At the intersection of price increases at the grocery store, restaurants,
convenience stores, even most dollar store items are now higher than a dollar; that
consumers are looking for meal convenience. According to Steven Johnson
Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® are
searching for convenient meal solutions at a price and are willing to shift
meal periods by daypart while exploring new channels of fresh food
distribution.
Today, morning coffee is more likely to be prepared and consumed
at home, so retailers should even more closely monitor the amounts that are
brewed to prevent excessive waste and how often the offerings are refreshed
during the early hours. For stores with bakeries, that is also likely to affect
the sales of breakfast pastries such as doughnuts, muffins and Danishes.
Bundling these bakery items with lunch offerings may provide a way to boost
sales in this category.
Consumers are not eating less, they are eating at different
times of the day and getting meals and meal components from outlets that they
had not tried before or wanted to try.
However, rising inflation resulting in higher
prices for ingredients and the need to pass those higher prices on to
consumers, grocery stores, restaurants and c-store retailers are all concerned
about how these factors will affect their foodservice sales. In fact, research
shows that inflation is the No. 1 concern for many retailers. Why because it is
the No. 1 concern for consumers.
Every
time the gas prices goes up, foodservice sales decline in one sector or another
as customers have less discretionary money to spend on food. Inversely, when
gas prices go down foodservice sales rise. Today consumers are experimenting
with their nontraditional channels of distribution looking for a meal solution
that does not include cooking from scratch every meal every day according to
Johnson.
To maintain customer interest, retailers must constantly
provide new and interesting menu items and promotions. Despite the relaxation of restrictions, many people are
still working from home and, it seems, will continue to do so for the
foreseeable future. For some legacy food retailers, fewer morning commuters has
pushed the traditional breakfast rush to later in the day, more toward lunch
time.
That said, limited time offers and promotions are most
likely to be successful if they focus on lunch fare. Bundling can also work
here as well to help build sales of items such as sandwiches and salads, sides
such as chips, and hot and cold dispensed or ready-to-drink beverages.
Many
consumers are most concerned about value rather than just price. They are
willing to pay a little more for high quality and will accept smaller portions
such as grab-and-go sliders and individual decadent desserts if the value
incentive is there.
Don’t
discount that fact that inflation can also make loyalty programs even more
attractive to customers, making this an excellent time to promote them. Cents
off and buy one, get one offers for loyalty members appeal to their thrifty
side. Also popular with customers are promotions to buy a set number of an item
to earn one free — for example, buy six cups of coffee and get the seventh one
free.
The reduction of evening commuters has also had a negative
impact on the dinner demand. As in the morning, consumers are more likely to
prepare their evening meal at home. Many are also turning to services such as DoorDash,
Uber Eats and Grubhub to deliver their food to them.
Consumers can be out and about at any hour of the day or
evening, making any time a potential snack time. Retailers with roller grills
should keep them stocked with fresh items to accommodate their appetites. Other
grab-and-go items such as chicken tenders, pizza slices and sliders can also go
beyond lunch to satisfy day or evening snack cravings. Where, when, and how are
your customers getting their meal solutions?
Invite Foodservice Solutions® to complete a
Grocerant ScoreCard, or for product positioning or placement assistance, or
call our Grocerant Guru®. Since 1991 Foodservice
Solutions® of
Tacoma, WA has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche. Contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us or
253-759-7869
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