CVS: A Fresh Perspective on the Grocerant Niche

At the intersection of ‘better for you food’ and fresh prepared food, Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® believe CVS Pharmacy can find incremental customer relevance. One trend that's impossible to ignore is the rise of ready-to-eat and heat-n-eat fresh prepared foods. This "grocerant" niche is rapidly growing, and it's time for CVS to take a bite out of this lucrative market. 

The Current State of CVS 

CVS Pharmacy, the retail division of CVS Health, recently launched Well Market, a new store brand consumables line offering snacks, beverages, and groceries. This line brings 40 items to the shelves of CVS Pharmacy stores across the country and online. The products range from flavor-infused sprouted almonds to probiotic-boosted popcorn. Most items in the Well Market line are priced between $2.99 to $8.99. 

While this is a commendable step towards expanding their food and beverage portfolio, CVS is missing out on a significant trend in retail food: the grocerant niche of fresh prepared food. 

The Grocerant Opportunity 

The grocerant trend, a blend of grocery and restaurant, involves supermarkets offering fresh,Ready-2-Eat, and Heat-N-Eat meals and meal components. This trend caters to the busy consumer who is looking for convenience without compromising on health or taste. 

By incorporating fresh prepared foods into their offerings, CVS could drive top-line growth and bottom-line profits. Here's how: 

Catering to Consumer Preferences 

Consumers today are increasingly seeking out fresh, healthy, and convenient food options. By offering fresh prepared foods, CVS can cater to these preferences and attract a wider customer base. This could include busy professionals looking for a quick lunch, families seeking a convenient dinner solution, or health-conscious individuals wanting nutritious, Ready-2-Eat meals. 

Enhancing the In-Store Experience 

Adding a fresh food section could enhance the in-store experience for customers. It could transform CVS from a traditional pharmacy into a one-stop-shop for health and wellness needs. This could increase foot traffic and encourage customers to spend more time (and money) in the store. 

Driving Profitability 

Fresh prepared foods typically have higher profit margins than packaged foods. By offering these products, CVS could increase its profitability. Additionally, offering a unique and appealing range of fresh foods could differentiate CVS from its competitors, potentially driving customer loyalty and repeat purchases. 

The Path Forward 

To capitalize on this opportunity, CVS could consider partnering with local chefs or food suppliers to offer a range of fresh prepared foods. They could also explore creating an in-store dining area where customers can enjoy their meals. This could create a more engaging and enjoyable shopping experience, further driving customer loyalty. 

Just think about this, by embracing the grocerant trend and offering fresh prepared foods, CVS has the potential to drive significant growth and profitability. It's an opportunity that's too good to pass up. 

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 

Rite Aid Evolving with a Fresh Food Focus

 

Retailer after retailer find that evolving with consumers pays off in the long run. Consumers are dynamic not static and retailers must be as well.  Demand for grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh food had created new growth for many a retailer as regular readers of this blog know.

Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® believes that Rite Aid will benefit from its new partnership with Uber Eats garnering new electricity for its food, beverage, and snacking offerings. So, how is your branding extending your brand invitation this fall?

According to Johnson, “Brand relevance is in part driven with innovation in new food products in combination with new avenues of distribution all of which are the platform for the new electricity.”  That said, what are you waiting for?

Johnson stated “that in my minds-eye the new electricity must be very efficient for the supply and includes such things as fresh foods, 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 retailers to survive the next generation of retail must embrace the artificial intelligence revolution while simultaneously embracing fresh food that is portable, fresh, with differentiation that is familiar not different. 

So, when Rite Aid announced the expansion of its partnership with Uber Eats to offer same-day delivery of grocery and healthcare products the undercurrents of customer demand were once again in play.

