Defining Grocerant for Today’s Consumer

What do consumers think is a Grocerant?  Well according to Steven Johnson, the Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®, the man to coined the term Grocerant he says that: "a Grocerant any retail food item that is fresh prepared Ready-2-Eat or ready to Heat-N-Eat. Traditionally these items can be found in grocery stores in the service deli, C-stores in the prepared food area and prepackaged, ready to eat items and in ​restaurants under the To-go, on the takeout-menu, via a drive-thru  or offered for delivery section of the menu or on the website."

Increasingly Grocerant fresh food can be found at retailers the ilk of IKEA, Ralph Lauren, Barns & Noble, Macy’s, Nordstrom, and Costco Wholesale Club Stores.  Digital innovation as created a platform where food trucks, food carts, pop-up restaurants, and virtual (no-storefront) retailers are garnering consumers attention and dollars for meals and meal components.

When I say retailer, it is broadly defining supermarkets, mass drug merchants, C-Stores (convenience stores), grocery service dli, and fast food or fast casual restaurants where and the meal or meal components can be made portable and mix & matched into a unique family meal.

What Drives the Grocerant Trend a Battle for Share of Stomach. 

Its noon customers are just beginning to think about what's for dinner. In fact, 81.7% of American consumers are unsure about what's for dinner at noon and 64.1% don’t know what’s for dinner at 4PM according to Foodservice Solutions® most recent Grocerant ScoreCards.

Time-starved Consumers are looking for high quality ready to eat foods and ready to heat meals. Today's time-starved consumer wants to purchase meal components that they can bundle into a customized family meal that will please everyone without spending time cooking.

Retail supermarkets and convenience store sector have gained momentum with innovating new fresh prepared food offerings within the grocerant space garnering market share back from the restaurant sector all the while cannibalizing legacy CPG sales; creating a bit of a conundrum.

Many legacy grocery stores have a fresh food “presentation problem’ according to Johnson.  Grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat must look fresh and taste great, and it’s the look fresh most legacy grocery and c-store chains stumble with.

When you get a meal at a restaurant, the plate and the food look great… let's call this "food for now". Retailers are primarily selling "food for later" or take-out and unless an item is a sandwich, the looks of ready-2-eat meals and meal components is evolving albeit not quite fast enough according to our Grocerant Guru®.  

Why is it so hard to package food to go? In the Hot food section of the grocery store, the food in most cases does not look appealing so our expectations drop when we get it for Take-Away. In convenience stores, like Wawa, the ready to eat food looks great in the to-go containers. Why? Because Wawa puts the entire package together. They exert more control over the look and feel of "food for later."

Around the world, we are now seeing sections in department's stores and kiosk in malls in Europe and Asia and airports around the world. The items can range from entrees to side items and desserts. Some examples of items range from fried chicken, mash potatoes, cream spinach, to liver and onions, pizza, hot dogs, steak, prime rib, various casseroles (hot-dish) to salads, side salads pie, cake and any single proportioned deserts. They can be picked up at the specific unit, or delivered.

In summary, a Grocerant is a result of the blurring of the line between restaurants and grocery stores aimed at the time-starved consumer with Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared meals or meal components that can be bundled into a perfect family meal that is portable.

For international corporate presentations, 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

Starbucks Elevates Service with Digital Technology Success

Success does leave clues and chain restaurants once again can watch how Starbucks drove year over year sales with digital innovation according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

The momentum from digital innovation is credited for driving a 4% jump in U.S. same-store sales for its most recent quarter, but the coffee giant is still having trouble cracking the code to unlock a traffic boost much like the rest of the chain restaurant sector.

Starbucks added 1 million active users to its “app-based members-only program in Q1 2019—a year-over-year increase of 14% and the company’s largest jump since 2015—and now has 16.3 million customers enrolled in the rewards program”.   Starbucks loyal users typically outspend other customers, according to Starbucks which is the case for most retailers. 

Expanding it digital focus with delivery, Starbucks revealed plans to expand delivery  to six new cities in coming weeks, said it is working to upgrade its software so customers can place delivery orders directly through the Starbucks app and not just via Uber Eats.

Starbucks revenue increased 9% to $6.63 billion for the quarter. Transactions, however, remained flat, and the comps boost was due in large part to a 3% lift in average check size.

Kevin Johnson Starbucks CEO stated “We are particularly pleased with the sequential improvement in quarterly comparable store transactions in the U.S., underpinned by our digital initiatives and improved execution of our in-store experience,” Remember, Kevin Johnson came from Microsoft so integrating technology is something he understands.

