Consumers Spiced it up in 2023

 

All food retailers know what their current customers bought from them in 2023.  However, have you wondered just what your customers were buying from your competitors when they were not buying from you?  Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® suggest that you read what recent Grubhub report found consumers were buying from them on their platform.  It’s a snapshot of Americans’ eating and drinking habits as seen through their orders on the platform

In case you did not know, 2022 was tagged “the year of the burrito,” this past year reflected how diners stepped out of their comfort zones and broke with convention. Grubhub characterizes 2023 as “doing it for the vibes.”  Here we go, read on:

“Grubhub analyzed millions of takeout and delivery orders from diners, crunching the data to pinpoint overarching trends as well as specific flavors and ingredients. According to the report, 2023 was all about self-expression, with diners embracing customizations and unlikely food pairings.

Here are some of the platform’s top findings or “vibes.”

• We added a little bit of … spice. Classic favorites like Sriracha were added to orders over 91,000 times, and over 53 million items were ordered with added spice. Condiments such as chipotle sauce and jalapeno cream sauce rose in popularity.

Spicy potato soft tacos, spicy chicken sandwiches, spicy tuna roll, hot and sour soup and drunken noodles were the top five fiery dishes recorded by Grubhub. And Buffalo chicken wings topped the list as the most popular wing flavor.

Casual-dining chain Buffalo Wild Wings is celebrating that win by offering Grubhub users 50% off (up to $10) on wing orders of $30 or more placed on Dec. 12.

• Late-night coffee for caffeine cravers. Customers are getting caffeinated later in the day. Over 10 million coffee orders were placed after 5 p.m. this year. Top choices: Iced coffee, caramel frappe, mocha frappe, cappuccino, and bringing up the rear, regular hot coffee.

• Cows made a comeback. Despite the fact that almost every coffee concept now offers almond, oat and other nondairy milks, cow’s milk rose 20% as an option for coffee orders year-over-year. Whole milk took the lead, followed by 2% milk and chocolate milk. Looks like coffee drinkers are creating their own mochas.

• Workers pause for a fizzy pick-me-up. Diet Coke won out as a refreshment break with the workplace crowd. In-office orders of the soft drink increased by 17% in 2023, and #dietcokebreak trended with over 43 million views on TikTok.

• Fries bring balance for salad fans. French fries were the top-ordered side dish of 2023, but they weren’t only paired with the usual burger or chicken sandwich. Over 600,000 Grubhub customers ordered their salad paired with fries over the last 12 months—boosting the french fry to the most-ordered side of 2023.

But every diner has a favorite style. Classic cut fries earned the No. 1 spot, followed by waffle fries, cheese fries, sweet potato fries and curly fries.

• From food to fashion, pickles were on everything. People placed over 6.9 million orders for pickles in 2023—an increase of 89% over 2022. That was the largest growth of any individual item, with diners ordering them on sandwiches, burgers, pizza and deep-fried on their own. And then there was the pickle sweatshirt that went viral.

• Pineapple earns status on pizza. Pineapple has been a favorite though controversial pizza topping for a long time, but this year its popularity soared 33% over 2022. Seems like people are no longer embarrassed to opt for Hawaiian Pizza.

That said, it came in at No. 5 among the top pizza choices, led off by cheese pizza, followed by margherita, pepperoni and Buffalo chicken in second, third and fourth places respectively.

Grubhub customers can compare their year of orders with these national trends with an individual 2023 Delivered report. Users should receive a customized recap report Tuesday to trace their own takeout and delivery journey of the year.”

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

Modern Market Eatery Consumers are Dynamic so is Modern Market Eatery

The mantra for most CEO’s is ‘do no harm’.  In most cases that means doing very little, calling minuscule incrementalism, action. Well, according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® they can’t say that about Modern Market Eatery co-founder and co-CEO, Anthony Pigliacampo.

The fact is, Modern Market Eatery (MME) has always been an innovative brand accustomed to adapting quickly. Understanding that forced to change means doing something not doing nothing. Thus, the decision to offer grocery items to guests amid one of the world’s largest health and economic crises was an easy one.

