Nestle and Gerber Target Kids Restaurant Food to Drive Sales.

Nestle and Gerber focus on kids to get mom’s to Spend More. Food Manufactures have for several been trying to migrate product offerings from legacy CPG products to one’s with more contemporized consumer relevance. To that end they have been focusing on the success of the ready-2-eat and heat-N-eat fresh prepared food found within the grocerant niche.

One of the hallmarks of success within the grocerant niche is mix and match meal components. Nestle vie Gerber Products launched  Gerber Graduates 2+ Kid Selects, a series of mix-and-match meal components for children ages 2 and up; food items include grilled chicken nuggets, brown rice with mixed vegetables, and sweet corn with red peppers.

Nestle know around the globe for creating food products that are better for you and Gerber know best for its ‘baby” food is now extending its’ brand from infants to the “Family Table”. Tagged  “Gerber® Graduates® 2+ Kid Selects™”.  These mix-and-match meal components offer toddlers 2 years and older a range of better for you “protein, vegetable and grain options made just for them. Gerber® Graduates® 2+ Kid Selects™ help children make nutritious choices and master self-feeding skills, including use of a fork and spoon.”

With families continued nesting and the growing HDTV Syndrome as documented by Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant Guru, Steven Johnson here are this blog more than once.  Families are finding more and more reasons to stay home, yet they do not want to cook or have the skill set to do so. 

Nestle with its new grocerant line for Kids makes meal time a happy meal! 

The line also includes “Gerber® Graduates® 2+ Dippers, spoon-shaped biscuits made with six grams of whole grain per serving and a side of real fruit or fruit and yogurt dip. Gerber® Graduates® 2+ Dippers make learning to eat like a grown-up fun. They're easy to pick up and perfect for scooping and dipping. These items are Kid interactive and participatory again key to the on-going growth and success of the grocerant niche.

Invite Foodservice Solutions® to complete a Migration Marketing assessment, grocerant program assessment. For brand, product placement, menu positioning assistance simply call Foodservice Solutions® today.  Since 1991 Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma, WA has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche visit Facebook.com/Steven Johnson, Linkedin.com/in/grocerant or twitter.com/grocerant

Restaurant Customers are Eating Around

The success of ready-2-eat and heat-N-eat fresh prepared food has been documented, talked about and written about for one reason of late. It is driving top line sales and bottom line profits within existing points of distribution and more importantly at non-traditional points of fresh food distribution garnering share from legacy food retailers.

Is your food company prepared to succeed in 2013, 2014 … 2020? Here are some of the advantages to entering or expanding your business within the grocerant niche:

Exposure to more customers and all Sides of the Food Business

Most large food retailers, big companies, have a narrow focus. That has worked for 50 years. They have honed their brand and supply chain. They have set and defined boundaries, and it is difficult to get outside of them. Time and technology have redefined the consumer playing field. Your brand must become dynamic again or risk losing consumer relevance. There is a huge opportunity for share of market if you elect to evolve you brand with migrating fresh food consumers in take-out and take-way options.

People Reward Potential

Large food retailers typically pay more at the C-level, and are seen as stable employment currencies (not-taking risk). However the grocerant niche when vertically integrated into an existing brand creates a new level of excitement within the entire company. When sales grow, the opportunity for advancement expands, building team momentum, excitement explodes like a wildfire. Customers can feel the proactive positive buzz from employees. Doing nothing Boring Doing Something Soaring.

Proactive Change is Exposure to Success

Change is incredibly dynamic, consumer focused changed is contagious. Change evolves and will go through a bell curve, and you see the whole thing step by step when you vertically integrate change into brand and consumer values. If not integrated you do not really get to escape the velocity of the event, but change is exciting nonetheless and customers will still follow.

Impacting Consumer Relevance Means Thriving not Simply Staying Alive

Are you going to tangibly impact your company or maintain the status quo? Today like never before companies have the ability to evolving a brand at a speed not seen since your company was a start-up. What impact are you going to have on your company? There is a difference between the work you do and the impact you have. Fresh Food retailing is evolving at break neck speed, evidenced by the Dollar Store formats selling more foods and Walgreens selling fresh foods and doing it well as you can see from this video of a Walgreens in San Francisco. Is your brand evolving fast?

Spin Out, Spin Off or Springboard to more Profitability

If you do nothing but wait, watch or blame the economy you are very likely to simply spin out of control. Redefining your brand with consumer relevance will position you too either create a positive spin off or springboard to the next level. Legacy organizations need to be mindful that springboards do great things for your organization, your team and your shareholders.

Success Does Leave Clues and Foodservice Solutions® is clue # 1

LTO's (Limited Time Offers) can drive top line sales and bottom line profits while taking you in a new direction. Are your LTO's leading your brand, testing your brand or simply copy-cat marketing tactics absent strategy?

