National Restaurant Association Grocery Stores are Winning Dinner

 

Restaurant brand messaging that reflects marketing messaging and menus that sound and look more like yesterday than tomorrow are or will be in trouble soon according to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

Restaurants need to edify your brand while creating a platform for consumer convenient meal participation, differentiation and individualization?  That’s right you need to reach out and invite consumers into you restaurant with a new message.  One with today’s relevance according to Johnson.

Here is why, grocery stores with foodservice operations – and those who want to track away-from-home dining trends – can heed the results of a new operator survey from the National Restaurant Association showing that macroeconomic conditions are taking a toll on that industry. According to the association's new research, nearly half – 46% – of restaurant operators say that business conditions are worse now than they were three months ago.

Restaurants Are Not Winning

In A Battle

For a Larger Share of Stomach

Consider that higher food, labor and operating costs are contributing to a slowdown and concern in the foodservice sector, the new NRA survey showed. An overwhelming majority of 88% respondents said their total food and beverages costs are higher than in 2019 and 85% report that their business is less profitable than it was before the pandemic.

In case you did not know, to stem some of the cost challenges, almost all (91%) of foodservice operators have increased their menu prices. More than two-thirds have changed the food and beverage items that are offered on their menu.

Once again, the focus in on labor shortages, while perhaps not as acute as last year, are still a stubborn problem. The survey found that 65% of operators don’t have enough employees to support demand and 84% said they will likely hire more workers over the next six months.

Michelle Korsmo, president and CEO of the National Restaurant Association, stated, "Consumers are watching prices rise faster in grocery stores than they are in restaurants and see an increased value in spending their food dollars in restaurants. However, the moderate menu price increases aren't balancing the surging input costs and this is forcing operators to cut hours, change their menus, postpone expansions, and reduce third-party delivery,".

Don’t over reach. Are you ready for some fresh ideations? Do your food marketing ideations look more like yesterday than tomorrow? Interested in learning how Foodservice Solutions® 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 us on our social media sites by clicking the following links: Facebook,  LinkedIn, or Twitter