Saturday, October 31, 2009

Easy meals, find them at the Dollar General!



Often discussed on this blog the success that Dollar stores are having with food. Here is an example on food as a focus. With a solid marketing focus a Nielsen study reports digital programs are doing the best in store and out.


“Dollar stores once thought of as the place brands went to die are leading the marketing changes: Dollar General focuses on three areas on their website— pets, easy meals and store brands. According to Nielsen, the dollar store is now like Motel 6 (which hasn’t rented rooms for $6 in a generation): less than ¼ of the items sold at so-called “dollar stores” go for a buck or less. Not surprisingly, high- and middle-income shoppers are flocking there looking for bargains, and brands that once scorned the outlet or refused to allow their products to be carried there are courting these stripped-down outlets.”

Easy Meals are now a focus at Dollar General stores. What is your company doing to package easy meals? Where do you place them? How often do you change the offerings? Grocerant meal program assessments are available. What new points of distribution have you identified?



www.FoodserviceSolutions.us  specializes in outsourced business development. We can help you identify, quantify and qualify additional food retail segment opportunities or a brand leveraging marketing integration strategy.  Foodservice Solutions of Tacoma WA is the global leader in the Grocerant niche and has been since 1991 Contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us

Friday, October 30, 2009

GROCERANTS New food components for a new food wave of options for consumers!



A grocerant is a result of the blurring of the line between restaurants and grocery stores aimed at the time-starved consumer with ready eat or ready to heat food components that can be bundled into a meal.

Grocerant food refers to any retail food item that is ready-2-eat or heat-N-eat. These items are sold in Supermarkets, Grocery stores, Convenience stores or Restaurants as To-go or Take Away format, Mobile Food trucks, Kiosk and any meal delivery service.

Around the world we are now seeing sections in department’s stores and kiosk in malls in Europe and Asia and airports around the world. The items can range from entrees to side items and deserts. Some examples of items range from 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. They can be picked up at the specific unit, or delivered.

Having followed this area for 12 years, I am now extremely disappointed at the quality, presentation and packaging options now being exhibited at all retailers. Your food offerings are an extension of your brand and your brand promise. It is part of the collections of perceptions in the mind of the consumer, it had better be positive!

I waked into a grocery store the other day they had macaroni and cheese with a harden crust that was so undesirable I did not want to by a can of peas it the store! This has to change! Success leaves clues, systemic problems can be corrected. Foodservice program assessments and Grocerant planning are available via Foodservice Solutions of Tacoma, WA. If you interested in elevating the quality, presentation and packaging of ready-2-eat and heat-N-eat fresh food program contact Steve Johnson or leave a comment.

Foodservice Solutions® specializes the Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat Fresh Prepared Food niche aka the Grocerant niche. Visit: www.FoodserviceSolutions.us  if you are interested in learning how Foodservice Solutions 5P’s of Food Marketing can edify your retail food brand while creating a platform for consumer convenient meal participationdifferentiation and Individualization  www.FoodserviceSolutions.us




www.FoodserviceSolutions.us  specializes in outsourced business development. We can help you identify, quantify and qualify additional food retail segment opportunities or a brand leveraging marketing integration strategy.  Foodservice Solutions of Tacoma WA is the global leader in the Grocerant niche and has been since 1991 Contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us


Thursday, October 29, 2009

Foodservice brand conversions are under way and will continue.


7-Eleven is aggressively recruiting existing Convenience store operators with incentives to swap the existing brand for 7-Eleven’s. The bundle of incentives is rumored to included assistance in financing the remodel & signage package, guarantee lower food cost, and limited time reduced royalties. With food cost fluctuating regional restaurant foodservice companies increasingly are filing chapter 11 bankruptcy in an effort to keep pace with national competitors pricing and buying power.


Grocery store operators have been acquiring regional companies for 20 years and now there are about four major players. Albeit not all of the regional players have changed to the parent companies name, but it is clear from the interior footprint redesign and private label products who is who.

