Grocerant Niche Fresh Food Disruption Expanding

Restaurant chain year over year customer counts continue to decline according to all reports including traditional restaurant trade magazines which do not to report bad news about the industry they cover and seek advertising for.

Battle for Share of Stomach

Bob Goldin, a Pentallect stated, “nontraditional channels represent a ‘sweet spot’ in the food and beverage industry. Their growth is based upon strong consumer appeal and generally favorable business models.” Pentallect President Rob Veidenheimer observed that “each of the channels has unique consumer appeal and continues to evolve at a very rapid rate. We have studied these channels closely over the past several years and see them as significant share gainers for the foreseeable future.”

Pentallect, conducted comprehensive research and analysis into 10 nontraditional channels – club stores, community-supported agriculture (CSA), ethnic/neighborhood stores such as bodegas, farmers’ markets, food trucks, limited-assortment stores, meal kits/home-delivered meals, online, specialty stores such as bakeries and butchers, and Trader Joe’s, gleaning insights from more than 1,000 consumers and trade sources.

While others talk about Grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food, Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant ScoreCards were the first to identify, quantify, and qualify the niche, the success and the unique was in which your brand can successfully ‘Look A Customer Ahead’.  Success does leave clues stop capitulating year over year customer counts. 

Invite Foodservice Solutions® to complete a Grocerant Program Assessment, Grocerant ScoreCard, or for product positioning or placement assistance, or call our Grocerant Guru®.  Since 1991 www.FoodserviceSolutions.us  of Tacoma, WA has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche. Contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us or 253-759-7869

Is Walmart’s In-Home Delivery Service Bad Idea Done Right

Regular readers of this bog know that Steven Johnson, Tacoma, WA based Grocerant Guru® for Foodservice Solutions® thinks have any delivery person enter your home and delivery groceries is not at good idea when you are not at home.  However, there are those of you out there willing to give it a try.

So, when Walmart employees can now deliver products directly into the customer's kitchen or garage using smart technology that will livestream the delivery. Is it a solution waiting for a problem or a time saving solution?

Launched in Kansas City, Pittsburgh and Vero Beach, Florida, Walmart said that more than 1 million shoppers will be able to use the new delivery option, which has Walmart employees select produce and other household items ordered by a customer online. They then deliver the items right into the shopper’s kitchen or garage using smart technology that gives them a one-time code to enter.

So, the homeowner will be able to watch the delivery through their smartphone. The Walmart employee wears a camera that will livestream the delivery. If the camera doesn’t turn on, the door won’t unlock.

Bart Stein, Walmart’s senior vice president for membership and InHome stated “We’re obsessed with simplifying grocery shopping and finding ways to make our customers’ lives easier,” “That’s why InHome goes the extra step so that our customers can live their lives without worrying about making it to the store or being home to accept a delivery.” What do you think? Do you trust technology enough to allow someone into your home?

How does it work?  Well with a Subscription to the InHome delivery service; which will cost $19.95 a month, with the first month free. Shoppers must spend at least $30 on the order. The smart lock costs $49.95, with free installation.

Stein said InHome is a natural complement to Walmart’s existing suite of grocery options, including its recently expanded Delivery Unlimited membership. “We’re looking forward to building on our already exceptional service in these markets through InHome Delivery and bringing this offering to even more customers in the months to come,” said Stein. In case you were wondering Johnson said he is simply not ready for this yet, which surprised everyone as he tries everything at least once.

Foodservice Solutions® team is here to help you drive top line sales and bottom-line profits. Are you looking a customer ahead? Visit www.FoodserviceSolutions.us for more information or contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us Remember success does leave clues and we just may the clue you need to propel your continued success.

Minit Stop Bold Beef-less Menu is a Sign of Things to Come

Many regular readers of this blog have visited Hawaii and know Minit Stop stores for its famous Fried Chicken or ‘spam Musubi’.  What you may not know it that they are removing beef from its menu and replacing it with the plant-based Impossible Burger.

Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant Guru® Steven Johnson says that while they may be the first C-store to make this move they will not be the last and watch for a ‘fast food’ chain to do it as well. Minit Stop made the move based on consumer demand and the burger brand's track record.

So, the removal of all cow-based beef from Mini Stop's menu serves as a rallying cry for other restaurants to do the same, highlighting the importance of making more sustainable decisions without compromising on taste, the company said. Mini Stop embraces the concept of "pono" — to do what is right for both people and the planet.

