Wawa Much More than a Fast-Casual C-Store

With close to $4.621 Billion in annual sales there is no doubt that Wawa continues to drive customer interaction with a leave of branded service, fresh food, and fresh beverages that few can mimic according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

Wawa intends to offer drive-thru service for the first time at a new store.  So just what does that mean.  Well according to Johnson it is the next level of service that Wawa is exploring extending to its customer based in an effort to expand fresh food and beverage sales while garnering new customers.

The new drive-thru location  have three parking spaces reserved for curbside pickup as well. While the drive-thru hours would run from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. for a limited menu of food and beverage items, including hoagies, Sizzli breakfast sandwiches, soup, coffee and smoothies to start.

Wawa said the new unit should be open by the end of this year. Its reported that the current planned model for the drive-thru will allow up to 19 vehicles to line up at an 88-square-foot drive-thru window.

Terri Micklin, Wawa's head of construction stated "We are hoping to learn from the layout, workflow and traffic flow at this location, as we continue to explore alternatives for longer term application to our stores post-COVID-19,".  Note to accommodate the drive-thru, the site will have a smaller number of standard parking spaces and fuel islands.

Wawa predicts that 30 to 50 percent of the store's customers will utilize the drive-thru. Who are you selling what and how?  What can you learn from Wawa?  What is your AUV’s? Can you compete with Wawa?

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 Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma, WA has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche. Contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us or 253-759-7869

Subway’s Mistakes of the Past Haunt its Future Success

Success does leave clues and it is clear that the $ 5 Dollar Footlong promotion that began during the last recession, ignited retail foodservice sector sales and propelled Subway to recorded growth for years, ran too long according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

That promotion helped place Subway in an industry leadership position with the most relevant messaging at the time, one of price/value with the ‘halo’ of better-for-you via freshness. What happened along the way is that other restaurant chains adopted the $ 5 price point diluting Subway’s message and relevance with the consumer.

The consumer is dynamic not static and Subway remained stuck on price, all the while forgetting the importance of the halo of better for you.  Clearly, price had been top-of-mind with the consumer.  However, consumers began refocusing on the ‘halo’ of better for you more as they worked their way out of the recession mind-set.  When the consumer moves on brand leaders need to as well.

It’s now 12 years later and we are in another recession.  The consumer definition value has evolved since then and franchisees are now faced with increased labor cost, packaging cost, food cost and delivery cost. The North American Association of Subway Franchisees (NAASF) has become a stronger voice and increasingly vocal about the brands seeming single focus on price point rather than value and brand messaging.

The consumer has continued to migrate from Subway, and many other restaurant brands for the past 7 years if you look at year over year same store customer counts.  The customer migration has hurt the industry and Subway’s franchisees sales and profits.

Battle for Share of Stomach

Consumers are looking for meals and meal solutions for a single product and price point even during these troubling times. Grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared meals and meal components that can be mixed & matched then bundled into a family meal continue to garner incremental consumers.

At the intersection of the consumer, Subway, and its franchisees is the grocerant niche. If top line sales and bottom-line profits are central to Subway’s brand growth the team at Foodservice Solutions® recommends invigorating Subways’ brand messaging with the ‘halo’ of better for you once again via inviting consumers with interactive participatory grocerant niche offerings.

Consumers are dynamic not static.  Millennials and Gen Z consumers are looking forward not back.  They want discovery not recycled.  If success doe leave clues, one clue that branded food retailers should never want to forget is your brand must move forward with the consumer. Are you winning the battle for Share of Stomach?

‘Better-for-you’ Superfood Chain Everbowl Sets Sail

The ‘halo’ around grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh food continues to expand garnering attention from consumers and private-equity groups creating a platform for continues innovation and growth according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

If you are looking for an example of how to grow your ‘Superfood’ brand you need only to look at how Everbowl has done it according to Johnson with plans to add 45 units after private-equity injection the success clues are right there.

Recently San Diego-based superfood and smoothie chain Everbowl secured $3 million in funding from a Toronto-based private-equity group. The 17-unit Everbowl said the company plans to use the investment from International Franchise Inc., or IFI, a subsidiary of Serruya Private Equity, or SPE, to accelerate growth. By the end of 2019, the company said it plans to open as many as 45 locations.