It is now time for the strong niche brand restaurant operators to begin the process of solidifying their position within ADI markets via buying competitors, or franchise operations of ilk niche companies for brand solidification, positive unit growth, distribution and marketing scalability. Success leaves clues and one of them is don’t stand still opportunity is bountiful!



www.FoodserviceSolutions.us  specializes in outsourced business development. We can help you identify, quantify and qualify additional food retail segment opportunities or a brand leveraging marketing integration strategy.  Foodservice Solutions of Tacoma WA is the global leader in the Grocerant niche and has been since 1991 Contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Food Free for all or none at all! The battle for the customer!



The Yum! Brands-Taco Bell restaurant chain announced customers who visit a participating restaurant after 6 p.m. on October 31, will receive one free Black Jack Taco. There is no limit on age, race or sex! On Top of that you can dress any way you want! Taco Bell is going to be a fun place to go on October 31, 2009! On Monday Yum Brands Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant chain handed each customer a free piece of Kentucky Grilled Chicken as part of its “UNFry Day” promotion.


Why is it that when I go in to Safeway, Albertson or Kroger they offer a free cookie only to children. They understand that sampling is the best way to garner business for a food product. But the Children don’t even spend the money. Yet I am denied a free cookie. On Saturday and Sunday no samples of droughts WHY?

Yum brands portfolio of restaurants understands introducing new products drives sales. Sampling free product drives visits. Grocery store operators that want to become Grocerant operators, need to look at there offering and revitalize legacy departments to drive frequency and renew purchasing. Customer loyalty is built on meeting the brand promise and I might say sharing a COOKIE with everyone!




www.FoodserviceSolutions.us  specializes in outsourced business development. We can help you identify, quantify and qualify additional food retail segment opportunities or a brand leveraging marketing integration strategy.  Foodservice Solutions of Tacoma WA is the global leader in the Grocerant niche and has been since 1991 Contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us


Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Leveraging Food for success not lost in translation!




Cross-marketing opportunity abounds in today’s world. I want to congratulate Burger King Japan for teaming with Microsoft Corporation and building an eye popping promotion around Windows 7 operating system. This limited time offer (LTO) is perfect to garner attention and focus on a core product! The Whopper is a foundational product for Burger King and this promotion is complementary to heart of the brand. Burger King is on message, on point and reinforcing a qualitative point of differentiation. The seven-patty Whopper offer is staged to coincide with the worldwide hoopla tied to the release of Windows 7, the latest version of Microsoft’s market-share-leading operating system. Microsoft for its part will receive a Whopper of an endorsement.


Nothing is lost in translation when two powerful global brands team up for an LTO. Legacy brands have an obligation to interject fun, excitement while reinvigorating customer interest. Success does leave clues and this powerful bundle of brand messaging will contribute to on-going success of both companies. Most marketers believe that a brand is a promise of value that results in a positive collection of perceptions, and poking fun is positive. Is you brand fun, contributing to on-going value creation. What is your food brand doing to ensure your inching closer and closer to the consumer? For more or contact information use these links: http://www.linkedin.com/in/grocerant or contact me directly at:www.stevejohnson77@msn.com

Monday, October 26, 2009

The food umbrella is changing.


The price, value, service equilibrium is resetting in Grocery stores, Restaurants and C- stores. Each is reconfiguring their ready to eat ready to heat Grocerant niche food product lineup. Looking for new product, packaging and consumer price points that will drive traffic. All have noticed a discontinuity in consumer food shopping behavior and all are fighting for share of stomach. Contributing to this displacement is a focus by restaurant chain leaders on short term market metrics particularly price which takes the focus away from the consumer. Which in turn has caused a loss is consumer traffic as important as price might be other attributes are much more important. The consumer is turning to the grocery store hot food section (ready-to-eat).


