The Phone Is No Longer a Black Box—It's a Consumer-Focused Participatory Marketing Engine

 

Restaurant operators have never had more data available to them. They can track same-store sales, labor productivity, digital conversion rates, loyalty engagement, average ticket growth, delivery profitability, customer retention, and menu performance in real time.

Yet one of the most important customer touchpoints in foodservice has remained largely unmeasured.

The phone.

Recently, Christian Wiens, Founder and CEO of Loman AI, highlighted what may be one of the restaurant industry's most overlooked revenue opportunities: the inability to accurately measure and optimize phone-based customer interactions. Wiens correctly noted that while restaurant operators scrutinize nearly every aspect of digital performance, inbound phone calls have historically remained a black box.

His observation is particularly relevant today because the phone is no longer simply a communication device. As the Grocerant Guru® has stated for years, the mobile phone has evolved into a consumer-focused personal, interactive, participatory marketing tool that influences food discovery, meal planning, ordering behavior, loyalty participation, social sharing, and customer migration.

Consumers no longer separate channels the way restaurant operators do. They move seamlessly between mobile apps, voice ordering, online ordering, loyalty programs, delivery services, drive-thru, curbside pickup, grocery prepared foods, and dine-in occasions. The mobile phone now sits at the center of that entire ecosystem.

That reality makes the phone far more valuable than many operators realize.

Why the Phone Matters More Than Ever

According to multiple industry studies from Circana, FMI, Deloitte, Technomic, and Datassential, convenience, speed, simplicity, personalization, and value continue to rank among the leading drivers of food purchase decisions.

Consumers increasingly seek Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat meal solutions that save time, reduce meal preparation, minimize cleanup, and provide restaurant-quality experiences at home.

In fact, recent consumer research consistently shows that approximately 80% of evening meals are sourced from home, whether prepared from scratch, assembled from prepared foods, delivered, or picked up from a restaurant. Consumers continue looking for ways to simplify meal acquisition while maximizing convenience and value.

When a consumer calls a restaurant, they are often already deep into the purchase journey. They may be ready to place an order, inquire about catering, reserve a table, ask about family meal bundles, verify menu availability, or seek information that directly influences a purchase decision.

Every unanswered call represents more than a missed conversation.

It represents a missed revenue opportunity.

The Restaurant Industry Has Seen This Before

Wiens compares today's phone opportunity to the evolution of table-turn analytics, and the comparison is appropriate.

A decade ago, many operators estimated dining room productivity using intuition and experience. Then POS systems, reservation platforms, and analytics tools transformed table management into a measurable science.

Operators gained visibility into:

·       Average table turns

·       Daypart performance

·       Labor optimization

·       Revenue contribution by seating section

·       Guest flow patterns

The result was greater consistency, improved profitability, and better customer experiences.

The same transformation is now occurring with phone interactions.

However, the opportunity may be even larger because today's phone serves as the intersection between customer engagement, digital ordering, loyalty programs, AI-driven personalization, and food commerce.

Revenue Per Call: The Next Restaurant KPI

One of Wiens' most compelling concepts is Revenue Per Call.

Restaurant operators routinely measure:

·       Revenue per guest

·       Revenue per labor hour

·       Revenue per square foot

·       Revenue per transaction

·       Revenue per delivery

Yet very few have historically measured revenue generated by inbound phone interactions.

That omission becomes increasingly important because direct phone orders often generate higher margins than third-party delivery orders.

Third-party delivery platforms remain valuable customer acquisition channels, but commissions can significantly reduce profitability. Direct customer interactions provide operators with more control over the customer experience while preserving margins.

Revenue Per Call creates visibility into:

·       Call capture rates

·       Average order values

·       Upsell effectiveness

·       Reservation conversions

·       Catering inquiries

·       Daypart opportunities

·       Lost revenue from missed calls

Once measured, these metrics become manageable.

Rise of Voice AI and Food Commerce

The larger implication of Wiens' analysis is the growing role of Voice AI.

Historically, restaurants lacked the ability to standardize phone interactions across multiple locations. The quality of the customer experience often depended on who happened to answer the phone during a busy shift.

Voice AI changes that equation.

Every interaction becomes measurable.

Operators gain visibility into:

·       Call volume

·       Customer inquiries

·       Menu interests

·       Upsell acceptance rates

·       Customer intent

·       Conversion rates

·       Abandoned interactions

This is particularly significant as mix-and-match meal bundling continues gaining traction throughout foodservice.

For more than 30 years, the Grocerant Guru® has tracked the growth of meal bundling strategies that allow consumers to customize meals based on family size, dietary preferences, budgets, and occasion needs.

