Foodservice Operators Face It, In 2018 Facial-Recognition will be Top of Mind

When Apple released a special phone (iPhone X) for the 10 year anniversary of the fist iPhone facial-recognition technology became a social media talking point.  Sure there were a couple of glitches but they were resolved quickly and iPhone X customers like the phone and facial-recognition technology has become a new industry standard according to the team at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

Now that facial recognition is more accurate and in use every day several restaurant operators have begun implementing it in stores via a new POS systems that recognize customers and drive increased throughput. 

Jon Alexis, partner in the fast-casual Malibu Poke in Dallas spoke with Ron Ruggless of NRN and stated “Every generation is having fun with it”, which opened Nov. 28 with three kiosks that allow guests to save their order history and access them again through facial recognition. “It has exceeded my expectations.”

Alexis, who also owns two full-service T.J.’s Seafood Market & Grill units in Dallas, said in another interview “I would say a minority of guests use it, but it’s a growing minority,” said “Our concern in the beginning was that it was going to be a parlor trick and no one would use it,” he said. “But the biggest thing that happened was iPhone coming out with its X [model] and facial recognition capabilities. That was the seal of approval that this is real.”

Facial-recognition capabilities are expanding around the world in companies the ilk of North Palm Beach, Fla.-based BurgerFi International Inc., Plymouth Meeting, Pa.-based Bryn + Dane’s, and Burlington, Mass.-based UFood Grill. A KFC affiliate in China tested facial-recognition earlier this year.

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 a Grocerant Program Assessment, or new Grocerant niche product Ideation?  Want one?  Call 253-759-7869 Email: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us

Quicklee’s Convenience Stores Doubles Down on Food for Growth

Retailers large and small have been tracking the success derived after companies add grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food.  Regular readers of this blog know that 25,740 plus unique views a day of this blog across all Foodservice Solutions® social media platforms alone is a sign of the strength of the grocerant niche.

Quicklee’s Convenience Stores, a 14-store chain in upstate New York, positioned itself for aggressive growth in 2018 adding new stores and remodeling many current stores after it recently debuted a new 11,500-square-foot travel center complete with two c-stores, amenities for professional drivers and a food court.

Quicklee’s Vice President Ken Perelli, vice president stated  we replaced the previous Quicklee’s spanned 2.5 acres with a 3,500-square-foot c-store featuring a Dunkin’ Donuts, as well as a separate car wash. “We tore down the 3,500-square-foot building and its existing gas canopy, which had five pumps total,” ….

“Quicklee’s expanded the property by an additional six acres, constructing a new, 11,500-square-foot building. The forecourt includes six diesel, non-ethanol pumps and six high-speed diesel and DEF (diesel exhaust fluid) dispensers out back. The car wash remained, and the chain added a 7,500-square-foot truck maintenance building and a CAT scale. By converting the property to a travel center, Quicklee’s was able to offer its local community a bigger, all-inclusive c-store.

Perelli continued “In the main building area we have two convenience stores—each about 2,500 square feet. One has traditional convenience items. Then we have a truck-specific convenience store. We still have Dunkin’ Donuts and we have a New York-style deli called Calabresella’s,” Calabresella’s serves both hot and cold foods, including wraps, pasta and potato salads, specialty Italian sodas, and also sells meats and cheeses by the pound.

“If you imagine the building being broken up into thirds, the left side features a traditional c-store with a Dunkin’ Donuts. The middle third is actually a food court with seating for 50, and the right side features the Calabresella’s and the truck-stop convenience store. The far side of the truck stop features a laundry facility, changing area, four private showers and restrooms with heated floors,” Perelli said. The site can easily accommodate 100 guests within a few minutes….

The food court features a proprietary food area called the “Chill and Fill,” as well as a fireplace, a large screen TV, leather chairs and sofas. Food options include a soda fountain, a soup bar, a pizza station, chicken dinner, chicken fingers, pretzel rolls, corn dogs, hot dogs, mashed potatoes and mac n cheese. Grab-and-go options also abound, including salads, puddings, string cheese and cold-cut sandwiches.

Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® agrees with his team that doubling down on grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food will drive traffic, build sales all while increasing the bottom line. 

Foodservice Solutions® specializes in outsourced business development. We can help you identify, quantify and qualify additional food retail segment opportunities or a new menu product segment and brand and menu integration strategy.  Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma WA is the global leader in the Grocerant niche visit Facebook.com/Steven Johnson, Linkedin.com/in/grocerant/ or twitter.com/grocerant

Is China Fast Foods New Concept Test Market

Recently Taco Bell announced that they were opening new restaurants in China with new menu items and the team at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® began wondering if China has become the new testing ground for branded restaurants?  Considering the three largest global restaurant brands Starbucks, McDonalds, and Yum Brands all have new and test products in China.

