For decades, the restaurant industry has thrived on
consistency, repetition, and brand familiarity. Chain restaurants, in
particular, have built their business models on delivering the same meal, the
same way, every time. However, the food landscape is evolving at an
accelerating pace, and many legacy brands are failing to keep up.
The Grocerant Guru®
at Foodservice Solutions®, Steven Johnson,
has long argued that protecting brand legacy at the expense of consumer
relevance is a losing strategy. While independent restaurants and
non-traditional food retailers rapidly innovate, large restaurant chains are
often slow to react. The question is: why?
The Grocerant Niche Is Growing While
Chains Stand Still
The grocerant niche – where retail meets foodservice
through Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food – has exploded in
popularity. Consumers, led by Millennials and Gen Z, increasingly demand
convenient, high-quality meal solutions that fit their on-the-go lifestyles. Yet,
many chain restaurants are still fixated on dine-in service and incremental
menu updates rather than adapting to where consumers are heading.
🔹 Food Fact:
According to The NPD Group, over 47% of meals in the U.S. are now eaten at
home, but fewer are being cooked from scratch. Consumers are actively
seeking mix-and-match meal components that allow for customization, speed, and
flexibility.
🔹 Case Study:
IKEA’s $2 billion grocerant business – which includes fresh food sales, frozen
Swedish meal kits, and in-store dining – has been a massive success,
demonstrating that non-traditional food retailers are capitalizing on this
trend while legacy restaurant chains hesitate.
Takeaway:
Consumers don’t care who makes the food – they care about accessibility,
portability, and quality. Restaurant chains must rethink their business models
or risk losing more market share to grocery stores, c-stores, and even
retailers like Walgreens and Dollar General.
Food Marketing is Moving Faster Than
Chain Restaurants
🔹 Food Fact: 71%
of consumers now expect restaurants to offer grab-and-go or heat-and-eat
options. Meanwhile, retailers such as Whole Foods, Wegmans, and Trader
Joe’s are thriving by offering fresh meal solutions that rival restaurant
quality.
🔹 Consumer
Migration: The "price-value-service" equilibrium in
foodservice is shifting. Consumers increasingly prioritize value and
convenience over brand loyalty. Many legacy restaurant chains are still
marketing as if it were 1999, using outdated messaging that focuses on
in-store dining when most consumers are looking for off-premise solutions.
🔹 Case Study: McDonald's
recent struggles with its value menu and its failed voice AI drive-thru
experiment illustrate the danger of chasing tech fads rather than
understanding what customers truly want. Meanwhile, fast-casual brands such as Chipotle
and Sweetgreen have successfully adapted by embracing digital-first
ordering and meal customization.
Takeaway:
Chain restaurants must think beyond their four walls. It’s no longer
about “dining out” vs. “eating at home”—it’s about seamless food access,
whether via curbside pickup, direct-to-consumer meal kits, or in-store meal
stations at retail locations.
The 5P’s of Food Marketing: A New
Playbook for Chain Restaurants
To stay relevant, restaurant chains need to embrace Foodservice
Solutions® 5P’s of food marketing:
1️⃣
Product – Offer Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat options alongside traditional
menu items.
2️⃣
Packaging – Ensure meals are portable and can be repurposed for multiple
eating occasions.
3️⃣
Placement – Be where consumers shop, whether that’s in a restaurant,
grocery aisle, or convenience store.
4️⃣
Portability – Meals must travel well, retain quality, and be microwave-
or oven-ready.
5️⃣
Price – Align pricing with consumer expectations for value, not just
brand heritage.
Case Study:
Starbucks' price hikes and menu complexity have driven customer frustration,
while convenience stores have gained share by offering simpler, faster, and
lower-priced premium coffee and food options.
Think About This: Evolve or Be Left Behind
The foodservice landscape is shifting whether chain
restaurants like it or not. The most successful brands in the next decade
will be those that:
✔️ Adapt to consumer demand for
convenience and fresh-prepared meal solutions.
✔️
Embrace new points of distribution beyond traditional restaurant locations.
✔️
Recognize that food is no longer a destination – it’s an experience that
must fit into consumers’ lives, seamlessly and effortlessly.
For many restaurant chains, the future depends on how
quickly they can move past outdated brand protectionism and evolve into
consumer-centric, dynamic foodservice providers.
The battle for Share of Stomach is intensifying.
Will legacy chains step up, or will they continue evolving at a snail’s pace
while consumers move on?
From the Grocerant Guru®:
"Success in foodservice today isn’t about being the
biggest – it’s about being the most relevant. Consumers are dynamic. Brands
that fail to evolve will be left behind."
Success Leaves Clues—Are You Ready to
Find Yours?
One key insight that continues to drive success is this: "The
consumer is dynamic, not static." This principle is the foundation of
our work at Foodservice Solutions®, where Steven Johnson, the
Grocerant Guru®, has been helping brands stay relevant in an ever-evolving
market.
Want to strengthen your brand’s connection with today’s
consumers? Let’s talk. Call 253-759-7869 for more information.
Stay Ahead of the Competition with
Fresh Ideas
Is your food marketing keeping up with tomorrow’s trends—or
stuck in yesterday’s playbook? If you're ready for fresh ideations that set
your brand apart, we’re here to help.
At Foodservice Solutions®, we specialize in consumer-driven
retail food strategies that enhance convenience, differentiation, and
individualization—key factors in driving growth.
👉 Email us at Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us
👉 Connect with us on social media: Facebook, LinkedIn,
Twitter
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