Jersey Mike’s Customer Relevance has to be Consumer Facing

The team at Foodservice Solutions® and our Grocerant Guru®, Steven Johnson have been touting the strength, relevance, new electricity, and loyalty that Esports can bring to a foodservice partnership. Jersey Mike’s understand the relevance and importance of this new sector of sports most of you have simply over looked.

Here is an example from ‘GeekWire’ this week that will give you an example how important the tech industry thinks Esports is and how big they think it will get. According to Geekwire “Microsoft agreed to pay game streaming star Tyler “Ninja” Blevins between $20 million and $30 million per year to join its Mixer streaming platform and leave incumbent leader Twitch, according to a new report from CNN detailing the arms race among tech giants to land big names for their streaming services.

Ninja is one of several high-profile streamers recently poached from Twitch, which Amazon bought for close to $1 billion in 2014, by the likes of Mixer, Facebook and YouTube. CNN reported that streamers with 10,000 or more concurrent views on Twitch are receiving offers of more than $10 million annually while smaller streamers can get up to $1 million.”

For those of you who are just now hearing about Esports the follows and players are younger demographic, with 75 percent of esports fans being millennials. What demo is your target market? 

As for Jersey Mike’s Subs extending its partnership with Team Liquid, a leading international esports team, through 2022. You should know that Team Liquid, which competes across 17 distinct esports.

Program elements include:

·         Jersey Thursdays. The two brands feature content from superstars across Team Liquid’s competitive lineup. Every first Thursday of the month, Team Liquid gives away one Team Liquid jersey and a $50 Jersey Mike’s gift card to fulfill a lucky fan’s sub sandwich craving.

·         Jersey Mic’d. During the League of Legends Championship Series (LCS) matches, Team Liquid mics up their players to capture the realest moments in esports, available for fans to download.

·         Subs for Dubs. Team Liquid and Jersey Mike’s celebrate Team Liquid tournament wins by offering fans special discounts on sandwiches, meals and more.

·         New Sub Bombs. Interaction with players and their chat through the “JerseyMike’s” Twitch account, mass gifting to their chat a “sub”scription to that channel.

Are you integrating new electricity into your brand? Johnson stated “that in my minds-eye the new electricity must be very efficient for the supply chain and includes such things as fresh foods, Online ordering, delivery, plant based foods,  sampling, toy’s, 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 food and beverage retailers to survive the next generation of retail must embrace the artificial intelligence revolution while simultaneously embracing fresh food and beverages that are portable, fresh, with differentiation that is familiar not different.  Does your retail path forward look more like yesterday than tomorrow? Why? This new partnership does all of that. 

Are you looking for a new partnership to drive sales? Are you ready for some fresh ideations? Do your food marketing tactics look more like yesterday that tomorrow?  Visit www.FoodserviceSolutions.us for more information or contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us Remember success does leave clues and we just may have the clue you need to propel your continued success.

Family, Chicken Wings, Super Bowl, Snacking Heaven

This weekend in the U.S. it Superbowl time.  Superbowl has become a family food day and Superbowl Sunday in the US is the second most popular day for food consumption after Thanksgiving and according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

In truth Superbowl Sunday should be called Grocerant Day because the top five foods consumed will be Grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food that is handheld for immediate consumption. 

Here are the top five foods consumed on Superbowl Sunday:

1.       Chicken Winds

2.       Potato Skins

3.       Pizza

4.       Pigs in a Blanket

5.       Cocktail Meatballs  

Get this, Americans to consume a record-breaking 1.4 billion chicken wings during Super Bowl LIV weekend. So, just how many winds is that?  Every player in the NFL, including the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs, would have to consume 825,000 wings each to reach 1.4 billion

·         175 million pounds of wings weighs 1,500 times as much as the entire 49ers team and three of their team buses

·         1.4 billion wings could circle the circumference of the Earth 3 times

·         1.4 billion wings are enough to give every attendee of every Super Bowl since 1967 each 342 wings

·         1.4 billion wings laid end to end would stretch the entire Florida coastline, home of Super Bowl LIV, more than 9 times

·         If each of the 1.4 billion wings were counted as one second, they would equal about 45 years

No matter what you eat on Superbowl Sunday one thing is for sure 9 times out of ten it will be a handheld food for immediate consumption. That’s right Grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food will rule the day.

