There is little
doubt that grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food
adoption continues to drive sales of ‘hand-held-foods’ according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.
Pizza just might be the one menu item
helping to fuel sales within the grocery sector according to Johnson. It’s not unusual for customers to walk out of
the grocery store with pizza slices or pies for the family, as pizza programs
have long been a staple of many legacy grocery stores’ fresh food
offerings.
Here we go again, lets look at some
recent data this time from the International
Dairy Deli Bakery Association (IDDBA).
They found that deli prepared and deli entertaining results remained
strong relative to both 2020 and 2021 with pizza sales coming in at $56
million, an 8.6% increase year over year. More impressive for the pizza
category is the fact that unit movement outperformed last year by 7.1%.
Whitney Atkins, global marketing vice
president of IDDBA, stated, “Spring
traditionally brings busy kids’ schedules and more daylight so consumers are looking
for and purchasing more value-added meals and grab-and-go options,” ... “Add
in that consumer shopping options are back in comparison to 2020 and 2021
challenges, the outlook for the pizza category remains one of growth.”
Jorge Alvarez, director of deli at Bashas, stated, “At our customers’
suggestion, we have tried a new vegetarian pizza that has proven quite popular,
and we are looking to make it a permanent menu item,”…’. “We’re bullish on our
pizza program and are working on adding four new specialty pizza items to our
menu.”
Carrie Walters, culinary director and
corporate chef of five-store Dorothy Lane Market, stated, “our stores offer an
authentic Naples-style pizza straight out of its in-store oven, which has been
a big hit with customers.”
So, it seems as if part of the success
comes from the dough being made from scratch by Dorothy Lane artisan bakers, and
utilizing a house-made red sauce and fresh mozzarella. Walters continued,
“We try to stick to a traditional Italian Naples-style menu, so you won’t find
something like a cheeseburger ranch pizza here,”
Consider the depth of customer adoption
of grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food. Walters went on to add, ‘the supermarket’s
pizza program has expanded to other sectors as well. For instance, the bakery
department offers bowls of fresh dough, so customers can create their own
pizzas at home; and it also offers a take-and-bake pan-type of pizza, with a
thicker crust, that has more traditional ingredients, like pepperoni and
sausage, as well as pesto and vegetarian.’
While restaurant pizza sales matter,
maybe not as much. Consumers have a lot of options for pizza, whether it’s
grabbing slices at the local pizzeria or the many delivery choices available
from fast-food chains like Pizza Hut or Dominos. That’s why it’s vital that
supermarket pizza programs offer a competitive advantage.
Consider that, a popular event at Bashas’
is its “Pizza
Friday Special,” which
provides a 16-inch cheese pizza for only $6.99. Customers flock to the store on
Friday nights, the retailer said.
Building a Larger Share of Stomach
“We will continue to provide great
customer service, top-quality ingredients and a very competitive retail price,
making grocery store pizza a cost-saving option relative to dedicated pizza
takeout businesses,” Alvarez said.
Looking more like a restaurant every day,
besides the regular menu, Dorothy Lane
Market offers a “Pizza of the Month” utilizing fresh ingredients on its
Neapolitan pizza. For instance, during zucchini season, it will have a
zucchini-style pizza, and during peach season, it highlights a peach pizza with
arugula and prosciutto.
Walters notes that the retailer was a
little concerned when it first put in the Naples-style ovens in-store, afraid
it would impact sales of the take-and-bake customer. “But these are two
different types of pizza and two completely different types of customers,” she
said. “Sales for both have been great.”
Once again looking and acting like a
chain restaurant, a grocery store pizza program to prove successful at the
supermarket, people need to know about it, so marketing is of upmost
importance.
Alvarez, went on to add, “We get the word
out about our pizza program in several ways,”. “We place it in our weekly ad about
once a month. We also utilize social media channels, in-store signage and
intercom announcements.”
The same can be said at Dorothy Lane
Market, who has added drive-up service for its pizza lineup, and it also
partnered with DoorDash so customers could get its favorite pizzas that way as
well.
“When people look at the old-fashioned
yellow pages and think about who they’re going to call to get pizza delivered,
I don’t think they naturally think of the grocery store, so we’ve done a lot of
merchandising and coupons that we can tape to the box similar to what you might
see at Dominos,” Walters said.
Dorothy
Lane has a newsletter that goes out once a week featuring pizza specials
and heavily promoting the Pizza of the Month, which gets photographed, put-on
posters and is also featured in the company’s magazine and online.
“No pizza is a bad pizza, and for the
customer, it’s fun variety makes the world go around,” Walters said. “People
have their favorites, of course, but we’re proud that we have two different
options that customers enjoy.” Grocery stores can continue to grow
grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food in other categories
as well.
Are you ready for
some fresh ideations? Do your food marketing ideas look more like yesterday
than tomorrow? Interested in learning how our Grocerant
Guru® 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: us
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