Minit Stop Vice President Jon Miyabuchi stated "We're seeing more and more residents and visitors opt for Impossible,"… "Impossible's plant-based burger acts, smells, and tastes like beef. So much so, that we can add our own local flavor profile to it. We included ingredients from some of Hawaii's favorite traditional recipes and created a winning combination unique to Minit Stop.”

Miyabuchi continued "Our customers have been asking for the Impossible Burger by name almost since it debuted in 2016. We're thrilled to give consumers exactly what they want, exactly what our planet needs, and with a local flavor profile twist,".

You should know that restaurants in Hawaii are among the nation's highest volume outlets for Impossible Burger sales, with some restaurants selling more than 100 plant-based patties per day according to Mini Stop, which stated that it expects unprecedented sales volume of the Impossible Burger. The retailer expects to serve up to 6,875 pounds of Impossible meat per month and up to 82,500 pounds for the first year.

The new menu features nine different Impossible meal combinations, ranging from $7.49 to $12.99, including:

·         Impossible Sandwiches in regular and Teri burger flavors (debuting later this year)

·         Impossible Burger Bowls in Meatloaf, Teri Burger and Hamburger Steak styles

·         Impossible Burger Cheeseburger Flying Saucers — a Minit Stop signature item (debuting later this year)

·         Impossible Burger Plate Lunches in Meatloaf, Teri Burger and Hamburger Steak styles

Of note: Minit Stop is the first c-store chain to fully replace traditional burger meat with plant-based meat. How is your brand standing out?  Are you looking for a new partnership to drive sales? Are you ready for some fresh ideations? Do your food marketing tactics look more like yesterday that tomorrow?  Visit www.FoodserviceSolutions.us for more information or contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us Remember success does leave clues and we just may have the clue you need to propel your continued success.

Battle for Share of Stomach

Burger King gets Consumer Interactive & Participatory Marketing

Success does leave clues and global brands have a distinct advantage in food marketing simply because they have more marketing professionals around the world exposed to more and more good ideas according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®

So, here is one example; have you ever heard of the Stevenage Football Club? Probably not—they play in the English soccer fourth division. But the Burger King brand has heard of them. In fact, the brand sponsors the soccer club and is launching the “Stevenage Challenge,” a series of challenges for soccer fans that, if completed, will reward participants with menu favorites like the Whopper sandwich, Chicken Sandwich, and Chicken Fries for free only through Uber Eats.

The goal? To turn possibly the smallest team in the real world into the biggest club in the online gaming world. Now that is a big goal.  It is also filled with consumer relevance and consumer facing touchpoints according to Johnson. All the more reason that Johnson said Burger King just might meet their goal!

The challenges range from simply scoring a goal to the nearly impossible, scoring from a corner kick. All with the new Burger King sponsored Stevenage F.C. shirt on. Soccer and Burger King fans alike can complete the set of challenges listed at www.stevenagechallenge.com. All they have to do is share footage on Twitter of their great soccer feats, and in return they’ll get a free menu item, while delivery code supplies last.

Whether fans take on the “A Nutmeg for Nuggets” or “Impossible for Impossible Whopper” challenge, some have proven to be difficult, forcing fans to find other, more creative ways to complete them.

Fernando Machado, Global CMO of the Burger King brand, stated “It’s almost 2020 and the Internet community is still surprising me,”.  When Machado found out fans have already been sharing their new Stevenage Kit online. "The “Stevenage Challenge” is here to welcome everyone, because thanks to technology, this could be everyone’s team too,” adds Machado.

The team at Foodservice Solutions® wants to congratulate Machado and his team for expanding its partnership with Uber Eats while expanding its brand invitation. Soccer continues to be the fastest growing sport in the world, combine that with BK fresh food and Uber Eats and you have marketing interactive participatory success with happy customers. 

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.

Takeaways, Takeout, ToGo Fresh Food Meals and Meal Components SELL

Back in the day Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® was under contract with cyberslice / cybermeals / food.com and as industry veterans and regular readers of this blog know he placed /sold the first 7 national restaurant chains with online ordering.

That was when Johnson the touting the benefits of moving your restaurant business model from selling traditional restaurant meals and filling seats with butts to selling more grocerant niche fresh prepared meals for takeout and delivery. In 1998 the restaurant to go meals were hovering nationally at 2.1%. 

