The Price-Value-Service Equation Is Broken—And Dynamic Brands Will Win the Next Food War

 

Bain & Company recently released research highlighting a growing challenge facing restaurant operators across America: consumers are pulling back. According to Bain, restaurant prices increased 13.5% between January 2023 and March 2026, while grocery prices rose just 5.5% during the same period. As a result, restaurant traffic declined 2.5% at quick-service restaurants and 1.7% at fast-casual chains.

Those numbers are important.

What's even more important is understanding why according to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

For more than 30 years, the Grocerant Guru® has maintained that consumers do not buy food based solely on price. They purchase based on an ever-changing equilibrium balancing Price, Value, and Service. Over time that equation expanded to include convenience, portability, customization, social discovery, digital engagement, and trust.

Today that equation looks something like this:

Price + Quality + Service + Convenience + Portability + Personalization = Consumer Value

When any one component moves too far out of balance, consumers respond immediately.

That is exactly what Bain's research demonstrates.

Consumers Think Meals, Not Channels

One of the biggest mistakes still being made by legacy food industry analysts and brand managers is viewing competition through outdated retail channel definitions.

Consumers don't wake up deciding whether they will visit a convenience store, quick-service restaurant, grocery deli, meal kit provider, warehouse club, or fast-casual restaurant.

Consumers simply ask:

"What's for breakfast?"

"What's for lunch?"

"What's for dinner?"

The competition is for the meal occasion—not the channel.

The Grocerant Guru® has been calling this phenomenon "Channel Blurring" for decades. Today Channel Blurring is no longer emerging—it is the dominant force shaping food retail.

Consumers seamlessly migrate between restaurants, grocery prepared foods, convenience stores, warehouse clubs, meal bundles, delivery services, and digital ordering platforms depending on which option offers the best combination of value, convenience, quality, and experience.

Why Taco Bell's Strategy Works

Bain highlighted the success of Taco Bell's Luxe Cravings Boxes, offering bundled meal options at multiple price points.

The Grocerant Guru® views this as a textbook example of successful Mix-and-Match Meal Bundling.

Why does it work?

First, consumers perceive greater value because multiple menu components are bundled together in an easy-to-understand package.

Second, the offering creates repeat visitation because customers feel they are receiving a complete meal solution rather than purchasing individual products.

According to Bain, customers purchasing the boxes spent less per visit but returned 2.3 times more frequently, ultimately generating substantially higher annual spending.

That is exactly what successful meal bundling is designed to accomplish.

Why Chili's Reconnected With Consumers

Chili's 3-for-Me platform represents another powerful example of restoring the Price-Value-Service Equilibrium.

The offer combines:

• An entrée

• A beverage

• An appetizer

• Clear and understandable pricing

At a time when many consumers felt menu pricing had become unpredictable, Chili's simplified the buying decision.

The result was impressive growth despite no meaningful unit expansion.

More importantly, Chili's reminded consumers that value is not always about being the cheapest option.

Value is about feeling confident that what you receive is worth what you paid.

Domino's and the Power of Disruptive Value

Bain also highlighted Domino's "Best Deal Ever" promotion.

This is an example of what the Grocerant Guru® calls "Traffic Trigger Marketing."

These offers create social conversation, digital engagement, media coverage, and consumer urgency simultaneously.

The promotion worked because:

1.       It generated immediate attention among value-seeking consumers.

2.       It reactivated lapsed customers who had stopped considering the brand.

In today's marketplace, occasional disruptive value promotions can create substantial traffic gains when integrated with loyalty platforms and digital ordering systems.

The Next Competitive Battleground: Personalization

Bain correctly identifies personalization as the next major opportunity.

Artificial intelligence, loyalty programs, predictive analytics, and digital engagement tools are enabling brands to communicate with consumers individually rather than collectively.

The Grocerant Guru® believes that the winners over the next five years will not necessarily be the brands with the lowest prices.

They will be the brands that make each consumer feel understood.