The new China Taco Bell restaurants will introduce a new dinner menu, exclusive to China, as well as a range of freshly grilled menu items to entice curious diners. Taco Bell’s chefs spent countless hours to come up with their new craveable lineup, including the Ribeye Steak & Mushroom Taco, Taco Salad Bowl (available with either Ribeye Steak or Grilled Chicken), Beef Kebab Nachos, and XL-Wing Nachos. To complement the freshly prepared dishes, the Wu Jiao Chang and Feng Sheng Li restaurants will unveil an array of alcoholic beverages, including the all new “Shanghai Cosmopolitan”, a refreshing and beautifully crafted cocktail inspired by mixologists.   

The two new Taco Bell restaurants in Shanghai will also introduce a new service model, with orders delivered directly to designated tables, which will enable customers to relax and enjoy the company of their friends and fellow students without having to get back up to pick up their food.

Brian Niccol, Chief Executive Officer of Taco Bell stated “Bringing the Taco Bell experience to more customers globally in locally relevant ways is key to our continued growth,” .  So we ask where are you testing new products.  What are you doing to drive sales in 2018 and where are you doing it?

Are you ready for some fresh ideations? Do your food marketing tactics look more like yesterday that tomorrow?  Visit www.FoodserviceSolutions.us for more information or contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us Remember success does leave clues and we just may the clue you need to propel your continued success.

Tijuana Flats Edifies Brand with Meal Kit Delivery Service

Regular readers of this blog know that Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® of Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® has stated that “partnerships drove growth for restaurant brands in 2017 ti new levels and will become even more important in 2018 creating new points of distribution for less.  

Tijuana Flats has launched a new take-home burrito meal kit service.  The meal kit is easily accessible in the takeout selection that allows simple options for family dinner, and is a viable solution for smaller offices looking for a group lunch option. The “Hardly Homemade Burrito Kit” is importantly available via UberEATS and through in-store takeout.

This new meal kit may be priced a bit high according to the team at Foodservice Solutions® as it is priced at $34.99.  It must be noted that the Burrito Kit feeds up to six people and is packed full of all the Tijuana Flats essentials, including protein (chicken and beef), toppings (jalapeños, onions, lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, and cheese), choice of refried or black beans, rice, flour or wheat tortillas, and chips. The Kit also comes with instructions for “How to Roll a Fat One” via a 10-step process that includes directives, like “Add cheese (a cheesy burrito is a happy burrito)” and “Fold the sides in toward the center, making your tortilla hug those tasty insides.” 

The launch of Tijuana Flats’ Burrito Kit comes after the successful unveiling of the company’s “Hardly Homemade Taco Kit” earlier this year. Larry Ryback, CEO at Tijuana Flats stated "Debuting our ‘Hardly Homemade Taco Kit’ this summer opened the door, and tortilla, to launch similar initiatives with other Flats fan favorites,”.. “Like the Taco Kit, our new Burrito Kit is an easy and fun solution for busy families this holiday season and beyond.“

Foodservice Solutions® specializes in outsourced business development. We can help you identify, quantify and qualify additional food retail segment opportunities or a new menu product segment and brand and menu integration strategy.  Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma WA is the global leader in the Grocerant niche visit Facebook.com/Steven Johnson, Linkedin.com/in/grocerant/ or twitter.com/grocerant

Ten’s of Millions of Branded Food Marketing Points of Integration

Success does leave clues one sure clue of success is following the consumers according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.  In 2018 you can count on consumers rapid adoption of voice ordering of restaurant meals for delivery or takeout from companies the ilk of TGI Fridays, Domino’s, Wingstop, Pizza Hut, Starbucks.  (GeekWire Photo / Todd Bishop)

The specific clue is Amazon’s voice activated assistant Alexa.  Amazon reported that they sold “tens of millions of Alexa-enabled devices” worldwide during the holiday season. That said Amazon doesn’t disclose specific numbers, but the result appears to be up significantly from last year, when Amazon said it sold mere “millions” of Alexa-enabled devices.

In one unspecified week during the holidays, Amazon reported that more than 4 million people signed up for Amazon Prime either through free trials or fully paid memberships. Now foodservice operators take note how many customers accepted you branded invitation in any one week during the holiday season? 

Remember the information superhighway that most restaurateurs watch as it was built and then spent years watching the consumer get on that superhighway and fly right past your locations.  Times have changes and fresh food retailers must evolve even faster today.

