Food Delivery is a Platform Edifying the Grocerant Niche

 

At the intersection of Grocerant Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh food is where consumers are finding incremental comfort with food delivery according to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

Regular readers of this blog know that consumers like fresh prepared meal deliver and they do not care if it is a Domino’s driver or a third party employee driving the car they want meals and meal components when they what them and they want the fast of reliable if scheduled according to Johnson. 

Wondering just how big food delivery is getting? Well according to data presented by TradingPlatforms.com, more than 2.85 billion people will use online food delivery services in 2023 or 350 million more than a year ago.

So, the arrival of appealing, user-friendly apps and tech-enabled driver networks, coupled with changing consumer expectations, has turned food delivery into an almost one trillion dollars industry.  After, COVID-19 hit, food delivery became a lifeline for the hurting restaurant industry. However, many consumers use the service for buying groceries, helping the total number of users to double in four years.

Now then according to Statista Digital Market Insight, in 2019, around 1.37 billion people worldwide used online food delivery. By the end of 2021, this figure jumped to 2.31 billion and continued rising. Last year, more than 2.5 billion people worldwide used food delivery services, but Statista expects this number to increase by 350 million and hit 2.85 billion this year. By 2027, the entire market will count more than 3.8 billion users.

When it comes to adopting technology, Asia leads the world. Due mainly to its high population, the Asia Pacific remains, by far, the largest online food delivery market, accounting for nearly two-thirds of all users worldwide. Last year, over 1.6 billion people from the region used food delivery services. This figure is expected to grow by more than 50% to 2.45 billion by 2027. The European and American markets are set to experience similar growth in this period, while the number of food delivery users in Africa would almost double.

Now the rising number of people using online food delivery services continues driving impressive revenue growth. Between 2019 and 2022, global food delivery revenues jumped by an impressive 133% and hit $770bn. Statista expects 2023 to witness a 20% year-over-year growth, with revenue rising to $910bn.

However, the entire market is set to reach a new benchmark in 2024, becoming a one-trillion dollars industry.

Statista data show more than one-third of total revenue in 2023, or $354bn, comes from China, the world`s top-grossing food delivery market. The United States follows, with $231.3bn in online food delivery revenue. Far behind, the United Kingdom, South Korea, and Japan follow, with $39bn, $38.3bn, and $35.2bn in revenue, respectively. Statista expects the two largest markets to make nearly two-thirds of global online food delivery revenues by 2027.

Foodservice Solutions® specializes in outsourced business development. We can help you identify, quantify and qualify additional food retail segment opportunities or a new menu product segment and brand and menu integration strategy.  Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma WA is the global leader in the Grocerant niche visit us on our social media sites by clicking one of the following links: Facebook,  LinkedIn, or Twitter

At 7-Eleven is Autonomous the Next Big Thing

 

Talk about driving top-line sales and bottom-line profits.  At 7-Eleven the next big thing just might be driverless delivery.  That’s right autonomous delivery from the store to your home or office.  Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® stated, “The next wave of Electric Vehicles will not have an ‘inside steering wheel or braking system’ just more open space for storage, coolers, heaters in order to keep hot food hot and cold food cold. With 40% fewer parts the new EV’s will cost less up front, last longer, and need fewer repairs.” Success does leave clues at 7-Eleven.

Currently, 7-Eleven Inc. and robotics company Nuro are teaming up to pilot autonomous delivery in Mountain View, Calif., marking the first autonomous commercial delivery in the California. Customers in the service area can now order through the 7NOW delivery app to have their products delivered via bot.

Just think about this, from 7‑Eleven Chief Digital Officer Raghu Mahadevan, who stated, "7‑Eleven has owned and defined convenience since 1927," …. "Our first foray into autonomous delivery was in 2016 when 7‑Eleven became the first retailer in the U.S. to make a drone delivery to a customer's house. Since then, we haven't stopped looking for ways to redefine convenience for our customers inside and outside the four walls of our stores. Fast forward to 2021, and we are pushing the boundaries of innovation even further to provide customers with the first commercial autonomous delivery service in California. I can't wait to see where we go from here." So, let’s see just how the service works:

·         Customers simply download the 7NOW delivery app or visit 7NOW.com.

·         They browse items such as pizza, chips, beverages, household goods and more, and add items to their shopping cart.

·         Customers begin the checkout process and choose autonomous delivery.

·         The 7NOW delivery app will send updates as the order is processed.

·         Then, customers meet the autonomous vehicle outside, grab their items from the back and enjoy.

Autonomous vehicle deliveries are available daily from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. local time at no additional charge for Mountain View customers. Orders arrive in approximately 30 minutes.

Mountain View-based Nuro, which seeks to transform local commerce with autonomous vehicles, will begin the delivery service with its autonomous Priuses and later introduce R2 bots, the company's autonomous robots that are custom-built to transport products and goods without any occupants in the vehicle.

