What is in a family meal today and where do people eat?

What a quagmire we find ourselves in today trying to understand what is a family meal. I recently went looking for answers from some of the food industry leading research companies. Each has a series of benchmark studies all “best in class” yet seems to answer or categorize only what product consumers are eating, when they are eating. Yet none could address what we found have witnessed or hear of as the “new family meal paradigm”. Here are three examples I have witnessed first hand:


1. Family dinner occasions with meal components from McDonalds & Taco Time for children 14 & 12 years olds and dinner for adults from Whole foods prepared meal section. This is dinner, is it a family meal. We say yes since they all eat together just not the same food.

2. During a recent visit to NYC after a client meeting we went to a business associates home ordered food-in. His wife, myself and my client we ordered from three separate companies (Italian Chinese, Greek) one was pickup next door. I was assured this was not unusual in their household this is a family dinner again.

3. Studies on Take & Bake pizza show it is the sole food item only 60% of the time. Generally complemented with prepared food from other outlets, who can we find out what and from where? This is part of a family meal. What else should Take & Bake pizza companies be offering?

Statistical analyst can track each of the sales, but do we get a clear picture of the family meal. We are in search of examples, stories, or case studies on new “defined” household units and what they eat and when. Please submit your example to Stevejohnon77@msn.com Are Grocerant prepared food components the food that binds the family?

Who are we: http://www.linkedin.com/in/grocerant. Or for more on Grocerants view www.foodandbeverageunderground.com/grocerant-trend.html

Food price value equilibrium continues it’s resetting in Restaurants, Grocery stores and C-stores?

What is the price of breakfast? McDonalds is putting the US on notice that it does not plan any capitulation of breakfast marketshare! There is no greater gift than customers that love your food, and will pay for it-but at what price? Here is my formula for establishing customer focused price:


Price + Quality + Service + Portability = Value

Incremental Value = Constantly Changing Menu (Seasonally / Sustainability with creditability).

Now look at what has happened at different companies recently. While Subway started the focus on the $5 foot-long we can see just where it has gone.

1. T.G. I. Fridays announced it will offer Jack Daniel's® Burgers and Jack Daniel's® Chicken Sandwiches for $5 and will offer $5 off all Jack Daniel's® Grill entrees for a limited time at approximately 600 US based participating restaurants.

2. Steve Davis, Arby’s CMO said $5 has become a magic number for fast food.

3. Shane’s Rib Shack has a family meal (feeds 4) for $20. Part of Petrus Brands

4. Popeye’s now as value meals from $1.99 & $2.99

5. McDonalds has three mini meals for under $3.00

6. McDonalds had introduced 5 $ 1.00 breakfast items.

The economy continues in a quagmire so price can be a determining factor. Brand marketers must be aware of the new product and price points that non-traditional competitive channels will introduce. Including attractive packaging, new product bundling options which in turn will contribute to establishing new long term price value models going forward. Grocery stores, Convenience Stores, Restaurants Mobile trucks, Kiosks food outlets are zeroing in on the grocerant prepared food ready-to-eat and ready-to-heat food niche and it is booming. Foodservice Solutions of Tacoma, WA is the global leader in the Grocerant niche. View my complete profile at: http://www.linkedin.com/in/grocerant or leave a comment or question below.

Quick Chek more than a convenience store, closer to a Grocerant!

Earlier this month we named Quick Chek as having introduced the most innovative potentially channel disruptive menu item for their Angus Burger for 2009. The Angus Burger garnered attention from the press, attention on its foodservice offering by customers and put notice to all industry competitors that Quick Chek was serious about building foodservice sales.

Building sales in the crowed ready-to-eat and ready-to-heat Grocerant niche is challenging lucky for Quick Chek John Schaninger, is vice president of sales and merchandising he understand the popularity of the niche and how to drive customer frequency. His successful “skinvertising” program this summer has been reinvigorated this winter to promote soup sales.

Here is how Quick Chek’s “skinvertising” works for this program. “Customers purchasing any size coffee between 5 a.m. and 9 a.m. that day will receive a special "Warm Up Wednesday" stamp on their hand at checkout. When they return between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m., and present their hand stamp, customers will receive a complimentary soup. They can choose from one of Quick Chek's many varieties, including Chicken Noodle Galore, Pot Roast Vegetable, Italian Wedding, Sweet Potato Bisque, Roasted Tomato and Garlic, and Spicy Chili, among others.

If success leaves clues Quick Chek is blazing a trail! Roll, Roll, Roll, Away Roller Grill was an article we posted earlier this month as well and this is another example of how fast foodservice is changing in all channels. Foodservice Solutions of Tacoma, WA is the global leader in the Grocerant niche. View my complete profile at: http://www.linkedin.com/in/grocerant or leave a comment or question below.

Grocerants crafting success in ready-to-eat and ready-to-heat prepared food.

A grocerant is a result of the blurring of the line between restaurants and grocery stores aimed at the time-starved consumer with ready-to-eat or ready-to-heat food components that are “better for you”. These components can be bundled into a meal of the consumer choice.. Grocerant food refers to any retail food item that is ready-to-eat or ready-to-heat / reheat sold in a Grocery store, Convenience store or restaurant To-go or Take Away format. Most retail companies goal is to create a collections of branded private label entrée and side dishes that have niche leading identity.


Traditionally these items can be found in grocery stores in the deli / lifestyle section, C-stores in the prepared food area and prepackaged, ready to eat items and in restaurants under the To-go, takeout or take away or delivery section. If success leaves clues most retailers having success have developed a reputation for their unique flavor profiles, right sizing packaging and creating a halo of better for you around their offerings.