Voice activated menus, ordering, delivery, and tracking will become the food industry standard in 2018 and the NEXT BIG THING and right now it’s going to be a two company race between Google’s Home and Amazon’s Alexa with an advantage tilting strongly toward Alexa and Amazon right now. 

Amazon noted that the Echo Spot, Echo Dot and Echo Buttons all sold out for the holiday season.  Johnson note’s that integrated digital mobile voice drive-thru ordering, kiosk, and food truck ordering will be the next big break through.   

While Amazon recently sold “tens of millions of Alexa-enabled devices” don’t forget that ‘Google Assistant, Apple Siri, Microsoft Cortana and others in the home market for voice-based assistants and smart speakers.  Do you want to know which of these companies is best at integrating Foodservice Solutions® FIVE P’s of Food Marketing? For more visit www.Linkedin.com/in/grocerant/ or   www.FoodserviceSolutions.us or Contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us 

Pizza Inn Express Kiosk Extends the Brand

Pizza Inn is part of the Rave Restaurant Group and is attempting to revive and drive top line sales and bottom line profits at Pizza Inn expanding the brand via a kiosk into Convenience Stores, Airports and other non-traditional fresh food locations.  Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® thinks the team at Pizza Inn are on the right track.

Rave Restaurant Group knows pizza they also own Pie Five which opened its first airport earlier this year, has unveiled an express kiosk version of its Pizza Inn buffet concept for licensing in nontraditional locations like convenience stores.

Smaller footprint faster growth Pizza Inn Express, or PIE, kiosk will require between 50 and 100 square feet and be geared toward airports and entertainment venues as well according to the team at Rave. Scott Crane, Rave CEO stated  "This could be a game-changer for Pizza Inn as we tap into new markets and expansion opportunities for our flagship brand,”

Carne continued “We're already seeing great interest from existing and potential franchisees who see this model as a new way to serve customers the same iconic, quality pizza they have come to expect, but in a faster setting,”

As of the first quarter ended Sept. 24, Rave had 83 fast-casual Pie Five Pizza units and 159 domestic Pizza Inn restaurants. The company also had 60 international Pizza Inn units. Bob Bafundo, Pizza Inn president stated  “The PIE kiosk is attractive to nontraditional operators because it allows them to move quickly, be more nimble, and react to changes in customer traffic and facilities, all at a minimal investment,"

Bafundo  continued "It's a branded concept that's attractive enough to be the permanent centerpiece in a travel center or airport,”… “yet nimble enough to provide the same benefits traditional operators get from a food truck."

Going into 2018 doing more with less will be a success clue for many legacy restaurant brands according to Johnson.  Competing on quality, service, and price will once again separate the leaders from the pack. 

Invite Foodservice Solutions® to complete a Grocerant Program Assessment, Grocerant ScoreCard, or for product positioning or placement assistance, or call our Grocerant Guru®.  Since 1991 www.FoodserviceSolutions.us  of Tacoma, WA has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche. Contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us or 253-759-7869

When will ‘Virtual Food Halls’ Work

Here we go again another company wants to reduce cost, low meal prices, while creating a brand without having a physical store front.  The simple fast is it will happen according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®. 

Regular readers of this blog know our Grocerant Guru® has documented many of the virtual restaurants, caterers, and non-traditional food operators trying this formula few has survived so far in fact most have simply faded away. 

Now meal-preparation company Alacarte has secured $700,000 in angel financing to form a partnership with UberEats to offer what it said will be a “virtual food hall” experience. The Miami-based company, which opened its first commissary in Miami Beach four months ago, prepares food based on the specs of local restaurants that it’s partnered with, along with concepts developed by Alacarte, allowing customers to order from multiple virtual concepts and delivering it all at the same time.

“So if the wife wants sushi, the husband wants Mexican and the kids want pizza, they can all order it from us and have it delivered at the same time,” said CEO and co-founder Ken Ray. Ray said that this latest round of funding came from family and friends, but he recently visited venture capital firms in Boston and New York to raise additional funds for further expansion in high-density markets.

Alacarte has developed five concepts in its commissary: Bobby Ray’s Famous Fried Chicken, Fresco Mexicano, Miami Poke Co., Mott St. Pizza, and Pollerio (offering Latin-accented roasted chicken with sides such as beans, rice, fries and coleslaw).

It has partnered with local concepts Taekaway, which is Chinese, Maki San Sushi, Rosewood Pizza, Whichchicken Rotisserie, Bottle Box (offering beer, wine and sake) and a Chinese noodle restaurant called Chin Tu Fat.

