Grocery Store Share of Stomach Set to Shrink Again in 2020

Year after year we read about traditional grocery stores closing stores, all closing a spun with justifications that seem endlessly the same according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

While our Grocerant Guru’s personal favorite Dallas based Eatzis Market & Bakery announced plans to continue to open new units in 2020, it is Eataly, that most grocery retailers need to worry about according to Johnson. There is a battle for share of stomach and the undercurrents of consumer discontent with legacy grocery stores is driving dramatic customer migration to new non-traditional channels of fresh food retail.

Eataly is the Italian grocery chain that offers groceries, restaurants, cafés, bars and a variety of educational food experiences all under one roof, creating a platform for consumer interaction and personalization according to Johnson elevating meal choice or meal component mix and match bunding too new heights.  

Eataly’s second California location will be in San José, CA and will mark the ninth North American location of the Italian company, which has 40 stores worldwide. The new Silicon Valley location is part of Eataly’s aggressive growth strategy of two openings per year with a focus on North America and Europe.

Since 2007, the company has gone from one location in Italy to 40 locations across 11 countries in 2019, and has plans to go public in the future. 2020 will mark 10 years since its U.S. entry, in New York City.

Companies the ilk of Ikea, Eatzis, and Eataly all elevate the fresh food meal options for consumers and shoppers today.  The interactive participatory aspects of each concept empower consumers choice. While legacy grocery stores continue to accept slotting fees, equating change with pain, other are moving forward with new non-traditional formats with increasing relevance for today's consumers. In the battle for Share of Stomach is your brand looking a customer ahead?

Foodservice Solutions® team is here to help you drive top line sales and bottom-line profits. Are you looking a customer ahead? 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.

Battle for Share of Stomach

Chain Restaurants Embrace Technology yet ask How Much is Too Much

Foodservice Solutions®, own Grocerant Guru®, Steven Johnson sold the first Seven national restaurant chains Online Order Software platform right after the movie The Net came out while working on a contract with CyberSlice / Food.com; now that was back in the day.

Then, like now, new technology took some time to catch on, Online ordering was nonexistent beck then and sales of takeout food for the restaurant industry was close to 2.4%. In 2019 60% of U.S. consumers order delivery or takeout once a week.

Mobile / Online ordering today is normal, taken for granted what is new is how it is become faster, more efficient, once again some are call for technology advances to slow down while others are going full steam ahead.

Recently, PopID, announced that it is launching its facial recognition platform in self-ordering kiosks at Dairi-O, one of the fastest growing restaurant concepts in America. Using PopID, Dairi-O customers will be able to conveniently and instantly pull up their favorite customized orders and pay for their meals without needing a card or phone. So, what do you think of that?

Dairi-O intends to install the PopID software in all of its locations in the first half of 2020. Chief Executive Officer of Dairi-O "We love how PopID makes it so easy for our customers to re-order their favorite items in a matter of seconds, resulting in shorter lines during peak hours and faster delivery of food to customers”… “Additionally, our customers can pay for their food without reaching into their wallets and fumbling through cards.”

Success does leave clues Dairi-O is an is an old company that has been around since 1947, with new technology but they are not alone. Dairi-O is preparing for a major wave of expansion. Currently, the brand has one of the highest average unit volumes in the industry and is the most recent chain to follow a growing list of small and medium sized restaurant brands using PopID, including CaliBurger, Deli Time, Plant Power, Rounds Bakery, Global Village Cafe, Saola, Treehouse, Ray's, Coffee House and Milkcow Cafe. In these stores, consumers generally prefer to use PopID to login to their loyalty accounts on kiosks, with kiosk logins reaching up to approximately 1,500 times per week at some locations.

Of those consumers that use PopID to login, approximately 75% also use it to pay. Further, transaction times for those using PopID are generally three times faster than for non-PopID users. “One of the oldest and most successful fast casual concepts in the country is leading the [quick-service] industry into the future of food,” says John Miller, Chairman of Cali Group and CEO of PopID. “We look forward to sharing the magic of digital identity with Dairi-O customers.”

So, are you looking a customer ahead or are you waiting to see what is next?  Does your brand look more like yesterday than tomorrow? Why?  Are you evolving with consumers today? Or are you watching consumers?

Are you ready for some fresh ideations? Do your food marketing ideations look more like yesterday than tomorrow? 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.

