NPD Group Save The Restaurant Industry Pass the Stimulus Extend $600

There were 15.1 million restaurant industry employees in the United States in January of this year. 7 in 10 restaurants are single unit operations, and 9 in 10 restaurants have fewer than 50 employees according to the National Restaurant Association.

 David Portalatin, NPD food industry advisor and author of Eating Patterns in America stated “As we move into the weeks ahead the possibility exists for setbacks in restaurant customer transactions. Up until July 31, somewhere between 25 and 30 million Americans were receiving Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation as part of the federal government’s CARES Act, which has provided $600 a week of enhanced unemployment benefits,”

Portalatin continued “These unemployment benefits translated to between $15-18 billion per week being put into consumers’ bank accounts, and for context, total restaurant industry sales right now are a bit less than $8 billion per week. Although the benefits don’t entirely evaporate on August 1 because of backlogs and late claims, the loss of the $600 a week unemployment benefit could adversely affect the restaurant industry.

Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® stated “extending the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation as part of the federal government’s continued stimulus program, including providing $600 a week of enhanced unemployment benefits is important as 10% of the U.S. Work Force is employed in restaurants.  

The stimulus is just that stimulus for the economy restaurants are at minimum 10% of our work force.  The ability to maintain a job, away of life, and the culture of our local communities is at stake. If we can spend $ 100 of Billions to save Air Lines, Airport, Cruise Ships, and in the past Big Banks and the Auto industry lets save our local restaurants, neighborhood jobs, local banks, and way of life.

Foodservice Solutions® team is here to help food retailers drive top line sales and bottom-line profits. Are you looking a customer ahead? Visit GrocerantGuru.com for more information or contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us Remember success does leave clues and we just may the clue you need to propel your continued success.

At McDonald’s A is for Alexa

If success leaves clues and it does when more than 100 million people a month use voice assistants for handsfree texting, controlling smart home appliances and playing music you can bet foodservice retailers will be jumping on voice-assistance bandwagon according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

McDonald’s continues to drive customer relevance by driving incremental customer relevance while simultaneously solving a problem plaguing the food industry finding enough workers. So, job seekers can use Alexa or Google Assistant to initiate a McDonald’s employee application as he chain launched voice-initiated ‘McDonald’s Apply Thru’ using Google Assistant, Alexa.  So, here is how it works:

David Fairhurst, global chief people officer for McDonald’s stated  “We must continue to innovate and think of creative, and in this case, ground-breaking, ways to meet potential job seekers on devices they are already using, like Alexa,”, “I am looking forward to having our application process simplified with Alexa.”

According to eMarketer, nearly 112 million people in the U.S. use a voice assistant at least once a month. By 2021, the number of U.S. voice assistant users will reach 122.7 million, representing 42.2% of internet users in the U.S. So, we ask how are you edifying your brand with consumers?

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.

Chick-fil-A has a halo of ‘better-for-you’ and Employees know it.

Time and time again food retailer’s success is based on ‘buzz’ and Chick-fil-A buzz includes better service, fresher food, and better trained employees that are happy.  Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® stated that Chick-fil-A franchisees have elevated employee training and food quality to a point that simply that out pace’s competitors.  

Now Chick-fil-A is increasing its investment in educational scholarships for restaurant Team Members in 2019, awarding $15.3 million to more than 6,000 deserving Team Members across the country. As part of Chick-fil-A’s Remarkable Futures education initiative, this increase in scholarship funding reflects Chick-fil-A’s continued commitment to Team Members and their futures, and it remains one of the highest unrestricted per-employee scholarship investments in the industry.

Throughout March local Chick-fil-A Franchise Operators will present $2,500 Leadership Scholarships to 6,016 Team Members across 47 states. Through Chick-fil-A’s annual scholarship application process, students employed by the company’s local franchise Operators can apply to receive up to $25,000 in scholarships to pursue the higher education opportunity of their choice.

The initiative is unique in that the scholarships can be applied to any area of study at any accredited institution, including any two- or four-year college and university, online program or technical/vocational school. Here the thing you help them they help you.  Now isn’t that the way it should work?

Chick-fil-A’s Remarkable Futures initiative includes three opportunities:

·         True Inspiration Scholarship: In 2019, 12 Team Members will receive an individual, one-time award of $25,000. Unlike traditional scholarships which are based solely on academics, the True Inspiration Scholarship is for students who also demonstrate financial need, leadership and community involvement. This year’s True Inspiration Scholarship recipients logged an average of 596 hours of community service each during the previous 12-month period. 

·         Chick-fil-A Leadership Scholarship: In 2019, 6,016 Team Members will receive a $2,500 scholarship for the 2019-2020 academic year. Team Members may re-apply for up to four years for a potential total of up to $10,000 for college while working at a Chick-fil-A restaurant. These scholarships are awarded to Chick-fil-A Team Members based on leadership, academic achievement and community involvement. 

·         Educational Assistance Opportunities: In addition to scholarships, Chick-fil-A offers all 120,000 restaurant Team Members access to tuition discounts of up to 30 percent and other educational benefits at more than 100 colleges and universities across the country. The benefits can be combined with either of the above scholarships.

To be eligible for these opportunities, applicants must be employed by a Chick-fil-A Franchise Operator, a Chick-fil-A, Inc.-operated restaurant or an S. Truett Cathy (STC) brand restaurant at the time of application and award.

Chick-fil-A began awarding scholarships in 1973 based on founder S. Truett Cathy’s desire to empower team members to further their education. Since then, more than 53,000 Team Members have received scholarships from Chick-fil-A, Inc., bringing the total amount funded to more than $75 million, applied at more than 3,200 schools nationwide.

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, Linkedin.com/in/grocerant/ or twitter.com/grocerant