Walgreen’s fresh food is expanding consumer choice, while attracting consumers from restaurants.

The food options now available in non-traditional avenues of distribution continue to drive consumer discontinuity within traditional restaurant sectors.  Menu, meal or snack options of fresh prepared high quality food are now attracting consumer too new channels.  Restaurateurs while innovative are simply not keeping up with the innovation from non-traditional fresh food chain outlets. If success leaves clues retooling menus focused on evolving consumer eating habits, styles and flavor profiles may prove more useful than staying with existing niche profiles.

Joseph Magnacca will at the end of this month replace Kim Feil, Walgreen Co’s Chief Marketing officer.  His focus of late has been driving top line sales and bottom line profits in the front of the store with food, fresh food ready-2-eat and heat-N-eat.

Mr. Magnacca was with Duane Reade and did the same thing there increasing consumer traffic, consumer loyalty with fresh prepared grocerant niche food products. This will be a significant change for Walgreen’s yet not unfamiliar territory.  It was not that long ago that Walgreens was one of the largest food retailers in the US.  Grocery stores and restaurants chains should all be keeping a close eye on what is happening in this sector.

Since 1991 Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma, WA has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche. For product or brand positioning assistance contact Steven A. Johnson and Foodservice Solutions® or visit http://www.linkedin.com/in/grocerant or on Facebook at Steven Johnson, GOOGLE: Steven Johnson, Grocerants or twitter.com/grocerant

C-stores gain frequency with fresh food and restaurants performance is falling.

At the intersection of contemporary consumer meal consumption trends and the confluence of the time starved consumer is the grocerant niche filled with fresh ready-2-eat and heat-N-eat prepared food.  Driven by consumer demand these items can be found in Grocery Stores, Chain & Independent Restaurants, Convenience Stores, Chain Drug Stores and increasing at food trucks and online food portals.  New points of food distribution are reshaping the retail food landscape. Is your company ready?

The  NPD Group reports that” the number of annual restaurant visits by an average Millennial consumer (age 16 to 30) has dropped from 245 visits five years ago to 192 this year -- approximately one fewer visit each week. Additionally, a National Restaurant Association survey found that in July, restaurant performance dropped to its lowest level in almost a year, and restaurant owners predicted their worst overall performance expectations in 20 months.”  Price positioning continues the focus within the restaurant sector with fast-food deals leading the way here are some examples:

• $10 pizzas from Pizza Hut, which has reintroduced its $10 any pizza deal. "The environment hasn't gotten any better for consumers," said chief marketing officer Kurt Kane.

• Domino's Artisan Pizza for $7.99, making it the first large, three-topping home-delivered pizza in memory at that price point, according to spokesman Chris Brandon.

• Double Burger King meals for $6.99 that include two Whoppers, two small fries and two small drinks.

• More $5 footlong sandwiches from Subway. Starting Oct. 1, customers can order any footlong sub at that price with the exception of premium subs. "You have to have strong offers out there in this economy," said Subway CMO Tony Pace.

• Mini-Blizzard meals from Dairy Queen that include a DQ GrillBurger with cheese, French fries, a medium drink and a Mini Blizzard.

• Taco Bell's 99-cent Chicken Flatbread sandwich. "Deals are more important than ever," said Marketing Vice President Tom Wagner.

• Free ice cream cones from Burger King for customers who order from its value meal.

Since 1991 Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma, WA has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche. For product or brand positioning assistance contact Steven A. Johnson and Foodservice Solutions® or visit http://www.linkedin.com/in/grocerant or on Facebook at Steven Johnson, GOOGLE: Steven Johnson, Grocerants or twitter.com/grocerant

Evolving Food products drive top line growth.



I phone 1-2-3-4-5, I pad 1-2, Apple computer is evolving technology, and consumer increased desire to simply daily task with technology solutions. The new “I” line of devise has propelled Apple to the top of the fortune 500 list! Apple understands that consumers would accept, buy and utilize products that provide solutions while simplifying daily life. I know some may argue that they are not that easy to use, get over it! They are and consumers know it!

Recently legacy retail food industry insiders have been writing about “meal solutions” coming of age. Articles appearing in Progressive Grocer, Supermarket News, Convenience Store News and Nation’s Restaurant News decrying a battle between Grocery vs. Restaurants, Convenience Stores vs. QSR’s etc.

That fact is retail foodservice success is about simplifying the daily life of the consumer. There is no discontinuity, the consumer is evolving and wants more options, in flavor, portion size and points of distribution. If your company is not evolving with the consumer it’s dying. The grocerant niche of fresh prepared read-2-eat and heat-N-eat food is growing both the top and bottom line for food retailers today.

Since 1991 Foodservice Solutions of Tacoma, WA has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche for more on Steven A. Johnson and Foodservice Solutions visit http://www.linkedin.com/in/grocerant or on Facebook at Steven Johnson or BING / GOOGLE: Steven Johnson Grocerants

Food attributes consumer’s value

WD Partners understands the food value proposition equilibrium for the consumer today balances; better for you, flavor, and traditional products all blended into something with a twist.  In industry speak, differentiated does not mean different to the consumer it means familiar.