Since 1991 Foodservice Solutions® a Tacoma, WA based retail foodservice consultancy has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche. For product or brand positioning assistance contact via: grocerant@q.com, the Grocerant LinkedIn page or on Facebook at Steven Johnson, BING / GOOGLE: Steven Johnson Grocerants or Grocerant on Twitter

Subway, McDonald’s, Wendy’s and Burger King in Price War with 7 Eleven.

With 14.4% growth in 2012, ever expanding fresh food offerings 7 Eleven has garnered market share from the QSR sector for several years.  In Q1, 2013, 7 Eleven will open its 50,000^th location worldwide.  That is a huge competitor.  With an increased Television and Radio campaign 7 Eleven will be in the minds-eye of customers all around the world.

Subway is firing back this month under the tag-line “Six-Inch Selects” the Subway program will offer a rotation of sandwiches for the reduced price of $3.  Currently the promotion is schedule to run through June. Subway understands leveraging price. We all remember the wildly successful $ 5 Dollar Footlong promotion.  Well the price point has moved once again. The retail food price value equilibrium is experiencing continued discontinuity. 

Many in the QSR space have been following the success of 7 Eleven and retooled they value menus including Wendy’s recently revamped value menu which could be too little too late. Burger King has new “King Deals” in competitive markets. McDonalds had refocused marketing dollars on it “Dollar Menu” edifying consumers “better for you” price value relationship.

7 Eleven however is simply focused on selling more fresh food.  They are not afraid of any of the “big four” QSR branded restaurants. 7 Eleven’s new price point for breakfast is $2.00. Here is what they say ”Coffee goes with a lot of things, so for this combo, we're letting you call the shots. (Feel free to call yourself the Breakfast Combo King.) Buy a medium coffee and your choice of a sausage biscuit, two bananas or two glazed donuts for just $2.” Not only is 7 Eleven leveraging price they are empowering consumers choice edifying an interactive participatory relationship. That is smart and a success clue that will garner more share of stomach for 7 Eleven. If success leaves clues one of the clues is the consumer will pick the winner.

For international corporate 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. Facebook.com/Steven Johnson, Linkedin.com/in/grocerant or twitter.com/grocerant

Popeye’s Food Drives Success and Garners Market Share

Leveraging each of the 5P’s of food marketing, Popeye’s Louisiana Kitchen continued to garner market share within the grocerant niche and QSR chicken sector. Popeye’s understanding the consumer desire to buy bundled meal components, and then packaging them as LTO’s has been the formula for growth including 2012 same store sales growth of 6.9%.

Once again in 2012 Popeye’s  offered its LTO Cajun Turkey Meal that meal was comprised of prepared meal components that you mix and matched then assembled with you’re cooking into a customized home served meal provided an on-going continuum of consumer focused meal component offerings. 

Popeye’s four years of domestic same store sales increases can be attributed to its long standing leveraging of the 5P’s of food marketing and meal component LTO’s including new products Garlic and Pepper Wicked Chicken, Rippin Chicken and Zatarain’s Butterfly Shrimp.

Fresh flavors are considered “better for you” buy consumers and Popeye’s CEO Cheryl Batchelder understands and has leveraged differentiation with fresh flavored LTO’s and mix and match meal components has contributed greatly her company’s success garnering market share from competitors within the quick-service chicken sector they have grown from 14.8% in 2008 to 19.2% in 2012.

Were your same-store sales up 7 % or better in 2012? Interested in learning how the 5P’s of Food Marketing can edify your retail food brand while creating a platform for consumer convenient meal participation, differentiation and individualization contact us via Email us at: grocerant@q.com or visit Facebook.com/Steven Johnson, Linkedin.com/in/grocerant or twitter.com/grocerant

Papa Murphy's Growing Success

One company at the center of the grocerant niche finding success year after year is Papa Murphy’s take-and-bake pizza. Differentiation is key to Papa Murphy’s success says Ken Calwell Papa Murphy’s CEO, “Unlike the other national pizza chains, Papa Murphy’s has no freezers, no frozen dough, no delivery, and no delivery bags with reheating elements in them,” …Papa Murphy’s pizza is created right in front of the customer with the freshest ingredients, so it can be baked hot and bubbly in the customer’s own oven and enjoyed by their family.”

With more than 1,325 locations Papa Murphy’s in 2012 achieved 25 record sales weeks during the year. The company’s two-year sales comp grew nearly 9 percent

“Papa Murphy’s was voted  the  No. 1 pizza in four different independent national surveys in 2012. Consumers are driving the success of the grocerant niche as the demand for a higher level of freshness and premium quality ingredients increases so must companies focus.  Consumers never take a step back in quality  and Papa Murphy’s is keeping step with today’s consumer.

Ken Calwell understands that consumers are the driving force creating demand and the want convenience,  greater transparency Papa Murphy’s meets those needs. This is a company positioned to grow.

Steven Johnson is Grocerant Guru at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions, with extensive experience as a multi-unit restaurant operator, consultant, brand / product positioning expert and public speaking. Facebook.com/Steven Johnson, Linkedin.com/in/grocerant or twitter.com/grocerant

IFMA it’s time Technomic’s Ron Paul receive a Golden Plate Award.