Voice AI can consistently recommend:

·       Family meal bundles

·       Ready-2-Eat meal solutions

·       Heat-N-Eat meal packages

·       Beverage pairings

·       Dessert add-ons

·       Limited-time offers

·       Loyalty rewards

Unlike human employees who may be distracted by operational demands, Voice AI can consistently execute these recommendations across every customer interaction.

Why Multi-Unit Operators Should Care

For franchise organizations and multi-unit operators, Revenue Per Call may soon become as important as food costs, labor percentages, customer satisfaction scores, and average ticket size.

Corporate teams already benchmark:

·       Speed of service

·       Loyalty engagement

·       Guest satisfaction

·       Labor efficiency

·       Digital conversion

Phone performance deserves a place alongside those metrics.

A location with strong traffic, favorable reviews, and quality food can still underperform if it fails to convert inbound customer demand.

The difference is that phone performance is now measurable.

That transforms missed opportunities into actionable opportunities.

Channel Blurring Continues Accelerating

The larger lesson is one the Grocerant Guru® has emphasized for decades.

Consumers do not think in channels.

Consumers think in meals, snacks, mini-meals, beverages, convenience, value, portability, and solutions.

Legacy food industry executives often continue managing businesses according to outdated channel definitions such as restaurants, grocery stores, convenience stores, delivery platforms, and foodservice departments.

Consumers don't care.

They simply seek the easiest, fastest, most affordable way to satisfy a food need.

As Channel Blurring continues accelerating, the phone increasingly becomes the connective tissue linking every part of the customer journey.

Voice ordering, digital ordering, loyalty engagement, personalized offers, meal recommendations, catering inquiries, and customer service interactions now converge through a single device.

The mobile phone.

The Future Belongs to Measured Engagement

Christian Wiens deserves credit for identifying the operational blind spot surrounding phone-based revenue capture and for elevating Revenue Per Call as an emerging restaurant performance metric.

Where Wiens focuses on measurement, the Grocerant Guru® sees an even larger strategic opportunity.

The mobile phone is no longer merely a communication device.

It is the most powerful consumer-focused personal, interactive, participatory marketing tool in food retailing today.

Operators who understand that reality will use Voice AI, customer analytics, loyalty integration, and meal bundling strategies to create stronger customer relationships and higher profitability.

Those who continue viewing the phone as simply a staffing challenge may discover they have been overlooking one of the most valuable revenue channels in modern foodservice.

The data now exists.

The opportunity is measurable.

The advantage belongs to those who act first.

Four Grocerant Guru® Insights

1.       The mobile phone has become the primary gateway to food discovery, food ordering, loyalty engagement, and customer retention.

2.       Revenue Per Call may become one of the most important new performance metrics for restaurant operators seeking incremental sales growth.

3.       Voice AI enables consistent upselling of Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat meal bundles while creating measurable customer engagement data.

4.       Consumers do not think in channels; they think in meal solutions. Operators that optimize every customer touchpoint—including the phone—will capture a larger share of future food spending.

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

Fat Brands' Breakup: Another Reminder That Collecting Restaurant Chains Is Not a Growth Strategy

 

The sale of most of Fat Brands' restaurant portfolio for $595 million to FBG Bid Co., a company formed by former bondholders, marks the end of another ambitious restaurant aggregation strategy that ultimately failed to create sustainable shareholder value according to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

The transaction includes well-known brands such as Round Table Pizza, Fatburger, Johnny Rockets, Fazoli's, Marble Slab Creamery, Buffalo's Café, Hurricane Grill, Pretzelmaker, Native Grill & Wings, and Ponderosa and Bonanza. The deal follows Fat Brands' bankruptcy filing after years of mounting debt tied primarily to an acquisition spree that added approximately $1.5 billion in obligations.

For industry observers, the outcome is hardly surprising.

For more than three decades, the Grocerant Guru® has maintained that consumers build relationships with food brands, not financial portfolios of restaurant chains. Yet time and again, investors become enamored with the idea that assembling a collection of disparate restaurant concepts under one corporate umbrella will somehow generate operational magic.

History suggests otherwise.

A stable filled with racehorses still produces only one winner per race. Likewise, a cauldron filled with restaurant brands rarely becomes a melting pot of success. More often, it becomes a stew of competing priorities, diluted resources, and increasingly unclear consumer messaging.

Consumers do not wake up craving "portfolio companies." They crave pizza, burgers, ice cream, chicken, breakfast sandwiches, or a convenient dinner solution. When management attention is spread across multiple unrelated brands, each concept often receives less strategic focus, weaker innovation support, and reduced marketing clarity.

