Bread is a Handheld Food and a Grocerant Success

 

While many consumers are just starting to think about going a diet at the start of the year.  I want to take a look back at 2021, within the grocerant niche and let you know that bread is back.  Yes, according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® the number one product for handheld food for immediate consumption is bread around world.  On top of that in a new pool conducted by The Harris Poll confirmed it.  Let’s look at some recent numbers:

So, according to a nationwide survey commissioned by General Mills Foodservice and conducted by The Harris Poll, Bread isn't just a key part of at-home meals. Americans' consumption of bread when dining out or getting takeout is on the rise.

Get this, during the past year, two-thirds of Americans (67 percent) report eating bread more than they normally would when dining out or ordering takeout and three in five Americans (60 percent) say they would rather indulge in a good bread item than dessert when dining out.

Chef Curt Wagner, part of the Chefs of the Mills team, stated "Bread and the associated carbs used to get a bad rap, but we are really seeing consumers come back to bread," … "From home bakers attempting to make sourdough and banana bread to diners seeking out the bread items they love but don't have the time or skills to make on their own, it appears we are all craving and eating more bread. I expect to see a resurgence of indulgent and creative bread menu items in the year ahead."

Consumers who are eating more bread when dining out or ordering takeout during the past year are doing so because it is offered as a complimentary "starter" (52 percent); because it is comforting (45 percent); to fulfill a craving (36 percent); to indulge (29 percent); or to reward themselves (25 percent).

Favorite bread items include garlic bread (61 percent), rolls (47 percent), French bread (35 percent), biscuits (34 percent) and croissants (31 percent).

Other key survey findings include:

·         Nearly three-quarters of Americans say that when dining out, their meal includes some type of bread item as a starter or part of the main course and that bread is something they look forward to when they are dining out or ordering takeout (both 73 percent).

·         87 percent of Americans say they enjoy being offered a free starter of fresh bread items, such as a bread basket or garlic bread when dining out.

·         63 percent of Americans are more likely to order a sandwich if it is made with a unique bread/sandwich carrier, such as biscuits, waffles or croissants, than if it is made from regular bread.

Wagner continued, "Bread is more than an everyday staple, it's one of the greatest comfort foods that diners really look forward to and enjoy when eating out or ordering takeout, which gives restaurants and foodservice operations an opportunity to shine," ... "There are so many ways operators can move beyond basic bread to elevate their menus and use bread in new and interesting ways."

Want to make your customer happy?  Here is how to do so using bread according to the team  General Mills Foodservice:

·         Surprise and delight diners by using bread items in unexpected ways, such as making a croissant the base for a decadent dessert;

·         Reduce waste by repurposing day-old bread items, such as making croutons out of unused bread;

·         Maximize the breads made across the menu from morning till night; and

·         Take the burden off staff and minimize waste with easy-prep, freezer-to-oven bread items that can be baked as needed.

Invite Foodservice Solutions® to complete a Grocerant ScoreCard, or for product positioning or placement assistance, or call our Grocerant Guru®.  Since 1991 Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma, WA has been the leader within the Grocerant Niche for both Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food menu ideations.

White Castle Research Drives Customer Adoption

Founded in 1921, White Castle continues to garner new customers, expand its geographic physical location’s boundaries, drive relevant brand messaging, while building top-line sales, and bottom-line profits. How have they done that so well?  Simple, by doing the basic well, and always garnering more customer focused research according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.  

Known for there ‘beef sliders’ White Castle is a brand that does not accept the status quo according to Johnson.  In strategic effort to broaden White Castel’s consumer appeal by age, sex, via product category they looked at consumer preferences outside of there brand then tested products and continued customer focused research.  Just the same way that  the team at Foodservice Solutions® does while identifying, quantifying, and qualifying new grocerant niche products.  It uses the Grocerant Guru’s, time-tested formula Build, Measure, Learn, and Repeat.  Here is a some of what they found:  

1.       Customers Prefer Chicken Rings Over Nuggets Nearly 9 to 1.

2.       The Chicken Rings are not only tasty, they’re also fun to eat.

Once again food that is interactive, participatory, and handheld for immediate consumption. White Castle’s Chicken Rings run circles around boring old chicken nuggets in the minds-eye of the consumer. “This is the major finding of a recent survey seeking consumer opinion on White Castle’s Chicken Rings and the mundane chicken nuggets offered by many of its competitors”. 

Other key findings of the survey include:

They also overwhelmingly proclaimed that Chicken Rings are tastier (86 percent) and more “craveable” (87 percent) than conventional chicken nuggets.

3.       82 percent of respondents say White Castle Chicken Rings are more shareable than chicken nuggets

4.       86 percent of respondents would give their friends and loved ones White Castle Chicken Rings over chicken nuggets

5.       73 percent of respondents say the ideal time to eat a Chicken Ring is during all day parts or “anytime the crave strikes”

6.       64 percent said the ideal time to eat a chicken nugget is never or only when a White Castle Chicken Ring isn’t available

Jamie Richardson, vice president at White Castle stated  “Honestly, we weren’t surprised at all by the results of the survey,”

White Castle’s Chicken Rings, are made with tender, juicy all white meat chicken and lightly breaded to perfection, are known just as much for their incredible taste as they are for their perfectly round shape. In fact, survey respondents described the Chicken Ring as “fanfreakingtastic,” “pluckin awesome,” “cravealicious” and “awesomely the best.”

Richardson continued “The nation’s Cravers have spoken, and we hear them loud and clear,” Will your brand be around after 100 years?  Will you still be driving customer relevance?

Are you looking for a new partnership to drive sales? Are you ready for some fresh ideations? Do your food marketing tactics look more like yesterday that tomorrow?  Visit GrocerantGuru.com 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