The company reported growth in iced beverage sales and announced plans to expand its nitro coffee line from 40% of U.S. stores this quarter to 100% of units by the end of the fiscal year. “This platform is differentiated, provides theater and drives incrementality,” Johnson said.

Technology has invaded consumer life in the way of the smart phone and integrating pro-active marketing directly into the palm of your customers hand is an intrical part of brand marketing today.

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

Is Burger King Back-In the Game or Just Teasing Originality

So, it’s been 13 years since Burger King has had a commercial at the Super Bowl.  Does that mean they are simply continuing to follow the industry leaders or do you think they continue to simply paly follow the leader as Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

The new Mystery Box Super Bowl Deal touted as Burger King partners with DoorDash looks to most industry insider that have contacted the team at Foodservice Solutions® as simply more of the same, follow the leader.  Partnerships matter but within branded food marketing originality goes a long way to drive incremental customer trial and adoption according to Johnson.

Johnson continued the undercurrents driving incremental brand adoption putting a new electricity in brand relevance for many younger consumers in require consumer have a branded invitation for interaction and participation and this promotion appears to have that according to Johnson. 

Today, new partnerships can drive sales in foodservice today as your brand is searching for the new electricity to help drive the brand forward. So, just what is your brands new electricity? According to Johnson, “Brand relevance is in part driven with innovation in new food products in combination with new avenues of distribution all of which are the platform for the new electricity.”

Johnson stated “that in my minds-eye the new electricity must be very efficient for the supply and includes such things as fresh foods, beer, developing brands, unique urban clothing, grocerant positioning, Fresh food messaging, autonomous delivery, cashier-less retail, plates, glasses, cash-less payments, digital hand-held marketing.

All retailers to survive the next generation of retail must embrace the artificial intelligence revolution while simultaneously embracing fresh food that is portable, fresh, with differentiation that is familiar not different.  In the teaser film features the Burger King King as he prepares a set with direction from a director behind the camera. It ends with the King adjusting the mic, ready to announce what is yet to come during the Super Bowl.

To get your own Mystery Box head to DoorDash.com or download the DoorDash app, enter promo code MYSTERYBOX on all orders of $10 or more from participating Burger King restaurants*. Then wait for your Mystery Box to arrive at the comfort of your home with instructions to follow—keep the content of the Mystery Box till game day. And DoorDash will also offer $0 Delivery Fees** when you order Burger King today through the day after the Big Game. I guess on February 3, 2019 we will find out if Burger King is breaking out or simply continuing to play follow the leader.

For international corporate presentations, 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

Fresh, Fast, Food Convenience Store Speedway Focus is on Speed

Success does leave clues and while Speedway has been known for it service, fresh, fast, flavorful, grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat food the roughly 3,000 unit chain continues to evolve adapting to the evolving food focused consumer according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

Consumers are dynamic not static as smart phones out number land lines more and more consumers have migrated to from cash to digital payment options.  So, customers at Speedway convenience stores can now use Apple Pay at checkout elevating service once again.

Johnson stated that Speedway’s updated digital payments are outstanding as a hand held Food Marketing tool.  It is one key tools that are the undercurrents driving incremental brand adoption putting a new electricity in brand relevance for many younger consumers specifically Millennial's.

Today, new partnerships can drive sales in foodservice today as your brand is searching for the new electricity to help drive the brand forward. So, just what is your brands new electricity? According to Johnson, “Brand relevance is in part driven with innovation in new food products in combination with new avenues of distribution all of which are the platform for the new electricity.”

Johnson stated “that in my minds-eye the new electricity must be very efficient for the supply and includes such things as fresh foods, beer, developing brands, unique urban clothing, grocerant positioning, Fresh food messaging, autonomous delivery, cashier-less retail, plates, glasses, cash-less payments, digital hand-held marketing.

All retailers to survive the next generation of retail must embrace the artificial intelligence revolution while simultaneously embracing fresh food that is portable, fresh, with differentiation that is familiar not different. 

Digital payment is big and getting bigger as Apple Pay is rolling out now in Target stores and more than 7,000 Taco Bell and 2,200 Jack in the Box locations in the next few months.  Customers can also use Apple Pay today at more than 245 Hy-Vee stores in the Midwest.

With the addition of these national retailers, 74 of the top 100 merchants in the U.S. and 65 percent of all retail locations across the country will support Apple Pay, according to the company.   Is your company keeping pace with consumers?

