While the
line between food retail channels may be blurring in the minds-eye of the
consumer both Gen Z and Millennials quest for personalized food discovery seems
to have few limits according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.
Understanding
digital native’s is fundamental for companies the ilk of Sodexo focused on
feeding students on college campuses.
Success for Sodexo like
many other food companies requires customer relevance enough to create new electricity according to
Johnson.
To that
end in a new partnership between Sodexo and autonomous vehicle developer Starship Technologies formed to provide autonomous
vehicles that are now delivering groceries from a campus grocery store and food
from several foodservice outlets to students across campus at George Mason University.
This new
avenue of distribution provides services to supply 25-plus small vehicles,
allowing George Mason's 40,000 students, faculty members and staffers to have
products delivered anywhere on campus, within minutes, for $1.99 per delivery.
The
Starship Deliveries mobile app, which is compatible with iOS and Android,
allows users to order items from campus grocers including 2nd Stop, Blaze
Pizza, Starbucks and Dunkin'. More partners will be revealed in the coming
weeks.
The
service, which works in conjunction with student meal plans, is intended to
make food and beverages more accessible to ease the hectic lives of students and
faculty.To use the technology, customers:
·
Open the
Starship Deliveries app on their mobile device;
·
Choose
from a range of food and beverage items;
·
Drop a
digital map pin on the screen where they want their delivery to be sent;
·
Upon
receiving an arrival alert, meet the robot and unlock it through the app; and
·
Retrieve
their order.
Mark
Kraner, executive director for campus retail operations at George Mason
University stated; "We're excited
that our students, faculty and staff get to be at the forefront of this
pioneering campus food-delivery service," … "This will enhance life
for everyone at the university, and that's something we're continuously looking
to build upon. Our commitment to providing an optimal campus experience is one
of the things that distinguishes George Mason University as a place where
everyone can thrive."
Each
robot can carry up to 20 pounds, or roughly three shopping bags full of
products, and is able to cross streets, climb curbs, travel at night, and
operate in both rain and snow. They make their delivery in no more than 15
minutes — depending on travel distance and items ordered — and are stored in
pods located around campus, where their batteries are automatically switched so
they can continue operating.
Food retailers today must
understand that relevance drives trial and adoption this new partnership drive relevance
with digital natives. Is your brand is
searching for the new electricity to
help drive the brand forward. 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.”
Can you Win the Battle for Share of Stomach
Johnson
stated “that in my minds-eye the new electricity must be very efficient for the
supply and includes such things as fresh foods, free food / sampling, beer,
developing brands, unique urban clothing, grocerant positioning, Fresh
food messaging, autonomous delivery, cashier-less retail, plates, glasses,
cash-less payments, digital hand-held marketing.
All
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.
Sodexo and Starship Technologies plan to expand the
foodservice- and grocery-delivery technology to additional campus locations
globally in the future.
Are you looking for a
new partnership to drive sales? Are you ready for some fresh ideations? Do your
food marketing ideations look more like yesterday than tomorrow? Interested in
learning how www.FoodserviceSolutions.us
can edify your retail food brand while creating a platform for consumer convenient
meal participation, differentiation and individualization? Email us at: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us
or visit: www.FoodserviceSolutions.us
for more information.
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