Get this, now on-demand delivery is now available for 2,185 Rite Aid drugstores across 17 states on Uber Eats. Customers who wish to order Rite Aid items for delivery open the Uber Eats app, tap the convenience or pharmacy icons, select Rite Aid, and begin shopping. Within the app, users can access a full catalog of healthcare and grocery products from their local Rite Aid store. Uber Pass and Eats Pass customers will also enjoy no delivery fee and 5% off on all orders over $15.

Battle for Share of Customer Dollars

Jim Peters, chief operating officer of Rite Aid, stated, “Consumer shopping preferences are changing, so we are continuing to evolve our retail business to ensure customers are able to conveniently get what they need to keep their family happy and healthy – whether they visit us in-store or buy online,” ... “By adding Uber as a delivery option, we are doubling down on an omnichannel approach that complements the busy lives of our customers. Ensuring convenient access to whole health essentials enables us to live our purpose of helping people achieve whole health for life.”

So, Uber Eats now becomes Rite Aid’s latest partner for on-demand delivery service for front-of-store products. The Camp Hill, Pa.-based drugstore chain has offered same-day delivery of groceries and OTC health products at all of its stores through Instacart under a partnership announced just over a year ago. This past May, Rite Aid teamed up with DoorDash for same-day delivery of nonprescription health, wellness and convenience products. And most recently in August, Rite Aid joined with Shipt nationwide to offer delivery in as soon as an hour.

Raj Beri, Uber’s global head of grocery and new verticals at Uber Technologies, stated, “Convenience is a key component of Uber’s delivery strategy, allowing us to create a seamless delivery experience by ensuring we have the essential stores and products customers need," said. "With our partners at Rite Aid, we're thrilled to make shopping for everything from cold medication to cosmetics more 'convenient' than ever."

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 global leader in the Grocerant niche. Contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us or 253-759-7869

CVS Evolving with Fresh Food via a National Latino Grocery Chain

 

The consumers is dynamic not static.  Retailers need to be as dynamic as consumers if they want to maintain relevance according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

CVS understand the dynamic shift in demographics and consumer demand for fresh food products and is focusing on growing its Hispanic-focused CVS Pharmacy y mas chain, with a special emphasis on grocery to drive incremental customer relevance and year over year same store sales growth according to Johnson.

CVS is opening 12 more CVS Pharmacy y más stores, this time in New York and New Jersey. The stores are designed to provide a one-stop shop for consumers looking for food, beauty and other merchandise, with more than 1,500 grocery products from Hispanic brands such as Iberia Foods, Yaucono, Fabuloso, Tio Nacho, Pilon and Café La Llave.

Mayra Boitel, VP, chief merchant of alternative formats at CVS Health stated, “Our CVS Pharmacy y más stores have been hugely beneficial to providing a more inclusive environment and value-based personalized selection for our Hispanic customers,” … “Customers can access familiar brands they already know and love, speak with a bilingual staff who can clearly answer any questions about their medication regimen, and easily navigate throughout the store to find what they need quickly. We understand our Hispanic customers are looking for more personalized shopping experiences and we’re eager to deliver in these markets and make them feel at home while they pick up their essentials.”

Since 2015, CVS Pharmacy has opened more than 200 CVS Pharmacy y más locations in more than 90 cities across California, Florida, Nevada, Oklahoma, Texas and Puerto Rico now they are elevating the platforms success to the Northeastern U.S..

CVS Pharmacy, the retail division of CVS Health, is America's leading retail pharmacy with nearly 10,000 locations, including over 1,700 pharmacies inside of Target and Schnucks grocery stores.  They have learned how to evolve with customer relevance and fresh food?  You can to?  Want to learn how?

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. 

Fresh Food Fast Times they Are A Changin’ See Sally the Robot

Times they are a changin’ are both words and lyrics Bob Dylan written back in 1964.  The truth of the matter is the undercurrents of change driving retail foodservice today are just as disruptive as the 60’s were for the world back in the day.

Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant Guru® Steven Johnson, based in Tacoma, WA ask just how is your company maintaining customer relevance, reducing labor, or add new points of distribution?  Doe’s you stredgic path forward look more like yesterday than tomorrow?   

