Why Do Grocery Stores Fresh-Takeout Look more like Yesterday

 

While many grocery stores have remodeled and made the grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat food the welcome mat / ‘centerpieces of the in-store shopping experience’. Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® ask why have many of the remodeled stores and most of the legacy stores continue to treat grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat food as if it were a legacy CPG product?

Regular readers of this blog understand “consumers do not want to cook from scratch’.  Ok, yes some do most however will cook from scratch on the ‘weekends’ 83.1% according to the most recent Grocerant ScoreCard.

Johnson continues the recent Grocerant ScoreCards found 88.7% of consumers bought Ready-2-Eat or Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food because it was Fresh. With 86.4% of consumers saying they were seeking a specific Flavor, 82.6 % believe it is restaurant quality and 77.2% were buying because it was a Fast Meal. 

The International Dairy Deli Bakery Association (IDDBA) has emphasized the importance of creating a dynamic in-store experience for shoppers leveraging fresh foods. To help educate the IDDBA members and the industry, they teamed up with the Produce Marketing Association (PMA) on a series of webinars that delved into this issue, from a case manufacturer, retailer and culinary viewpoint. Among the trends and suggestions shared by panelists representing the aforementioned groups were:

·         Modifying existing hot and salad bars to better accommodate pre-packaged and grab-and-go products, including the use of risers, sneeze-guard extensions or complete removal of sneeze guards, removing pans and divider bars from the cold wells, and installing hot tiles.

·         Offer packaged do-it-yourself meal kits and/or pre-packaged items sold individually to create meals at homes. Consider seasonal themes and products used to create them, such as summertime grilling.

·         Convert all or part of the bar into a made-to-order service area, whereby associates can take orders and deliver the meal container hands-free via an attached chute.

·         The customer will determine the future of salad and hot food bars, based on their shopping habits and comfort levels.

·         Continue to focus on the benefits of packaged items while thinking of other creative ways to utilize the bars.

·         Devote half of the bars to pre-packaged items and the other half to bulk items.

·         More single-serve, packaged options.

After reading that one thing is clear.  They should have asked outsiders not insiders.  The reason most grocery store delis look like yesterday rather than today or tomorrow is that all they know and tomorrow who they asked.  How about asking the customers?  Success does leave clue and one clue we have all learned is doing what you have always done and doing it the same way does not is not the formula for tomorrow.  

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

Biggby Coffee Expands Points of Distribution

Opportunities within the grocerant niche today are endless when it comes to driving top line sales and bottom line profits according to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru®, at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®. Consider Biggby Coffee’s new partnership with Guernsey Farms Dairy to roll out three Ready-2-Drink beverages inside Biggby locations as well as at select grocery stores.

The three new Ready-2-Drink beverage flavors are Caramel, Chocolate, and Slightly Sweetened cold brew and they have started to make their way into Meijer locations with plans to continue folding in other grocers. Guernsey Farms Dairy is based in Northville, MI and was an easy choice for the partnership due to their local ties, their family-owned structure, and of course, their award-winning milk.

Stephanie Schlichter, Best Sphere Director stated “Innovation is a BIGG part of our overall model and we were thrilled to be able to launch a competitive ready to drink product for our customers,”.. “Guernsey has an amazing product and the same family feel that our company embodies, so when we paired up with them it just felt like a natural fit!”

 Biggby Coffee also has an in-house Product Developer, Brandon Trudelle, who stated “We have many things in the works and launching ready to drink for the warmer months was an awesome accomplishment so far this year,” .. “Keep your eyes peeled for our future rollouts and don’t forget to visit your local Biggby Cofee to see what our awesome baristas can craft for you.”  Who is your company partnering with?  Where is your new electricity  to drive sales and customer relevance coming from?

The unique and eye-catching “milk container” packaging is due to the fact that the product actually moves down a dairy production line, but a lid was added so you can drink it on the go! They’re the perfect buy now and drink later option for a group event or a road trip! A fresh product with limited ingredients also means shorter expiration dates and less time sitting on a shelf in-store.

In case you did not know Biggby Coffee has over 270 cafes open or under contract across nine states including: Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, South Carolina, Wisconsin, Kentucky, Florida, and Texas. In 2018, Biggby Coffee launched an Area Representative Program and currently has 4 area representatives in 3 states.

So, just what is your brands new electricity? 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.”

Johnson stated “that in my minds-eye the new electricity must be very efficient for the supply and includes such things as fresh foods, urban clothing, grocerant consultants, urban farming (produce, seafood, etc.), autonomous delivery, cashier-less retail, cash-less payments, digital hand held marketing. This program has all of that.

Foodservice 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.  That will require brands to embrace new fresh food partnerships more now than ever before according to Johnson.

 So just what is your New Electricity? 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