UP-Dated 9 / 1/ 2015  Ron Paul Sells Technomic.

 

Thank you Ron Paul and Congratulations! http://grocerants.blogspot.com/2013/03/ifma-its-time-technomics-ron-paul.html

Steve Johnson Grocerant Guru

Ron Paul standing tall in Retail Foodservice for 47 years and continues to be the speaker of choice for many national and international food industry conferences. If success leaves clues Ron Paul Founder, CEO, and President of Technomic has left many for all of us to follow.  This week Technomic celebrates its 47^th anniversary providing information services, consulting and tutelage to retail food manufactures, chain restaurants, food marketing companies, equipment manufactures , and Grocerant consulting companies. Congratulations Ron!   

When it comes to understanding the big picture, Ron is the best.  From food industry manufactures to defining every niche in the restaurant industry.  Ron understands the relationships and the how to assist each focus on the consumer.  His contributions have contributed to the success of more companies than I can count.  Ron Paul is an industry supplier of Fact Based information that has help drive QSR sales alone from 2 billion when he started to over 118 billion today. IFMA, it’s time Technomic’s  Ron Paul receive a Golden Plate Award for Supplier of the Year.

While Ron and Technomic were early to focus on the Home Meal Replacement niche as industry focus shifted so did Technomic. However with his tutelage, encouragement and prompting I dug in and thus evolved the grocerant niche my practice. Success does leave clues and if being a gentleman, a professional and are not enough Ron Paul is a friend to many in our industry and that is a clue to his success.

www.FoodserviceSolutions.us 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 

March Madness Begins with Meal Components for Home Viewing and Home Dining.

Grocery stores, C-stores, and Club stores vie for Dinner customers threatening Restaurant market share. The 65 Inch HDTV Syndrome edifies the dinner at home trend. The choice between dining-out or cooking at home could be the size of the HDTV.  At the intersection of the consumer, technology and retail food sales we find the grocerant niche creating and expanding points of quality food distribution.

It’s at that intersection that Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant Guru Steven Johnson identified one universal commonality driving consumers buying pattern changes.  Johnson calls it “The 65 Inch HDTV Syndrome” consumer like HDTV’s have invested heavily in them and are using them during March Madness.

The grocerant niche is the result of the blurring line between restaurants, grocery stores, convenience stores, and drug stores all selling fresh prepared, portable, convenient meal solutions.  Targeted at the time-starved consumer with Ready-2-Eat or Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food components that are perceived “better for you”, and portioned for one or two. Consumers like the Convenient Meal Participation, Differentiation, Individualization / Family Customization that these retailers offer.

Restaurateurs need to be particularly mindful of developments within the grocerant niche for they are driving the change within the price, value, service equilibrium in retail foodservice. It is at the intersection of the consumer, technology and The 5 P’s of Food Marketing: Product, Packaging, Placement, Portability, and Price that retail food sales competition is expanding. Driving ever greater Mix and Match bundled meal options and new points of distribution for consumers.  Consumers love the on-the-go options in fact Zaget’s 2013 NYC Restaurant Survey found that in New York at-home meals surpassed dining out for the first time in 30 years.

Legacy Home Meal Replacement (HMR) or Retail Meal Solutions (RMS) focus quickly faded away in the Restaurant side of business. However in the Grocery, C-store and Drug Store sector it continued to be studied, tested, and implemented. Today HMR and RMS have been replaced by the grocerant niche. It is the strategic path of choice for non-traditional food retailers, targeted at restaurant customers, profitable and expanding at an ever increasing pace.

Food Quality Never Takes a Step Back. The grocerant niche is driving new competitive points for food distribution which are a step above consumer expectation in most cases.  Food quality never takes a step back, these evolving new points of fresh food will continue to improve over time increasing industry competitiveness. Dunkin Donuts, McDonalds, and Starbucks, here comes The C-store sector.

When you look at the menu items offered by these legacy conveniences store operators it is clear to see that the grocerant niche is a platform that is creating equilibrium.   In other words they are not discouraged or intimated by competition from any sector.

Non-traditional fresh food retailers understand that the grocerant niche is a result of the blurring of the line between restaurants, grocery stores, convenience stores, and drug stores all selling fresh prepared, portable convenient meal solutions.  Targeted at the time-starved consumer with Ready-2-Eat or Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food components that are “better for you”, portable and portioned for one or two. All of these operators want a larger share of the retail food market.  They want to take share from the restaurants.

Food Retailing Never Take’s a Step Backward.  Consumers are dynamic not static always looking to save both time and money.  The grocerant niche is propelling new quality points of fresh food distribution and competitors that are well financed.

Interested in learning how the 5P’s of Food Marketing can edify your retail food brand while creating a platform for consumer convenient meal participation, differentiation and individualization contact us via Email us at: grocerant@q.com or visit Facebook.com/Steven Johnson, Linkedin.com/in/grocerant or twitter.com/grocerant