Rite Aid Targets Sprouts, Earth Fare, and Whole Foods

 

In a never ending battle for share of stomach Rite Aid is targeting the ‘better-4-you’ space and it’s preminmum profit subset of ‘better-4-you’ snacks.  According to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®, “Rite Aid is right on, cherry picking the preminium profit sub-category of ‘better-4-you’ snacks.

In case you did not know, Ello Market is a private label snack line at Rite Aid that is focused on healthy eating will garner customers from customers who vist Whole Foods, Sprouts Farmers Market, and Earth Fare.

Taking the lead from the Dollar store sector at successfully cherry picking the grocery store sector, now Rite Adi is doing the same thing to the ‘better-4-you’ grocery store sector.

Rite Aid has divided the new private label ‘better-4-you’ line into categories – Core, Better for You, and Indulgent. Products include “healthy snacks, pantry essentials and indulgent treats,” according to a release from Rite Aid.

So, actual products include things like savory nuts (pistachios and dry roasted peanuts), assorted sweets (chocolate almonds, peach rings and gummy butterflies), as well as trail mix varieties including Protein Trail Mix and Probiotic Trail Mix, and other kitchen items like honey and spices.

Pamela Kohn, SVP, chief merchandising officer at Rite Aid, stated, “We’ve been paying close attention to consumption habits to ensure our offerings fulfill the needs and desires of our customers”.  According oi Johnson snacks are profitable, ‘better-4-you’ snacks are even more profitable.

Looking for success clues of your own? Foodservice Solutions® specializes in outsourced food marketing and business development ideations. We can help you identify, quantify and qualify additional food retail segment opportunities, technology, or a new menu product segment.  Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma WA is the global leader in the Grocerant niche visit us on our social media sites by clicking one of the following links: Facebook,  LinkedIn, or Twitter

Starbucks Elevates Oat Milk

When the world is looking better for you fresh food, Starbucks is there providing the ready-made solution for the consumer.  There is no doubt that Starbucks is unquestionably the food industry leader in sustainable, customized, personalized, fresh foods according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

Starbucks drinks made with Oatly oat milk began this month, timed with a release of new menu items made with nondairy milks and plant-based proteins empowering consumers to extend the ‘halo of ‘better-for-you’ once again at Starbucks.

So, the national release coincides with the announcement of Starbucks’ spring menu which includes multiple plant-based food and beverage options, including an iced brown sugar oat milk shaken espresso (made with Oatly oat milk, blonde espresso, cinnamon and brown sugar), and iced chocolate almond milk shaken espresso (made with almond milk, blonde espresso, cocoa and malt). Last year’s honey oat milk latte will also join the Starbucks lineup permanently.

Luigi Bonini, senior vice president of global product innovation at Starbucks, stated, “We’re pleased to bring Oatly oat milk to Starbucks stores nationwide in the U.S., something our customers have asked for as they increasingly seek a variety of plant-based choices,”… “When selecting an oat milk, we looked for a high-quality ingredient that is not only delicious, but also complements our coffees and inspires new handcrafted beverages […] opening up new possibilities for beverage innovation at Starbucks.”

Looking a customer ahead, Starbucks’ latest effort to appeal to vegans and flexitarians looks to be off to a great start. The company began testing out oat milk in 2019 but did not announce the widespread test of the new beverage option until last year.

Other new spring menu items that will appeal to vegans, vegetarians, and flexitarians alike include the fully-plant-based chickpea bites and avocado protein box, also coming to Starbucks menus this March. How are you extending the halo of ‘better-for-you’?

