At Just Salad You Can Keep the Bowl

 

Just what is branded sustainability? At Just Salad, I guess it is a branded salad bowl that you can reuse.  Reusing a salad bowl had the ‘halo’ of better for you in the minds-eye of the consumer according to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®

It is clear that Just Salad understand the importance of sustainability as a valued consumer touchpoint. To further incentivize waste-free dining and make sustainability affordable and accessible to everyone, Just Salad will be running a promotion for its Reusable Bowl Program throughout February.

All month long, Just Salad is dropping the price of salads to $8.99 for guests who reuse their bowl for in-store purchases. This is a great example of consumers focused interactive and participatory food marketing that at a minimum will drive trial according to the team at Foodservice Solutions®.  

Just Salad is driven by a mission to create the most convenient, waste-free dining experience for customers nationwide, this initiative represents one of the many innovative ways that Just Salad is working toward eliminating single-use packaging waste and promoting everyday reuse.

How many of you are going to buy a couple of these bowls and keep the branded Just Salad bowl at home for your next ‘homemade’ salad?

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

Taco Bell Recycling is Better for All

 

The world is looking for signs that things are getting better, life is normal, and doing what leaders do help everyone by doing better.  Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®, stated, “Taco Bell is giving consumers a glimpse of the ‘better for you’ signs they are looking for by helping clean up litter via using new recyclables.” That is going to drive new electricity into the Taco Bell brand.”

How is your brand building 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, music, developing brands, unique urban hemp clothing, grocerant positioning, fresh food messaging, autonomous delivery, cashier-less retail, plates, glasses, cash-less payments, digital hand-held marketing.

All retailers to survive the next generation of retail must embrace the artificial intelligence revolution while simultaneously embracing fresh food that is portable, fresh, with differentiation that is familiar not different.  How is your brand building new electricity?

Taco Bell customers have an obsession with its hot sauce packets, with 8.2 billion sauce packets used in the U.S. each year. The catch is today they're not recyclable. So, Taco Bell will be collaborating with international recycling leader TerraCycle later this year to give its sauce packets a spicier second life that doesn't involve a landfill. Taco Bell, no stranger to industry firsts, is the first quick-service restaurant brand to partner with TerraCycle to tackle recycling flexible film packets.

Think about the fact that 8.2 billion sauce packets recycled, and the difference that can make.  It is better for all of us. Taco Bell will be launching a U.S. pilot program in 2021 to recycle its iconic hot sauce packets.

TerraCycle is renowned for collecting traditionally non-recyclable materials, cleaning them, then melting and remolding them into hard plastic that can be used to make new recycled products. This means that one day, used sauce packets could have an exciting future as something totally new.

Liz Matthews, Taco Bell's Global Chief Food Innovation Officer, stated, "In the food industry today, there is no widely available solution for recycling the flexible film packets that are so commonly used for condiments," … "So, we're thrilled to leverage the expertise of TerraCycle to recycle our iconic sauce packet packaging in a way that's as bold and innovative as our menu."

So, the ability to recycle sauce packets is very important in achieving Taco Bell's goal of making all consumer-facing packaging recyclable, compostable, or reusable by 2025 in restaurants across the globe. The pilot launch is slated to take place later this year, and its results will determine the most viable solutions moving forward, including potential program expansion.

TerraCycle CEO and Founder, Tom Szaky, stated, "Now more than ever, consumers don't want to sacrifice the planet no matter how delicious the meal," "Together, Taco Bell and TerraCycle will push the quick service industry by finally finding a way to recycle this type of product. This effort takes us one step closer to keeping packets out of landfills and our mission of 'Eliminating the Idea of Waste.'"

No need to wait, are you eager to recycle their sauce packets, there are steps they currently can take to leave a lighter footprint. Be sure to check the specific recycling and composting guidelines of your local municipality when disposing packaging, and if you don't use each packet from your Taco Bell order, save it for later to add some kick to other meals

For international corporate presentations, regional chain presentations, educational forums, or keynotes contact: Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions.  His extensive experience as a multi-unit restaurant operator, consultant, brand / product positioning expert, and public speaking will leave success clues for all. For more information visit GrocerantGuru.com, FoodserviceSolutions.US or call 1-253-759-7869

Foodservice Packaging, Portability, and Profits

Time and time again our retail client’s call us asking what’s new.  Time and time again I tell them that differentiation does not mean different it means familiar but with a twist.  The team at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® believes that packaging plays a key role and we noticed this article last month about fresh food from salads to cake, jarred meals that are green, photo-worthy and portable an thought it would be the perfect example. 

As styrofoam and paper cartons are increasingly loosing favor with consumers and municipalities. There are a small but growing number of fast-casual restaurant concepts popping up with an entire menu served out of re-usable screw-top jars.

We all have seen the mason jars used as a vehicle for food and drink at full-service restaurants across the country. However the grocerant niche has expanding the trend of to-go dishes in jars that is just now becoming increasingly common throughout Europe and Asia, but has only recently reached the U.S.

Three of the concepts are Ancolie, Tyme and  the Jar Bar.  Bret Thorn wrote that “Chloe Vichot, for example, launched Ancolie in November in Manhattan’s West Village. The 10-seat coffee shop and café offers a full menu of salads and bowl dishes served in glass jars, which show off the layering of ingredients. The concept does a brisk to-go and catering business.

A Rainbow Salad at Ancolie, for example, has red cabbage, turmeric cauliflower rice, carrots, lettuce, black sesame seeds and the option of an egg.  The signature Ancolie Jar has lentils, carrots, shallots, goat cheese, lettuce, and the option of both walnuts or chicken.

As specials, warm soups and other dishes are available, as well as things like coconut chia pudding with sour cherry coulis for breakfast, and chocolate cake or apple compote for dessert or snacks. Prices for salads range from $12 to $14.

Vichot uses ingredients that are clean and made in house. “There’s no sugar or honey in the dressing, no genetically modified ingredients. We source from local markets to make sure it’s really fresh and in season,” she said.

Guests are invited to bring back their glass jars for a $1 discount, and about 25 percent of them do, Vichot said. Or they can recycle or re-use them at home.”  Fresh local and sustainable are all value added components when it comes to retail foodservice today.  Packaging meals and meal components in jar’s / containers that can be reused can edify the retail food experience if done right.

Success does leave clues www.FoodserviceSolutions.us  is the global leader in grocerant niche business development.  We can help you identify, quantify and qualify additional food retail segment opportunities.  Has your company had a Grocerant ScoreCard completed, Grocerant Program Assessment, or new Grocerant niche product Ideation?  Want one?  Call 253-759-7869 Email: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us