NCA SEF 7-Eleven The Coffee Promo is a Good Thing

7-Eleven is a branded fresh food global leader. According to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® 7-Eleven’s Slurpee, Big Bite, Big Gulp, Stuffed Pillsbury Waffle are all branded products that drove copycat products at fast food restaurants and competing convenience store retailers.

According to Johnson, “a brand is an invitation” and 7 Eleven while a global leader, has lost its edge in the battle for breakfast by many others who have leveraged coffee to drive branded product trial, daypart frequency adoption, and repeat sales. 

In 2019, Casey’s General Stores, Wawa, and Sheetz have all extended their brand invitation offering free coffee driving incremental brand value while edifying an already loyal customer base. In the minds-eye of Johnson, The National Coalition of Associations of 7-Eleven Franchisees questioning 7-Eleven Inc. (SEI) about the benefits of the retailer's aggressive promotion of its low-priced coffee or other specials offered through its mobile app is misplace.

No matter the chain; brand relevance matters.  There are times that customer relevance means not allowing other to steal you customers.  Capitulation of a base daypart can lead to market share capitulation from every daypart.  One good measure of growth is year over year same store customer counts.  Are your customer counts growing?   

When consumers move to technology, brands must move with them.  Coffee is a staple and morning ritual for most coffee drinkers. What is the cost of losing a customer that stops 3.7 times a week to get a cup of coffee?  Extending your brands invitation with a free cup of coffee is a great way to edify current relationships and build new ones.

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.

Chain Restaurants new Nightmare Grocery Stores Online Sales

The convenience of eating at a restaurant instead of cooking at home to save time as a value is rapidly fading as grocery stores are selling, delivering fresh food fast in the form of meals, meal components, meal kits and fresh frozen foods according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.  

Did you know that online sales of food and beverages in the United States reached $17 billion in 2018, a new report by Packaged Facts.

According to Package Facts, “through 2023, food e-commerce sales in the U.S. are forecast to increase 32% per year. As the availability of online grocery shopping expands and consumers begin to embrace online shopping for its convenience compared to shopping in-store, sales are expected to rise dramatically.”

Amazon’s acquisition of Whole Foods Market in June 2017 and its expansion into perishable items through AmazonFresh and Amazon Prime Pantry have prompted Walmart to increase investment in promoting online services and curbside pickup driving cost down.

The report found technology factors that are helping too disrupt the food industry:

1.        cultural preference for convenience

2.        a highly developed network of stores and malls

3.        consumer tendency to spend significant amounts of time online

4.        increased mobile/smartphone usage

5.        improved website and mobile app interfaces

6.        expansion of crowdsourced business models to delivery and shopping

Foodservice Solutions® team is here to help you drive top line sales and bottom-line profits. Are you looking a customer ahead? 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.

Edible Plans to Sell Fresh Food Fast

When Edible named Scott Wakeman Executive Vice President of Marketing the food industry took notice as Wakeman the former VP of Marketing at Checkers Restaurants understood how to marketing, sell, and package fresh food fast according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

So, when Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, Inc. and Edible Arrangements, LLC entered into a long-term strategic alliance whereby Rocky Mountain will become the exclusive provider of certain branded chocolate products to Edible, its affiliates and its franchisees industry insiders were not surprised as Wakeman also understands how to work with franchisees.

Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory branded products will be available for purchase both on Edible’s website as well as through over 1,000 franchised Edible Arrangement locations nationwide. In addition, due to Edible’s significant e-commerce expertise and scale, Edible and Rocky Mountain have also executed a letter of intent for Edible to be responsible for all e-commerce sales from the Rocky Mountain corporate website and the broader Rocky Mountain e-commerce eco-system

Wakeman, will lead global marketing strategy and execution for Edible Brands. He will be responsible for managing and building a team that will develop a strategic marketing plan that integrates strong vertical marketing programs as well as generation strategies. Edifying the franchise base with the inclusion of Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory branded products elevates consumer choice and Wakeman understands that is a key driver when selling grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat or Heat-N-Eat fresh food.

Tariq Farid, Founder and CEO of Edible stated “Edible is evolving, and we knew finding the right leader to fill this role was critical as we continue molding the Edible brand for the future,”. “Scott joins us as an accomplished executive with the kind of talent and expertise we need to continue pushing forward as we begin introducing innovative programs designed to drive new business for the brand.”