Consumers were on the move and out Grocerant Guru® was the first to identify, quantify, and qualify that movement.  Today, the consumers is more dynamic than ever and according to new survey results from the National Restaurant Association “Off-premise orders continue to nibble into overall restaurant sales with those transactions now making up nearly 60% of foodservice occasions.”

Hudson Riehle, the NRA’s senior vice president for research and knowledge mimicking Johnson’s on going insights states “We are seeing the industry change and adapt faster than ever before in response to the macro-environmental factors driving consumer behavior,”

Now, Riehle has expanded his view fresh meal to include “The off-premise percentage also includes freshly prepared items taken off-premise at grocery and convenience stores”  (aka meals and meal components that are portable are GROCERANT NICHE MEALS). We defined things that way back in 1998 but its great to have the NRA on board with the “Battle for Share of Stomach”.  Let’s see what else they found:

·         92% of consumers used drive-thru at least once a month.

·         34% of consumers used delivery more often than a year ago.

·         79% of consumers used restaurant delivery at least once a month, and 53% of consumers used a third-party delivery provider.

·         78% of restaurant operators considered off-premises programs a strategic priority.

·         74% of companies were investing in off-premises programs but none of the Top 5 investments include customer-facing technology.

·         For takeout, 52% of operators said they had remodeled their facility to add off-premise services, including in-store kiosks, to-go counters or other similar features.

·         66% of operators offered delivery through a third-party service and 55% offered delivery through internal staff.

·         22% of consumers used kiosk ordering last year, and 11% used voice-assisted ordering.

·         69% of consumers would use vehicles, if available, with built-in heating trays to keep food warm and 41% would use autonomous delivery.

·         44% of restaurant operators who offered voice ordering, and 50% who offered location intelligence to target new customers based on their position, said it had a positive impact on their business.

Do you want to know just what we are seeing today? Do you want to Look A Customer Ahead?

Looking for success clues of your own? Foodservice Solutions® specializes in outsourced food marketing and business development ideations. We can help you identify, quantify and qualify additional food retail segment opportunities, technology, or a new menu product segment.  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

Battle for Share of Stomach

Modular Buildings Drive Growth at Dutch Brothers Coffee

Retail growth can become stalled, costly, and time consuming when you get into quagmire of construction problems.  With cost of customer acquisition top of mind Dutch Bros. Coffee decided that a new partnership with RJ Russo could drive new eletricity into its brand and growth.  

Our Grocerant Guru®, Steven Johnson believes that “Consumers are dynamic not static”. So, how is your brand keeping up with consumer demand for fresh fast food? How are you driving new electricity into your brand? What is the time line and cost of your new outlet openings?

Johnson stated “that in my minds-eye the new electricity must be very efficient for the supply chain and includes such things as fresh foods, plant based  foods,  sampling, toy’s, 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 food and beverage retailers survive the next generation of retail must embrace the artificial intelligence revolution while simultaneously embracing fresh food and beverages that are portable, fresh, with differentiation that is familiar not different.  Does your retail path forward look more like yesterday than tomorrow? Why?

Recently, RJ Russo formed a strategic alliance and partnership under contract with Dutch Bros. Coffee to advance the modular designs and placements of factory-built building units in lieu of traditional construction.  The collaboration features Dutch Bros. Coffee, RJ Russo as well as Luna Design and Construction. RJ Russo is able to create the vision of a factory-built building that fulfills the design aesthetic of Dutch Bros. Coffee, as well as the expansion goals of the Dutch Bros. Coffee brand.

So, RJ Russo constructs factory-built buildings and modular components out of steel and sustainable products. This provides for more environmentally-friendly structures. Wood and other deteriorating products are eliminated in order to maximize life span of the units and hold up to harsh interior and exterior environments.

RJ Russo is set to donate to $1,000 to each community for every building manufactured and delivered.  An interesting addition to the matchup includes an incentive to give back to the local communities where these factory-built coffee shops will be located.  RJ Russo is aligned with Dutch Bros. Coffee in supporting the local communities we serve. 

"We wanted to give back to the community as a way to say thank you for the great opportunity to partner with Dutch Bros. Coffee,” Donn Kaebisch, RJ Russo Business Development Manager, says

Are you looking for a new partnership to drive sales? Are you ready for some fresh ideations? Do your food marketing tactics look more like yesterday that tomorrow?  Visit www.FoodserviceSolutions.us for more information or contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us Remember success does leave clues and we just may have the clue you need to propel your continued success.