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

Restaurant Technology Disruption Continues

At the intersection of consumers increasing desire for food discovery, technology, and meal time Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® wonders will a ‘robot that runs food to customers drive customer into the restaurant or just save the restaurant money on employee wages and benefits?

The simple fact is technology is replacing workers a bit faster than more legacy restaurant operators will admit, albeit a touch screen ordering inside your favorite fast food restaurant, online ordering, or food delivery to your office or home. 

Now Bear Robotics hopes to mass produce Penny, the robot food runner, after raising $32 million in Series A funding led by Softbank.  The Japanese conglomerate runs the $100 billion Vision Fund. Its restaurant investments, to date, have included robot pizza restaurant Zume; hamburger robotic startup Creator; lab-grown meat maker Memphis Meats; third-party delivery company DoorDash; and ghost kitchen facility Reef Kitchens. So, you just might want to take this one serious

Many of you remember that we told you about Bear Robotics last year at our industry event Friday night before the 2018 National Restaurant Association trade show in Chicago. The self-driving robot is engineered to easily navigate a busy dining room, helping servers deliver everything from pizzas to beverages.

Consider the footprint Bear Robotics has carved out so fat as Penny is currently being used at Amici's Pizza in Mountain View, Calif., in banquet rooms in Sunnyvale, Calif., a casino in Los Angeles, a senior living center in Cupertino, Calif., and restaurants and cafés in Tokyo, Japan and Seoul, South Korea.

“Penny has increased servers’ time with customers by an average of 40 percent, and received customer satisfaction reviews of 95 percent. We are working diligently toward mass production of our robots for global chains,” company CEO and founder John Ha wrote . 

Integrating technology into your legacy operation will add relevance for customers, can drive down your labor cost, all while driving top line sales and bottom line profits. 

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

Let’s Drink to Sweet Success at the Pie Hole

If success leaves clues and it does, new companies entering the grocerant niche filled with Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food are finding success with a business foodservice business model designed for today according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

There is a battle for share of stomach according to Johnson and companies either opening up with the new model or legacy brands evolving are garnering a larger share of stomach.  One new company doing it is The Pie Hole as regular readers of this blog know we have written about them before. 

A recent article in NRN described The Pie Hole as: “A fast-casual pie and coffee concept with six units in Southern California and two stores in Japan. All pie baking takes place in a commissary, with stores ranging from 200 to 1,200 square feet…

The backstory: The first Pie Hole opened in 2011 with a menu of sweet and savory pies. In addition to adding units, the chain is focused on extending its reach through wholesale, catering, consumer packaged goods and shipping of pies through online marketplace Goldbelly.

The Pie Hole like any young company continue to find the best way to grow and recently added a new menu item published reports stated “stuffed and glazed two-bite circles of pie called Pie Holes. They have become a top seller, with about 1 million units sold in the past year. Through Goldbelly, the company sold an average of about 50 units each day during the holiday season. The chain plans to launch a consumer packaged goods (CPG) line this year. The Pie Hole moved into its existing commissary space about 16 months ago and is at only 20% capacity, so there’s much room for further growth.”

Now growth within the grocerant niche is driven in large part by ‘Hand Held Food for Immediate Consumption’ that can be mix and matched into a perfect family meal according to Johnson. Thus, you can understand why these mini-pie bites have become a hit. 

Remember Millennials are seeking food discovery and these can be delivered, or picked-up at a location fast and they are made fresh daily. Does your business model look more like yesterday than tomorrow? Why? Consumers are dynamic not static?  Is your brand evolving?

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.

What’s for Dinner? Publix Fresh Deli Meals Delivered

Grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh food continues to garner customer attention, retailer attention, and restaurateur attention according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

The consumer is dynamic not static as regular readers of this blog know and the scrappy delivery company Instacart is now focusing on Meals.  That is a new niche for the once grocery (CPG) only delivery company

Instacart partnered with Publix to test the new service that they are calling Instacart Meals, which provides grocery stores a turnkey solution for online ordering, delivery and pickup of made-to-order food. That’s right service deli meals.  Meals that can be mixed & matched and bundled into the perfect family dinner without having to cook.

Instacart Meals allows supermarket customers to grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat or Heat & Eat fresh prepared food online from a retailer’s “digital deli counter” and then pick up their meal from the store or have it delivered to their home.