In his most recent position, Wakeman served as Vice President of Marketing for Checkers & Rally’s Restaurants. For this organization, Wakeman led the 900-restaurant chain’s advertising, field marketing and media strategy. Prior to his time with Checkers & Rally’s, Wakeman held various marketing and management positions with esteemed brands including the Houston Astros, Barcardi, L’Oréal and Colgate-Palmolive Co.

Wakeman graduated from Emory University in Atlanta with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and later went on to earn a Master of Business Administration degree from Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. Wakeman is helping Edible look a customer ahead.  What are you doing to look ahead?

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, www.Linkedin.com/in/grocerant/ or www.twitter.com/grocerant/

Earth Fare ‘Better for you’ is Relevant Today

At the intersection of the consumer and food sales today in the ‘halo’ of better for you according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®. Johnson speaking about Earth Fare stated “they have a unique understanding that the ‘halo’ of better for you.  They understand that it extends into all aspects of the consumer touchpoints including technology, and digital menu boards are a large part of the consumer expectations and I (Johnson) has been telling the restaurant industry for years”.

Johnson continued saying if you want a sales lift while improving margins technology that is consumer facing, interactive, and participatory is a very good investment. The simple fact is that Earth Fare invested in digital signage which resulted sales lift.

So, earlier this year, Earth Fare piloted custom-designed digital displays from Mood Media in the café area of a store in Charlotte, N.C. Serving up a variety of information, marketing and entertainment content, the displays generated a 10% gain for the café’s eat-in food sales during a 60-day test.

Today, Earth Fare has Mood Media digital signage at 26 stores, including more than 180 screens and 400 media devices. Besides the café area, digital displays are located in such areas as the bakery, bar, seafood, deli, coffee/espresso, smoothie/juice, sushi, sandwich and pizza counters.

Mike Savage, senior vice president of merchandising at Earth Fare  stated “In addition to our commitment to provide clean and healthy food options for our shoppers, we are also dedicated to ensuring that our shoppers have enjoyable and memorable experiences…Mood Media helped us create a branded café environment that positively distinguishes us from other grocers. With new visual technologies and engaging, customized content, shoppers felt invited to eat, drink, lounge and relax.”

Here is how it started; for the pilot, launched in mid-2019, Earth Fare developed creative digital media content, which was displayed on five 55-inch, ultra-high-definition LCD screens, supplied and installed by Mood Media. Signage in the café included digital menu boards at the point of sale for food and beverages, Earth Fare branded content and targeted messaging promoting eat-in food options, live sportscasts (specifically for March Madness college basketball games) and local weather forecasts.

Mood Media noted that relevance was key to the digital content strategy for the pilot, given that Earth Fare customers tended to dwell longer in the café than other grocery departments. That my friends is how interactive participatory technology works elevating consumer touchpoints.

Authorized employees at Earth Fare manage the digital media content via Mood Media’s Mood Harmony platform. The tool’s interface lets them instantly change, edit and publish content for one or multiple screens across locations. They also can schedule content in advance, even down to the second, Mood Media said.

Bradlee Hicks, creative director at Earth Fare “With a clear layout and the ability to drag and drop, the CMS is straightforward and simple to use, and I know exactly where each of our hundreds of pieces of content will live, in this case the café area,” according to. “Within seconds, we can schedule content and push updates to several locations, a key factor for a retailer of our size.”

Earth Fare is also leveraging Mood Media’s partnership with DISH by occasionally airing live TV on screens in the Charlotte store’s café. Are you ready for a sales lift? 

Looking for success clues of your own? Foodservice Solutions® specializes in outsourced food marketing and business development ideations. We can help you identify, quantify and qualify additional food retail segment opportunities, technology, or a new menu product segment.  Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma WA is the global leader in the Grocerant niche visit Facebook.com/Steven Johnson, www.Linkedin.com/in/grocerant/  or www.twitter.com/grocerant

Walmart’s Asda Looks for Green Packaging Solutions

The ‘Green New Deal’ has caused quite a stir in the U.S. with consumers looking for sustainable solutions, and politicians running from or too environmental issues in order to garner more votes. According to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® retailers will have to step-up and lead.  Those who do will garner the attention of consumers.