Personalized offers, personalized meal recommendations, personalized bundles, and personalized value messaging will increasingly drive traffic and frequency.

Dynamic Brands Win. Static Brands Decline.

The most important lesson from Bain's findings may be the simplest.

Brands must be dynamic.

Not static.

Far too many Neanderthal brand managers remain obsessed with protecting yesterday's business model, yesterday's pricing structure, yesterday's customer, and yesterday's definition of success.

Those managers seek stability.

Consumers seek relevance.

When leadership prioritizes maintaining the status quo over meeting evolving consumer needs, customers eventually capitulate and migrate elsewhere.

At the same time, the brand slowly devalues its own marketplace relevance.

History repeatedly shows that consumers reward innovation, transparency, value, convenience, personalization, and meal-based solutions.

They punish complacency.

Think About This

Bain's research validates what the Grocerant Guru® has been documenting for decades.

Consumers are not abandoning restaurants.

Consumers are abandoning value propositions that no longer work.

The brands winning today are restoring balance to the Price-Value-Service Equilibrium through strategic meal bundling, personalized engagement, innovative menu development, disruptive promotions, and operational excellence.

The future belongs to companies that recognize a simple truth:

Consumers are dynamic.

Therefore, brands must be dynamic as well.

In a world defined by Channel Blur, Mix-and-Match Meal Bundling, and evolving meal occasions, relevance is no longer protected by legacy. It is earned every day through value delivered and expectations exceeded.

Tap into the Foodservice Solutions® team for greater understanding of New Electricity or for 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

Church’s Texas Chicken Scores a Golazo with Mix-and-Match Meal Bundling That Drives Customer Migration

For more than three decades, the Grocerant Guru® has tracked, identified, quantified, and qualified the power of Mix-and-Match Meal Bundling as one of the most effective tools for increasing customer frequency, transaction size, and brand migration. Today, what was once viewed as a simple family meal deal has evolved into one of the most powerful consumer engagement platforms in foodservice.

Church's Texas Chicken's new Golazo Meal is a textbook example of how successful brands are leveraging food, occasion-based marketing, collectibles, and social engagement to create consumer value beyond price.

The Golazo Meal, priced at $39.99, includes 20 pieces of legs and thighs or tenders, four large sides, 10 Honey-Butter Biscuits, and a collectible soccer ball representing the USA, Brazil, Argentina, or Mexico. Combined with soccer-themed packaging and community-focused activation events, Church's is doing much more than selling chicken—it is selling an experience.

Why This Matters in 2026

Consumers increasingly purchase meals based on occasion, convenience, portability, and perceived value rather than traditional restaurant channels. The consumer thinks "meal," "mini-meal," "snack," or "occasion." They no longer think in terms of fast food, convenience store, grocery deli, or restaurant categories.

This phenomenon, which the Grocerant Guru® has long described as CHANNEL BLURRING, continues to reshape foodservice.

According to industry research between 2020 and 2026:

·       Consumers increasingly seek bundled meal solutions that simplify group dining.

·       Family meal occasions remain one of the fastest-growing foodservice segments.

·       Sports-viewing occasions continue to drive incremental food purchases.

·       Value perception increasingly comes from quantity, customization, convenience, and experiential rewards rather than price alone.

·       Collectible merchandise and limited-time offers generate higher engagement among younger consumers.

The Golazo Meal intersects all five trends.

Three Mix-and-Match Meal Bundle Success Stories

1. Church's Texas Chicken Golazo Meal

Why it works:

Reason #1: Occasion-Based Consumption

Consumers are not simply buying chicken. They are buying a ready-made solution for soccer watch parties, family gatherings, and group celebrations.

Reason #2: Collectability Creates Repeat Visits

The four different soccer balls encourage multiple purchases throughout the promotion period. Consumers seeking all four collectibles create incremental traffic and increased purchase frequency.

2. Little Caesars NFL and Sports-Themed Bundles (2024-2026)

Little Caesars has consistently paired pizza bundles with major sporting events and entertainment occasions.

