Eating-In or Eating-Out Packaging Makes a Difference

Cooking dinner is a task most Americans would rather skip if they could.  Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® stated “the line between retail food segments continues to grow thinner and retailers with the best solution for dinner will garner not only dinner customers incremental day-part trial as well”.

The simple fast is 63% of all restaurant traffic is ‘off-premise’. The best way for any retailer to drive incremental business today is with packaging.  More and more customers want to eat at home but want a restaurant quality meal without cooking according to Johnson. Consumers don’t want to take time to cook.

Back in the day, gas stations used to offer one ‘holiday glass collectable’ will a fill-up.  Fast food chains use to do the same if you bought a ‘meal-deal’ which was new at the time.  Well, what goes around, comes around.

The ramekins pictured above are filled with seafood and come from a grocery store.  Those ramekins are a proportioned meal for one.  Remember that in the US 65.3% of all US Households are comprised of one or two people.  That ramekin is a perfect meal solution according to Johnson.  Why, a two-person household can have two different entrees that can be mix and matched into a perfect meal for two or they can be eaten one at a time. 

If you are a restaurant how many options do you give customer for packaging a meal?  Do you use Steamer Bags that are ready to microwave or bake for takeout?  Do you let customer take the plate? Collect the plate or glassware?  Doe’s you takeout packaging look more like yesterday than tomorrow?

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.