Walmart’s UK retailer Asda has announced that it has switched to 100% recyclable cardboard trays for its entire steak range. This new packaging initiative will allow the retailer to remove more than 23 million black plastic trays, each year, across its Extra Special, Butchers Selection and Farm Stores lines.

Get this, it will result in an annual reduction of 700 tons of plastic from its operations, which is equivalent to the weight of six blue whales. The products in the new packaging were rolled out online and in stores on 14 December of this year. Now that’s a great first step.

Asda’s senior buyer for red meat and fish, Paul Geary, stated, “We are passionate about delivering our commitment to customers to use less and recycle more and this move marks the next step in our journey as we strive to make all of our own-brand packaging 100% recyclable by 2025.

Geary continues “There is still some confusion around packaging and what can or can’t be recycled and by moving our entire range of steaks to recyclable cardboard trays, it means our customers don’t have to choose between living sustainably and purchasing quality, great value steaks".

Without a doubt as you can imagine the packaging initiative received a positive response from customers, which prompted the retailer to introduce the packaging in all private-label steak brands.

Note: earlier this year, Asda pledged to incorporate 30% recycled content in its plastic packaging by the end of 2020, and 15% overall reduction in plastic by February 2021

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.

Aldi Tackles Food Waste

Consumers increasingly are concerned about food waste and Aldi’s leaderships once again provides a glimpse, a clue, and look of how tackling food waste can be flavorful, fresh, and ‘better for all’ according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

Integrating a food waste platform into your business model and brand messaging that can be understood and accepted by consumers is but one of things Aldi does well.  Recently, Aldi Nord and Aldi Süd have announced plans to sell blemished apples across all outlets to sensitize consumers about food waste and help farmers minimize losses on their produce.

The slightly wind and weather-damaged apples or Wetteräpfel can be used for various Christmas delicacies and desserts such as apple strudel, apple tart, or cold apple peel, they have all the flavor of a ‘perfect’ apple. These apples look like those you might pick in your own back yard and taste as fresh.

Dr Julia Adou, director of corporate responsibility at Aldi Süd, said, "By marketing the Wetteräpfel, we create a sales market for the producer. Otherwise, they would have to hand the apples over to the industry at a lower price or they would end up in animal feed or in composting plants."

Sometimes there are extreme weather events have damaged harvests, resulting in huge financial implications for farmers.  Aldi’s food waste platform is a quality food marketing branded solution.

For international corporate presentations, regional chain presentations, local educational forums, or keynotes contact: Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions.  His extensive experience as a multi-unit restaurant operator, consultant, brand / product positioning expert and public speaking will leave success clues for all. For more information visit www.GrocerantGuru.com , www.FoodserviceSolutions.us or call 1-253-759-7869

Battle for Share of Stomach

McDonald’s Dress for Success is Looking A Customer Ahead

Food Marketing that is successful, edifies the relationship of the brand with consumers in obvious ways adding relevance to the brands invitation according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

Looking a customer ahead by extending that brands invitation is a great way to make sure that you are winning the battler for “Share of Stomach”.  Now McDonalds online shop features more than 20 items from holiday sweaters and ornaments to French fry-themed accessories all intended to keep the brand top of mind with consumers while extending its invitation to consumers.

For the first time McDonalds has created a shoppable line of apparel and accessories available year-round in the U.S. on the chain’s website. The themed merchandise features more than 20 items centering on the quick service brand’s most popular menu items: burgers and fries.

The McDonalds collection is only available on the fast food giant’s website and is not in collaboration with any outside companies, a departure from the company’s previous forays with fashion brands and retailers.

The new line of clothing ranges in price from $15-$65 and accessories range from $10-$25. Some of the items include tote bags emblazoned with French fries, burger and Happy Meal pins, hamburger notebooks, holiday sweaters, ornaments and T-shirts.

So, the merchandise features the company’s iconic bright yellow and red graphics, unmistakable for any other brand, and even feature some international phrases for worldwide McDonald’s fans. The online shop, dubbed Golden Arches Unlimited, will rotate with each season and restock throughout the year. Currently, the winter line has beanies, sweatshirts and sweaters for sale.

Foodservice Solutions® team is here to help you drive top line sales and bottom-line profits. Are you looking a customer ahead? 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.

Battle for Share of Stomach