The restaurant industry is littered with examples.

Restaurant roll-ups have repeatedly struggled because each brand requires unique positioning, unique consumer engagement strategies, unique menu innovation, unique digital marketing, and unique operational excellence. What works for a burger brand rarely works for a pizza chain. What drives traffic at a quick-service dessert concept may have little relevance to a family dining brand.

The result is often predictable: brand identities blur while consumer relevance declines.

According to Circana, approximately 81% of evening meals are now sourced from home. Consumers increasingly seek Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat meal solutions that offer convenience, value, quality, portability, and menu customization. Brands that successfully capture market share today are laser-focused on solving meal occasions rather than managing collections of unrelated concepts.

That is why chains such as Chipotle, Raising Cane's, Dutch Bros, Wingstop, and Texas Roadhouse have significantly outperformed many diversified restaurant holding companies. Their management teams focus on one brand, one customer promise, and one clear path to growth.

Meanwhile, many multi-brand operators find themselves managing declining same-store sales, increasing debt loads, fragmented technology platforms, and inconsistent customer experiences.

Fat Brands became a textbook example.

Its acquisition strategy created scale on paper, but scale without relevance rarely creates customer loyalty. The company's same-store sales reportedly declined for multiple quarters before earnings reporting ceased. Some brands experienced reduced marketing support and vendor disruptions, creating additional challenges in maintaining consumer awareness and franchisee confidence.

Perhaps the most concerning issue for portfolio operators is that consumers increasingly evaluate food providers through digital ecosystems. Social media discovery, app engagement, loyalty programs, personalization, and convenience now influence purchase decisions as much as traditional advertising.

When resources are divided among numerous brands, investment often becomes fragmented. Instead of building one powerful consumer ecosystem, companies attempt to support many smaller ecosystems simultaneously.

That strategy rarely wins.

Today's most successful food retailers and restaurant operators understand that relevance drives traffic. Traffic drives frequency. Frequency drives profitability.

The future belongs to brands that dominate specific meal occasions, not companies that merely collect restaurant logos.

As these newly acquired brands move forward under new ownership, their success will depend less on financial engineering and more on rebuilding customer trust, sharpening brand positioning, improving menu relevance, and reconnecting with consumers seeking convenient meal solutions.

In food retailing and foodservice alike, consumers reward focus.

They rarely reward collections.

Three Insights from the Grocerant Guru®

1. Consumers Follow Meal Solutions, Not Holding Companies

Consumers purchase breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, desserts, and beverages. They do not purchase restaurant portfolios. Every successful brand must own a distinct food occasion and communicate that value proposition clearly.

2. Brand Clarity Beats Portfolio Complexity

The strongest restaurant brands maintain a singular consumer promise. When multiple concepts compete internally for resources, marketing support, and management attention, brand relevance often erodes faster than executives anticipate.

3. Growth Comes from Customer Relevance, Not Acquisition Activity

Acquiring brands may create temporary scale, but sustainable growth comes from improving food quality, value, convenience, portability, digital engagement, and mix-and-match meal bundling opportunities that fit evolving consumer lifestyles. The future belongs to operators that remain dynamic, not static.

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

ALDI's Blind Box Promotion Signals the Future of Interactive Food Discovery Marketing

 

As retailers continue searching for new ways to engage consumers, build loyalty, and stimulate trial, Aldi's new "Blind Box" promotion demonstrates that food discovery is rapidly becoming one of the most powerful customer acquisition and retention tools in retail food marketing according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®

Beginning June 22 through June 25, Aldi will offer consumers free "Blind Boxes" filled with surprise products centered around four themes: Snacks, Fiber, Protein, and a final Mystery Box containing products from throughout the store. While the promotion may appear simple on the surface, it represents something much larger: the evolution of participatory food marketing.

Consumers no longer want to simply buy food. Increasingly, they want to discover it, experience it, share it, and talk about it.

That shift is reshaping how successful food retailers connect with shoppers.

The New Currency of Food Marketing: Discovery

For years, retailers focused on price, assortment, and convenience. Today, discovery has emerged as an equally important driver of consumer engagement.

According to multiple consumer studies, shoppers consistently report trying new food products when presented through curated experiences, sampling opportunities, social media recommendations, or bundled meal solutions. Food discovery creates emotional engagement that traditional merchandising often fails to generate.

Aldi's Blind Box promotion taps directly into this behavioral trend.

Every mystery box creates anticipation. Every opening creates a moment of surprise. Every social media post creates amplification.

Consumers are not simply receiving products; they are participating in an experience.

That distinction matters.

