Mix & Match for Meal Sales Success: How Self-Pour Tech and Consumer-Centric Innovation Are Changing the Food & Beverage Game

 

As dining trends continue to evolve, one thing is clear—flexibility, personalization, and convenience are leading the charge. In today’s hybrid world of foodservice, where snacking is replacing meals and beverage programs can make or break profitability, the 2024 Self-Pour Impact Report from PourMyBev shines a spotlight on how next-gen beverage tech is driving serious growth across hospitality sectors. And with insights from Steven Johnson, the “Grocerant Guru®,” one truth becomes undeniable: the future of food and beverage lies in seamless integration and mix-and-match customization.

 

PourMyBev: Revolutionizing the Pour

Born from the success of self-pour pioneer PourMyBeer, PourMyBev now stands as the umbrella brand signaling the evolution of the self-pour ecosystem. PourMyBev’s 2024 report, powered by data from 567 venues, highlights not only record-breaking usage but a shift in how hospitality venues operate and serve their guests.

Key Stats from the 2024 Impact Report:

• 133.9 million ounces poured, with 113.86 million ounces of beer leading the charge.
• 3.1 million customers served—a 19.2% increase YoY.
• $71.4 million in operator revenue, up 19.5% from 2023.
• 13.88 million consumers have now interacted with PourMyBev systems.
• Pickleball venues surged to 19 active locations—the fastest-growing segment.

From beer and wine to cocktails, coffee, and non-alcoholic options, PourMyBev’s system is setting a new standard. It's not just about convenience—it’s about empowering the guest while streamlining labor, a critical factor in today’s tight labor market.

“Self-pour technology is no longer a niche concept—it’s a proven operational advantage for venues of all types,” said Josh Goodman, Founder & CEO of PourMyBev.

 

Insights from the Grocerant Guru: Customization is King

Steven Johnson, widely known as the Grocerant Guru®, has long emphasized the importance of “mix-and-match meal bundling”—the ability for consumers to curate their dining experience across food and drink. According to Johnson, the consumer's desire for choice, speed, and seamlessness is driving the rise of grocerants—a hybrid of grocery and restaurant-style experiences.

This aligns directly with PourMyBev’s mission. By enabling self-service beverage walls in non-traditional spaces—hotels, apartment communities, pickleball courts, and more—operators are capturing incremental sales and satisfying demand for modular, frictionless dining.

“The rise of grocerant-style service, where consumers can build a meal experience with grab-and-go components and personalized beverages, is redefining convenience dining,” Johnson explains. “Self-pour fits that mold perfectly.”

 

The Future of Beverage is Self-Directed

The beauty of self-pour systems lies in customization and speed. Consumers can sample an ounce of rosé, top it off with hard seltzer, or build a full pour of cold brew before brunch—all without waiting in line or flagging down staff. For operators, it’s about efficiency and profit. With 13.88 million users and growing, the self-pour experience is fast becoming an expected norm, not a novelty.

New venues like pickleball clubs and apartment communities are especially ripe for this innovation. By providing on-demand beverage options, these venues enhance their amenity offerings while tapping into a lucrative revenue stream.

 

Mix, Match, and Maximize

In today’s fast-casual and hybrid service environment, the synergy between food flexibility and beverage personalization is where the magic happens. The “meal” is no longer confined to a static plate—it’s an experience that evolves with the guest’s mood, schedule, and preferences.

PourMyBev’s self-pour solution is a perfect complement to modern food strategies:

• Pair customizable drinks with chef-prepped small plates.
• Match coffee and cocktails with ready-to-heat meals.
• Build bundles that allow users to select their drink, snack, and dessert in one frictionless transaction.

 

Bottom Line: A Better Guest Experience, A Bigger Bottom Line

The 2024 PourMyBev report doesn’t just show impressive stats—it tells a story of an industry pivoting toward autonomy, interaction, and profitability. For foodservice operators, embracing the self-pour movement—and pairing it with meal customization strategies—is a smart play.

Want to win at the intersection of food and beverage? Start thinking like a grocerant. And pour smarter.

Success Leaves Clues—Are You Ready to Find Yours?

One key insight that continues to drive success is this: "The consumer is dynamic, not static." This principle is the foundation of our work at Foodservice Solutions®, where Steven Johnson, the Grocerant Guru®, has been helping brands stay relevant in an ever-evolving market.

Want to strengthen your brand’s connection with today’s consumers? Let’s talk. Call 253-759-7869 for more information.

Stay Ahead of the Competition with Fresh Ideas

Is your food marketing keeping up with tomorrow’s trends—or stuck in yesterday’s playbook? If you're ready for fresh ideations that set your brand apart, we’re here to help.

At Foodservice Solutions®, we specialize in consumer-driven retail food strategies that enhance convenience, differentiation, and individualization—key factors in driving growth.