Jeff Fenster, Everbowl founder and CEO stated “We are thrilled to be working with SPE and IFI to help fuel our growth. They have a proven track record of massive success working with other brands,” … “Our brand identity and company culture remain vital to our success, and we are thrilled that this partnership will allow us to facilitate our expansion, achieve our long-term business goals, while remaining true to our core vision.”

For those of you who do not know; Everbowl launched two years ago as a counter-service shop serving a menu of bowls and smoothies made with superfood bases such as acai, pitaya, graviola and acerola.  Sixteen-ounce smoothies and 24-ounce bowls cost $8 to $9. Everbowl, quickly expanded to 17 locations in Southern California ranging from San Diego to Riverside.

Aaron Serruya, CEO of IFI stated “We’re proud to be a part of a brand that continuously serves high quality, thoughtfully crafted, great tasting treats and snacks that are not only delicious and refreshing, but also good for you,”

Serruya’s other investments include Pinkberry, Yogen Früz and Cold Stone Creamery.  In late 2018, Serruya and London-based Lion Capital LLP bought Global Franchise Group, whose brands include Great American Cookies, Hot Dog on a Stick, Marble Slab Creamery/MaggieMoo’s, Pretzelmaker and Round Table Pizza.

Aaron Serruya and his brother, Michael Serruya, founded the Yogen Früz frozen-yogurt chain in Canada in the mid-1980s. They acquired a controlling interest in Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Kahala Brands Ltd. in 2013, bringing such brands as Cold Stone Creamery and Blimpie under the Serruya umbrella.

They sold Kahala to MTY Food Group Inc., a publicly traded Canadian company, in June 2016 for about $310 million.

Foodservice Solutions® specializes in outsourced business development. We can help you identify, quantify and qualify additional food retail segment opportunities or a new menu product segment and brand and menu integration strategy.  Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma WA is the global leader in the Grocerant niche visit Facebook.com/Steven Johnson, Linkedin.com/in/grocerant/ or twitter.com/grocerant

Grocerant Fresh Prepared Food with Portability: Is What’s for Dinner

When asking What’s for dinner there is a very good chance you are looking for fresh prepared multi-flavor, multi-ethnic Grocerant meal components that you can bundle into a customized family meal. Heat-N-Eat and Ready-2--Eat fresh prepared food with portability is driving retail food success in 2018.

Where are you shopping for you food today is not the same place your mother was nor is the meal prepared the same way it was back in the day according to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

In the US more and more multi-generational families are gathering for meals together.  Thus the demand for more divergent flavors continues to permeate the dinner table. Grocerant mix and match bundled meal component offerings allow for increased family integration, understanding and acceptance in less time without a required cook from scratch skill set according to Johnson.

Back in the 1940's cooking from scratch was the normal. The average home cooked meal took 150 minutes to prepare. Everyone sat down at the table and enjoyed it or not but they all ate the same thing. Today's "home cooked meal" takes on average less than 30 minutes to prepared. In most cases at least two different entrées are served.

The average time spent inside a McDonalds in the 2,000 was 11 minutes. Today 65+ percent of all McDonald's food is sold via the drive-thru. U.S. fast-food chains are increasingly remodeling restaurants in an effort to garner additional drive-thru customers inside and increase sales, simple because the drive-thru can't hold all the cars.

Consumers Want Easy to Prepare Meals

The grocerant niche continues to grow with companies like Central Market, Whole Foods, Wegmans and 7-Eleven entering the fresh prepared better for you space. Meal time is now becoming a time of convenient meal participation, with differentiation and individualization for the entire family. Safeway with its lifestyle stores are heading in the right direction however the stores are so large consumers are forced to spend more time in them than they want.

More often than not the multi-generational family today is multi-ethnic as well. Creating a demand for more varied flavors and additional cooking skill set that is simply not there. Grocery stores, Convenience Stores, Restaurants and Chain Drug Stores are all selling Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food. Is your focus family dinning? Are you selling meals or meal components for Take-Out, delivery or Take-Away?

Lacking the skill set to prepared fresh prepared multi-ethnic meal components at home coupled with the time it takes to prepared a home cooked meal it is clear the buying habits of consumers will continue to evolve. Bundling mix and match meal components into a meal is one key driver within the grocerant niche according to Johnson.

Given that most American family are comprised of multi-cultural background. The fight for share of stomach will only intensify. How is you’re r brand prepared sell fresh prepared food to this new set of consumers in search of full flavored meal-components?