Sally the Robot, was created by food robotics company Chowbotics, that offers thousands of custom meal and snack options from any combination of up to 22 ingredients, in addition to chef-crafted, pre-programmed bowls edifying customization and personalization in new non-traditional locations.

By utilizing robotics, Deli Time is able to capitalize on the nationwide trend of providing healthier food options at new non-traditional locations saving customer time. In addition to locals seeking nutritious food on demand, Sally’s unlimited accessibility will especially benefit those in the office building working outside normal business hours, such as employees at the CVS customer service call center, which is open all day and night.

Regular readers of this blog know but if you don’t, Sally, created by food robotics company Chowbotics, offers thousands of custom meal and snack options from any combination of up to 22 ingredients, in addition to chef-crafted, pre-programmed bowls. At this location, Sally serves Chowbotics’ Coastal Menu of salads and grain bowls in entree and side portions. Users can fine-tune the calorie total by adding or subtracting ingredients, as well as view full nutritional details for each selection. Sally is equipped with a credit card reader to facilitate transactions when Deli Time is closed from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.

Megan Burns, Vice President of Sales for Deli Time stated “We are excited to offer an innovative way to experience the same quality of ingredients our customers have come to expect all day and night through this groundbreaking technology,”. Johnson has but one question are you being disrupted or are you driving disruptive growth?

Chowbotics has been recognized by The New York Times, Food & Wine, Bloomberg Pursuits, CNN, CNBC, WIRED, TechCrunch, and many more influential national publications for its creation of Sally and the robot’s impact on the foodservice industry. Fast Company named Sally one of The World’s Most Innovative Companies in Robotics in 2019, “10 Restaurant Innovations Changing the Way We Eat”,.

Are you looking for a new partnership to drive sales? Are you ready for some fresh ideations? Does your growth path 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.

Expanding Grocerant Niche Fresh Prepared Food Sales is Exactly what Grocer’s should be Doing

Success does leave clues and one sure clue of success is the rapid adoption of grocerant niche fresh prepared meals and peal components according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®. 

At the intersection of the family dinner table and food sales Foodservice Solutions® most recent Grocerant ScoreCard found that 64.7% of households do know What’s for Dinner at 4PM every day.  The same report also found that 83.1% of dinner tables included at least one grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat or Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food item, or as we call them meal components.

So, when our Grocerant Guru® heard that The Kroger Co. and Walgreens are teaming on an exploratory pilot in which shoppers will be able to order Kroger grocery items online and pick them up at 13 of the drug store chain’s stores in northern Kentucky, he got excited thinking Kroger is getting on the right path.

When in fact all it was about is extending Kroger’s private label ‘Our Brands products, including the natural and organic Simple Truth brands into some Walgreens. What a big miss for Kroger and even bigger missed opportunity for Walgreens.

Clearly Kroger with over 18 store Banners and several private label brands still is looking back wanting to be a company that fills your pantry with food from there banners and private label product line.  Selling more of what they used to sell is how Kroger got itself into a pickle today? 

That pickle is a grocery store company with national footprint that is growing 1/3 the rate of the fastest growing grocer Aldi.  How can that be?  Simply put they have a ‘category management’ mindset of yesterday. 

With 9,800 units Walgreens can take lots of Kroger’s private label branded foods.  However, much like other CPG food manufactures consumers will continue to migrate from legacy CPG shelf stable food from the pantry to fresh prepared meals.  If Kroger wants to thrive in 2025 they had better start looking a customer ahead instead of looking like a company of yesterday.

Walgreens on the other hand does and outstanding job at its Duane Reade units with ‘Fresh & Ready’ foods that have provided a platform for incremental customer adoption by daypart.  If success does leave clues and it does Walgreens grocerant niche ‘Fresh & Ready’ will be a brand that continues to expand from urban to suburban locations.

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.