Fresh Food Is Everywhere

Evolving the success of Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food has been documented on this blog talked about and written about a lot for one reason of late.  It is driving top-line sales and bottom-line profits within every sector of retail foodservice today according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

Are you a retailer Looking A Customer Ahead? Is your food company prepared to succeed in 2020? Here are some of the advantages to entering or expanding your business within the grocerant niche:

Increase Customer Counts and Check Average

Many legacy retailers have practiced brand protectionism so long that their brand looks more like 1980 than 2019.  Rather than expanding the brand, many restaurants today continue doing what they did back in the hay-day when almost any concept could succeed in what was an underserved restaurant marketplace.  

The narrower a legacy brands focus, the more regular routine marketing that brand has become. The consumer is dynamic not static brands must grow with consumers or risk capitulating customers. What has worked for 50 years, is not working today. 

While legacy retailers have honed their brand and supply chain. They have set and defined boundaries, and it is difficult to get outside of what they have always done.  Today, time and technology have redefined the consumer playing field. 

Your brand must become dynamic again or risk losing consumer relevance. There is a huge opportunity to increase ‘share of stomach’ if you elect to evolve you brand with migrating fresh food consumers. That means to the Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat grocerant niche filled with fresh prepared food.

Consumers Experiment New CPG Today they Migrate to Fresh

Large food retailers typically pay more at the C-level, and are seen as stable employment currencies (not-taking risk). One of my client’s CEO’s says “my job is to Do No Harm”.  One problem, consumers are dynamic not static if your company is not evolving fast enough your year over year customer counts will be in decline.  Today, doing nothing or very little is simply doing harm.

However, grocerant niche products, when vertically integrated into an existing brand, can create a new level of excitement within the entire company.  When sales grow, the opportunity for advancement expands, building team momentum, excitement explodes like a wildfire.  Customers can feel the proactive positive buzz from employees. Doing nothing, Boring.  Doing more of the right something, Soaring. 

Your Brand is an Invitation be Proactive

Evolving, creating and driving change is incredibly dynamic, consumer focused. Change can be contagious if based on customer relevance. Your company will grow and will go through a bell curve, and you see the whole thing step by step when you vertically integrate change into your brand and consumer values. If you do not integrated your innovative messaging, you do not really get to the velocity of the event/messaging, but change is exciting nonetheless and customers will still follow.

Consumer Relevance Means Change

So, how is “Doing no Harm” working for you? Are you going to tangibly impact your company or maintain the status quo? Today, like never before companies have the ability to evolving a brand at a speed not seen since your company was a start-up. What impact are you going to have on your company? There is a difference between the work you do and the impact you have.  Fresh Food retailing is evolving at break neck speed.  Is your brand evolving fast?  

Grocerant niche is a Springboard to Increased Profitability

If you do nothing but wait, watch or blame the economy you are very likely to simply spin out of control. Redefining your brand with consumer relevance will position you too either create a positive spin off or springboard to the next level.  Legacy organizations need to be mindful that springboards do great things for your organization, your team and your shareholders.

Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant Guru® is a Customer Focused Success Clue

LTO’s can drive top-line sales and bottom-line profits while taking you in a new direction.  Are your LTO’s leading your brand, testing your brand or simply copy-cat marketing tactics absent strategy? Doing ‘no harm’.

Foodservice Solutions® specializes in outsourced business development. We can help you identify, quantify and qualify additional food retail segment opportunities or a new menu product segment and brand and menu integration strategy.  Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma WA is the global leader in the Grocerant niche visit Facebook.com/Steven Johnson, www.Linkedin.com/in/grocerant/ or www.twitter.com/grocerant/