In December 2020, Nuro became the first autonomous vehicle company to receive a deployment permit from the California DMV, enabling the launch of this inaugural commercial delivery service in the state in collaboration with 7‑Eleven.

"Residents in the state of California — a major hub of innovation — have never been able to experience the commercial delivery of goods by an autonomous vehicle. Nuro is teaming up with 7‑Eleven to change that," said Jiajun Zhu, Nuro CEO and co-founder. "We've always wanted to bring Nuro's autonomous delivery to our local community and to our neighbors. We couldn't be more excited to do this with an iconic neighborhood store like 7‑Eleven in our hometown, Mountain View."

Everyone should understand that leaders lead and there is a clear reason why 7-Eleven franchises and/or licenses more than 77,000 stores in 19 countries and regions, including 16,000 in North America. Simplly stated, Success Does Leave Clues!

Looking for success clues of your own? Foodservice Solutions® specializes in outsourced food marketing and business development ideations. We can help you identify, quantify and qualify additional food retail segment opportunities, technology, or a new menu product segment.  Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma WA is the global leader in the Grocerant niche visit us on our social media sites by clicking one of the following links: Facebook,  LinkedIn, or Twitter

Chipotle’s Future is on Auto Pilot

 

The consumers is dynamic not static and companies must be as dynamic as their consumers according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® who stated “like it or not autonomous vehicles are on the way, adoption and migration might just be fast / sooner than any of expect.  

That said Chipotle Mexican Grill has invested in a self-driving, robotic delivery company, by participating in a Series C funding round for Nuro, a Mountain View, Calif.-based company that was founded in 2016. Today, Nuro operates a robotic fleet of “on-road, occupant-less and autonomous vehicles to deliver everyday consumer goods,”. Clearly Chipotle is looking a customer ahead.

While the pandemic has accelerated digital usage and tech adoption at restaurants of all sizes. Chipotle saw its digital business grow 174% in 2020, compared to the prior year, with about half of those digital sales coming from delivery Chipotle is clearly looking for ways to reduce delivery cost.

In a statement Chipotle said, “The investment in Nuro is part of the chain’s exploration of “disruptive opportunities outside of traditional third-party partnerships,”

Curt Garner, Chipotle’s chief technology officer, stated, "We are always seeking opportunities that provide innovative solutions for increasing access and convenience for our guests,"… "Nuro could change the traditional delivery model and we believe consumers are going to continue to seek options and additional access points for how and where they enjoy their food."

The Chipotle’s investment in Nuro is the chain’s first “significant” backing of third-party technology company since Brian Niccol took over as CEO in 2018, the chain said. Customers never go backwards.  Chipotle is setting itself up to win in the future?  If you plan to be a ‘player’ you have to step-up to the plate according to Johnson.

So, late 2020, Nuro secured the first and only deployment permit from the California Department of Motor Vehicles, allowing the company’s driverless cars to operate commercially on roads in two counties near the Bay Area.   Are you looking a customer ahead taking dynamic steps or looking back and setting goals that look more like 2019? 

Foodservice Solutions® specializes in outsourced business development. We can help you identify, quantify and qualify additional food retail segment opportunities or a new menu product segment and brand and menu integration strategy.  Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma WA is the global leader in the Grocerant niche visit us on our social media sites by clicking one of the following links: Facebook,  LinkedIn, or Twitter

At McDonald’s Partnerships Help in Looking A Customer Ahead

Success does leave clues. Regular readers of this blog understand that looking at relevant success clues provide a sound platform when looking a customer ahead to edify your brands relationship for the long term according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.  

So, when Ford Motor Company and McDonald’s USA announced a new partnership that will be giving vehicles a caffeine boost by using part of a familiar staple in the morning routine, coffee beans, in vehicle parts such as headlamp housing. Note:(This is the first time Ford has used coffee bean skins that will be upcycled for select vehicle parts.)

You knew that McDonald’s was looking far beyond today, with the goal of driving a deeper relationship around the ‘halo’ of ‘better for you’ that today’s consumers are looking for while creating a platform for new brand electricity.

Given that every year, millions of pounds of coffee chaff, (the dried skin of the bean that naturally comes off during the roasting process—are turned into garden mulch or charcoal in North America. Together, Ford and McDonald’s can provide an innovative new home to a significant portion of that material. The companies found that chaff can be converted into a durable material to reinforce certain vehicle parts. By heating the chaff to high temperatures under low oxygen, mixing it with plastic and other additives and turning it into pellets, the material can be formed into various shapes.

So, get this, the chaff composite meets the quality specifications for parts like headlamp housings and other interior and under hood components. Now who in the world would have ever thought of such a thing?  The simple fact is, someone looking outside the box.  If your brand doing what you have always done and doing it the same way?  Just, how is that working for you?

