Retail Food Merchants Migration Marketing Works

Some restaurants are great merchants.  You do not need to be a big chain to understand retail or be a good food merchant.  Restaurateurs are first merchants, then ready-2-eat fresh food retailers. Did you know that McDonalds sold more toys in between 2,000 and 2010 than any other retailer in the world? McDonalds is a great merchant.

Look at the Mandeville, Louisiana based restaurant Another Broken Egg Café; soon after opening founder Ron Green began selling handcrafted stone mugs with his logo on them.  Quickly realizing the profit he made complemented his menu mix and customers Ron incorporated retail into his unit growth and profit strategy.

Founded in 1996, Green, has 24 Another Broken Egg restaurants, has sold more than 250,000 mugs which cost him $8.95 he retails for $18.00.  Currently his in-store merchandise includes t-shirts, vases, water pitchers, mugs and more.

36 unit The Greene Turtle Sports Bar & Grill has sold apparel, glassware, can koozies and a plethora of items with The Green Turtle name.  While branded merchandise at The Green Turtle Sports Bar is not pivotal to the “bottom line” it is edifying brand awareness with consumers.

So why aren’t most large chain restaurants better retailers?  The answer is simple outdated brand protectionism ideology edified by promoting from within and recycling industry marketers.  Combine that with a lack of understanding of consumer perspective on “share of stomach” where, what and how they eat daily.

Don’t get me wrong I love restaurants. I have many friends that are chain restaurant marketers they are great at what the companies allow them to do.  However take a look at Starbucks.  Is Starbucks a restaurant company or CPG retail company?  Their stock price reflects that investors believe that they are both at the same time.  Starbucks integrates the brand with the consumer need-set both in food and beverage.  Starbucks will continue to garner a larger share of stomach for some time. Starbucks is a very good foodservice merchant.

Foodservice Solutions® Migration Marketing programs are in fact catching on.  Simply look at some of the new entrants.  IHOP, introduced syrup and frozen breakfast items in new non-traditional channels of distribution. Darden restaurants Olive Garden brand is testing salad dressing in non-traditional channels as well.  Migration Marketing is consumer focused and integral for integrated restaurant marketing plans. 

Invite Foodservice Solutions® to complete a Migration Marketing assessment, grocerant program assessment. For brand, product placement, 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.