Take-Out Restaurant Meals Were Projected Way UP for Thanksgiving Were Your Sales Up?

 

Gen Z and Millennials had time off during the Thanksgiving break and they did not want to stay home and cook and or wash dishes all weekend.  That according to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

Once again, it’s all about convenience and cost savings.  In a new study by Popmenu found one-third of consumers (32%) plan to order takeout/delivery for Thanksgiving dinner this year while 17% plan to dine in person at a restaurant. Consumers under the age of 35 are the most likely to lean on restaurants with 42% planning to order takeout/delivery for Turkey Day and 20% planning to dine on-premise.

Let’ see what they found and Why Consumers Are Dining Out:

Consumers are relying on restaurants to supply their entire meal or certain dishes as they celebrate Thanksgiving. When asked why:

·         64% said it’s just easier

·         35% don’t feel like cooking

·         35% prefer professionally cooked food

·         24% estimate that it’s cheaper to order from restaurants than to buy all the ingredients needed to cook Thanksgiving dinner

What They’re Serving

While turkey is, of course, the star of the show, many consumers are featuring other main courses in their Thanksgiving spread. When asked what they plan to serve, consumers reported:

·         77% – turkey

·         42% – ham

·         27% – steak

·         27% – fish

·         20% – vegetarian options

What They Can Expect

Consumers will encounter more digitally-enabled experiences as they interact with restaurants this year. Restaurants partnering with Popmenu are running special online ordering events with limited-time menus featuring all the Thanksgiving fixings for pickup/delivery—multiple restaurants have already booked $10,000 or more in online orders.

With phones ringing off the hook, restaurants are also using AI phone answering technology to field calls, promote specials, and send links to place orders or make reservations.

Popmenu experts offer the following tips to ensure Thanksgiving runs smoothly:

1.       Do your homework. A quick Google search, phone call, or visit to a preferred restaurant’s website can guide you on menu options (with photos), portion sizes, allergens, and required budget for your party size.

2.       Order NOW and directly. Higher demand means restaurants will meet their order limits sooner and preferred pickup times will fill up faster. Order directly from the restaurant’s website to ensure your order gets in and to avoid third-party fees.

3.       Reserve a table yesterday. Popular eateries will book up early. Third-party reservation sites like OpenTable can keep you posted on what’s available in your area.

4.       Be prepared for delays. Even with specific pickup/ delivery windows and reservations, factor in a longer wait for your food (i.e., don’t skip the appetizer).

“More consumers are trading in their aprons for the convenience, taste, and potential cost-savings of having restaurants cook Thanksgiving dinner for them,” says Brendan Sweeney, CEO and Co-founder of Popmenu. “Ideally, you want to place online orders and book reservations a few weeks in advance, but you can still find special menus and deals this week. Check out restaurants’ websites and act quickly.” 

In addition to Thanksgiving, restaurants will play an important part in other popular holidays. One in four consumers (26%) plan to dine at or order takeout/delivery from restaurants for Christmas this year while 36% plan to do so on New Year’s Eve.

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

Domino’s Driving Top-Line Sales with Fewer Drivers

 

Inflation, is top of mind and at the intersection of the consumer and all food retailers today according to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.  Domino’s excels at marketing messaging, finding consumer facing solutions in tough time and this is why they are the largest pizza company in the world today.

Domino’s is the leader of carryout pizza in the U.S. They are going to edify that position with this new interactive participatory marketing messaging as Domino's wants to thank its carryout customers for making the brand No. 1. To show our appreciation, we're bringing back carryout tips!

Christopher Thomas-Moore, Domino's senior vice president – customer and store experience "We know the effort it takes to get up and leave the house in pursuit of a hot, delicious carryout pizza," … "Domino's diehard carryout customers are really like carryout heroes, and to show our gratitude, we're giving them $3 to use on their next carryout order. We hope they take advantage of it. After all, they've earned it!"