Customers can currently order from Alacarte via other delivery platforms such as Postmates, GrubHub and Amazon Prime, but their software doesn’t allow customers to order from Alacarte’s multiple virtual restaurants. The funding will help Alacarte work with UberEats to develop software that will allow the “virtual food hall” experience.

Are you ready for some fresh ideations? Do your food marketing tactics look more like yesterday that tomorrow?  Visit www.FoodserviceSolutions.us for more information or contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us Remember success does leave clues and we just may the clue you need to propel your continued success.

Eataly is a Great Grocerant

Recently Bret Thorn of Nation’s Restaurant News wrote about Eataly the only thing that was clear from his article is that the editors and the author don’t have a clue about what Eataly is to consumers.  Simply put it is a Grocerant.  It’s not that hard to say. 

The team at Foodservice Solutions® simply laughed when they read the article.  There is no wonder why our blog gets 25,178 unique views per day.  Regular readers of this blog understand the undercurrents driving customer migration within the Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh food space and legacy foodservice media outlets are too busy protecting their turf to care about year over year customer counts. So for eight years restaurant customer counts continue to be flat or down. We know where the customers are going and why. 

So Bret, no Eataly is not an “Italian supermarket, food hall and restaurant complex” it is a grocerant.  Eataly is consumer interactive, consumer participatory, filled with Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food that edifies customer choice empowering personalization and customization with more mix and match meal components that are customer relevant.

The first of the two New York City locations has sales that have been reported over $60 Million a year.  Now they have two locations in New York City and single outlets in Chicago, Los Angeles and Boston. Eataly also has 13 locations in Italy, as well as outposts in Brazil, Monaco, Turkey, Dubai, South Korea and Japan. Success does leave clues. Here is what success can help you do.

FICO Eataly World is unlike anything the food arena has ever seen: As part of the sprawling, 20-acre complex in Bologna, Italy, there are 108,000 square feet of orchards, pastures, and gardens; six rides; 40 workshops; and 25 restaurants and food stalls from which to pick your pizza, pasta, and polenta. Adding to the grown-up theme park vibe, there will be 500 adult-sized tricycles with shopping baskets, designed especially for the complex by celebrated Italian bike makers Bianchi.

Like our grocerant guru said before Eataly is consumer interactive and participatory. There will be no boring lessons on Excel or how to know you've ordered enough olive oil. Instead, in this $106 Million dollar ‘theme park version of a grocerant visitors will be able to do everything from walk through the prosciutto process to see wheat, stone-ground, turned into flour, and made into several kinds of pasta.  Soon, the Eataly World experience is slated to even get its own a 200-room hotel in early 2018.

Don’t get us wrong I’m not suggesting everyone open a theme park.  What I am saying is that if you’re running a restaurant and your fresh food offering are not consumer interactive and consumers participatory you’re not keeping up with the undercurrents of consumers.  Consumers are dynamic not static brands must be as well. 

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 a Grocerant Program Assessment, or new Grocerant niche product Ideation?  Want one?  Call 253-759-7869 Email: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us

TGI Friday’s Digital Touchpoints Drive Customer Adoption

Successful restaurant marketing requires continually edifying relevant customer touchpoints according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based global grocerant consultancy Foodservice Solutions®.

When TGI Fridays elevated their digital offering they knew they were doing all of the right things as 70% of Take-Out orders were coming from new customers.

TGI Friday’s is but another restaurant brand that has created a partnership with Amazon allowing consumers to place and complete orders via Amazon Aleza and Amazon Pay.  It might be noted that TGI Fridays was the first chain restaurants to ofer the ability to pay with Amazon while placing the order on Alexa.

Once again leading the pack with voice-activated platforms TGI Fridays understand that the consumer is dynamic not static and restaurant brands must move with the consumer. Using Alexa to order and not having to pull out a credit card save time, is simple, and provides a new avenue of distribution with very low cost of entry.  Simply put it cost a lot less than building a new store.

Amazon Alexa’s software program has an upselling component, suggestive selling component driving up customer satisfaction and the check average.  Sherif Mityas, Chief Information Officer at TGI Fridays stated “From the launch of our Friday’s mobile app, to our order-ahead feature on the Amazon App and our social media chatbots powered by Conversable, Fridays has committed to delivering a great guest experience both inside and outside of the restaurant”. 

Success does leave clues and listening to consumers and edifying customer touchpoints is our clue of the day.  Since Fridays introduced 30% ‘bigger’ ribs in October, the menu item drove 45% increase in carryout sales in pilot markets. 

