Farm Boy Grocerant Success One Chef-prepared Meal at a Time

Success does leave clues and Canadian consumers are migrating to grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food just as fast as consumers in the US.  Ottawa-based grocery chain Farm Boy has been picking up all the driving top line sales and bottom line profits focusing on Grocerant niche prepared meals according to Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant Guru®, Steven Johnson.

Farm Boy co-CEO Jeff York wanted his company to respect consumers buy selling what they want not what others want him to sell.  York had no choice but to be innovative creating a platform of differentiation that was consumer focused. Farm Boy is “a relatively small yet swiftly growing — grocery chain competing against giants If we don’t innovate, we die.”

The Canadian grocery store industry is generally dominated by a handful of brands, and that’s especially true in the grocery business where the big three Loblaw Cos. Ltd., Empire Co. Ltd. and Metro Inc. control a massive chunk of the market.

York’s strategy has been so successful that other grocers are keeping close tabs on Farm Boy’s growth, customer migration, and new product mix.   Competitors often “unabashedly compliment the strength of Farm Boy’s brand and its mastery of chef-prepared meals.”    We must note that Farm Boy was voted Canada’s favorite grocer in a national consumer survey by research agency Field Agent Canada in 2015.

Farm Boy is serious about grocerant niche fresh prepared food they don’t offer salad-in-aisle-one/swimwear-in-aisle-five approach Farm Boy it’s focused on fresh food.

Consumers consider Farm Boy grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat meals equal to or better than restaurant quality.  In fact York believes that Farm Boy “can take market share away from restaurants, which is a much easier task, than stealing it from other retailers that sell food.”

It seems counterintuitive, but York tries to open stores beside other places that sell food including legacy grocery stores. “That way, he says, customers can buy their fresh food at Farm Boy, then head elsewhere to pick up toilet paper and other non-food items it doesn’t sell.”

Success does leave clues and that tactic is working: York says Farm Boy’s best stores are the ones closest to another grocer. Now, he says, it’s an inconvenience for customers when Farm Boy isn’t near another grocery store. “They have to say, ‘Ugh, I’ve got to go all the way to Farm Boy.’ So we have to make it worth their while to come.” York stated, “Farm Boy doesn’t make food out of a bucket.”

Success does leave clues www.FoodserviceSolutions.us  is the global leader in grocerant niche business development.  We can help you identify, quantify and qualify additional food retail segment opportunities.  Has your company had a Grocerant ScoreCard completed, Grocerant Program Assessment, or new Grocerant niche product Ideation?  Want one?  Call 253-759-7869 Email: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us