Modern Market is making its high-quality supply chain accessible to guests given many consumers don’t want to go into overcrowded out of stock legacy grocery stores. MME has easy access to produce and proteins, and competitive prices that rival most grocery stores for the quantity and quality of items, Modern Market is trying to fill a need in the community.

Last week the eatery rolled out grocery boxes and a la carte grocery and prepared food items for online ordering to all of its currently open markets, including Texas, Arizona and Colorado. Initially tested in the company’s Colorado restaurants, groceries have proven to be extremely popular.

“Our boxes not only give guests what they need, same day delivery, they allow guests to take advantage of the high-quality food in our supply chain that may be hard to find at grocery stores right now,” says co-founder and co-CEO, Anthony Pigliacampo. “We want to give guests access to fresh produce and high-quality meats and prepared foods at reasonable prices that, at the moment, our local grocers may be out of.” The current grocery offerings include the following:

re-Fresh Box: 1 head romaine, 1lb broccoli, 2 bunches asparagus, 1lb cauliflower, 2lb carrots, 2 cucumbers, 3 sweet potatoes, 1lb fingerling potatoes, 1lb mushrooms, 3 avocado, 3 apples, 1lb strawberries, and fresh herb seasoning. (8-10 Meals / $60.00)

Petite re-Fresh Box: A smaller version of the re-Fresh Box. 1 head romaine, 1lb broccoli, 2lb carrots, 1lb potatoes, 3 apples and 1lb additional fresh fruit. (4-5 Meals / $25.00)

Grill Box: 3lbs 100% grass fed steak, 10 servings pasta and mac & cheese sauce, 2 bunches asparagus, 1 large loaf sourdough bread, full soup container fresh chimichurri sauce, and 1 gallon classic lemonade. (8-10 Meals / $80.00)

Basic Box: 2 raw chicken breasts, 1 loaf sourdough bread, 1 dozen eggs, 1 gallon milk, 1lb carrots, 1lb broccoli, 12oz bag local coffee and toilet paper. (4-6 Meals / $50.00)

A la Carte Items: 12oz salad dressings, 12oz sauces, quarts of soup, quarts of sides, bakery items, bulk raw and cooked proteins.

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.

Just Salad’s Grocerant niche Platform Just Grocery

Fresh food fast and more, Just Salad’s grocerant niche platform is positioned to deliver results according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.  The pace at which restaurant companies have been evolving their business models is refreshing to Johnson, who has been advising, consulting, and speaking about customer adoption of the ‘grocerant niche’ since 1991.

With over 385,700 food professional’s and foodie followers on LinkedIn alone Johnson continues to be the leading global expert, educator, and speaker / pontificator of all things grocerant.  After all Johnson as regular readers of this blog know also coined the term grocerant when he identified, quantified, and qualified the niche.  

Just Salad is extending its brand value with a pro-active customer touchpoint that has the ‘halo’ of better-for-you it’s called Just Grocery.  Focused on New York City, Just Salad will offer delivery of food and pantry staples, along with meal kits for some of its popular menu items, in 90 minutes or less. 

Building top line sales and bottom-line profits with grocery staples including the ilk of nuts and grains, fruits and vegetables, bathroom tissue and paper towels, as well as Just Salad Tea, La Croix sparkling water and Just Salad’s house-made dressings are all available.

Nick Kenner, founder and CEO of Just Salad stated “We’re launching Just Grocery to provide nutritious food options and essential household items quickly and safely,”… “Our brand mission has always been focused on serving healthy, delicious food at an affordable price, and with Just Grocery we’re able to do that for our loyal customers in these difficult times.”

Just Grocery understand they more of you now have time to cook so they are including meal kits for Just Salad favorites like the Thai Chicken Crunch Salad, Sweet Valley Salad and Avocado Mash. All kits come complete with fresh ingredients and an easy-to-follow recipe card available on the Just Grocery website.