Why it works:

Reason #1: Group Consumption

Pizza naturally serves multiple people and simplifies decision-making for group occasions.

Reason #2: High Perceived Value

Consumers view bundled pizzas, sides, and promotional offers as a complete solution that reduces meal-planning friction.

3. Costco Food Court and Prepared Meal Bundles

Costco continues to expand its prepared meal offerings that combine entrees, sides, and family-sized portions.

Why it works:

Reason #1: Convenience

Consumers can solve dinner for an entire family with one purchase.

Reason #2: Trusted Value Proposition

The combination of quality, quantity, and pricing creates a compelling value equation that drives repeat purchasing.

4. Kroger, Albertsons, and Grocery Service Deli Meal Bundles

Since 2020, supermarkets have expanded Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat meal bundles that combine proteins, sides, desserts, and beverages.

Why it works:

Reason #1: Customization

Consumers can mix components to match household preferences.

Reason #2: Time Savings

The bundles eliminate planning, shopping, and preparation while maintaining a home-style meal experience.

The Grocerant Guru® Was Early to the Trend

Long before meal bundles became standard practice, the Grocerant Guru® identified Mix-and-Match Meal Bundling as a critical growth driver capable of increasing:

·       Transaction size

·       Customer frequency

·       Customer retention

·       Foodservice migration

·       Cross-category purchasing

More than 30 years ago, the Grocerant Guru® observed that consumers preferred building personalized meals from multiple components rather than purchasing rigid menu combinations.

Today that insight is visible everywhere—from convenience stores and supermarkets to quick-service restaurants and club stores.

What many industry observers once dismissed as simple "combo meals" have evolved into sophisticated meal solution platforms that drive consumer engagement across every foodservice segment.

Church's Understands the New Value Equation

The Golazo Meal succeeds because it combines:

·       Food

·       Entertainment

·       Collectability

·       Community engagement

·       Cultural relevance

Consumers increasingly reward brands that create memorable experiences around food rather than simply discounting products.

By aligning with the world's most popular sport and packaging the promotion around sharing occasions, Church's Texas Chicken is positioning itself squarely within one of the strongest growth trends in foodservice.

The promotion also demonstrates that successful meal bundles are no longer about feeding consumers; they are about helping consumers create moments.

That distinction is increasingly important as consumers continue migrating toward brands that deliver convenience, value, social connection, and experience simultaneously.

Three Grocerant Guru® Insights

Insight #1

The future belongs to brands that bundle occasions, not just food. Consumers buy solutions for events, gatherings, and experiences rather than individual menu items.

Insight #2

Collectible merchandise tied to meal bundles will continue driving repeat visits among younger consumers who value social sharing, exclusivity, and participation.

Insight #3

As CHANNEL BLUR accelerates, winning foodservice operators will increasingly compete against every retailer selling prepared food—not simply direct restaurant competitors. The consumer's question is no longer "Where should I eat?" but "Who offers the best meal solution for this occasion?"

Success Leaves Clues—Are You Ready to Find Yours?

One key insight that continues to drive success is this: "The consumer is dynamic, not static." This principle is the foundation of our work at Foodservice Solutions®, where Steven Johnson, the Grocerant Guru®, has been helping brands stay relevant in an ever-evolving market.

Want to strengthen your brand’s connection with today’s consumers? Let’s talk. Call 253-759-7869 for more information.

Stay Ahead of the Competition with Fresh Ideas

Is your food marketing keeping up with tomorrow’s trends—or stuck in yesterday’s playbook? If you're ready for fresh ideations that set your brand apart, we’re here to help.

At Foodservice Solutions®, we specialize in consumer-driven retail food strategies that enhance convenience, differentiation, and individualization—key factors in driving growth.

