The Granger of Grocerants

Consumers continue seeking solutions to the age old questions what’s for dinner.  Today the idea of going to the grocery store buying raw meat, fresh vegetables and cooking from scratch on a regular basis is limited to ‘special occasion dinning for 91.2% of all household according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®

In fact 83.7% of meals prepared at home for the dinner occasion have at least one grocerant niche fresh prepared Ready-2-Eat or Heat-N-Eat meal component according to Foodservice Solutions® recent Grocerant ScoreCards.

So just what kind of things are meal components? Here are some examples you will are be familiar with fried or rotisserie chicken, a baguette from the bakery, and self-serve soup or salad from a salad bar or prepared vegetables from a restaurant or grocery hot bar.

The number of retailers now selling a growing selection of to grocerant niche meal components continues to increase with companies the ilk of Amazon Go, Popeye’s Chicken, McDonalds, Maggiano’s, HEB, Kroger, and 7-Eleven. 

Retailers are consumers looking for ‘dinner solutions’ no longer look at traditional options exclusively for example going to KFC and getting a bucket of chicken.  They are not going exclusively to grocery stores either instead they mix and match meal components to fit the unique needs of their family according to Johnson.

Recently, PepsiCo Foodservice undertook research to find new ways to understand a guest’s door-to-door journey.   Pepsi found  four kinds of “time” or occasions that a majority of guests experience when they visit a restaurant. The four types of time

1.        Responsible time: Choosing a meal on a work day, where the minutes are limited.

2.        Personal time: Things are busy, but the meal is being enjoyed.

3.        Care time: A meal eaten over bonding time, even if it’s not fancy.

4.        Relished time: A meal for special occasions, such as anniversaries or birthdays.

Pepsi found that each mode of time has a different decision-driver. For example, responsible time is about logistics—how close the restaurant is and how quickly the consumer will get the food. For personal time, it’s about selection. In care time, brand matters and for relished time, the dining experience itself is more important than logistics.

Simply put time starve consumers are looking for a specific solution. Many times that solution is for one person, one day-part.  The question becomes can you envision your menu items filling that solution?  Where are you selling your food today?  Where else can you sell a meal or meal component?

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