Volvo Installing EV Charging Stations At Starbucks Stores

 

Talk about putting new electricity into your brand.  There is no company that edifies customer relevance better that Starbucks according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

Just in case you have not heard, Volvo and Starbucks have struck a partnership to establish the first public electric vehicle charging network at the coffee company's U.S. stores. EV owners traveling within the Western States can soon enjoy a cup of coffee—or tea, or whatever you want—while fast charging their electric cars at Starbucks. Not only will this help Starbucks drive new electricity into its brand messaging it is going to put electricity into you car.  This my friends is what they call supercharged brand marketing.

Most of you know that any driver who has charged their electric vehicle at an out-of-the-way charging station in a questionable location understands how uncomfortable and frustrating that situation can be. Besides grocery and other retail stores, single chargers in ideal places are sometimes hard to come by, and can be well off the beaten path—adding time to an already time-consuming charging process. 

Therefor Volvo is implementing a strategy to bring chargers closer to your daily routine with a more creative approach, and it builds on an emerging trend in the EV space of pairing up charging providers and popular retailers.

Starting this summer, the Swedish automaker plans to install up to 60 Volvo-branded DC fast chargers powered by ChargePoint in at least 15 Starbucks locations. The charging network will cover a 1,350-mile route from the Denver area to Starbucks headquarters in Seattle, Washington. That means a fast-charging station for roughly every 100 miles, which is reasonably within the driving range of most electric vehicles.

Timing is everything and if you are tired of paying a high price for gasoline, it just might be time to buy a new EV, maybe even a Volvo.

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. 

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 edify your brand with relevance.  Call 253-759-7869 for more information. 

Can Electric Vehicles be Better Designed for the Grocerant niche Drive-Thru Consumer?

 

Today, it seems as If everywhere I go someone is talking about an electric vehicle (EV’s). EV’s are the talk of environmentally conscious consumers and looked at positively by consumers with gas guzzling automobile owners according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

In fact, in recent Consumers Reports study found that 4% of adults with a driver’s license planned to acquire an EV the next time they buy a vehicle. An additional 27% said that they would consider one. About 40% express some interest – but not their next purchase. Yes, there were 29% that said they don’t want an EV at all.

Gen Z and Millennials as regular readers of this blog know are on a quest for food discovery. With a growing number of food types, provenances, preparation methods, and food purveyors, discovery has never been greater or more accessible. Cultural values that embrace diversity and new experiences have further heightened the desire for food exploration and EV’s are a part of that.

The team at Foodservice Solutions® asked in a survey of focused on Gen Z and Millennials how they thought EV’s could improve the ‘drive-thru’ experience.  Why because as far back as 2011, The NPD Group, found customers made 12.4 billion trips through fast food drive-thru’s in 201. QSR and Insula Research estimate that about 50 to 70 percent of fast-food sales arrive courtesy of drive-thru windows back in the day. Here’s a look at some of what our recent Grocerant ScoreCard Survey found:

1.       Better application ‘Voice’ integration with car. Using Google Home or Alexa directly in the car to order while in the drive thru.

2.       Hot and Cold Cup holders

3.       New features to set a plate on. Imagine an airplane like folding tray but inside a car that drops down or swings out from the side. 

4.       Air ventilation for gig workers who have food smells in their car.

5.       Heating compartment to keep food warm on the way home / imagine a Domino’s pizza bag warmer that insulates but a spot in the car for that.

Although mainstream adoption of EV’s is still several years away, food operators need to begin thinking about how to transition their businesses to be ready for the future of the Drive-Thru consumer.

Today, electric vehicles (EVs) only represent about 2 percent of the overall car market, adoption is projected to increase in the future. What will your customer want in their EV?  Think how your menu can evolve from selling one meal at a time to selling a mix and match bundle of meals thru the drive-thru?

Did you know that in February 2021, both General Motors and Ford Motor Co. announced plans to move toward electric vehicles, although Ford was talking primarily about its vehicles in Europe? General Motors said by 2040, it plans to have 100 percent of its portfolio fully electric, and Bloomberg is forecasting that by 2040, 60 percent of vehicles will be electric

The team at Foodservice Solutions® believes consumers that are going to be driving EV’s will drive new electricity into legacy food brands while edifying the grocerant niche fresh food sales. Yes, hybrids make the most long-term sense as a transition period, and traditional fueled transportation is likely to remain for the foreseeable future. That, however, doesn’t mean looking a customer ahead should be over looked.  