Customization is a Key feature that enables consumers to “build your own” functionality so customers can order food the way they want it, and integration with a store’s order management system to coordinate timing of food preparation and pickup.

Plans call for Instacart and Publix to pilot Instacart Meals in Orlando, Fla., in the retailer’s deli department, focusing on its made-to-order sub sandwiches. The service then is slated to be rolled out to Publix stores across Florida in the following weeks and to all of the Southeastern chain’s stores in the coming months.

San Francisco-based Instacart noted that Instacart Meals can help supermarkets better compete with restaurants as purveyors of convenient — and less costly — meal solutions for today’s on-the-go, digitally savvy consumers.

“We’re excited to introduce Instacart Meals to customers nationwide. At less than half the price of an average fast-casual food order, made-to-order grocery meals offer busy people and families access to a fresh and more affordable option when life is hectic and dinner is now,”

 Instacart President Nilam Ganenthiran stated “Made-to-order food counters are among the fastest-growing aisles in the grocery store. These items represent up to 15% of sales for our grocery partners and have among the highest margins of anything sold in-store,” “It’s critical that our grocery partners are able to capture these sales online with delivery and pickup. It’s a boost to their business and a key part of the shopping experience for customers.”

 Maria Brous, director of communications at Publix explained “Our expanded collaboration also means that our customers will not have to wait in-line for our popular Publix sub sandwiches” according to Brous. “From delivery and pickup in as fast as two hours, to alcohol delivery and now, the deli and subs, we’ve brought our store online with Instacart and made it even easier for our customers to enjoy the food they love with friends and family — just in time for the big game.”

Instacart Meals plugs directly into a retailer’s ordering system, so store staff can receive orders through an existing infrastructure and start preparing orders immediately. Instacart shoppers then simply swing by the counter and pick up any items. The company noted that Instacart Meals works with order management systems to generate precise preparation and counter pickup windows at the end of the personal shopper’s grocery fulfillment route — ensuring “store to the door” service.

In addition, Instacart Meals automatically offers all of a store’s applicable combo options and discounts The test with Publix marks Instacart’s foray into supermarket meal delivery and builds on recent expansions of its service beyond grocery delivery. This puts Publix in direct competition with restaurants for takeout and delivery of meals. 

Foodservice Solutions®, Grocerant ScoreCards revealed that 81.6% of consumers believe that grocery store grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food is restaurant quality. 78,9% of consumer consumers believe that meals from the ‘deli’ / service deli are ‘better for you’ than a restaurant meal.  With 67.1 % of consumers believing that cost less as well. Do you know who your competitors are today or who they will be tomorrow?

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.

Hat’s off to 7-Eleven Proving Evolving Works

Brands must evolve or die regular readers of this blog know so well as Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® reminds us weekly.  Today we want to tip our hats to the team leading 7-Eleven for reaching a new milestone of 70,000 locations worldwide.  Success does leave clues and 7-Eleven has left many within the food retail sector.  Congratulations on a job well done.

Today, customers can visit 7-Eleven in 17 countries and regions around the globe. So, how do you define success growth?  Well, in 2019, 7-Eleven opened one store approximately every 3.5 hours. As it continues to grow, the company remains focused on its role as a good corporate citizen, addressing social and environmental issues important to customers and the communities in which they live and work, according to 7-Eleven.

7-Eleven President and CEO Joe DePinto stated "Over 93 years we've grown from a small local ice house in Oak Cliff, Texas, to a global and iconic brand that is 70,000 stores strong,"  "That strength is due to a relentless focus on meeting the needs of our customers. We'll continue to place our customers at the forefront of all we do." Customer focused and always evolving 7-Eleven is on track to continue to grow.

Did you know that 7-Eleven store was the first Convenience store to sell Coffee To Go, the first Convenience store to sell Gas, the first to offer ATM service? In fact, 7-Eleven sells more than 1.2 million cups of coffee per day, they sold over 33 million Pizzas last year, over 30 Million pounds of chicken wings, and over 81 million bananas a year.   The consumer is dynamic not static 7-Eleven is a dynamic brand.

