Restaurant Sector Conundrum Raise Prices & Lose Customers

Restaurant sector year over year menu prices were up 2.6% in June,2018 according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. At the same time the Black Box Intelligence index for June, 2018 year over year customer counts for the restaurant sector were down 2%; thus the conundrum according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.  

While restaurants got back to growth in June, with same-store sales up 1.1% there was some good news for the sector.  However let’s face it restaurants are losing customers to everyone else.  Last year prepared foods sold in the grocery stores sales sored up 108% according to Nielsen as regular readers of this blog know.  Simply put the restaurant business model is broken, outdated in need of a refresh according to Johnson.

Does your restaurant need a refresh? If your brand looks more like yesterday than today or tomorrow it just might be time that you called for outside eyes to help you drive inside results.  What is your new electricity that is driving top line sales and bottom line profits?  Are your customer counts growing? 

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, 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.

For international corporate presentations, educational forums, or keynotes contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us  the Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.  His extensive experience as a multi-unit restaurant operator, consultant, brand / product positioning expert and public speaking will leave success clues for all. Visit: www.FoodserviceSolutions.us for more information