HEB Fresh Food Inside or Out

Are you hungry?  Well H-E-B wants you think of them first if your are planning to dine-out or want to bring home Ready-2-Eat or Heat-N-Eat fresh food. 

The days of a grocery store restaurant as a take-out-only affair serving so so fried chicken and lumpy mashed potatoes are over according to Scott McClelland H-E-B- division president.

"Our customers want food that tastes good — not just food that's fast," McClelland says. "The idea was to have people come in, eat our food and say ‘That’s not what we expected out of a grocery store.' We’re trying to raise the level of expectations” McClelland continued. "Frankly, we think the restaurant can set a halo for what some of our capabilities are in the rest of the store." 

The grocerant niche filled with Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food is driving growth in every sector of food retail today according to Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant Guru™.  Sheetz, Wawa, Rutter’s Farm Stores, Casey’s General Stores, Walgreens, Whole Foods have been leading the way.  All legacy retailers must refocus or lose market share according to our Grocerant Guru™. 

McClelland stated the new restaurant within the stores (Table 57) "We wanted this restaurant to be a place you could come for lunch with friends, have a drink, maybe a date night on a Tuesday or Saturday after soccer game you could come in with the whole family," 

H-E-B aiming for grocerant niche success, "You can come in and order all this to go. You can order your barbecue by the pound. Or you can dine in, listen to live music, have a nice draft beer or a glass of wine." 

Much like the other updated legacy grocery stores at this new H-E-B, customers can have a pint of beer with their meal or take a growler to go. Our Grocerant Guru cautions brands not to shoot for the moon or price themselves out of the market when opening an in-store restaurant.  After all there are limited dollars allocated for a families “share of stomach”.  

Success does leave clues and understanding the price, value, service equilibrium is one of the clues. 

Are you trapped doing what you have always done and doing it the same way?  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 participation, differentiation and individualization?  Email us at: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us or visit:  www.FoodserviceSolutions.us for more information.