The resulting components will be about 20 percent lighter and require up to 25 percent less energy during the molding process. Heat properties of the chaff component are significantly better than the currently used material, according to Ford.

So, Debbie Mielewski, Ford senior technical leader, sustainability and emerging materials research team has the ability to look outside the box.  Mielewski stated, “McDonald’s commitment to innovation was impressive to us and matched our own forward-thinking vision and action for sustainability,” says “This has been a priority for Ford for over 20 years, and this is an example of jump starting the closed-loop economy, where different industries work together and exchange materials that otherwise would be side or waste products.”

McDonald’s is expected to direct a significant portion of its coffee chaff in North America to Ford to be incorporated into vehicle parts. “Like McDonald’s, Ford is committed to minimizing waste and we’re always looking for innovative ways to further that goal,” adds Ian Olson, senior director, global sustainability, McDonald’s. “By finding a way to use coffee chaff as a resource, we are elevating how companies together can increase participation in the circular economy.”

The collaboration with Ford and McDonald’s is the latest example of the innovative approaches both companies take to product and environmental stewardship. The project also involves Varroc Lighting Systems, which supplies the headlamps, and Competitive Green Technologies, the processor of the coffee chaff. Ford is progressing toward a goal of using recycled and renewable plastics in vehicles globally, with an increasing range of sustainable materials. How are you creating new electricity around your brand?

Johnson stated “that in my minds-eye the new electricity must be very efficient for the supply chain and includes such things as fresh foods, plant based foods, sustainable supply chain, sampling, toy’s, beer, BMW in car online ordering,  unique urban clothing, grocerant positioning, fresh food messaging, autonomous delivery, cashier-less retail, plates, glasses, cash-less payments, digital hand-held marketing.

All food and beverage retailers to survive the next generation of retail must embrace the artificial intelligence revolution while simultaneously embracing fresh food and beverages that are portable, fresh, with differentiation that is familiar not different.  Does your retail path forward look more like yesterday than tomorrow? Why? Do you need a new partnership?

Foodservice Solutions® specializes in outsourced business development. We can help you identify, quantify and qualify additional food retail segment opportunities or a new menu product segment and brand and menu integration strategy.  Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma WA is the global leader in the Grocerant niche visit Facebook.com/Steven Johnson, www.Linkedin.com/in/grocerant/ or www.twitter.com/grocerant/

In A Global 

Battle for Share of Stomach

Takeaways, Takeout, ToGo Fresh Food Meals and Meal Components SELL

Back in the day Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® was under contract with cyberslice / cybermeals / food.com and as industry veterans and regular readers of this blog know he placed /sold the first 7 national restaurant chains with online ordering.

That was when Johnson the touting the benefits of moving your restaurant business model from selling traditional restaurant meals and filling seats with butts to selling more grocerant niche fresh prepared meals for takeout and delivery. In 1998 the restaurant to go meals were hovering nationally at 2.1%. 

Consumers were on the move and out Grocerant Guru® was the first to identify, quantify, and qualify that movement.  Today, the consumers is more dynamic than ever and according to new survey results from the National Restaurant Association “Off-premise orders continue to nibble into overall restaurant sales with those transactions now making up nearly 60% of foodservice occasions.”

Hudson Riehle, the NRA’s senior vice president for research and knowledge mimicking Johnson’s on going insights states “We are seeing the industry change and adapt faster than ever before in response to the macro-environmental factors driving consumer behavior,”

Now, Riehle has expanded his view fresh meal to include “The off-premise percentage also includes freshly prepared items taken off-premise at grocery and convenience stores”  (aka meals and meal components that are portable are GROCERANT NICHE MEALS). We defined things that way back in 1998 but its great to have the NRA on board with the “Battle for Share of Stomach”.  Let’s see what else they found:

·         92% of consumers used drive-thru at least once a month.

·         34% of consumers used delivery more often than a year ago.

·         79% of consumers used restaurant delivery at least once a month, and 53% of consumers used a third-party delivery provider.

·         78% of restaurant operators considered off-premises programs a strategic priority.

·         74% of companies were investing in off-premises programs but none of the Top 5 investments include customer-facing technology.

·         For takeout, 52% of operators said they had remodeled their facility to add off-premise services, including in-store kiosks, to-go counters or other similar features.

·         66% of operators offered delivery through a third-party service and 55% offered delivery through internal staff.

·         22% of consumers used kiosk ordering last year, and 11% used voice-assisted ordering.

·         69% of consumers would use vehicles, if available, with built-in heating trays to keep food warm and 41% would use autonomous delivery.

·         44% of restaurant operators who offered voice ordering, and 50% who offered location intelligence to target new customers based on their position, said it had a positive impact on their business.

Do you want to know just what we are seeing today? Do you want to Look A Customer Ahead?