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

Grocery Stores & C-stores Continue Taking a Bite out of Restaurant Sales

One fundamental of consumer food marketing is follow the customer.  When the consumer evolves all retailers including grocery stores, convenience stores, restaurants, clothing retailers and furniture retailers need to do the same according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

General managers at Whole Foods Market stores have called thier stores ‘grocerants’ for over ten years according to Johnson.  Whole Foods has been keenly aware of the undercurrents driving the consumers within the grocerant sector and has successfully repositioned to garner incremental customer transactions within the grocerant niche according to Johnson.

Whole Foods has consistently received high marks on Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant ScoreCards for food quality, price, service and while elevating internal food quality standards while simultaneously elevating communication to consumers about their fresh prepared Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat ‘better-for-you’ offering. 

Grocerants generated 2.7 billion visits and $12 billion in sales in 2017 by promoting restaurant-quality freshly prepared foods. Building momentum grocerant visits have increased close to 30% over the past 10 years and show no sign of slowing down according to Johnson.

Driven by Millennial customers today more than 40% of Americans buy freshly prepared foods from grocery stores. Besides being fast, fresh food, it can be cheaper than traditional takeout. According to NPD Group study grocerant meal costs $4.22 on average, compared to $7.96 at a fast-casual restaurant, a 53% difference.

Consumers like to save while eating restaurant quality food and most consumers now believe that Takeout meals or meal components comprised of fresh food from c-store the ilk of Sheetz, Wawa, and Rutter’s is restaurant quality according to recent Grocerant ScoreCards according to Johnson.

Fast-food restaurants with drive-thru’s have had the Ready-2-Eat sector to themselves for years.  However, after years of capitulating market share sales away from grocery stores and c-stores the tide has turned.  Consumers are driven by an increase in menu choice, food quality, and price to sample, savor, and save on What’s for Dinner.

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

We Told you 'Grocerants' Are The Future Of Food Shopping

Since 1991 Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant Guru®, Steven Johnson’s focus has been on Hand Held Food and technology to improve food quality, customer service, and convenience of ‘better-for-you’ fresh food fast.  Regular readers of this blog know that Johnson was the one who coined the term GROCERANT back in the day after he identified quantified, and qualified the emerging retail space.

In fact, Johnson first warned the restaurant industry in 1991 about the undercurrents change within the consumer mind-set.  Then in 1996 Johnson penned an Op-Ed article titled: Call Them Grocerants in August in both FoodService Director and Nation’s Restaurant News which highlighted undercurrents of food industry evolving consumer migration patterns.

Now a year after consumer spending on restaurants finally surpassed grocery sales, evidence in two new reports is suggesting that neither restaurants nor grocery stores are the future of food shopping. Instead, what could dominate is a hybrid of the two: "grocerants."  OK, times they continue to evolve Foodservice Solutions® team was there at the beginning and continues to be the leading industry expert.

However, let’s look at what we can learn from some others. Here we go “according to evidence in one NPD group report and one research note from Oppenheimer, both recently released, Americans (and Millennials in particular) want someone else to cook for them, but they don't want to stop going to the grocery store, either. The compromise between the two? Purchasing prepared food from the supermarket.

NPD's food-service market research found that in-store dining and take-out prepared foods from grocers has grown 30% over the past eight years, accounting for $10 billion of consumer spending in 2015. By NPD's count, more than 40% of the U.S. population purchases prepared food from grocery stores -- and this number could grow as Millennials increasingly warm to the crazy idea of getting their food not from Seamless but from the supermarket.

“Millennials’ interest in the benefits and experience supermarket food-service offers will continue to be strong over the next several years,” David Portalatin, NPD's vice president of industry analysis said in a statement accompanying the research. “This forecast bodes well for food manufacturers and retailers who have their fingers on the pulse of what drives this generational group. Give the Millennials what they want — fresh, healthier fare and a decent price — and they will come.”

According to NPD spokesperson Kim McLynn, "grocerants" can range from yuppy-chic (see New York City's Eataly) to conventional-seeming grocers, like H-E-B Grocery in San Antonio, Texas, Buehler's in Wooster, Ohio, Hy-Vee in Bloomington, Illinois and Whole Foods in Austin, Texas.

While many grocery chains seem to be catching on to this trend, it's Whole Foods that has made some of the largest strides in capturing dining dollars for its prepared food offerings. "We were impressed by the overall prepared foods offering, which could represent a point of differentiation versus other specialty concepts such as Trader Joe’s," he wrote. "The main components of the prepared foods offering included two cold salad bars and two hot bars that included items such as pizza, soup, chicken wings and samosas. There were also other “prepared food venues” including a case filled with pre-made sushi, sandwiches, salads, etc. and an area where customers can order via iPad select items such as hot dogs, pizza, and rice/veggie bowls."