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

Stewart’s Shops Looking for Next Generation of Customers

 

Looking a customer ahead is vital if you plan to grow your business over time.  At the intersection of technology advances and consumers the automobile industry is changing and consumers are testing, buying, and migrating from gasoline vehicles to electric vehicles and Stewart Shops want to roll out the welcome mat to those migrating to EV.

Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® stated, “Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food is a key driver of convenience store brand adoption.  All C-stores need to reevaluate how to message to consumers that they are welcome inside the store.”

Recently, Stewart’s Shops introduced electric vehicle chargers (EVCs) to five of its locations, having begun installation of its first store’s units, expected to be in service by the fall. That’s looking a customer ahead.

So, Stewart’s Shops broke ground on its first NYPA EVolve Electric Vehicle Fast Charging Station on July 1 in Schodack, N.Y. The chargers are powerful enough to provide a full charge to an electric vehicle in just 15 to 30 minutes. The DC (Direct Current) fast chargers have three types of plugs to fit ports on various models of electric vehicles.

EVolve New York’s chargers are available to all non-Tesla electric vehicles. Some charging stations will also have a Tesla Adapter. Stewart’s Shops currently has three Tesla supercharging stations throughout New York with plans to expand the program by installing two more by the end of 2021.

Pay attention to this part, the EVCs are expected to bring customers inside during charging to not only shop the store, but also have enough time to enjoy a hot or cold food item before departing with a fully charged battery. Are you selling grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared to tomorrows EV drivers?

They are close to being ready, as the Stewart’s Shops charging station in Schodack will be fully operational by September 2021 and is just one of five EV charging stations that Stewart’s Shops plans to open by the end of the year. The Schodack EV charging station is an extension of Stewart’s Shops current EV Charging program.

As part of NYPA’s EVolve New York Clean Energy Initiative, Stewart’s plans for other charging stations at Stewart’s Shops locations throughout New York state in Moreau, Latham, Keene and Clifton Park.

The new charging stations are not the only steps Stewart’s Shops is taking to become more sustainable. Stewart’s Shops uses solar energy at offsite location in Halfmoon and Castle Creek, N.Y., and its manufacturing plant has 2,400 individual solar panels on the rooftop that offset 75% of the power at 50 locations.

Yet, there is more, Stewart’s Shops recycles more than six tons of its cardboard daily and reuses items like totes, dairy cases, ice cream baskets, and bread trays used to make deliveries to reduce waste.

Branding begins with an invitation, at Stewarts, customers can get a discount on their coffee when they use their reusable mugs and Stewart’s also straws, as well.

Are you ready for some fresh ideations? Do your food marketing ideations look more like yesterday than tomorrow? Interested in learning how our Grocerant Guru® 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 one of the following links: Facebook,  LinkedIn, or Twitter

Burger King and Popeyes both begin Installing EV Charging Stations

 

That’s right, looking a customer ahead, Restaurant Brands Iberia (RB Iberia) is going to install 400 charging points for electric cars at almost 200 Burger King and Popeyes shops in Spain. Later, the cooperation could be extended to Portugal. Now that’s some new electricity.

According to a press release and news reports, “The Spanish energy supplier Iberdrola has reached an agreement with the company.  Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®, “Restaurant companies need to think like Amazon, everyday is ‘Day One’ Electric Vehicles are here.  It’s time to invite them and the owners into your restaurants.  There is no better welcome than having a EV charging unit available for them.”

Burger King and Popeyes will get a mix of DC chargers with 50 and 150 kW and AC chargers with 22 kW capacity is planned, according to the company. The new agreement is part of Iberdrola’s plan to build a total of 150,000 charging points by 2025, mainly in Spain. The exact distribution of DC and AC chargers is not clear from the announcement. However, with 400 charging points at 200 branches, it is likely that there will only be one charging point per car park with two charging points each – i.e. either AC or DC, probably not both.

