets?

In the United States year over year restaurant customer counts for three consecutive months continue to track down or flat.  Britain’s two largest publicly listed restaurant companies by market share, Mitchells & Butlers and The Restaurant Group, have seen sharp falls in market valuation as investors bet against traditional high street brands customer counts matter.

Today companies the ilk of Grub Hub, Amazon Prime Now, and apps such as Just Eat, which allow diners to order food from restaurants and get delivery.  Does anyone think that be enough to drive chain restaurant brand value, top line sales, and bottom line profits? Foodservice Solutions® team say no. 

Foodservice Solutions® research and experience drives us to the conclusion that offering app’s, take-out or delivery is simply not enough.  Consumers want Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food and are seeking it from non-traditional locations including furniture stores the ilk of IKEA.  Ikea by the way is selling $ 2.8 Billion in Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food today. Are you ready to address the ‘stay home’ consumer? 

Foodservice discontinuity continues to expand is it time you 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