Looking for success clues of your own? Foodservice Solutions® specializes in outsourced food marketing and business development ideations. We can help you identify, quantify and qualify additional food retail segment opportunities, technology, or a new menu product segment.  Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma WA is the global leader in the Grocerant niche visit Facebook.com/Steven Johnson, www.Linkedin.com/in/grocerant/  or www.twitter.com/grocerant

Battle for Share of Stomach

Walmart and Technology Some Say, they Just don’t Go Together Yet

Walmart is hoping that they do something with technology that will lead to mass customer adoption, increased customer relevance while reducing cost and edifying its relationship with customers according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®

Will self-driving vans for ‘middle-mile’ logistics be the solution? Johnson, does not think so.  There are three ways to make the self-driving platform customer relevant and right now Walmart has not focused on them?

So, here is what they are doing in series of pilot projects involving autonomous vehicles, Walmart is testing a self-driving van to move customer orders between two of its stores on a two-mile route in its hometown of Bentonville, Ark.

It is reported that “Walmart will use robotic vans from tech startup Gatik to help move goods from its Supercenter in Rogers, Ark., to a Neighborhood Market in nearby Bentonville. In March, Arkansas passed legislation allowing for autonomous vehicles to operate in the state. 

Tom Ward, senior vice President, digital operations, Walmart U.S.  stated “With the help of Gatik, we’re making sure we stay on the cutting edge of grocery pickup,” …. “We aim to learn more about the logistics of adding autonomous vehicles into our online grocery ecosystem, operation process changes and more opportunities to incorporate this emerging technology.”

During the test, Gatik will run three of its modified Ford Transit Connect vans up to 10 times a day, seven days a week, during daylight hours and with human safety operators as backup. The tech company’s goal is to help cut human labor in mundane tasks that are not consumer front-facing, such as transportation between stores.

Johnson believe that Walmart continues to play catch-up with Amazon and other retailers when it comes to technology and that too garner customer buy-in the technology touch points need to be customer facing.

Foodservice Solutions® specializes in outsourced business development. We can help you identify, quantify and qualify additional food retail segment opportunities or a new menu product segment and brand and menu integration strategy.  Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma WA is the global leader in the Grocerant niche visit Facebook.com/Steven Johnson, www.Linkedin.com/in/grocerant/ or www.twitter.com/grocerant/

Battle for Share of Stomach

Consumer Cross Currents Collide Grocery, Restaurant, and Convenience Stores

At the intersection of the consumer, food, food sales, food marketing, and branded food company adoption are thee cross currents according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

Those cross currents are Fresh Prepared Food, Technology including delivery hardware & software, and branded partnerships according to Johnson.  One grocery retailer that wants to garner incremental customers that ‘gets it’ according to Johnson this trial create a new electricity for H-E-B.

Recently H-E-B announced a strategic partnership with self-driving delivery With Udelv. Grocery stores have been slow to adopt new technology and H-E-B understands that at the turn of the century 1900 there were more grocery stores than restaurants and today there are 28 restaurants for every grocery store in the US. H-E-B wants is looking a customer ahead and wants to grow.

H-E-B’s test of a new grocery delivery service from a Udelv vehicle with self-driving technology  launch the pilot Autodeliv program in San Antonio later this year.

H-E-B, is going to be inviting select customers near its store in Olmos Park, TX to sign up to receive deliveries from an autonomous vehicle during the pilot test period. The retailer will deploy one autonomous delivery vehicle (ADV) from Burlingame, Calif.-based Udelv, whose ADV has climate-controlled compartments that hold multiple orders of fresh, frozen and dry goods, and can travel at city street and highway speeds.

The Udelv trial is part of the 400-store regional retailer’s efforts to integrate more technology-based services into its playbook, which includes its wholly owned subsidiary Favor, an on-demand delivery service; H-E-B Curbside; H-E-B Home Delivery, which is expected to be at more than 200 locations by year’s end; and H-E-B Go, a mobile solution that allows people to scan and pay for their items with their phones.

“At H-E-B, we continue to evaluate and utilize innovative technologies in all parts of our business,” Paul Tepfenhart, SVP of omnichannel and emerging technologies for Central Market and H-E-B, said in a release. Consumers are dynamic not static and retailer must be as well.  What are you doing to drive customer adoption and new electricity?

According to Johnson, “Brand relevance is in part driven with innovation in new menu related products in combination with new avenues of distribution all of which are the platform for the new electricity.”

Johnson stated “that in my minds-eye the new electricity must be very efficient for the supply and includes such things as fresh foods, plant based  foods,  sampling, toy’s, beer, 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 food and beverage retailers to survive the next generation of retail must embrace the artificial intelligence revolution while simultaneously embracing fresh food and beverages that are 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 www.FoodserviceSolutions.us 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.

Battle for Share of Stomach