Cultivating a brand is more important that managing a brand. Brands are dynamic not static, they develop and grow with/for your clients and the consumer.  Identifying distinctive differentiated programs, positioning and consumable’s by day part that reflect the brand, industry trends, consumer preferences is an area of the grocerant niche that Foodservice Solutions particularly excels.

Since 1991 retail food consultancy Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma, WA has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche for more on Foodservice Solutions® Bing or Google Grocerants or visit http://www.linkedin.com/in/grocerant, twitter.com/grocerant Email: grocerant@q.com

Private Label brand managers or slotting fees and legacy brands what’s working?

Slotting fees are a way of justifying being a poor merchant with rationalization. Diminished is the role of the legacy national brand manager in a world where private label is branded. When national brand manufactures continue paying slotting fees to grocery stores and supermarkets as the easiest way to reach the consumer, then the battle is ½ lost by the brand.

Slotting fees continue to go for space on the shelf of many legacy brands.  All the while many leading companies are utilizing End Caps with the stores own private label products including Trader Joe’s 9highest seals per SQ Ft in retail foodservice.)  If your paying a National Brand manager and your brand value is gone, fire the brand manager or pay higher slotting fees and fool some of the people some of the time.

Don’t become like Campbell’s soup filling the shelves via slotting fees with “less salt soup” only to find out that customers want the salt. Who likes slotting fee’s well for one Wall Street analyst love to see sales via pushing slotting fees at the end of a slow quarter to meet “goals”.  Why they like it is beyond logical reason. 

Mediocre C-level grocery store chain managers like slotting fees better than being force to become merchants.  They utilize slotting fees to supplement profits.  Slotting fees are a way of justifying being a poor merchant with rationalization. By the way Wall Street likes that too! 

The brand managers of the private label products are utilizing a tool out of the National Brand Managers playbook to build loyalty, reinforce value and generate additional sales and profits for the store and their particular private label product.  They are taking the end caps for themselves! While selling high quality products with and ever increasing acceptance by the consumer.

Deep in the store, the private label battle continues with ready-2-eat and heat-N-eat fresh prepared portable food.  All prepared fresh and in most cases right in front of the customer.  Private label Grocerant niche ready-2-eat and heat-N-eat food now has brand managers of their own and they are building sales not with slotting fees.  Think about it, building sales on demand from consumers?  Novel ideation or business fundamentals, you choose.

Since 1991 Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma, WA has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche. For product or brand positioning assistance contact Steven A. Johnson and Foodservice Solutions® or visit http://www.linkedin.com/in/grocerant or on Facebook at Steven Johnson, GOOGLE: Steven Johnson, Grocerants or twitter.com/grocerant

Food brand protectionism VS retail food brand evolution.

Retail foodservice is evolving since the economy is not. Retail food operators are evolving product mix and or menu mix in order to keep up with the changing consumer.  Family after family is expressing that they are now becoming exasperated, worried and directly affected by the prolonged economic down turn.

Grocery stores are providing more and more ready-2-eat and heat-N-eat meal component options. Chain Drug stores are now selling ready-2-eat fresh prepared food and Convenience stores continue up grading fresh and prepared meal offerings. Restaurateurs must rapidly readjust menus to reflect the increased in fresh prepared ready-2-eat and heat-N-eat meal competition and new points of food distribution.

If success leaves clues one of them is follow the customer as fast as you can.  If you do not your brand may very well loose its consumer relevance.  During the past three years the grocerant niche has expanded and excelled.  Companies and brands that are or have been practicing brand protectionism are losing market share to those practicing brand evolution.

Since 1991 Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma, WA has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche. For product or brand positioning assistance contact Steven A. Johnson and Foodservice Solutions® or visit http://www.linkedin.com/in/grocerant or on Facebook at Steven Johnson, GOOGLE: Steven Johnson, Grocerants or twitter.com/grocerant

Travel Plaza’s and Truck Stops building ready-2-eat food sales fast.

Food sector by food sector the grocerant niche is propelling top line sales and bottom line profits.  Are your sales up?

 The Grocerant Niche filled with ready-2-eat and heat-N-eat fresh and prepared food has reached every sector of retail foodservice including Travel Plaza’s and Truck Stops.  McLane Co. reported an increase of “24 percent during the 2011 second quarter, compared with a year earlier, led largely by hot and cold beverage sales along with commissary, foodservice, dairy and deli sales, according to the McLane-NATSO Index”

“…The 2011 Second Quarter McLane-NATSO Index also showed that sales of commissary, dairy and deli products jumped 23 percent compared with the same period a year earlier, as retailers continue to market these higher-margin products. Cold dispensed beverage sales, meanwhile, increased 22 percent. These two categories reflect a growing trend toward grab-and-go food at truckstops.”

The grocerant niche growth is unprecedented in retail foodservice.  Every sector of retail foodservice is finding that ready-2-eat and heat-N-eat fresh and prepared food can drive top line growth and bottom line profits.  Need new product ideation,  grocerant niche positioning assistance or grocerant program review; contact Foodservice Solutions® at: 253-759-7869.

Since 1991 Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma, WA has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche. For product or brand positioning assistance contact Steven A. Johnson and Foodservice Solutions® or visit http://www.linkedin.com/in/grocerant or on Facebook at Steven Johnson, GOOGLE: Steven Johnson, Grocerants or twitter.com/grocerant