Email us at Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us Connect with us on social media: Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter

Casey’s Proves Once Again That Consumers Buy Meals, Not Channels

 

For more than two decades, I have consistently stated that consumers do not think in retail channels—they think in meals, mini-meals, snacks, solutions, convenience, value, and occasions. Long before most industry analysts recognized Casey's General Stores as a serious foodservice competitor, the Grocerant Guru® was identifying, quantifying, and qualifying the company's remarkable success in fresh prepared foods and, specifically, pizza.

Today, the rest of the food industry is finally catching up.

Casey's, the Iowa-based retailer founded in 1968, now operates nearly 2,900 locations across 19 states and proudly claims its position as the fifth-largest pizza chain in America. That claim is no longer surprising. What is surprising is how long it took much of the legacy food industry press to recognize what was happening right in front of them.

For years, traditional industry media segmented foodservice into neat little boxes: convenience stores, quick-service restaurants, grocery service delis, club stores, supermarkets, and fast-food outlets. Unfortunately, consumers never received that memo.

Consumers don't wake up and say, "I'm going to buy lunch from a convenience store today." They ask, "What's for lunch?" They seek value, convenience, portability, quality, taste, and speed. The channel is irrelevant.

The ongoing discussion about "channel blurring" is itself evidence that too many analysts remain trapped in outdated retail thinking. Channel blurring exists only in the mind's eye of retail Neanderthals and channel-protecting demagogues who continue to view food retailing through a 1980s lens. Consumers don't blur channels because consumers never recognized those boundaries in the first place.

What Casey's understood decades ago is what many restaurant operators are only now beginning to grasp: foodservice drives traffic, loyalty, frequency, and profitability. Pizza wasn't an add-on category for Casey's—it became a destination category.

The company's pizza journey began in 1984 and accelerated through continuous innovation, including breakfast pizza, taco pizza, thin-crust offerings, and gluten-free options. More importantly, Casey's understood that consumers wanted food where they already were, not where industry executives thought they should go.

That strategy is paying dividends. Casey's generated approximately $1.5 billion in pizza sales in 2024, growing more than 10% year-over-year. While many traditional pizza chains find themselves locked in relentless discounting battles, Casey's has leveraged its broader business model to create a competitive advantage.

Its large pizzas often undercut national competitors by several dollars. Its highly successful slice program captures immediate-consumption occasions that many national pizza chains largely ignore. In fact, individual slices reportedly account for about half of pizza sales, creating incremental traffic opportunities throughout the day.

Even more significant is Casey's dominance in smaller communities. Roughly 71% of stores are located in towns with fewer than 20,000 residents. In many of these markets, Casey's serves as the local restaurant, grocery supplement, fuel station, and community gathering place all at once.

That is not channel blurring.

That is consumer relevance.

Meanwhile, traditional pizza operators continue to face mounting pressure from every direction. Third-party delivery has erased historical convenience advantages. Consumers now have unprecedented access to restaurant meals, grocery prepared foods, warehouse club food courts, convenience-store foodservice, meal kits, and delivery-only concepts.

The competitive set is no longer pizza chain versus pizza chain.

The competitive set is every food option available to satisfy a meal occasion.

Recent research showing that convenience stores increasingly capture visits that might otherwise have gone to quick-service restaurants only reinforces what the Grocerant Guru® has documented for years: consumers cross-shop food solutions, not retail channels.

Casey's success story is not really about pizza.

It is about understanding that today's consumer purchases meals and mini-meals based on value, convenience, quality, portability, and trust. The retailer that best fulfills those needs wins the transaction regardless of whether the sign outside says convenience store, supermarket, restaurant, club store, or fuel center.

As the Grocerant Guru® has said repeatedly, the future belongs to operators that focus on meal solutions rather than channel definitions.

Casey's simply figured that out before most of the industry as did our Grocerant Guru®.

Are you ready for some fresh ideations? Do your food marketing ideas look more like yesterday than tomorrow? Interested in learning how our Grocerant Guru® 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: us on our social media sites by clicking one of the following links: Facebook,  LinkedIn, or Twitter