Just Grocery deliveries will be available in Manhattan south of 96th Street with a minimum order requirement of $50 and a $4.99 delivery fee. To protect the health and safety of its customers and team members, all food delivered from Just Grocery will come in tamper-proof packaging.

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

Will Zippin a Checkout-Free C-store Begin the Decline of Fast Food Restaurants

Customer migration and customer count declines have created the undercurrent of C-level discontent and turnover at many national chain restaurants.  Things may not be getting much better for the restaurant sector as other retail food sectors are evolving much faster than most within the restaurant sector according Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma WA based Foodservice Solutions®

Most regular reader of this blog have read about, visited, or understand the threat that Cashier-less convenience-store Amazon Go has become to the restaurant sector.  Well now is not the time to sit back and rest if you are running a chain restaurant according to Johnson.  Recently Zippin launched a “checkout-free” software platform that enables retailers to deploy frictionless shopping. How are you reducing your labor cost? 

 Zippin is a San Francisco-based startup. They have a concept store in the South of Market (SoMA) neighborhood to showcase its automated shopping technology in a real-life retail environment. It will be open to the public for limited hours during the week beginning in mid-September. Think fresh food fast.

The new store follows a wave of retailers and technology firms utilizing new technologies to address checkout speed and consumer convenience. Food chains such as Fairway Market are experimenting with “line-free checkouts,” and Anderson, Ind.-based convenience-store chain Ricker's as regular readers of this blog know announced recently that it is rolling out frictionless checkout technology in its 58 convenience stores in Indiana with Salt Lake City-based software provider Skip.

Zippin CEO Krishna Motukuri  stated “Consumer frustration with checkout lines is driving a tidal wave of demand among retailers and real-estate owners keen to provide a frictionless retail experience,"  “With annual sales of grocery stores, convenience stores and quick-serve restaurants totaling nearly $1.6 trillion in the U.S. alone, we believe there is a sizable market opportunity for us to pursue.”

Johnson asks; is your company evolving its business model? Does your restaurant operation and food sales platform look more line 1980, 2,000, or 2,015?  Does your business model and retail offering look more line yesterday than tomorrow you might soon become of the retailers closing more units than opening them.  

Zippin's patent-pending approach uses AI, machine learning and visual cognition technology that “brings an end to waiting in line,” the company said. It does not use self-scanners, and it lets shoppers enter, select their purchases and walk out. The secure Zippin platform can be deployed by any retailer wanting to offer autonomous, checkout-free shopping, it said. Once again I ask how long do your customers wait in line or the drive-thru?  Who is looking at your throughput other than your customers?

Is it time you offered more meals, meal components, and beverages that can be mix and matched into a perfect family meal for a family of one or a family of 21?

Are you looking for a new partnership to drive sales? Are you ready for some fresh ideations? Do your food marketing ideations look more like yesterday than tomorrow? Interested in learning how www.FoodserviceSolutions.us 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:  www.FoodserviceSolutions.us for more information.

Eataly is a Great Grocerant

Recently Bret Thorn of Nation’s Restaurant News wrote about Eataly the only thing that was clear from his article is that the editors and the author don’t have a clue about what Eataly is to consumers.  Simply put it is a Grocerant.  It’s not that hard to say. 

The team at Foodservice Solutions® simply laughed when they read the article.  There is no wonder why our blog gets 25,178 unique views per day.  Regular readers of this blog understand the undercurrents driving customer migration within the Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh food space and legacy foodservice media outlets are too busy protecting their turf to care about year over year customer counts. So for eight years restaurant customer counts continue to be flat or down. We know where the customers are going and why. 

So Bret, no Eataly is not an “Italian supermarket, food hall and restaurant complex” it is a grocerant.  Eataly is consumer interactive, consumer participatory, filled with Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food that edifies customer choice empowering personalization and customization with more mix and match meal components that are customer relevant.