Research consistently shows that consumers are significantly more likely to purchase products again after a positive trial experience. In food retailing, trial remains one of the strongest predictors of future adoption.

Why Unboxing Works

The popularity of "unboxing" content demonstrates that consumers enjoy the experience of discovery almost as much as the product itself.

YouTube reported more than 25 billion views of videos containing the word "unboxing" in the title in a single year. What began in electronics and fashion has expanded into virtually every consumer category.

Food retailers have been slower to embrace the trend.

That may be changing.

The psychology behind unboxing is straightforward:

·       Anticipation creates excitement.

·       Surprise creates emotional engagement.

·       Discovery creates memorability.

·       Sharing creates social validation.

Each element increases the likelihood of future purchase behavior.

For Aldi, the promotion generates significant value beyond the products being given away.

Every Blind Box becomes:

·       A social media event

·       A product sampling vehicle

·       A customer acquisition tool

·       A loyalty-building mechanism

·       A source of consumer-generated content

Most importantly, it transforms routine grocery shopping into entertainment.

Discovery Drives Trial. Trial Drives Adoption.

One of the biggest challenges facing retailers and manufacturers today is introducing consumers to products they have never purchased before.

The average grocery shopper visits familiar categories repeatedly and often purchases the same products. Breaking those habits can be difficult.

Blind Box promotions help overcome this challenge by removing purchase risk.

Consumers may discover:

·       Premium meats they would not have purchased

·       Better-for-you snacks they have never considered

·       Fresh produce items outside their routine basket

·       Cheese varieties they have not tried

·       New meal-building ingredients

The result is expanded basket potential.

When customers discover products they enjoy, future purchases often follow.

That is particularly important as retailers continue to invest heavily in private label innovation.

Aldi's private label portfolio has become a major competitive advantage, and Blind Boxes provide an ideal mechanism for introducing consumers to products that may otherwise remain undiscovered.

Interactive Food Marketing Is Becoming Essential

The next generation of food marketing is increasingly interactive.

Consumers are moving beyond passive advertising and toward participation-based experiences.

Successful retailers are building engagement through:

·       Limited-time food events

·       Digital scavenger hunts

·       Loyalty-based rewards

·       Meal bundle promotions

·       Sampling programs

·       Personalized recommendations

·       Social media challenges

·       Surprise-and-delight campaigns

Blind Boxes fit squarely within this trend.

The promotion creates urgency through limited availability, encourages repeat engagement through daily themes, and leverages social sharing to expand reach.

The strategy is especially effective among younger consumers who routinely discover products through social media rather than traditional advertising.

The Intersection of Value and Discovery

Aldi's success has long been built on value.

However, value today means more than low prices.

Consumers increasingly define value as a combination of:

·       Price

·       Quality

·       Convenience

·       Experience

·       Discovery

The most successful retailers understand that consumers want affordable products but also seek excitement and novelty.

That is why retailers such as Aldi, Trader Joe's, Costco, and even convenience-store operators increasingly leverage limited-time products, seasonal offerings, and surprise discoveries throughout the year.

Customers return not only because products are affordable but because they never know what they might find.

Why This Matters for the Future of Retail Food

The food industry is becoming increasingly competitive.

Consumers have more purchasing options than ever:

·       Grocery stores

·       Club stores

·       Convenience stores

·       Restaurants

·       Quick-service restaurants

·       Meal kits

·       Delivery platforms

·       Direct-to-consumer brands

As channels continue blurring, retailers must create reasons for customers to engage beyond price alone.

Interactive discovery marketing offers one such solution.

When retailers successfully combine discovery, social sharing, product trial, and value, they create a customer experience that competitors struggle to replicate.

Aldi's Blind Box promotion is more than a giveaway.

It is a low-cost, high-engagement marketing platform designed to generate excitement, increase trial, strengthen loyalty, and reinforce Aldi's position as a destination for both value and discovery.

Three Insights from the Grocerant Guru®

1. Discovery Is the New Sampling
Traditional food sampling programs are evolving into digital and experiential discovery platforms. The retailers that create excitement around trying new products will generate higher trial rates and stronger customer loyalty.

2. Participation Beats Promotion
Consumers increasingly want to participate in food experiences rather than simply receive advertising messages. Interactive campaigns create deeper emotional connections and greater social sharing than traditional promotions.

3. The Future Belongs to Retailers That Turn Shopping into Entertainment
As consumers seek convenience, value, and engagement simultaneously, retailers that successfully blend food discovery, social interaction, and surprise will drive more frequent visits, larger baskets, and stronger long-term customer relevance.

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. For more information visit www.GrocerantGuru.com , www.FoodserviceSolutions.us or call    1-253-759-7869