Looking for success clues of your own? Foodservice Solutions® specializes in outsourced food marketing and business development ideations. We can help you identify, quantify and qualify additional food retail segment opportunities, technology, or a new menu product segment.  Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma WA is the global leader in the Grocerant niche visit us on our social media sites by clicking one of the following links: Facebook,  LinkedIn, or Twitter 

Battle for Share of Stomach

Muscle Maker Grill Now Offering Direct-to-Consumer Prepared Meal Plans

Direct to consumers sales is nothing new.  Look what Amazon did with that.  Now Muscle Maker Grill is extending its brand reach via direct to consumer with a focus on fresh prepared meals and meal plans. Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® stated “it’s about time a chain restaurant fill that space in order to drive new electricity in the brand.”

At the intersection of meal item subscriptions and menu development there is now a solution for the non-cook that wants to eat better food that can be tailored to their specific desires. Yes, once again our Grocerant Guru® is talking convenient meal participation, differentiation and individualization as a branded meal invitation.

Muscle Maker announced the launch of www.MuscleMakerPrep.com. Now, customers can order ready-made “healthier for you” prepared meals shipped directly to their doorstep. So, the first location to launch this program is located in the Chelsea neighborhood of NYC allowing customers within 250 miles to order their ready-made meals. Additional sites are planned to come on-line throughout Q1 and Q2 increasing the company’s reach to consumers.

Direct t Consumers will allow Muscle Maker’s strategy to focus on non-traditional locations and ways to reach new consumers that can’t travel to a local store or don’t have one near them. The company believes the restaurant industry has changed and the team at Foodservice Solutions® has been saying that for years.

Being able to reach consumers through multiple touch points is critical to Muscle Maker’s strategy. Expanding grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared meal plans shipped directly to consumers doorsteps is a new way to get the company’s healthier products into the hands of consumers through contactless delivery and convenience.

This is a new evolving business line that expands the company’s reach to consumers and includes brick-and-mortar locations, non-traditional locations such as military bases and universities, home delivery through ghost kitchens and now meal plans shipped via UPS direct to consumers. This model can work out of all existing locations, including ghost kitchens and will be offered to sell through franchise locations.

Late last year the company announced a partnership with Happy Meal Prep and has been working relentlessly to perfect their temperature-controlled boxes to ensure safe delivery of MMG’s “healthier for you” food options. Partnerships matter when you are evolving your business model according to Johnson.

Muscle Maker customers can now order ready-made, prepared meals with options including Wraps, Bowls, Pastas and Salads. There are specific dietary categories as well including Keto and Gluten Free. After a minimum order of five meals, customers can order any quantity they desire to meet their meal prep needs. Customers can leverage customer relevant technology by opting in for texts or emails to keep up to date on the brand’s latest offerings.

Mike Roper, CEO of Muscle Maker Grill, stated, “MuscleMakerPrep.com not only creates an additional revenue stream for the company but allows for us to reach broader audiences and new market segments. This is an expansion of our strategy to get healthier food options to consumers via non-traditional locations and methods. As an expression of gratitude to our loyal customer base, for a limited time, the company will offer 15 percent off all first time delivered meal plan orders. As of today, we will be able to serve the NY, NJ, and PA markets and are seeking to open more markets as we dive into 2021.”

This partnership with Happy Meal Prep will drive new electricity, top-of-mind brand awareness, top-line-sales, bottom-line-profits, all while edifying brand relevance according to Johnson.

Johnson stated “that in my minds-eye the new electricity must be very efficient for the supply chain and includes such things as; corporate partnerships, fresh foods, online ordering, delivery, self-driving cars, plant-based foods, music, streaming, food sampling, toy’s, podcast, movies, cereal, developing brands, 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 and Subway fits that bill according to Johnson.

Don’t over reach. Are you ready for some fresh ideations? Do your food marketing ideations look more like yesterday than tomorrow? Interested in learning how Foodservice Solutions® 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 on our social media sites by clicking the following links: Facebook,  LinkedIn, or Twitter 

Gen Z & Millennials getting Fresh Food Fast

Going to college is a rite of passage for many.  It’s a time when many young people begin to express themselves and form association, likes and dislikes that can last a lifetime. Living in Washington State knowing many friends that have or that have family that now attend Central Washington University this glimpse of what they are eating is enlightening.