The problem is the grocery stores were not ready for the droves of consumers. The have dropped the ball. The food quality at many Grocery store ready-to-eat & or ready-to-heat departments is reflective of a bygone era of fried food or heat lamp food warm with few qualitative attributes. Operators must understand foodservice customer service in the hot food ready to eat niche, just like all other sectors quality is king! There are of course exceptions like Wegmans, Central Market, A&P and Metropolitan Market.

Consumers are experimenting and shopping around; flavor, appearance and authentic quality are all under a watchful eye. The battle for the consumer dollar continues in the Grocerant ready to eat ready to heat niche is on the move.

 www.FoodserviceSolutions.us  specializes in outsourced business development. We can help you identify, quantify and qualify additional food retail segment opportunities or a brand leveraging marketing integration strategy.  Foodservice Solutions of Tacoma WA is the global leader in the Grocerant niche and has been since 1991 Contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us


http://www.anything4restaurants.com/blog/index.php/2009/07/restaurant-consumer-discontinuity-the-consumer-moved-first/ Or Grocerant The Next Big Wave can be found at: http://www.foodandbeverageunderground.com/grocerants.html

Friday, October 23, 2009

Brinker (EAT) and Darden (DRI) are experiencing an ill equilibrium in branding.




What are your customers shopping for and where? One of the things that happens when a restaurant brand becomes complacent is consumers reduce the frequency of visits. What are the signs of a brand becoming sick? What role does brand protectionism play in the restaurant industry? When brand managers and C-level executives utilize justification and rationalization to explain results you know that what they did, didn’t work. Brand Managers understand that consumers are dynamic not static. Brands must be dynamic as well. When brands play the wait and see game, the only thing they are truly waiting for is the customer to walk into the store. The problem is it just happens less and less. Focusing on price rather than product and product innovation continues to stifle many a foodservice company.


These are difficult times or so we are told. However brands that succeed are bold and truly changing the way they do business. Example: Apple (APPL) and Amazon (AMZN) both have new products both have products that are innovative and cost more than previous ilk products and both companies are booming! Apple set an all-time single-quarter sales record with its Macintosh computers, selling 3.05 million units, accounting for $3.95 billion, or 40% of sales. Apple finished the year just short of the 13 million unit mark for the fiscal year, an improvement over the prior year of nearly 3.3 million units. Amazon can not keep up with production of it’s Kindle which “ has become the #1 bestselling item by both unit sales and dollars – not just in our electronics store but across all product categories on Amazon.com " a spokesperson said.

Brinker International (EAT), which reported first-quarter results Tuesday and owns 1,700 restaurants, most of them Chili's Grill & Bars, said ‘customer traffic fell for the 21st consecutive quarter’. That is over five years just in case anyone missed it! It might be time for some outside eyes or ideations!

Food is not out of favor or flavor! What is out is a style of management mediocrity and compliancy. A brand is a promise that must be on-going dynamic and consumer relevant. The value of the brand is a result from interactive between contemporary relevance of the brand and the consumer. Success leaves clues and we can just look at Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc.(CMG) posted double-digit increases in sales and profit for the third quarter on new restaurant openings, menu price increases, and labor and other operating efficiencies

When profit from cigarettes began to decline as a profit generator the vast majority of convenience store channel operators focused on fresh food. Now prepared fresh food is the highest margin and fastest growing sector of there business units. Grocerant prepared food is booming across all channels, Restaurant, Supermarket, Convenience Stores, Dollar Stores, Kiosk and Mobile Trucks. What path is your company on are you following the same course as EAT or are you growing both your brand and your niche! Many companies are doing the latter in the food industry.



www.FoodserviceSolutions.us  specializes in outsourced business development. We can help you identify, quantify and qualify additional food retail segment opportunities or a brand leveraging marketing integration strategy.  Foodservice Solutions of Tacoma WA is the global leader in the Grocerant niche and has been since 1991 Contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us


For more read this article: http://www.anything4restaurants.com/blog/index.php/2009/07/restaurant-consumer-discontinuity-the-consumer-moved-first/