Rock Bottom Restaurants Rolling Out the Barrel Just for You

 

After mowing your yard in the summer there is nothing in the world better than a cold beer according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.  Rock Bottom’s food marketing team must know that as well as they have rolled out a program at some Colorado locations where members of the Beer Barrel Club get their own keg and a $300 credit for refills.

That’s right, Colorado branches of the Rock Bottom brewpub chain restaurant have starting a $300 beer subscription program aimed at boosting both off and on-premise business. So, get this, members of the Beer Barrel Club get a 128-ounce steel beer keg for use both at home or at a unit’s table; a $300 credit for 12 refills; free cleanings of their kegs; and a special membership card. Now that will quench your thirst.

Beer Barrel Club members or any customers can buy a filled beer keg without joining the club for $170, which Colorado units will clean and refill for $27.50.

Then patrons can use the full-sized keg at their table (it contains eight pintsized servings). Nonmembers who don’t want to pop for the full size can buy a filled Table-Tap Barrel for $27.50, which they can take- home at the end of the visit.

Regular readers of this blog know that Rock Bottom is the second major brewpub chain to launch a beer subscription service. BJ’s Restaurants in California offer customers the chance to join a “beer club” for $30. In exchange, they’re offered both to-go and on-premise perks, including early access to new BJ’s beers.

Do you think a subscription program could work for your brand?   If so, you’re not alone as others the ilk of Panera Bread said it has found great success with its coffee program, where customers pay an upfront fee in exchange for a daily cup of coffee at no additional charge. Then there is Dickey’s Barbecue Pit sends boxes of meat to members of its subscription service for prices ranging from $99.99 to $280 as regular readers of this blog know.

How well do you know your customers?  Are you trying to build sales the same way you did in 2010, 2015, or 2019? Are you looking for a new partnership to drive sales? Are you ready for some fresh ideations? Do your food 2015, 2019 if so; how is that working for you?

Do your marketing tactics look more like yesterday than 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. 

Grocerant niche Alcoholic Beverages are a Mix and Match Meal Solution

 

One hallmark of the grocerant niche growth is mix and match meal component bundling.  With 60% of all restaurant meals being order for delivery chain restaurants need to brand their alcoholic beverage offerings and bundle them with a meal or incorporate other branded products into their offering to meet the current unmet need according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

Restaurants and hotel guest more and more want a ‘contactless’ experience both when eating inside or for takeout.  Thus, forcing incremental service and staff cuts at many restaurants and hotels.  It’s very hard in most states to sit at a bar and have a drink.  The simple fact is alcoholic beverage sales and profits at many restaurants and hotels are down.

So, how do restaurants and hotels try to recoup some of the lost bar revenue?  Simple grocerant niche Ready-2-Drink cocktails according to Johnson. Recently, Hard Rock International announced a partnership to bring Hard Rock® Premium Hard Seltzer to fans nationwide later this year.

The Hard Rock Premium Hard Seltzer is crafted for music fans in a variety of stand-out options that highlight Hard Rock Cafe’s® most prominent cocktails and fan favorite flavors, with each can featuring the iconic Hard Rock® logo and a guitar symbol. Fans eager to bring home Hard Rock Premium Hard Seltzer can visit select beverage retailers and grocery stores nationwide beginning this holiday season. Ok, you get it. 

Battle for Share of Stomach

What if you are a restaurant or a chain restaurant not a hotel.  Here is an example from Marriott that you can understand easily see a path forward. Dana Pellicano, Marriott’s vice president of F&B Experience, The Americas. Stated Marriott is one hotel chain that is encouraging its properties to make and batch cocktails in-house and add more Ready-2-Drink ‘canned-/packaged drinks, including canned wines. “The pandemic has changed habits and democratized food and drink,” 

Consider this according to Nielsen Premium Panel data, on the retail side, ready-2-drink (RTD) cocktails is the fastest growing spirits category, rising 28% year over year, In the past several months, growth has accelerated even more, to 171%. Ok, you can see the unmet need. 

How do you fill that unmet need?  Not a problem there are companies the ilk of Heineken that have a new har seltzer called Pure Piraña for one. While the trend was already taking off before the coronavirus companies the ilk of White Claw is another great example.

There may be a local player in your city or state as well as there are now more players in the space. And with takeout and to-go orders pushing the demand for portability, the Ready-2-Drink cocktail is a habit now not something new. It is a grocerant niche mix and match meal solution.

Don’t lose alcoholic beverages sales.  Foodservice Solutions® excels at vertical brand product positioning, marketing strategy, and business development specifically identifying, quantifying and qualifying niche opportunity for global foodservice related activity specifically Ready-2-Eat, Heat-N-Eat, Ready-2-Drink fresh prepared food and beverage. Call 1-253-759-7869 today and learn how the 5 P’s of fresh prepared food marketing can Drive Sales at your retail operation.