Foodservice Solutions® specializes in outsourced business development. We can help you identify, quantify and qualify additional food retail segment opportunities or a new menu product segment and brand and menu integration strategy.  Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma WA is the global leader in the Grocerant niche visit Facebook.com/Steven Johnson, Linkedin.com/in/grocerant/ or twitter.com/grocerant

Does your Drive-Thru Dazzle

Consumers want more than just a meal, a cup of coffee, or snack when they enter your retail foodservice drive thru according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based global foodservice consultancy Foodservice Solutions®.  Johnson stated that consumers expect fast service but want a branded interactive participatory experience.

Tom Cook, principal at King-Casey recently noted that Drive-thru customers are looking for a good experience at the drive-thru and for a chain to achieve this it must provide a combination of speed of service, order accuracy, good communication, and an easily navigated menu-board.

Digital Menu 

Cook explained that “order accuracy is much more important than speed, at this point. If you drive off and have the wrong order, you are one unhappy customer.” Cook sited several restaurant companies that are good examples of drive-thru excellence Starbucks, Panera Bread, and Chick-fil-A are getting it right.

Cook explained that Starbucks has good drive-thru signage and a green stripe indicating how to navigate the area, Starbucks installed digital screens so customers can see the barista and vice versa, as well as digital menu-boards and Johnson believes that digital menu-boards should be standard for all drive-thus

.

At Panera Bread excels act consumer interaction  and Cook says what stands out is the staged zoned merchandising, including multiple messages to customers in the drive-thru before they get to the main menu-board.   With this signage, Panera Bread is able to pre-sell items, including a limited-time offer or a special sandwich or drink they want to promote, Cook explained.

In terms of a top menu-board experience, Cook said Chick-fil-A may not be using digital boards, but the content on their menu-boards is optimized from a business perspective and very clear, simple and easy to read for customers. The chain put “a lot of thought into where things are placed, how much space is given, how much white space to use, etc.,” . Note: “They have their entire menu up there, but it’s very clean and organized,” he continued. “They only show pictures of key products that are bestsellers, and the rest is just listed.”  Are you considering adding a drive thru?  If so King-Casey just might be the design company for you.

Foodservice Solutions® specializes in outsourced business development. We can help you identify, quantify and qualify additional food retail segment opportunities or a new menu product segment and brand and menu integration strategy.  Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma WA is the global leader in the Grocerant niche visit Facebook.com/Steven Johnson, Linkedin.com/in/grocerant/ or twitter.com/grocerant

Zoup! Expanding the Brand

Consumers are dynamic not static and brands need to be dynamic as well according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based global food grocerant consultancy Foodservice Solutions®. The line between all sectors of retail foodservice continue to blur and restaurant brand marketers need to drive sales in every relevant customer facing channel according to Johnson.

Zoop! CEO Eric Ersher and his team created Zoup! Chicken Broth for retail to help break the boundaries of taste on retail shelves and develop a broth that in his words “was good enough to drink,”. The chicken broth is prepared in kettles using restaurant-quality cooking methods and standards. This traditional, super-premium broth is made in small batches using the freshest and finest ingredients.

Bursting with comforting chicken flavor that tastes homemade, Zoup! Chicken Broth is the perfect base for home chefs, cooks, and dads helping out in the kitchen.  This quality stock/broth works well for a hearty chicken soup, casseroles, rice or grain dishes, and other recipes that call for chicken broth. It is also low in calories, paleo-friendly / zero carbs, and completely free of hormones, gluten, GMO’s, fat, trans fat and saturated fat.

Ersher stated “The world didn’t need another chicken broth,”… “What it needed was one that tasted better. We’ve been refining this broth recipe for over 18 years, shortly after getting into the soup business. Zoup!’s clean ingredient deck, exceptional quality, and complex yet balanced flavor, make it unlike anything else you’ll find on shelves. It’s the broth you’d make yourself if you had the time.”

Available in original and low sodium varieties at natural and mainstream markets across the country, Zoup! Chicken Broth is sold in 31 fl oz glass jars to showcase the broth’s delicious golden color. The SRP is $6.95 per jar.

Zoup! got its start in the soup business as a fast-casual franchise chain of restaurants. The family-friendly locations serve award-winning soups year-round at nearly 100 locations across the U.S. and Canada.

Eric Ersher and the Zoup!  Were interested in leveraging their industry experience and bringing restaurant quality taste to the retail market,  team set out to create a super-premium broth lineup that was good enough to drink. The broth is currently available at 4,000 retail locations nationwide. Are you expanding your brand? 

Are you trapped doing what you have always done and doing it the same way?  Interested in learning how www.FoodserviceSolutions.us 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.