The Hell with Meal time: Millennials Consumers Eat when they Want to Eat

It’s at the intersection of the consumer, fresh prepared food and technology we fine that consumer eating behavior is evolving and is now beyond the control of traditional food marketers. That intersection is called the Grocerant niche and it is filled with Ready-2Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh food options. According to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® millennials are driving increased adoption of grocerant niche meal components.

E-sports, Kids, and yes, work are driving change as millennials want to do more and yet there is still only 24 hours in a day according to Johnson.

Millennials are helping drive change evolving culture and lifestyle, demographics along with the new uncertain economy are all putting pressure on the American food industry, which has not evolved must since the late 1950’s according to Johnson. According to Technomic Consumer Brand Metrics data, the percentage of millennials who say they visit restaurants “more than once a week” has declined to 55% from 59% over the past year. We know this, consumers are not eating less.  They are eating food from somewhere else.

Demands of work, economic shrinkage, demands of raising a family, commuting, social interaction, kid's after-school activities, all contribute to a food marketplace where convenience vies with price over legacy brands. Every retailer should be asking if the consumer is on the move, are we moving with them?

It is clear the restaurant sector is not.  Year over year restaurant traffic over the past 12 months is down 2%, according to the Technomic Chain Restaurant Index and down for the past 12 Quarters according to Blackbox Intelligence.

Battle for Share of Stomach

Recent advances in food packaging and new points of non-traditional food distribution have empowered Millennials consumer choice, and Americans are embracing these choices even as legacy marketers cringe. Who's after restaurant food dollars… simply put… everyone.

So, who is buying grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh Food?  Millennials, as the percentage of millennials who “never” visit casual dining has increased to 38.2% from 32.8% over the past year. Who benefits, Grocery store service Deli’s, C-stores, and restaurants bunding mix and match meal component bundling with new avenues of distribution according to

Why should you care if Walgreens is selling fresh prepared Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat food? Why should you care if Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, Safeway and Wegmans are selling Ready-2-Eat and or Heat-N-Eat fresh pizza? Why should you care if Coinstar is selling Seattle Best Coffee at 1,000 locations for $1.00?

You should care because they are selling it, and you are not! The fastest growing sector of retail food service for the past four years has been the Convenience store sector averaging 8.8% growth. The C-store sectors growth in large part has been driven by fresh prepared food. Non-traditional avenues of distribution are growing, gobbling market share while establishing new patterns of consumption, price points and customer loyalty.

The time has come for chain restaurants traditional views of meals and mealtime to be discarded. The consumers is dynamic not static.  Food retailers must evolve their business models or risk capitulation market share, customers, and long-term financial viability according to Johnson.

Legacy retailers waiting for the "next big thing" to copy simply might be out of luck this time. Legacy food retailers may not like to be first movers very much but it may prove that waiting too long will not work this time.

The retail food world is evolving at an ever-increasing pace filled with innovation in food, portion size, points of distribution, and quality fresh prepared meal solutions. The price, value, service equilibrium is resetting in retail foodservice. Chain restaurant practice brand protectionism, has stifled many brands all the while diminishing consumer relevance. The consumer is dynamic not static. Brands must be dynamic, evolving with the consumer. Four more years of watching other retail sectors thrive should be long enough. Success in the restaurant world is no longer simply about what happens within your 4 walls. Millennials are looking forward not back.  Does your brand look more like yesterday than tomorrow? What are you selling and when?

Steven Johnson is Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®, with extensive experience as a multi-unit restaurant operator, consultant, brand / product positioning expert and public speaking. Facebook.com/Steven Johnson, Linkedin.com/in/grocerant or twitter.com/grocerant Email: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us