Chuck E. Cheese Finds the Frozen Food Court

 

Where are you customers buying their next meal?  With new avenues of food distribution opening up there are some companies that are just finding avenues of distribution that they have over looked for 20+ years according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

One of those companies is, CEC Entertainment, LLC, the parent company of the world’s number one family entertainment venue, Chuck E. Cheese.  They are now expanding their reach beyond its restaurant walls and offering a new take on its fan-favorite pizza directly to consumers’ freezers. The brand announced recently, a licensing partnership with food manufacturer, Flatlander Foods, to bring a new family-favorite pizza to the Kroger Company’s frozen food aisles across the nation. New partnerships can drive new electricity into a brand, while an old line of distribution is new this will help.

Melissa McLeanas, VP of Global Licensing, Media and Branded Entertainment Development of CEC Entertainment, LLC, stated, “We are thrilled to bring Chuck E. Cheese to the grocery aisle with a new product inspired by our famous pizza and created to be enjoyed in family homes across the country,”. “This partnership is just the beginning as we continue to grow our Licensing Division and extend our brand in new categories for families to enjoy outside of our four walls. 

It took a long time to make the leap, after offering families a delicious pizza for over four decades, this new avenue of distribution for Chuck E. Cheese offers a new option for the family chef at home. The tasty new pizzas are available in two flavors: Cheese and Pepperoni and can be found exclusively at Kroger stores across the country.

So, the Chuck E. Cheese pizzas are produced in the USA and follow USDA nutritional guidelines, are made with 100% mozzarella cheese, and offer an excellent source of calcium. Each pizza also includes an offer for 250 free e-tickets that can be used for future visits at any participating Chuck E. Cheese location. The new Chuck E. Cheese frozen pizzas are available for purchase for just $6.99 each.

Most regular readers of this blog know that CEC Entertainment, is now under new leadership, and we all know why. While Chuck E. Cheese has continued to grow internationally in Latin America and Europe and plans to open more than a hundred new stores in the U.S. and internationally over the next three years this is a good first step according to Johnson.  How are you creating 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.”  That said, what are you waiting for?

Johnson stated “that in my minds-eye the new electricity must be very efficient for the supply and includes such things as fresh foods, 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.

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 GrocerantGuru.com 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.