The first of the two New York City locations has sales that have been reported over $60 Million a year.  Now they have two locations in New York City and single outlets in Chicago, Los Angeles and Boston. Eataly also has 13 locations in Italy, as well as outposts in Brazil, Monaco, Turkey, Dubai, South Korea and Japan. Success does leave clues. Here is what success can help you do.

FICO Eataly World is unlike anything the food arena has ever seen: As part of the sprawling, 20-acre complex in Bologna, Italy, there are 108,000 square feet of orchards, pastures, and gardens; six rides; 40 workshops; and 25 restaurants and food stalls from which to pick your pizza, pasta, and polenta. Adding to the grown-up theme park vibe, there will be 500 adult-sized tricycles with shopping baskets, designed especially for the complex by celebrated Italian bike makers Bianchi.

Like our grocerant guru said before Eataly is consumer interactive and participatory. There will be no boring lessons on Excel or how to know you've ordered enough olive oil. Instead, in this $106 Million dollar ‘theme park version of a grocerant visitors will be able to do everything from walk through the prosciutto process to see wheat, stone-ground, turned into flour, and made into several kinds of pasta.  Soon, the Eataly World experience is slated to even get its own a 200-room hotel in early 2018.

Don’t get us wrong I’m not suggesting everyone open a theme park.  What I am saying is that if you’re running a restaurant and your fresh food offering are not consumer interactive and consumers participatory you’re not keeping up with the undercurrents of consumers.  Consumers are dynamic not static brands must be as well. 

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

Is the Chain Restaurant Business Model Relevant?

What’s for Dinner is the age old question was once the foundation that fueled the growth of the restaurant industry. Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® has been tracking when consumers start planning dinner since 1991 and continues to find that at 4PM today 62.73% of consumer still do not know what’s for dinner.  However we know now that consumers are opting for options other than restaurants.

The simple fact is consumers have more options to select from and many do not include going out to eat at a restaurant.  Much of the desire not to dine out can be traced back to the 65 Inch HDTV Syndrome according to Johnson. Competition for the restaurant industry customer is coming from Drug Stores, Furniture Stores, Clothing Stores, Convenience Stores, and Grocery stores.

You know it a serious threat with 60,173 unit 7-Eleven is investing heavily in grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh food. 7-Eleven is testing 15 new prepared food items that range from Italian to Asian and Mexican flavors.

7-Eleven meal offerings look a lot like the prepared meals that are selling fast in the frozen food court at your local grocery stores except they are fresh prepared. In fact they resemble the meals and meal components offered by Pret A Manger, fresh&co, Snap Kitchen.  In fact today 160 million consumers visit a convenience stores every day in the US and 76% of convenience store customers purchase foodservice items with a drink according to Coca Cola USA.

Recently the NPD Group found, about two-thirds of consumers buy premade meals at least once a week. And that’s up nearly 70% from the firm’s 2010 data, when one in five consumers purchased a prepared meal in a given week.

Food industry research icon Bonnie Riggs of the NPD Group stated “Consumers use QSRs, convenience, and grocery stores interchangeably for fast food, particularly when they find the same quality and variety,” “The lines between retail foodservice and QSRs are blurring for consumers, and these channels are competing for visits from consumers looking for a quick meal or snack.” 

Regular readers of this blog know that’s what our own Grocerant Guru® has been pontificating since 1991. One things that 7-Eleven does better than more other food retailer is leverage the size of the chain to drive chain restaurants nuts with a threating price point according to Johnson.  The new meals begin at $3.99-$4.99 and cover the spectrum of trendy flavors and dayparts

 Kelly Buckley, 7‑Eleven vice president of fresh food innovation stated “Younger demographic groups, in particular, are constantly snacking throughout the day versus eating three traditional meals.” Buckley, formerly from Applebee’s and Pizza Hut, represents another existential threat. As c-stores try to gobble up the prepared food market, they are pulling talented executives from the restaurant industry.

Albertsons, the 2,600- unit grocery chain, is acquiring meal kit company Plated. This deal will make Plated the first onmichannel meal kit with national scale. So at 4 PM when your customer is looking for dinner we ask Why will they continue to come to 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