Beyond simply offering prepared food, Parikh and his team said they saw "an extensive assortment of value-priced prepared foods," too, including Seared Albacore Sashimi for $10.00; a Chinese-style salad with chicken for $4.50; peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for $3.50 each; a BBQ-style chopped salad for $4.00; and a chicken Caesar salad bowl for $10.00.

Ultimately, the Oppenheimer team estimates that Whole Foods after integrating all of Whole Foods 365 units could capture 20% to 30% of its market share from traditional restaurants:

"Based on our study of the concept and competitive backdrop, we believe the 365 format can help to attract a new customer and broaden the market share potential for the chain," Parikh concluded. "We view the new concept as very on-trend, catering to some of the hottest trends out there currently including fresh, natural/organic, and growth in away-from-home spending."

Whole Foods isn't the only grocer beefing up it’s pre-made meals. Now Convenience store sector players the ilk of Sheetz, Wawa, Green Zebra Grocery and others are filling the void left by many legacy chain restaurants and grocery chains unwilling to adapt to today’s dynamic consumers.

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

Family Focus Drives Cicis Pizza

Success does leave clues within the foodservice sector and chain restaurants focusing on family have found that it can edify the brand loyalty while building top line sales and bottom line profits according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based www.FoodserviceSolutions.us

At Cicis Tuesdays are about to be everyone’s favorite night of the week at the pizza buffet as Cicis brings Nickelodeon’s Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, to create Rise of the Turtles Tuesdays, exclusively at Cicis in a partnership that drive family into the heart of brand messaging at Cicis.

New partnerships can drive sales at chain restaurants today.  Many Restaurant brands are searching for the new electricity to help drive the brand forward. So, just what is your brands new electricity? According to Johnson, “Brand relevance is in part driven with innovation in new food products in combination with new avenues of distribution all of which are the platform for the new electricity.”

Johnson stated “that in my minds-eye the new electricity must be very efficient for the supply and includes such things as fresh foods, beer, developing brands, unique urban clothing, grocerant positioning, Fresh food messaging, autonomous delivery, cashier-less retail, plates, glasses, cash-less payments, digital hand-held marketing.

All retailers to survive the next generation of retail must embrace the artificial intelligence revolution while simultaneously embracing fresh food that is portable, fresh, with differentiation that is familiar not different. 

Each Tuesday night, beginning January 22, kids can look like one of the Turtles, play like a Turtle and even eat like a Turtle, with fun turtle-bite sized alfredo and cheese pizzas and salads, all for just 99 cents with the purchase of one adult buffet and large drink.

Cicis locations nationwide will give away free collectable Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles masks featuring each of the four Turtles to kids every Tuesday 4 p.m. to close through March 12, while supplies last.

To further enhance the restaurant experience with more Ninja Turtle family fun, Cicis will release an exclusive, all-new digital game, Pizza Power. Guests who come into Cicis on Tuesdays can get a code to access the game, to play like a Turtle and unlock a new villain each week for an even greater challenge. Fans playing the game can pick their favorite hero and defeat villains to help recover the stolen pizza toppings.

“Through the Rise of the Turtles Tuesdays at Cicis program we are bringing family fun and excitement to turn an ordinary day into the best night of the week, all at a great value,” says Cicis CMO Billie Jo Waara. “Our unlimited buffet of pizza, pasta, salad and dessert offers a balanced meal with something for everyone.” For locations and more details on Rise of the Turtles Tuesdays at Cicis, go to www.cicis.com.

Are you looking for a new partnership to drive sales? 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

Food Sales, Service, Convenience Who Wins Fast Casual, Fast Food or C-Stores?

Consumers vote with there feet and wallet according to Tacoma, WA based Grocerant Guru® Steven Johnson at Foodservice Solutions®. Year over year customer counts continue to plague many chain restaurants all the while foodservice within the C-store sector is projected to clime once again above 6% this year.

A new study by Alix Partners found that Consumers rate their experience in purchasing meals and beverages at convenience stores much better than fast-food or fast-casual restaurants in terms of speed of service and overall convenience. The majority also say that ready-to-go/serve-yourself foods, beverages and snacks are their preferred type of foodservice when they shop at a convenience store.

So, let’s see just what key findings were:

1.       Lower percentages of consumers rated c-stores ahead of fast-food and fast-casual restaurants in regards to healthy food/beverage choices and menu options. However, they did give c-stores the nod for better prices than fast-casual establishments. 

