Sunday, April 29, 2018

Subway’s Problems: Price, Portability, Possibility



Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant Guru® Steven Johnson was the first to identify, quantify, and qualify the restaurant sector “65 Inch HDTV Syndrome” back in 2012. The undercurrents behind the 65 Inch HDTV Syndrome have not abated but rather they have become more pronounced according to Johnson.
Take Subway for example since 2012 customer traffic has declined by 25%. The leading reason has been Subway’s franchisee’s desires to get away from the $5 foodlong according to Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant ScoreCards.
While Subway is seen by consumers as a ‘fresh / better-for-you’ brand when price was the impetus for customer adoption and migration it is natural to see customer trial and migration continue. According to Earnest Research, another consumer perceived ‘better-for-you’ brand Chick-fil-A had the largest growth in orders from former Subway customers from 2015 through 2017.
However once again not a surprise for the team working at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® but the next three most likely destinations for Subway customers defections in 2017 were ‘third-party delivery services’ Grubhub, Postmates and DoorDash. Regular readers of this blog know that back in 2013 Technomic edified Foodservice Solutions® meal portability as a key driver of consumer choice.
The line between consumer empowerment and choice offered by ‘third-party delivery’ services have elevated the path to purchase in a very competitive retail foodservice landscape. Branded meal and menu possibilities offered by ‘third-party food aggregators’ enhance consumer choice and will continue innovating providing customized meal solutions for families of any size.
The question today becomes ‘where will you be selling dinner’? The second question is how can you sell both meals and meal components competitively on a non-branded platform? Success does leave clues and the team at www.FoodserviceSolutions.us  can help you do just that. Contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us 

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