Grocerant Niche Fresh Food Top Priorities for Summer

Restaurants must evolve or else they will continue to capitulate customer counts to non-traditional fresh food retailers according to Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant Guru® Steven Johnson. Pilot Flying J understands that and with  66 percent of Americans plan to travel this summer, and 57 percent of traveling parents will hit the road feeling "stressed" about where they are going to stop along the way, fresh food will make the difference.

In a new study commissioned by Pilot Flying J found “of more than 1,000 U.S. parents who take family road trips and have children under the age of 18. The study found that when driving on a family road trip, finding a stop with clean bathrooms as well as fresh food is crucial to parents. Here is what they found:

1.       Nine in 10 parents (88 percent) say they would be "more likely" to stop at a particular travel center, if it were to offer fresh food options.

2.       Millennial parents are most interested in finding travel centers with fresh food options that will make everyone in the family happy, as 65 percent care about this, compared to 51 percent of Generation X parents and 42 percent of Baby Boomer parents.

Additionally, "where to stop to eat" is the top source of stress and family arguments when on a road trip, the survey found.

When thinking of the total experience, 85 percent of parents (and 91 percent of millennial parents) say they would be surprised to come across a travel center that has both great, fresh food options, and clean bathrooms and facilities.

Whitney Haslam Johnson, chief experience officer for Pilot Flying J.stated "Listening to our guests, and understanding their needs is a priority for us at Pilot Flying J,"… "If we can provide what families want to take some of the stress away, then hopefully it makes their experience with us enjoyable. As a mom of three boys myself, I understand how important that can be."

Pilot Flying J is offering a special road trip snack pack from now through Aug. 31. When customers purchase a 2.25-ounce bag of Smartfood Popcorn with an online coupon available at RoadTrips.PilotFlyingJ.com, they will receive a free 20-ounce bottle of Aquafina water.

Knoxville-based Pilot Flying J operates more than 650 retail locations in North America.

Are you ready for some fresh ideations? Do your food marketing tactics look more like yesterday that tomorrow?  Visit www.FoodserviceSolutions.us for more information or contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us Remember success does leave clues and we just may the clue you need to propel your continued success.