In an article by Isabelle Gustafson in Cstore Decisions she wrote: “Available for takeout only during the COVID-19 pandemic, the new concept includes a poke bar, wellness bowls, Buddha bowls, fresh-squeezed juices and kombucha. 

While there aren’t as many people living on the Central Washington University (CWU) campus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, those who are still have to eat. CWU Dining Services is doing everything it can to ensure they’re eating well.

For starters, Dining Services recently introduced its new Fresh Bar concept in the Student Union and Recreation Center (SURC), serving up a variety of healthy food options for students and staff who continue to visit the dining halls every day.

Selections include a poke bar, wellness bowls, Buddha bowls, fresh-squeezed juices and kombucha.

“Fresh Bar offers a mix of some of our most popular products, and our guests have really enjoyed it so far,” said Dean Masuccio, director of Dining Services. “We’re also trying to introduce some daily features to keep our guests excited.”

For example, Campus Executive Chef Joe Ritchie and his team have been preparing a number of pop-up menu items, taking advantage of the produce being harvested from the Wildcat Neighborhood Farm. They’re also offering comfort food staples like all-day breakfast, hamburgers, french fries and chicken tenders.

Because there currently are no dine-in options, demand for grab-and-go salads, wraps and sandwiches also has remained steady. The Dining Services experience may be slightly different this spring, but there’s enough familiarity that the regulars still feel right at home.

“The students have adapted very well, and they have been enjoying the interactions with our staff when they come in,” Masuccio said. “As brief as that experience is, we’re trying to make the best of it.”

 He added that his staff has adjusted nicely to the temporary transition to takeout-only services. The entire team has banded together to help Dining Services provide quality food essentials to those who remain on campus this spring.

“We’re using this time to prepare us for reopening when things get back to normal,” Masuccio said. “We expect to be stronger, more organized, and more efficient so we can serve the campus community even better than before.””  Gen Z and Millennials are important foodservice cohorts.  

Success does leave clues. One clue that time and time again continues to resurface is “the consumer is dynamic not static”.  Regular readers of this blog know that is the common refrain of Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.  Our Grocerant Guru® can help your company 253-759-7869.  

New Kum & Go Partnership Drives Grocerant Fresh Food Focus

Convenience store sector fresh food continues to attract new consumer growing sales at 9.6% a year according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.  The convenience store sectors new focus on grocerant niche fresh food continues to garner chain restaurant customers much to the dismay of the restaurant sector.

Kum & Go has entered into a new three-year commitment with PHA that will, result in healthier offerings, including fresh fruits and vegetables, grab-and-go items, beverages and prepared items in its fresh food program garnering new customers, creating new electricity.

Last week Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA) and NACS announced that Kum & Go is committing to offer healthier foods at healthier prices throughout its 400 locations improving consumers fresh food touchpoints according to Johnson.

PHA, is a nonprofit that helps leverage the power of corporate America to improve the food supply, has now helped to expand healthier options in more than 2,500 convenience store locations nationwide.

Nancy Roman, President and CEO of PHA stated “One in two Americans visits a convenience store every day. The convenience store industry has recognized the important role they must play in providing healthy, nutritious options for customers,” … “We are excited to have Kum & Go’s commitment to expand healthier options throughout its 400 stores.”

Kum & Go’s three-year commitment with PHA will result in healthier offerings, including fresh fruits and vegetables, grab-and-go items, beverages and prepared items in its fresh food program. Kum & Go will also be offering special price promotions on healthier items and will include healthier options in its “&Rewards” customer loyalty program.

Kum & Go Chairman and CEO Kyle J. Krause  stated “Kum & Go is proud to announce these new commitments with Partnership for a Healthier America,” …“The partnership’s mission to ensure all families have access to nutritious foods is in lock step with our own goals to help make healthy choices convenient and accessible for all.” How is your brand driving new electricity?

