US Restaurants Customer not Eating-less They are Eating Somewhere Else

Many legacy US based chain restaurants look more like yesterday, act more like yesterday, and are led by CEO’s to old to understand the undercurrents of change technology has brought to every sector of food retail today according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.  

Brand protectionism drove restaurant sales and store count growth while garnering banks and investors to line up and invest back in 1970’s, 1980’s, and 1990’s now the caution signs are out. Franchisees are upset, as customer counts continue to fall.  It seems that the CEO moto of ‘do-no-harm’ has doe has done the opposite as grocery stores service deli’s are growing at 8.2% and C-stores sales are growing at 6.5% a year.

Restaurant sales growth was -0.7% for August, the second consecutive month according to Black Box Intelligence™ data from TDn2K™, based on weekly sales from over 31,000 locations representing 170+ brands and $72 billion in annual sales. There is no getting around it.  Chain restaurants must evolve their business model according to Johnson.

Here is why:  Restaurant sector same-store traffic growth was -3.9% in August, following -4.0% in July.  September 2019 is the grocery store sectors Family Meals Month and that sure does not help the restaurant sector as they are having a tough time serving one meal at a time.

Regular readers of this blog know our Grocerant Guru® has 6 Pillars for growth he has outlined the past three years.  However, many legacy chain restaurants continue practicing brand protectionism looking more like yesterday than today or tomorrow and year over year customer counts reflect how consumers feel about where they are today.  Consumers are dynamic not static food brands must be dynamic as well.

Are you ready for some fresh ideations? Do your food marketing ideations look more like yesterday than tomorrow? Interested in learning how www.FoodserviceSolutions.us can edify your retail food brand while creating a platform for consumer convenient meal participation, differentiation and individualization?  Email us at: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us or visit:  www.FoodserviceSolutions.us for more information.

Battle for Share of Stomach

Time Starved Consumers Continue Migrating to the Grocerant Niche

Battle for Share of Stomach

 Retailers of every ilk are adding new or more grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared grocerant niche food according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.  

Today the opportunity within the grocery sector alone has reached $13 Billion in sales and according to the Food Marketing Institute. The report goes on to say that sector is growing at an annually rate of 8.2%.  So, if you are wondering where restaurant customers go when they raise prices.  They are going where they can save money and time to the grocery store deli according to Johnson.

In FMI’s 2019 Power of Foodservice at Retail study found “that 63 percent of consumers continue to incorporate time-saving solutions in the form of semi- and fully-prepared items for dinner, but opportunities exist for grocers to garner greater visibility as the primary dinner solution.

The 2019 survey participants offered feedback for their stores to focus on faster service, more cuisine variety, healthier dishes as well as healthier alternatives to current options, competitive prices, more information, freshness, knowledgeable and available staff, and various operational improvements such as cleanliness and in-stock performance.

 Let’s see what else they found:

1.        “The study notes that grocers with a positive reputation in retail foodservice can serve as strong motivation for 64 percent of shoppers who say they will actually go out of their way to find these stores,”  

2.       Eighty-eight percent of shoppers want to see more new items and flavors in retail foodservice. In fact, the most frequently mentioned word in the open-ended suggestions of the survey was “more,” in combination with words such as variety, food, options and items. 

3.       31 percent, want to see flavor and item rotation on a monthly basis, but 28 percent want even greater levels of innovation and recommend a weekly or even daily rotation. 

4.       The importance of speed is once more underscored by the grab-and-go, ready-to-eat format being the most popular method, which is of interest to 68 percent of shoppers. 

5.       Grab-and-go, heat-and-eat is the second most popular style, at 63 percent. 

6.       While 57 percent of shoppers have grocery store apps downloaded, 42 percent actively use one or more. 

7.       App usage is highly related to checking weekly specials (78 percent),

8.       online ordering of groceries (53 percent),

9.       getting recipes and meal ideas and researching the deli-prepared foods menu, but foodservice orders lag (38 percent).

The price, service, value equilibrium continues to reset according to Johnson.  Restaurants continue to raise prices on a year over year as of July 2019 they are up 3% with wholesale prices up only 0.7% according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. All the while grocery stores are adding new grocerant niche meal options with price points that are compelling and quality equal to that of restaurants according to Johnson.

Invite Foodservice Solutions® to complete a Grocerant Program Assessment, Grocerant ScoreCard, or for product positioning or placement assistance, or call our Grocerant Guru®.  Since 1991 www.FoodserviceSolutions.us  of Tacoma, WA has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche. Contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us or 253-759-7869

Once again Grocer’s Take Aim at Restaurant Meals

Foodservice Solutions® team last year told you about ‘Family Meals Month’ and that grocery stores were taking a direct shot at restaurant customer meal.  Our own Grocerant Guru®, Steven Johnson says that grocery stores are edging closer to focusing on meals year-round.  September, 2019 will test the chain restaurants customer counts once again as grocer’s focus on family.

A new study found that “8 in 10 of those seeing the National Family Meals Month™ campaign say that it is important and, better yet, are taking action to making family meals happen!”   

This grocery studies show again and again the significant, measurable scientific proof about the positive, lifelong benefits of family meals.  Family meals nourish the spirit, brain and health of all family members and grocery stores are doing a better job telling the family meal story than restaurants.

Let’s look and see what the Journal of Adolescent Health found:

1.       Regular family meals are linked to higher grades and self-esteem and delayed sexual activity. 

2.       Children who grow up sharing family meals are more likely to exhibit prosocial behavior as adults, such as sharing, fairness and respect. 

3.       With each additional family meal shared each week, adolescents are less likely to show symptoms of violence, depression and suicide, less likely to use or abuse drugs or run away, and less likely to engage in risky behavior or delinquent acts.

4.       Adults and children who eat at home more regularly are less likely to suffer from obesity.

5.       Increased family meals are associated with greater intake of fruits and vegetables.

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