In
2025, foodservice success is no longer about being the best, it’s about
being the most relevant. If your restaurant, deli, or convenience food
operation still clings to “what’s always worked,” you may already be on the
path Kodak took in the 2000s—remembered, but irrelevant according to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru®
at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice
Solutions®
Consumers
have moved on. They demand flavor-forward meals, mobile-first access,
bundled meal components, portability, and price transparency—and
they want it all without friction. Yet far too many restaurant operators are
still playing by rules from 1995, not 2025.
Kodak, Blockbuster, and Howard Johnson’s: The Nostalgia
Trap
Let’s
go back. Kodak owned 90% of the film market in the 1970s. They invented the first
digital camera in 1975—and buried it. Why? Because they feared it would
undercut their film business.
Sound
familiar?
Blockbuster
had opportunities to buy Netflix in 2000. They passed, insisting that
people liked the in-store experience. Blockbuster filed for bankruptcy
in 2010.
Howard
Johnson’s once had over 1,000 restaurants nationwide, the largest
restaurant chain in America during the 1960s. They rejected breakfast
innovations, franchised inconsistently, and ignored convenience trends. Today, only
one HoJo’s remains.
Being
right about yesterday doesn’t protect you from being irrelevant today.
2025 Consumer Realities: What’s Changed (and What Hasn’t)
According
to proprietary research from Foodservice Solutions®, led by the
Grocerant Guru®, here’s what defines the winning restaurant model in 2025:
·
84% of consumers
choose convenience over brand loyalty.
·
69% of meals
are purchased as Ready-2-Eat or Heat-N-Eat.
·
Portability
is ranked as the #1 packaging concern for Gen Z and Millennials.
·
Mobile ordering
makes up 44% of all QSR sales and rising.
·
Meal bundling
(entrée + side + beverage) increases ticket averages by 27%.
Outdated Mindsets That Will Sink Your Brand (With
Historical Proof)
Let’s
break down the common justification’s legacy brands use—and the downfall
stories that followed.
“We don’t deliver—our brand isn’t built for it.”
·
Friendly’s,
once the cornerstone of family dining, refused delivery and takeout innovation
in the 2000s. Bankruptcy followed.
·
Chevys Fresh Mex
believed their table experience couldn’t be replicated off-premise. They
ignored catering and delivery. Filed Chapter 11.
·
Meanwhile, Wingstop now earns
over 60% of its revenue through digital orders and delivery, growing YOY
for a decade.
“We don’t coupon or discount—we protect our
premium image.”
·
Bennigan’s,
Ponderosa, and Mr. Pita stayed premium-priced while consumers
tightened budgets post-2008 and again post-2020. All filed for bankruptcy.
·
In contrast, Domino’s built
loyalty through value-driven digital coupons, boosting its market cap from $3B
(2010) to over $18B (2024).
“We don’t advertise on Google or Facebook.”
·
Marie Callender’s
and Sweet Tomatoes relied on radio and in-store signage well into the
2010s, ignoring online engagement. Both closed locations nationwide.
·
Raising Cane’s
and Dutch Bros exploded by investing heavily in local social media,
TikTok virality, and digital-first community building.
“We don’t open for breakfast or operate outside dinner
hours.”
·
Steak and Ale
failed to capitalize on the growth of breakfast fast casual, ceding that market
to McDonald’s, Chick-fil-A, and Panera.
·
Now, Taco Bell, Wendy’s,
and even C-stores like Casey’s and Wawa are generating massive breakfast
traffic through mobile pre-orders and daypart promotions.
“Our chefs eyeball ingredients—we don’t measure.”
·
Old Country Buffet
thrived on unmeasured “comfort food,” but suffered from inconsistent cost
control and food waste—now gone.
·
Meanwhile, MOD Pizza and Sweetgreen
use precision portioning to control food cost and improve unit economics.
Grocerant Guru® Insights: Relevance Requires Realignment
According
to Steven Johnson:
“Success
in 2025 means understanding that the consumer is the brand. Your job is to fit
into their life, not force them into your old systems.”
Here
are 3 critical changes restaurants must make to stay alive:
1. Portability is the New Plate Presentation
Consumers
eat in cars, offices, and on couches. They don’t need your plating, they need:
·
Sustainable, stackable, reheatable
packaging.
·
Mix-and-match bundles
that travel well and stay hot.
·
Brands like Tender Greens and Colectivo
Coffee are leaning into bento-box packaging that’s both beautiful and
functional.
2. Mobile is the Menu
Don’t
just digitize your menu—rethink how it works:
·
Use A/B testing on app
interfaces.
·
Showcase high-margin items with
clickable meal components.
·
Integrate order history + upsell
prompts like Starbucks and Chick-fil-A.
Johnson
says, “Every screen scroll is a chance to sell again. Are you selling or
just showing?”
3. Measure What Matters: Value, Not Volume
Legacy
chains focused on unit growth. Today, the focus must be on:
·
Customer frequency
·
Basket size via bundled meals
·
Touchpoints that matter: SMS, app
alerts, loyalty prompts
Brands
like Little Caesars have grown by bundling pizza, wings, and soda in app
only promotions that drive immediate incremental sales.
Think About This: Are You Protecting Your Brand or
Preserving a Myth?
A
legacy brand is not a license to ignore change—it’s an opportunity to lead
through it. Ask yourself:
·
Are your menu items optimized for off-premise
consumption?
·
Is your brand engaging where consumers
spend their time—on mobile, not TV?
·
Are you pricing for profit and
perception, not nostalgia?
The Grocerant Guru®
Can Help
Want
outside eyes to help evolve your brand? Steven Johnson has advised
legacy brands, grocerants, C-stores, and fast casual disruptors alike.
Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us
FoodserviceSolutions.us
Steven Johnson, the Grocerant Guru®, is a nationally recognized industry
consultant and thought leader in consumer-facing meal solutions.
Remember:
Being dead and correct—like Kodak—is not a strategy. Relevance is.
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