NACS President and CEO Henry Armour stated “The convenience retailing industry is committed to making the healthy choice the convenient choice. Kum & Go’s commitment with PHA furthers the work of the country’s leading convenience retailers and distributors to help make a positive difference in millions of Americans lives every day,”.

Consumers are dynamic not static how is your brand keeping up with consumer demand for fresh fast food? How are you driving 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, 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?

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

Sweetgreen wants to Educate and Elevate School Lunch

Back to basic, just what does that mean when it come to school lunch programs? In simple terms according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® “introducing fresh natural ‘real food’ to help students learn that ‘real food’ can taste good and be ‘better-for-you’.

So, when Sweetgreen announced its strategic partnership with FoodCorps to reimagine the school cafeteria experience, in order to guide students to experiment with real food, and empower them to make healthier choices every day. Our Grocerant Guru® said now that’s a good idea.

The program starts this school year, and will bring innovations to 15 cafeterias and 6,500 students in states across the country - Arkansas, Georgia, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, and Virginia, which all encompass a geographically and socioeconomically diverse set of students. Learnings from the pilot programs will inform the program’s expansion in the 2020-2021 school year to 50 schools, engaging over 20,000 elementary school students in the U.S.

Sweetgreen provided $1 million in funding to support FoodCorps and its pilot programs, which are built on a human-centered design study and leverages technology in 3 areas:

·         Tasty Challenges: Powered by behavioral science research, taste testing models let students try fruits + veggies in different preparations, then vote on their favorites. This model enables students to have direct input on their menu.

       Flavor Bars: Kids can explore new tastes and customize their meals with self-serve spices and sauces. This provides an opportunity for students to make choices about their meal, explore new flavors, and become more connected to the cafeteria environment.

·       School Cafeteria 2.0: Students are empowered to lead discussions and decisions around school lunch and the cafeteria. This concept uses project-based learning to give students a voice in improvements to the cafeteria.

Jonathan Neman, co-founder and CEO of Sweetgreen  stated “There are over 100,000 school cafeterias in America — that’s seven times more than the number of McDonald’s in the United States, meaning school meals play an incredibly powerful role in how 30 million kids connect to what they eat,” … “Food served in schools offer a powerful opportunity to change the trajectory of the health of a generation.”

Sweetgreen also connected with experts in food, nutrition and policy to weigh in on why school lunch matters and to help bring attention to the current state of food in schools to the forefront. Notable leaders include Deb Eschmeyer (social impact entrepreneur and former executive director of First Lady Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move!” Initiative), Sam Kass (Former White House chef and senior policy advisor for Nutrition, partner at Acre Venture Partners) and Dan Giusti (Founder of Brigaid, former executive chef at 1789 in Washington, D.C., and former head chef at Noma in Copenhagen).

Curt Ellis, co-founder and CEO of FoodCorps  stated “Cafeterias offer an extraordinary opportunity to nourish students, yet too often they lack the joyful, welcoming experience that gets kids excited about eating healthy food,” …“Thanks to support from Sweetgreen, FoodCorps is piloting an initiative to reimagine school cafeterias shaped by the voices of the very people who are impacted most by school food—the students.”

 Furthering their commitment to healthy and nutritious food in schools, Sweetgreen will donate $1 from every seasonal bowl to FoodCorps, Monday, September 16 through Sunday, October 13, 2019.  Once again proving fast food fresh is not only ‘better-for-you’ it just might be better for all of us.

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.

Better for You Mix & Match Meal Bundling Drives C-store Sales

Success does leave clues and convenience stores ability to expand menu / meal options with salty foods that are ‘better-for-you’ is a key driver driving top-line sales and bottom-line profits according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

According to market research firm Packaged Facts, U.S. demand for salty snacks at the manufacturer level is forecast to grow 3% annually from 2017 to 2022. The simple fact is consumers like salty snacks and consider them great additions to a meal particularly when they have the ‘halo’ of ‘better-for-you’ around them.

