Confused About Retail Food Channel Blurring

 

Food that can be found at the intersection of cook from scratch at home and retailer prepared fresh food sold as a meal component is Grocerant niche food.  The Grocerant niche targets the time-starved consumers, not with ingredients rather with Ready-2-Eat or Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared meals and meal components that can be bundled into a meal.

Think about how you shop for most meal preparation needs. You might buy a rotisserie chicken, pick up something at the salad bar and maybe an appetizer at the deli service case. Those are components vs. buying uncooked chicken, a head of lettuce and then having to clean, cut, season and then assemble and/or cook.

Steven Johnson, the Grocerant Guru®  at Tacoma, Washington based Foodservice Solutions® says this "Grocerant means any retail food item that is ready-2-eat or ready to heat while prepared fresh. Traditionally these items can be found in grocery stores in the deli / lifestyle section, C-stores in the prepared food area and prepackaged, ready-2-eat items and in restaurants under the To-go, takeout or take-away, or delivery section of the menu or on the website."

When Johnson says retailer, it is broadly defining supermarkets, mass drug merchants, C-Stores,  restaurants, dollar stores or service deli’s.  For the consumers it is about ease of meal preparation, quality and family meal customization vs. time, cooking skill set.  If you’re company does not think they are in the grocerant niche it might be time to consider it.  Share of stomach trumps legacy positioning.  Consumers do not care where dinner comes from, they do care that everyone in the family eats and is happy.

Invite Foodservice Solutions® to complete a Menu/Product Migration assessment.  

Assessment, brand, product placement, or for menu positioning assistance simply call Foodservice Solutions®253-759-7869.  Since 1991 Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma, WA has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche visit Facebook.com/Steven Johnson, Linkedin.com/in/grocerant or twitter.com/grocerant