Grocerant Mix & Match Meal Components Include Coffee, Tea, Beer & Wine

 

The fault lines between retail foodservice channels are no longer visible to shoppers. Consumers move seamlessly among quick-service restaurants, fast casual, full service, grocery, and convenience stores based on speed, value, digital access, and menu relevance. What they are assembling is not just dinner — it is a personalized, mix-and-match meal solution according to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

Beer and wine have become important attachment opportunities within that solution.

Eight years ago, I wrote that retailers offering Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat meals alongside alcohol would capture incremental adoption. Today, the data is clearer. Off-premise occasions dominate restaurant traffic. Digital ordering continues to rise. Consumers are mission-driven and want fewer stops. When the entrée, sides, and beverages — including adult beverages — can be completed in one transaction, friction disappears.

That is grocerant power.

 

Consumers want completion, not channels

Households are juggling hybrid work, tighter budgets, and time compression. The growth of takeout, delivery, and curbside proves the trip is about efficiency. If a family can secure burgers, a salad, dessert, and a bottle of wine or a six-pack in one stop, the operator who enables that wins.

Alcohol carries three strategic benefits:

1.       Higher margins than most food items

2.       Trade-up capability for the total basket

3.       A reason to choose one provider over another

 

Fast food & QSR: the global playbook is already written

In the U.S., many quick-service chains have been cautious. Internationally, the story is very different.

·       McDonald’s serves beer in Germany, France, Spain, Portugal, South Korea and other markets, aligning with local dining norms and increasing average check.

·       Burger King has sold beer in markets including Japan and parts of Europe, particularly in urban flagships where evening traffic matters.

·       In Latin America and Asia, limited alcohol service is often positioned as part of a relaxed dine-in environment, extending dayparts beyond lunch.

The lesson: when culturally appropriate and operationally controlled, alcohol expands occasions.

For U.S. QSR brands facing slowing traffic growth, this is a lever worth revisiting, especially in urban, travel, and experiential formats.

 

Fast casual: permission already granted

Fast casual sits in the sweet spot between convenience and experience. Many brands already have consumer permission to serve alcohol.

Examples across the segment include concepts like burger chains, pizza fast casuals, and chef-driven bowls that offer craft beer taps or curated wines. These beverages:

·       encourage dine-in,

·       support evening relevance,

·       and pair naturally with premium menu positioning.

When integrated into digital ordering and takeout bundles where regulations allow, they become powerful incremental revenue drivers.

 

Full service: alcohol must travel

For bar-and-grill operators, the pandemic normalized alcohol with takeout where legislation permitted it. Guests responded.

Operators that merchandised margarita kits, wine pairings, or bucket-of-beer add-ons saw meaningful check growth. Even as dine-in has returned, off-premise remains structurally higher than pre-2020 levels.

Failing to attach beverages to off-premise meals now leaves money on the table.

 

The new electricity: partnerships & ecosystem thinking

The competitive battlefield is no longer just menu vs. menu. It is ecosystem vs. ecosystem.

Winning brands plug into:

·       local breweries and wineries,

·       regional distributors,

·       digital identity and loyalty platforms,

·       frictionless payment,

·       and delivery infrastructure.

Smaller producers bring authenticity. Restaurants bring scale and frequency. Together, they create differentiation that is hard to copy.

 

C-stores are executing mix & match with precision

Convenience retailers understand bundled value better than anyone. They are masters of attachment selling, and alcohol fits naturally.

Three common executions:

1.       Meal deal + beer cave offer
Buy two hot food items (pizza slices, roller grill, chicken) and receive a discounted single-serve beer or multi-pack.

2.       Family bundle
Take-home fried chicken or sandwiches paired with a price-reduced six-pack or bottle of wine.

3.       Game-day or weekend promotions
Digital coupons linking prepared foods with adult beverages to increase basket size.

Because the consumer is already in a “one-stop” mindset, conversion rates are strong.

 

Why this matters more now

Traffic growth across foodservice is harder to generate. Commodity volatility pressures margins. Labor remains expensive. Operators must increase average ticket and capture more of the occasion.

Alcohol — when aligned with brand positioning and compliance requirements — does exactly that.

 

Forward-looking insights from the Grocerant Guru®

1.       Completion will beat cuisine.
The brand that lets shoppers finish the entire mission in one purchase wins, even if another brand makes a slightly better burger.

2.       Digital bundling will automate attachment.
Suggestive selling inside apps will pair meals with beverages based on time of day, weather, and past behavior.

3.       Localized alcohol programs will outperform national sameness.
Regional relevance builds community connection and premium perception.

4.       Daypart expansion is the next growth frontier.
Alcohol helps QSR and fast casual stretch into evening and social occasions where they are currently under-indexed.

Since the early days of the grocerant movement, the trajectory has been clear: shoppers assemble meals across channels, and operators who simplify that process gain loyalty.

Beer and wine are not side notes. They are strategic components of the modern mix-and-match food ecosystem.

Tap into the Foodservice Solutions® team for greater understanding of New Electricity or for 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