Menus, meal kits, and
marketing Chick-fil-A extends their brand
into the home building a deeper relationship with the consumer. Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA
based Foodservice Solutions® described this brand
extension as an example of industry leadership at the intersection customer
understanding and building a new food sales platform to drive incremental
growth.
Successful restaurant
chains must evolve with the consumer and Chick-fil-A is doing just that by
evolving its business model into the grocerant niche with its own meal kit
brand, Mealtime Kits, at 150 locations in its home city starting Aug. 27, 2018.
If success does leave clues and it does the restaurant business model will be
forever changed according to Johnson.
Convenience stores,
grocery stores and legacy meal kit companies will be watching this move closer
than many restaurant chain executives. However, if successful in this ideation
or the next ideation the retail food-space is forever changed according to
Johnson.
It is now clear that
Chick-fil-A’s insights from ethnographic research, industry syndicated studies,
and internal data indicate that customer migration into the grocerant niche
will continue and that they are not going to sit back and capitulate customers
or the opportunity for growth. Chick-fil-A is first major quick-service chain
to offer meal kits according to Johnson.
With a full understanding
of consumers fresh food desires Chick-fil-A is edifying consumer’s desires for
a non-subscription service. By limiting
the options of five meals with premeasured ingredients that customers can pick
up in the drive thru-or at the front counter they eliminate the paradox of
choice overload.
Chick-fil-A understands that driving incremental year over year
same store customer counts requires doing something different. The c-level team
at Chick-fil-A also understand that differentiation does not mean different it
means familiar but with a twist. Meal
Kit’s available for pick-up at the drive thru is a fresh fast food option that
consumers have been looking for according to Johnson.
This just might be the new
electricity to drive the entire fast food sector to new highs over the next
ten years according to Johnson. So, just what is your brands new electricity? According to Johnson,
“Brand relevance is in part driven with innovation in new food products in
combination with new avenues of distribution all of which are the platform for
the new electricity.”
Johnson stated “that in my minds-eye the new electricity must be
very efficient for the supply and includes such things as fresh foods,
meal kits, urban clothing, grocerant consultants, urban farming
(produce, seafood, etc.), autonomous delivery, cashier-less retail, cash-less
payments, digital hand held marketing. This program has all of that.
Foodservice retailers to survive the next generation of retail
must embrace the artificial intelligence revolution while simultaneously
embracing fresh food that is portable, fresh, with differentiation that is
familiar not different. That will require brands to embrace new fresh
food partnerships more now than ever before according to Johnson.
Michael Patrick, an
innovation program lead at Chick-fil-A who is leading the Mealtime Kits effort stated
“We know our guests are busier than ever and need a variety of convenient dinner options,”... “We designed
our offering so our guests don’t have to order ahead, subscribe to a service or
make an extra stop at the grocery store. They simply pick up a Mealtime Kit at
one of our restaurants at their convenience.”
Foodservice Solutions® specializes in
outsourced food marketing and business development ideations. We can help you identify,
quantify and qualify additional food retail segment opportunities. Are you looking for a new menu product, food
segment, brand, or menu integration strategy? Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma WA is the global leader in the Grocerant niche
since 1991
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