Since 1991 Foodservice Solutions® a Tacoma, WA based retail foodservice consultancy has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche. Foodservice Solutions® specializes in outsourced business development. We can help you identify, quantify and qualify additional food retail segment opportunities or a new menu product segment and brand and menu integration strategy.  Visit Facebook.com/Steven Johnson, Linkedin.com/in/grocerant/ or twitter.com/grocerant for more.

Smoothie King Pours the Holiday Cheer

It’s that time of year when the Holiday’s take center stage and eating-out becomes as important as what you eat.  This year Smoothie King is celebrating the holiday season with the launch of their new seasonal meal replacement blends at all store locations beginning November 14 through December 26 to help you stay fit and maintain the holiday spirit.

The new menu items fit that bill according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® the new items include; Slim-N-Trim Cranberry, The Activator Gingerbread, and Vegan Apple Cinnamon are all limited edition smoothies tailored to fit guests’ purposes: Slim, Fitness and Wellness, respectively, as part of a sensible diet and regular exercise routine. 

Mitchell Grittman, Food Scientist for Smoothie King  stated “With the holiday meal replacement blends containing up to 27 grams of protein and all being less than 400 calories per 20 oz. cup, guests can enjoy the holiday flavors we all crave without the guilt,”.  “Each of these holiday meal replacement blends deliver on Smoothie King’s Cleaner Blending initiative by containing no gluten, no trans fat, no high fructose corn syrup, no hydrogenated oils, and no ingredients prohibited by any regulatory lists monitored by NSF.”

In case you did not know Smoothie King blends all smoothies with a specific purpose in mind.  Whether your goal is to slim down, firm up, stay well, replace a meal, or just take a break, they have a smoothie that can help fulfill everyone’s purpose as part of a sensible diet and regular exercise routine. 

Smoothie King also offers a number of nutritious Ready-2-Eat or Ready-2-Drink retail products, including sports beverages, energy bars, vitamins, supplements and more.  Mix and Match meal bundling drives retail growth in every category of retail foodservice today.

Success does leave clues www.FoodserviceSolutions.us  is the global leader in grocerant niche business development.  We can help you identify, quantify and qualify additional food retail segment opportunities.  Has your company had a Grocerant ScoreCard completed a Grocerant Program Assessment, or new Grocerant niche product Ideation?  Want one?  Call 253-759-7869 Email: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us

McDonald’s Where America Eats

There is no doubt that America eats at McDonald’s.  However  as Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® has pointed out repeatedly that Grocerant ScoreCards show that McDonald’s continues to be a aspirational brand driven in large part a halo of ‘better-for-you’ consumer perceptions.

So, last week when McDonald’s responded to Panera Bread CEO Ron Shaich’s challenge to the CEO’s of McDonald’s, Wendy’s, and Burger King to eat exclusively from their kids menu for a week or to rethink what there restaurants were serving.  The team at Foodservice Solutions® knew that was not a problem for McDonald’s or it customers.  

Here is how McDonald’s responded “We’re proud of how we’re continuing to raise the bar on food we serve at McDonald’s.  Our recent announcement that we’re adding Honest kids Juice Drink to our Happy Meals joins other positive changes we have made, such as removing artificial preservatives from Chicken McNuggets, which also don’t have artificial colors or flavors. 

They continued ‘Since 2012, McDonald’s has served more than 2 Billion servings of fruit and low-fat dairy products like Go-Gurt and automatically offering apple slices in Happy Meals.”  Success does leave clues and when it comes to industry leadership McDonald’s is doing all of the right things. 

Foodservice Solutions® specializes in outsourced business development. We can help you identify, quantify and qualify additional food retail segment opportunities or a new menu product segment and brand and menu integration strategy.  Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma WA is the global leader in the Grocerant niche visit Facebook.com/Steven Johnson, Linkedin.com/in/grocerant/ or twitter.com/grocerant

It the season for a ‘Better for You’ beverage Smoothie King

Foodservice Solutions® grocerant niche leadership defined the ‘better for you’ fresh prepared food space back in the day.  Companies the ilk of Smoothie King run with it and today they have over 900 units.  Smoothie Kings ‘Healthy Rewards’ loyalty program edifies the brand with customer focused relevance according to our own Grocerant Guru®, Steven Johnson. 