2.       Foodservice is the primary c-store purchase category (picked as tops by 28 percent of participants), but 40 percent of these shoppers view it primarily for snacking. 

3.       57 percent say ready-to-eat is the type of foodservice they most want from c-stores, with made-to-order far behind at only 29 percent. 

4.       Half of respondents (50 percent) said “better-for-you” options are important when choosing a c-store, up from 46.5 percent in last year’s survey. 

5.       A loyalty program is a very important c-store influencer (3.6 on a scale of 1 to 5), scoring higher than a drive-thru (rated 2.7). 

6.       Food quality, price, speed and menu variety are the most important factors when it comes to delivery from a c-store. Forty-four percent of consumers prefer to order directly from the store rather than a third-party service (12 percent). 

7.       For traditional c-store products, 36 percent of millennials and 20 percent of Gen X say they will shop more at Amazon instead in the year ahead. 

8.       89 percent of electric car owners say having charging stations is important for c-stores, with half (51 percent) saying it is “extremely important.”

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

Yesterday you were Shopping, Cooking, Doing Dishes Today Grocerant Fresh Food is for Dinner

What’s for Dinner? You know that question your kids ask you to many times a day and you ask yourself more times than you ever dreamed possible.  Well, at the intersection of daily task and the family dinner is a set of tasks including shopping, cooking and doing dishes that most consumers believe consumes way too much time according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

Today, 82.3% of family dinners service at home included at least one fresh prepared Ready-2-Eat or Heat-N-Eat fresh meal component according to the latest Grocerant ScoreCard conducted by the team at Foodservice Solutions®.  Consumer migration from legacy chain restaurants for dinner, grocery stores, is painfully clear in the decline of 51.3% reduction in the number of legacy grocery stores over the past 12 years and the prolonged year over year decline in restaurant sector customer counts.

Saving time continues to be the number one key driver of retail foodservice customer migration from one platform to another according to Johnson.  Second, is the lack of cooking skill-set to prepared the multi-ethnic full-flavored foods consumers have been introduced to and enjoy.

While technology innovations, media innovations, and consumer behavior continue to evolve our eating habits specifically where we eat and when we eat have continued to evolve and 73.6% of consumers now report they prefer eating dinner at home in front of the TV. 

Watching live sporting events, playing games, even watching the news has gain momentum as a driver in what consumers want to watch while eating dinner.  While employee commuting times continue to grow in length, so do options for children’s activities after school shrinking the time available for preparing dinner.

The undercurrent commonality within the retail food sector migration from all age groups is discovery.  The pure joy of finding a Ready-2-Eat or Heat-N-Eat meal or meal component in a new avenue of distribution the ilk of Ikea, Costco, Macy’s or from a full-service chain restaurant.

There is a solution to the age or question that is asked all to often ‘What’s for Dinner’.  That solutions is fresh prepared Ready-2-Eat or Heat-N-Eat meals or meal components that can be bundled into a Mix & Match prefect family meal.

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

Sports Technology Drives Customers into Restaurants

Interactive and participatory eSports just might be the bridge to revive the restaurant sectors disappointing, dismal, declining year over year customer counts according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®. 

Not only do all ages participate in eSports but millennials can’t seem to get enough, when they are not playing, they are watching. The new video game phenomenon of esports has made another inroad into the restaurant business with the installation of terminals for simultaneous live play inside the GameWorks fun-and-food chain.

Why you might want to contact someone about eSports its growing at 17% a year. New eSport Lounges enable 20 to 40 guests to play the same video game simultaneously, either casually or in tournaments offering prizes to the winners.  GameWorks said it plans to hold tournaments at least once a month. Players can have food and beverages brought to their seats from The Works Kitchen, the restaurant component of GameWorks branches.

eSports is evolving and is already constituted a $138 billion business by the end of 2018, according to research and consulting firm IDG Consulting. Restaurants potential of landing players and onlookers has prompted other restaurant operators to embrace the emerging “sport” as a way of drawing young consumers’ attention.

Chains the ilk of Buffalo Wild Wings, for instance, recently opened a new prototype that features a section called the MVP Room, which is wired to host esports contests and broadcast the competitions onto TVs throughout the restaurant. Included in the room is a six-tap self-service beer dispensing system.

Even, Jersey Mike’s Subs sponsored the North American League of Legends Championship Series esports tournament this past summer. “We’re looking at the customer of tomorrow,” CMO Rich Hope told Restaurant Business when the 1,600-unit chain announced its backing of the esports league. “We’re looking at customers who are 13 instead of 27. They’re hard to reach with traditional media. This is an opportunity to reach them in an environment they’re in.”

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