In case you did not know, Domino's customers claimed more than 17 million carryout tips during the first campaign in early 2022. Carryout customers who order online now through March 26, 2023, are eligible to claim a $3 carryout tip again, which is redeemable for an online carryout order placed the following week (with a minimum purchase of $5 before tax and gratuity). Carryout customers may combine their $3 coupon code with their favorite carryout offer, making for a tasty deal.

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

Domino’s Customer Carryout is Catching-On

While everyone knows that Domino’s delivers.  What more and more consumers are finding out is that Domino’s carryout is catching on while elevating fresh and fast according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

Domino's was built on speed of service and delivery.  Today, technology is helping Domino’s edify its long standing brand messaging and the foundation it was built on fresh food fast.  The new Pie Pass technology by Domino’s allows customers who order and pay online to skip the line and grab their order.

" Dennis Maloney, Domino's senior vice president and chief innovation officer  stated “We know that carryout customers value speed and simplicity, and that is exactly what they'll receive with Pie Pass," … "Gone are the days of waiting for your carryout order—now when customers arrive at the store, they'll be greeted by name on our digital signage and handed their order. It's the ultimate VIP carryout experience where customers don't have to be a regular customer to be treated like one."

So, Domino's carryout customers who order and pay online or via the app will be eligible to use Pie Pass. When they arrive in the parking lot and are about to enter the store, they can check in on the Domino's Tracker or order confirmation page, which will give the store team members a head start on making sure the order is ready to go. The in-store digital menu board will welcome the customer by name, and store team members will be ready for a speedy handoff.

Today, carry-out business accounts for close to 45 percent of total domestic orders at Domino's. Who knew?  Price, Value, Service Domino’s is empowering consumers to save both time and money with carryout orders.  It is clearly driving sales.  Success does leave clues.   Are you opening new points of distribution for your customers?

For international corporate presentations, regional chain presentations, local educational forums, or keynotes contact: Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions.  His extensive experience as a multi-unit restaurant operator, consultant, brand / product positioning expert and public speaking will leave success clues for all. For more information visit www.GrocerantGuru.com , www.FoodserviceSolutions.us or call 1-253-759-7869

Packaging too Drive Sales at Restaurants, Retail, and Foodservice

Foodservice chain after foodservice chain are beginning to understand how packaging can help them drive incremental sales in areas the ilk of catering, takeout, and retail according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

When Juice It Up! announced the availability of its new Juice It Up! Pack. Designed for on-the-go convenience, at a 10 percent discount, Johnson noted that grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food and beverages are leveraging the power of packaging to drive incremental sales.

It’s clear to see from the picture above that the pack is perfect for group occasions such as office meetings, soccer games and beach days. The Juice It Up! pack comes in three product category options, smoothie, raw juice or blended juice, while each individual item can be customized to its recipient.

Food packaging is driving innovation and change for all segments of food retail.  Johnson noted that food giant Nestle’s CEO Mark Schneider, stated, "Making recycled plastics safe for food is an enormous challenge for our industry. That is why in addition to minimizing plastics use and collecting waste, we want to close the loop and make more plastics infinitely recyclable.

"We are taking bold steps to create a wider market for food-grade recycled plastics and boost innovation in the packaging industry. We welcome others to join us on this journey." Nestlé will also collaborate with other organizations for cleaning up plastic waste from oceans, lakes, and rivers. How are you driving innovation? How are you driving new electricity for your branded products? Do you need a new partnership?

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 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.

Corner Bakery is Doing Lots of things Right

Alice May Brock said:” Tomatoes and oregano make it Italian, wine and tarragon make it French, sour cream makes it Russian, lemon and cinnamon make it Greek, soy sauce makes it Chinese, garlic makes it good.” 

However; the Corner Bakery is edifying it market positioning as it extends it branded menu offering with grocerant niche success clues according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® with Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

The fresh prepared new menu items have bold flavors, are perfectly crafted straight from the kitchen and can be eaten-in or taken-out. Complementing consumer desire to Eat-In while Eating-Out.