Around the world we are now seeing Grocerant sections in department’s stores and kiosk in malls in Europe / Asia and airports around the world. The items can range from entrees to side items and deserts. Some examples of items range from crab puff pastries fried chicken, mash potatoes, cream spinach, to liver and onions, pizza, hot dogs, steak, prime rib, various casseroles (hot-dish) to salads, side salads pie, cake and any single proportioned deserts. Grocerant prepared ready-to-eat and ready-to-heat foods contributes to making life just a little easier. For a Grocerant program assessment contact Steve Johnson at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions at: 253-759-7869.

For additional background on the booming grocerant niche you can read more at the following link: http://www.anything4restaurants.com/blog/index.php/2009/07/restaurant-consumer-discontinuity-the-consumer-moved-first/

Visceral attractiveness for Food retailers is as important as cleanliness.

Restaurants specifically Quick Service Restaurants (QSR’s) understand consumer contemporary relevance. The most frequent consumer are more visceral engaged on a daily basis than someone born forty years ago. They are in fact visceral a tuned, plugged in, online or utilizing mobile texting at the fastest rate ever. Visceral attractiveness in décor for Food retailers is as important as cleanliness don’t get left out in the cold.


McDonalds is testing its own proprietary entertainment network billed as “McDonalds Channel at 19 units currently. With wifi in must units around the US currently this program will ““will entice the customer to sit down and enjoy their meal — and perhaps to stay a little longer.” Competitor Burger King had introduced flat screen tabletops and reportedly will rollout the program nation wide.

Convenience stores and grocery stores will need to install at minimum digital signage in the “deli” or ready-to-eat and ready-to-heat sections of there stores. Visceral attractiveness and consumer relevance are moving forward hand in hand.

Foodservice Solutions of Tacoma, WA is the global leader in the Grocerant niche. View my complete profile at: http://www.linkedin.com/in/grocerant or leave a comment or question below.

Private label food brand managers are out witting legacy food national brand managers.

If success leaves clues in a recent article at Mediapost.com by Karlene Lukovitz she quoted noted supermarket expert Phil Lempert saying “next year we’ll see major food brands developing co-branded private-label foods with retailers, meaning private-label foods featuring brands' key ingredients.”

If Phil is right there is only one clear clue. It's clear that brand managers of “legacy " national food brands have Failed. Yes, they missed the mark simply put they failed to keep pace with the consumer, quality, flavor profiles, price equilibrium and consumer relevance. This act is a simple act of marketshare capitulation by the legacy brand managers. It’s the easy way out blame the economy, point fingers and make excuses then join the other team.

What has happened is private label companies and products now have quality educated brand managers and they are doing a better job! Success does leave clues and the opportunity for good brand managers is growing with private label products.

Does it make sense to other industry proffesionals for food brands to take it a step further by providing ingredients for and co-branding store labels? Bill Cross, VP, food licensing for Broad Street Licensing, “says he can't imagine major food marketers engaging in this strategy, given that they're in a "dog fight" with retailers aggressively pursuing private-label growth.” Bill understands the value of a brand and how consumer relevance plays an important role. If you’re a brand manager in Grocerant ready-to-eat or ready-to-heat foods build your brand not your competitors.

Foodservice Solutions of Tacoma, WA is the global leader in the Grocerant niche. View my complete profile at: http://www.linkedin.com/in/grocerant or leave a comment or question below.

Top Five Innovative Disruptive Food Menu’s or menu items of 2009 penciled in.

Restaurants, Grocery Stores, Convenience Stores and Supermarkets were all competing for a larger share of stomach this year. The companies that appeared to introduce the most innovative potentially disruptive menus or menu items all were focus clearly on the US marketplace and evolving points of distribution as the end game. Each company keenly realized the importance of demographic, psychographic and behaviorist research including new econometric food modeling. Then blended the findings into the companies or niche market food marketing mix. Research intelligent quotient (IQ) blended with understanding the industry consumers emotional quotient (EQ) will propel either the company or the product itself too a new level in coming years. So here are the top five innovative potentially disruptive food menus or menu items for 2009:


1. Angus Burger by QuickChek

2. Fresh prepared Hot Breakfast by 7 Eleven AU

3. Wood-fired Pizza by Müvbox,

4. Crispers by Publix & Next Door Bar & Grill by Wegmans

5. MightyMunch-Meals by: www.gopicnic.com/All-GoPicnic-Products/MightyMunch-Meals

Leading the way is QuickChek with it’s fresh Angus Burger taking customers outside the Convenience store box thinking and head on with QSR’s. Without a doubt the 2009 company with the most proactive global food innovative footprint test going on is 7 Eleven. They have exciting new coffee formats, pizza and fresh prepared breakfast, this is the sleeping giant of the foodservice industry. I for one think that they are waking up. How cool is Müvbox portable Wood fired Pizza taking fresh to any neighborhood in the world fast. Joining the success that Publix has found in Florida with it Crispers restaurant, Wegmans now is stepping out with a freestanding concept. In both cases quality leveraging buying power, supply chain and regional marketplace knowledge into non-traditional points of distribution and success. Then there is a better for you meal for kids, ready when they are, nothing is better than that. 2009 was a outstanding year for the Grocerant niche. For background on the booming grocerant niche you can read more at the following link: http://www.anything4restaurants.com/blog/index.php/2009/07/restaurant-consumer-discontinuity-the-consumer-moved-first/

Foodservice Solutions of Tacoma, WA is the global leader in the Grocerant niche. View my complete profile at: http://www.linkedin.com/in/grocerant or leave a comment or question below.