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

MOOYAH Burgers and Ruby Tuesday think Plant-based Foods Will Help Sales

Copycat marketing is required when the customer moves.  There is no doubt that consumer adoption of plant-based food and beverages is the undercurrent of customer trial and adoption for new brands and new menu items in 2020 according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA base Foodservice Solutions®.

The conundrum for companies the ilk of MOOYAY and Ruby Tuesday is how do you enter a space and not look like ‘Johnny come lately’ so you branded messaging has customer relevance with a point of differentiation? In the case of Ruby Tuesday, you create new electricity for your brand via a partnership with a global retail giant known for ‘health & wellness’.  

For Ruby Tuesday that meant a partnership with a Nestlé via Sweet Earth Foods.  Fleur Veldhoven, vice president of food marketing at Nestlé Professional stated “Many consumers are looking to cut back on meat despite how much they enjoy eating it, and a plant-based protein option like our Sweet Earth Awesome Burger is the perfect no-compromise way to balance their diets,”.

Battle for Share of Stomach

Sweet Earth said its Awesome Burger was developed with Nestlé research and development support with no genetically modified ingredients and U.S.-sourced yellow pea protein, natural plant extracts and coconut oil.

MOOYAH point of differentiation by selecting a black bean vegan burger to replace its vegetarian burger and found it with the Dr. Praeger’s brand. New partnerships can drive new electricity for restaurant brands as long as the new product has differentiation with all of the ‘relevant consumer touchpoints’ according to Johnson.

In short differentiation dose not mean different, rather it means familiar but with a twist.  So, do you think either MOOYAH or Ruby Tuesday’s has the right balance of differentiation and consumer relevant touch points? How are you driving growth? Does your brand have new electricity?

Johnson stated “that in my minds-eye the new electricity must be very efficient for the supply chain and includes such things as fresh foods, Online ordering, delivery, plant based foods,  sampling, toy’s, 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 food and beverage retailers to survive the next generation of retail must embrace the artificial intelligence revolution while simultaneously embracing fresh food and beverages that are portable, fresh, with differentiation that is familiar not different.  Does your retail path forward look more like yesterday than tomorrow? Why?

Are you looking for a new partnership to drive sales? Are you ready for some fresh ideations? Do your food marketing tactics look more like yesterday that tomorrow?  Visit www.FoodserviceSolutions.us for more information or contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us Remember success does leave clues and we just may have the clue you need to propel your continued success.

Technology to Drive C-store Foodservice Sales Up, Up, Up

Wawa, Sheetz, have called themselves fast casual restaurants and or restaurants with gasoline & 7-Eleven branded the Slurpee before most of the top 125 restaurant chains were not even concepts. However, it is technology that is going to be the platform of driving incremental customer adoption according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.  

With, nearly 80 percent of Americans owning smartphones, and smartphone users constitute "an overwhelming majority" of c-store customers, according to Kimberly Otocki, content marketing specialist at Paytronix Systems Inc. according to Johnson it’s those consumers that seeking more mix & match meal bunding options.

Regular readers of this blog know that Mix & Match meal component bunding are a key drive of food sales and a hallmark driving grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food sales. In a recent report from Paytronix found:

1.       Ninety percent of customers use their phone inside the store while shopping.  To find the right mobile platform, operators should consider three main factors: how to identify customizable information, how to keep customers active with one's brand, and how to increase spend through the platform. 

2.       Eighty percent of the time consumers spend on their smartphones involves just five apps

C-stores are doing better in their competition with QSRs than they probably think the reason the ability to mix & match legacy CPG foods (Milk, Bread, Fruit, Beer, Wine) for a meal fast.  Some legacy c-stores fall below large QSRs on-premise is in helping customers navigate the path to purchase, understand the menu options, and quickly and easily make informed decisions according to the team at King-Casey.

Smart phone branded loyalty technology will become the equalizer driving grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat mix & match meal component bunding and c-store sales to new highs according to Johnson. So, the simple fact is convenience stores are evolving with fresh, fast, and flavorful food.  Combine that with technology and restaurants that look more like yesterday than tomorrow have something to worry about.

Are you looking for a new partnership to drive sales? Are you ready for some fresh ideations? Do your food marketing tactics look more like yesterday that tomorrow?  Visit www.FoodserviceSolutions.us for more information or contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us Remember success does leave clues and we just may have the clue you need to propel your continued success.