The Fresh Food Status Quo is Disappearing

Millennials in search of food discover consumers are now driving the growth of Omni-Channel food retail according to Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant Guru® . The success of Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food has been documented, talked about and written about for one reason of late. It is driving top line sales and bottom line profits within existing points of distribution and more importantly at non-traditional points of fresh food distribution garnering share from legacy food retailers.

If you are not cultivating a brand you are simply curating your brand? Are you still doing what you did in 1999, 2005 or 2014?  Is your food company prepared to succeed in 2017, 2019 … 2025? Here are some of the advantages to entering or expanding your business within the grocerant niche:

Abandon Brand Protectionism

If you want to garner additional customers to drive top line growth you must look outside of for current box.  Brand protectionism is dying.  Are you over protecting your brand?  Most large food retailers, big companies, have a narrow brand focus.  That ways yesterday’s strategy for yesterday’s customer.

It time to look a customer ahead not protect what worked 20 years ago. Most legacy retail food brands have honed their brand and supply chain. They have set and defined boundaries, and continue to limit the brand to those predefined boundaries.

Time and technology have redefined the consumer playing field. Your brand must become dynamic again or risk losing consumer relevance. There is a huge opportunity for share of market if you elect to evolve you brand with migrating fresh food consumers in take-out and take-way options.

Customer Outcomes Trump Customer Status Quo

Are you paying your C-team to play it safe? Large food retailers typically pay more at the C-level, and are seen as stable employment currencies (not-taking risk). While do no harm was the C-Level mantra of the 1980’s, 1990’s and 2000’s no one ever said do noting or do the minimal.

The grocerant niche when vertically integrated into an existing brand creates a new level of excitement within the entire company. When sales grow, the opportunity for advancement expands, building team momentum, excitement explodes like a wildfire. Customers can feel the proactive positive buzz from employees. Doing the same old thing is simply doing nothing and is boring for your team.  Doing something new is soaring. Customers notice companies on the move and reward them,

Consumers are Dynamic not Static 

Change is incredibly dynamic, consumer focused changed is contagious. Change evolves and will go through a bell curve, and you see the whole thing step by step when you vertically integrate change into brand and consumer values. If not integrated you do not really get to escape the velocity of the event, but change is exciting nonetheless and customers will still follow.

Consumer Relevance Will Drive Momentum

Are you going to tangibly impact your company or maintain the status quo? Today like never before companies have the ability to evolving a brand at a speed not seen since your company was a start-up. What impact are you going to have on your company? There is a difference between the work you do and the impact you have. Fresh Food retailing is evolving at break neck speed, evidenced by the Dollar Store formats selling more foods and Walgreens selling fresh foods and doing it well as you can see from this video of a Walgreens in San Francisco. Is your brand evolving fast?

Success Steps are a Springboard to Profitability

Are you not growing because of Obama Care, the minimum wage hikes, or lack of qualified workers? If you do nothing but wait, watch or blame the economy you are very likely to simply spin out of control. Redefining your brand with consumer relevance will position you too either create a positive spin off or springboard to the next level. Legacy organizations need to be mindful that springboards do great things for your organization, your team and your shareholders.

Foodservice Solutions® is clue # 1

Today, LTO's (Limited Time Offers) can drive top line sales and bottom line profits while taking you in a new direction. Are your LTO's leading your brand, testing your brand or simply copy-cat marketing tactics absent strategy?

Fresh prepared Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat food in non-traditional outlets poses an ever increasing threat to restaurant growth, is a pantry buster for grocery stores, and a quagmire for C-stores. . Want to know how to best address these new competitive threats?  Contact Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at: www.FoodserviceSolutions.us  1-253-759-7869