Corner Bakery's seasonal items address all day-parts:

·         Carved Ham & Swiss Egg Bowl: fluffy scrambled eggs topped with pecan wood smoked ham, roasted red peppers, green onions and Swiss cheese finished with a drizzle of garlic cream sauce served with sourdough toast 

·         Bacon Avocado Egg Bowl: fluffy scrambled eggs topped with Applewood smoked bacon, diced tomato, chopped baby spinach, cheddar cheese and avocado served with sourdough toast 

·         Pesto, Egg & Cheese Panini: fluffy scrambled eggs, tomato, fresh Mozzarella and pesto on grilled sourdough 

·         Shrimp Scampi Linguine: garlic roasted shrimp and linguine tossed with garlic butter, tomato, fresh parsley, lemon juice and Parmesan cheese 

·         Power Greens Shrimp Caesar Salad: garlic roasted shrimp, shredded Parmesan cheese, and homemade croutons on our power greens blend of baby kale, spinach, and arugula with classic Caesar dressing 

Guests can also enjoy new Cake Truffle Bites, available in lemon, salted caramel pecan and carrot cake.

Corner Bakery CMO Donna Josephson  Stated "We are always looking for new ways to bring our guests fresh and innovative dishes,"  "We are excited to introduce our guests to these fresh and flavorful new dishes."

While Alice May Brock said it first ”Tomatoes and oregano make it Italian, wine and tarragon make it French, sour cream makes it Russian, lemon and cinnamon make it Greek, soy sauce makes it Chinese, garlic makes it good.”  Today Corner Bakery Café is giving consumers what they want according to just the way Alice May Brock envisioned it. 

Foodservice Solutions® specializes in outsourced food marketing ideations and business development partnerships 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 Facebook.com/Steven Johnson, Linkedin.com/in/grocerant/ or twitter.com/grocerant

Restaurant Sector Customer Power Outage

January comes around every eleven months without fail and as usual January is colder than most moths of the year.  Winter storms cannot be blamed for continued declining same store sales within the restaurant sector according to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

Only Neanderthal chain marketing executives and industry analyst out of touch with today’s consumers would suggest such a thing. The consumer is dynamic not static and brands must act or react faster to consumer evolve path to purchase foodservice patterns or risk continued customer capitulation according to Johnson. After nine years of declining or flat year over year customer counts the restaurant sector has host it mojo, energy, its swag. 

 According to the latest index from Black Box Intelligence in January restaurant sector same store sales once again declined by 0.3%.  However customer traffic, declined 3% year-over-year in January.  That is a big problem requiring restaurant sector business model change according to Johnson.

The restaurant sector needs to regain its swag, its mojo, its energy and our own Grocerant Guru® believes that in 2018 the best way to do that is too leverage branded strategic partnerships. If there is there is one dominate element that can power incremental success within the restaurant sector over the coming years it is what Johnson calls it the new electricity that is strategic partnerships.   

The new electricity must be very efficient for the supply and includes such things as regional fresh foods, urban farming (produce, seafood, etc.), local wine, and local beer, autonomous delivery, cashier-less retail, cash-less payments, digital hand held marketing and outside-eyes.

Food companies the ilk of chain restaurants that want to survive the next generation of retail must embrace the artificial intelligence revolution while simultaneously embracing grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh food.  That will require brands to embrace new fresh food partnerships more now than ever before according to Johnson.

Are your customer counts increasing? In 30 seconds or less can you tell everyone what is fueling your growth? What is your new electricity? Customer relevance is a brand moving with consumers not one practicing brand protectionism. Consumers are dynamic not static is your brand dynamic?

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

Eating-In while Eating-Out Outback-Carrabba’s Takeout Option

Our Grocerant Guru® was the first to say “Many legacy restaurant chain Boomer CEO’s are in a quagmire of stewardship. Unwilling to dramatically redesign; concept footprint, menu items, or points of distribution they are saddled with “canned” concepts once suited for the golden age of the restaurant industry not for today’s consumer”.  That was back in 2014 but there has been some movement we are pleased to say.

The executive team at Bloomin’ Brands understands that consumers are dynamic not static at the team at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® continually reminds us.  Now the team at Outback Steakhouse and Carrabba’s Italian Grill recently opened a co-branded takeout-only location in Hollywood, Florida.