Since this agreement that has now been concluded; it is exclusive for the next ten years, meaning that no charging points from other operators may be built at RB Iberia. Iberdrola will take over the installation and operation of the charging points. Customers will be able to use the chargers via the Iberdrola Public Charging App, which will also be used for billing.

According to the Iberdrola announcement, RB Iberia also plans to install up to 100 charging points per year at newly built restaurants. However, the possible expansion to Portugal in a second step is only mentioned in the communication and not backed up with exact targets.

Alfonso Calderón, commercial director of Iberdrola Spain, described RB Iberia as an “excellent ally to move forward in implementing solutions for the electrification of transport”. Are you looking a customer ahead?

How is your brand building new electricity? According to Johnson, “Brand relevance is in part driven with innovation in new menu related 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, music, developing brands, unique urban hemp clothing, grocerant positioning, EV Charging Stations 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.

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

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7-Eleven’s New EV Charging Elevates EV’s Relevance

 

Brand messaging coming from 7-Eleven is clear.  7-Eleven is looking a customer ahead and letting everyone know that if you drive an Electric Vehicle (EV) you are welcome at 7-Eeleven. There is no doubt that once again the cost of gasoline is on the rise and EV’s are top of mind.

EV are good for the environment according to many and that is part of the halo of ‘better-4-you’ products grocerant niche consumers consider important according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.  Let’s take a look:

 

1.       Our new 2021 Grocerant ScoreCards found 82.3% of consumers don’t know what’s for dinner at Noon, and 61.1 don’t know what’ s for dinner at 4PM %.

2.       83.1% all dinners have at least 1 grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat meal component and 68.4% have two meal components.

3.       When asked if they wanted to cook dinner from scratch or assemble dinner from fresh meal components 90.4 % of Gen Z chose assemble from Fresh Prepared Meal Components and Millennials 82.7% chose meal components.

4.       Seventy-three percent of retail prepared food purchases are taken to go

5.       Prepared food purchases are frequently a planned purchase among 59% of shoppers, while 41% of shoppers said they buy prepared foods on impulse. Dinner has the highest amount of prepared food buys with 79% of respondents making purchases for that meal, while lunch comes in at 77% and breakfast at 62%.

6.       55% of consumers would like to try autonomous EV delivery

7‑Eleven latest initiative calls for installing at least 500 Direct Current Fast Charging (DCFC) ports at 250 select convenience stores in the United States and Canada by the end of 2022. Ok we know that not autonomous, but its an consumer touchpoint that can’t be over look and &-Eleven knows that.

7‑Eleven President and CEO Joe DePinto, stated "7‑Eleven has always been a leader in new ideas and technology to better serve the needs of our customers," "Adding 500 charging ports at 250 7‑Eleven stores will make EV charging more convenient and help accelerate broader adoption of EVs and alternative fuels. We are committed to the communities we serve and to working toward a more sustainable future."

Yet, there is more under the halo of better-4-you as 7-Eleven pledged recently to meet a 50-percent reduction of carbon emissions by 2030. The pledge more than doubles 7-Eleven's 2016 goal to achieve a 20-percent reduction of carbon emissions from its stores by 2027. 7‑Eleven reached that reduction goal in 2019, eight years ahead of schedule.

7-Eleven is improving sustainability by seeking renewable energy solutions for its stores across the country. Initiatives include:

a.        Purchasing 100-percent wind energy for 800-plus Texas stores and 300-plus Illinois stores;

b.        Using hydropower at 150 stores in Virginia;

c.        Using solar energy to power 300 stores in Florida.

DePinto, continued "7‑Eleven's legacy is bringing convenience to the customer, and that continues to evolve — from ice on a dock in 1927 to electricity for your car today. "7‑Eleven's rapid expansion of EV charging ports across the country is good for our customers and our planet and it's the right thing to do."

7‑Eleven operates, franchises and/or licenses more than 77,175 stores in 16 countries and regions, including 16,000 in North America. We think they are doing something right and this is one of them.

For international corporate presentations, regional chain presentations, 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 GrocerantGuru.com, FoodserviceSolutions.US or call 1-253-759-7869