Cara Brosius, research analyst of consumer and commercial goods, MarketResearch.com, said demand for salty snacks is growing because of the “snackification” of American diets. …“Most consumers snack multiple times each day, and a growing number are replacing entire meals with snacks or eating snacks with main meals,” 

Johnson stated that most Americans grew up visiting fast food outlets that offered bundled meals that included salty french fries.  Johnson continued consumers like salt and salty foods, that is one of the reasons that 82.3% of all restaurant meals sold in the US are sold at fast food outlets.  

Mix & match meal bundling are hallmarks driving growth within the grocerant niche within every sector of retail food sale’s according to Johnson.  

Once again Johnson reiterated as regular readers know Gen Z and millennials are especially driving growth within the grocerant niche, as they have fast-paced, on-the-go lifestyles that demand portable and ready-to-eat foods and it is how they grew up eating.

In order to appeal to young consumers, it is important to edify your relationship with both Gen Z and Millennials so offering more snacks that provide health benefits, such as added protein and plant-based ingredients that are salty is a sure way to win.

Transparency is important, for example, Kettle Brand potato chips introduced a “Tater Tracker” feature on its website that allows consumers to input the product code on their bag of chips to track the farmer who sourced the potatoes used in that particular bag.

C-stores have the advantage in adding more CPG options from the ‘better-for-you’ category over chain restaurants elevating consumer choice within mix & match meal component bunding options.  Products that are sustainable, local, bold in flavor that reflect the neighborhood around you store are key to garnering incremental customers according to Johnson.

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

Choice Market Leaves Labor Shortages for Profits

Regular readers of this blog know about Choice Market the Denver, CO based convenience store that does not compete with restaurants, grocery stores, or other convenience stores for labor.  Without skipping a beat with freshness with it come to Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food Choice Market is a mini-mart in a vending machine according Tacoma, WA based Grocerant Guru®, Steven Johnson.

Choice Market is a 2,500-square-foot grocerant outlet filled with Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food that opened in 2017.  Choice Market focused on one of the hallmarks of the grocerant niche food that is ‘better-4-you” that are made locally.  They offer made-to-order sandwiches and meals and a product mix that is “90% better-for-you products; 10% traditional c-store and large CPG brands,” according to founder and CEO Mike Fogarty.

Reducing labor is key to keeping prices down so Choice has found an even smaller, more convenient way to reach customers. “The Choice Mini-Mart vending program combines quick service, fresh quality food from local vendors and the latest technology in a machine that is kept at the perfect temperature and is stocked with fresh, local snacks, fruit, sandwiches, salads, jerky and more. Prices range from $3 to $6 for snacks and drinks and $7 to $11 for meal solutions.” That is fresh food fast according to Johnson.  

Currently there are two Choice Mini-Mart vending machines in operations at Denver’s newest music venue, the Mission Ballroom. Here is how it works; “customers slide a credit card to unlock the door and access the food and drinks inside. Once they’ve taken an item and shut the door, they will be charged for the items removed. Users have the option of entering their email to get a receipt.”

Fogarty continued “Choice Mini-Mart is a natural extension of our omnichannel strategy and fully aligns with our mission to make good food accessible and convenient,….These vending machines are a perfect fit for airports, hospitals, breweries, offices and other institutions that are looking to provide their time-constrained customers and employees with fresh and delicious food.”

Fogarty’s business model was inspired by growing up going to East Coast-based Wawa convenience stores and spending time in Europe with where small-format grocery stores are popular. “I would frequent these small markets that were on almost every corner,” he said. “They were thoughtfully curated, and full of great local products. When I came back to the States, I felt this format was missing in our growing cities and really started to rethink what a convenience store can and should be.”

Choice Mini-Marts, elevate possibility to grow the brand’s reach fast and for less and looks very promising. Are you selling fresh food fast?  Does your retail outlet look more like yesterday than tomorrow? Why?

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.