Tagged as an “express” unit the Bloomin’ Brands executives clearly understand the undercurrents that are driving the ‘path to purchase’ for meals at home that is portability.  As regular readers of this blog know Steven Johnson our Grocerant Guru® was the first to identified, quantify, and qualify portability as a key driver of grocerant niche growth.

CEO Liz Smith stated “Off-premise represents a significant and incremental structural tailwind for the industry,” … takeout and delivery orders could reach 25 percent of total sales.”  The team at Foodservice Solutions® agrees if they integrate the brand message of both brands into the brand promise with customer relevant attributes.

Regular readers of this blog know that Steven Johnson Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant Guru® was also first to identify, quantify, and quality the 65 Inch HDTV Syndrome back in 2012 that tracked customer migration from restaurants and Eating-Out to restaurant food for Eating-In. Today according to the MillerPulse index, casual-dining traffic has been down for all but four months dating back to at least 2012.

The team at Foodservice Solutions® would like to ask; are you Looking A Customer Ahead?  Are your customer counts increasing? Could outside-eyes help you drive top line sales and bottom-line profits? Success does leave clues and within the grocerant niche space no one can duplicate our success record.  For more contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us or visit or website at: www.FoodserviceSolutions.us

Packaging Meal Components for a Family Dinner

Grocerant niche mix and match meal component bundling is now the cornerstone of retail foodservice success.  Mix & Match bundling continues to drive customer migration from legacy CPG products, restaurants, and grocery stores to new fresh food products and new avenues of fresh food distribution according to Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant Guru® Steven Johnson.

Today "the new normal" in food retail requires a shift away from traditional food packaging, points of distribution, and a focus on fresh prepared food rather that pantry stocking according to Johnson. Meal components that focus on healthier choices are an invitation Millennials cannot seem to pass up. .

The team at Foodservice Solutions® identified, quantified, and qualified the vital role of portability as a major driver of the growth of the grocerant niche and subsequently Technomic revalidated our findings.   of the snacking trend, obvious not only at the drive-thru window, but also with packaged offerings at convenience stores like 7-Eleven, and at "boutique" establishments, like Starbucks.

Increasingly traditional mealtimes are less important than the convenience of fresh prepared meal components that can be consumer as immediate consumption, used later as a mix and match meal components for the perfect family meal, cocktail compliment, or meal replacement as a small meal. 

As traditional eating patterns evolve, new Non-traditional "dayparts" are emerging.  This is creating quite a conundrum legacy retailers in both the restaurant sector focused on selling complete meals and legacy grocery stores focused on collecting slotting fees rather than providing consumers incremental fresh food options.

In a new research by InfoScout looked at 77,820 American households who provided daily receipts to the company to determine which off-hour consumers are most apt to head to a restaurant in those times, as well as the overall percentage of visits made by consumers during off-hour dayparts and the basket size during those visits and how that compares with the basket size of traditional mealtimes finding “off-hour meals make up 35 to 48 percent of all trips”.

Food retail has become a battle for share of stomach. The battle for that share of stomach is taking is between all retailers sell food including the ilk of: Convenience Stores, Supermarkets, Dollar stores, Drug stores, Ikea, Liquor stores to name but a few.

In research from CocaCola they found that Millennials average 4.2 meals a day. Clearly Millennials are evolving as food consumers here are some additional facts from the Coca Cola survey: 

1. More than half eat breakfast outside of morning hours. 

2.  30 percent replace one or two meals daily with snacks. 

3. 35 percent eat dinner at restaurants offering "happy hour" deals.

4. 43 percent say they snack more today. 

5. Members of the 18-to-24 age group reported they would go to restaurants more if they stayed open later.

Packaging fresh food meal components and placing those components in avenues of distribution that are representative of the products target market is more important now than ever according to the team at Foodservice Solutions®.    Can your meals be turned into meal components?  Success does leave clues.

Are you trapped doing what you have always done and doing it the same way?  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.