Millennials like ‘Healthy Fresh Food Fast at Alltown Fresh

One success clue that convenience stores have picked-up on is that fresh food sells. Companies the ilk of Wawa, Rutter’s, and Sheetz have been leading the industry with top line growth and bottom line profits driven in large part from customer migration to their fresh food according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

Global Partners LP, and its extensive real estate and has found success with Alltown Fresh, which has the potential to grow into a truly convenient and healthy convenience store.

In case you did not know, Global Partners is a Fortune 500 energy company with about 1,600 locations worldwide. Alltown Fresh is a healthy spinoff of Alltown, the company’s traditional fuel and convenience store with nearly 300 locations. While Alltown Fresh has just a handful of stores open in New England today, it has the potential to outnumber others competing in the better-for-you convenience store space.

Alltown Fresh’s SVP of retail operations Ryan Riggs sated “One of the key assets that our parent company has is real estate,” Riggs continued “One of our goals as we grow is to better understand where the Alltown Fresh brand has the greatest likelihood to resonate in areas where we already have a foothold on traffic,” .. “where we already have guests that come in daily.” The plan is once they've discovered the right location, they can convert established locations into Alltown Fresh stores.

The Alltown Fresh experience is a “heightened” one compared to traditional convenience stores, Riggs said. There is fuel and basic provisions, but there’s a lot more, too. Through a combination of packaged goods, a mini fresh food market and an extensive foodservice area, Alltown Fresh focuses on specific segments of the population. 

Battle for Share of Stomach

“Our target is the technology-savvy health-conscious Millennial,” he said. “That generation is a little less stigmatized [regarding] shopping for foodservice where they purchase fuel, relative to other generations. Trends tell us they’re more focused on being health-conscious, certainly. And then I would say the other target is really families.”

At Alltown Fresh locations, customers can buy kimchi bowls, avocado toast and freshly made sandwiches or smoothies. Many menu items from their full kitchen are vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free or locally sourced. There’s cafe space to sit and enjoy breakfast, lunch and dinner in these locations, which are larger than most convenience stores. The Plymouth, Mass., location, for example, is 4,800 square feet. The stores straddle the line between restaurant, convenience store and grocery store with dedicated space for fresh produce and an array of packaged goods with both traditional and healthier versions of typical convenience store fare. Do you know where your consumers are headed?  Are you looking a customer ahead?

Invite Foodservice Solutions® to complete a Grocerant Program Assessment, Grocerant ScoreCard, or for product positioning or placement assistance, or call our Grocerant Guru®.  Since 1991 www.FoodserviceSolutions.us  of Tacoma, WA has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche. Contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us or 253-759-7869

Ahold Delhaize Frictionless Checkout is Customer Relevance

Time is money, and as regular reader of this blog know the number one overall grip about shopping for groceries is how long it takes.  You all know grocery industry icon Bill Bishop who told us that back in the day. According to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® Bill was right then and he is right about it today.

OK, someone is listening it is Ahold Delhaize USA who plans to expand SCAN IT! That will speed the whole shopping expierence while adding relevance about how to shop for Millennials according to Johnson.

Ahold announced that the proprietary solution, which customers use by downloading their supermarket banner’s SCAN IT! Android or iOS app, is currently offered at select Stop & Shop stores and Giant Food Stores’ Giant Heirloom Market locations will speed up and enhance your shopping expierence.

Consumers with SCAN IT! Mobile, can scan product barcodes with their smartphone as they shop and put the items in their cart or bag. The app keeps a running tally of the groceries scanned. When done shopping, customers exit the store via a designated checkout lane, see a “payment approved” message appear while walking through and are charged for purchases.

Yes, SCAN IT! Mobile also incorporates a digital wallet that customers set up beforehand with their preferred payment method. Besides credit or debit cards, shoppers can pay via such platforms as PayPal, Venmo, Apple Pay and Google Pay, which are integrated into the wallet.

Don’t have the app, not to worry, customers, too, can opt to use handheld scanners available at the front of the store for ringing up groceries while shopping. After scanning their items, shoppers then transfer the session to the SCAN IT! Mobile app on their smartphone and then proceed with payment by exiting the store through the designated checkout lane.

The fact is frictionless checkout brings convenience and technology together to meet the needs of our busy customers,” commented John Ponnett, senior vice president of retail operations at Giant Food Stores. “We’ve offered handheld scanning devices for several years, and as customer usage continues to increase, the next step was to align that offering with payment options, saving our customers even more time.” Are you adding customer relevance too speed-up service at your outlet?

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.