Recently Smoothie King re-introduced a fall favorite ‘Immune Builder Pumpkin Spice’ smoothie.  This quintessential fall flavor is back and with this new Immune Builder Pumpkin Spice will join the menu alongside Immune Builder Orange and Immune Builder Mixed Berry. The Immune Builder Smoothies are blended to help guests support their immune systems as fall approaches and the new school year begins and that is ‘better for you’ according to customers.  

Mitchell Grittman, Food Scientist for Smoothie King  stated “The Immune Builder smoothies are chock-full of vitamin C, giving guests a tasty way to help support their immune systems,” … “The Pumpkin Spice flavor was a perfect fit and our use of organic pumpkin sets this smoothie apart from other pumpkin flavored drinks on the market.”

Grittman continued “The Immune Builder Pumpkin Spice Smoothie is rich in iron and calcium, blended with organic pumpkin, carrots and super grains, includes Herbal Immune enhancer, and contains more than 300 percent of your daily vitamin C. Smoothie King’s better-for-you pumpkin blend has 370 calories, 14 grams of protein, 10 grams of fiber and only 9 grams of added sugar per 20-ounce cup. The Immune Builder Smoothies are featured in the “Wellness” blend category on the Smoothie King menu, with each flavor fulfilling your daily vitamin C per 20-ounce cup.”

Remember  that Smoothie King blends all of its smoothies with a specific purpose in mind. Whether your goal is to slim down, firm up, stay well, replace a meal, or just take a break, Smoothie King has a smoothie that can help fulfill everyone’s purpose as part of a sensible diet and regular exercise routine. Is your company looking for ways to edify your brand with the halo of ‘better for you’?

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

The Plant Café Organic Proven to be ‘Better for you”

The halo of ‘better-for-you’ has help drive dynamic growth of the grocerant niche according to Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant Guru®, Steven Johnson.  The Plant Café’ Organic has now become the first Platinum REAL Certified Concept.  Is your concept inching closer too ‘better-for-you’?

The fast-casual organic pioneer, The Plant Café Organic, recently underwent “the Eat REAL Certified Audit and become the first in the nation to qualify for Platinum-level certification. This certification ushers in a new generation of REAL Certified restaurants and foodservice providers committed to making changes to their operations in order to raise the bar for foodservice operators nationwide.”

Matthew Guelke, cofounder and CEO of The Plant Café Organic stated “Since we opened our first restaurant twelve years ago, The Plant has been committed to 100 percent organic food sourced from loyal purveyors. Our sustainability and health mission has found a strong partner in Eat REAL,” .. “We are proud to have met the high standards for Platinum-level certification and together with Eat REAL, we hope to encourage other restaurants to prioritize nutrition, ethical sourcing, and organic foods.”

As Millennials seek authenticity this certification marks the rollout of Eat REAL’s updated certification standards, which incorporate, among other things, an increased focus on animal welfare, sustainable produce sourcing, and a tiered (Silver, Gold, and Platinum) system for scoring restaurants that go above and beyond to make changes to their operations and a place for Millennials to validate claims made by chain restaurants.

Becoming Platinum certified, means that The Plant Café is leading the highest ranking REAL Certified establishments—the goal of which is to represent the top 1 percent of nutrition and sustainability best practices nationwide. On top of the REAL Certified audit standards, Platinum restaurants must also meet the following prerequisites:

1.        A minimum score of 90 percent on the REAL Certified audit.

2.        100 percent of meat and poultry products are sourced from non-CAFO farms.

3.        100 percent of seafood must be “green” according to the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch Consumer Guide.

4.        At least 50 percent of oils used in food preparation are non-GMO.

5.        100 percent of entrées contain at least one serving vegetables that is not juiced, deep-fried, or sweetened.

6.        None of the pre-packaged food items sold include ingredients from Eat REAL’s list of unacceptable ingredients.

Millennials are seeking discovery and have become comfortable with ‘better-for-you’ food.  If you are a retail foodservice purveyor do you understand all of the different attributes that resonate with Millennials when it comes to the halo around ‘better-for-you’?

Success does leave clues www.FoodserviceSolutions.us  is the global leader in grocerant niche business development.  We can help you identify, quantify and qualify additional food retail segment opportunities.  Has your company had a Grocerant ScoreCard completed a Grocerant Program Assessment, or new Grocerant niche product Ideation?  Want one?  Call 253-759-7869 Email: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us