The Fresh Market Great Grocerant Meals in 20 Minutes or Less

 

Consumers are time starved and don’t want to cook dinner from scratch according to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®. Consumers continue to look for Grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared meals and meal components.  Let’s look at some recent numbers:

 

1. Recent Grocerant ScoreCards found 82.3% of consumers don’t know what’s for dinner at Noon, and 61.8 %don’t know what’ s for dinner at 4PM.
2. Roughly 63.7% of consumers purchase prepared food items from a retail location at least three times a month.
3. 79.6% all dinners have at least 1 grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat meal component and 66.6% have two meal components per day.
4. When asked if they wanted to cook dinner from scratch or assemble dinner from fresh meal components 91.3 % of Gen Z chose assemble from Fresh Prepared Meal Components and Millennials 83.4% chose meal components.
5. Seventy-three percent of retail prepared food purchases are taken to go
6. 88.2 % of consumers prefer hand held food over sit down meals with a knife and fork

 

Now The Fresh Market has rolled out six new meal kits and added another “meal deal” heading into the back-to-school season and fall celebrations.

Pay attention here: The all-in-one meal solutions serve two people and can be prepared in 20 minutes or less, the Greensboro, North Carolina-based specialty grocer said Wednesday. Each kit provides step-by-step instructions, and the meal components made fresh daily with ingredients from the retailer’s meat, seafood and produce departments.

The new meal kit varieties include chicken parmesan in marinara sauce, creamy gorgonzola sirloin steak, Madeira steak in wine and demi-glace sauce, miso ginger trout, spicy pork bulgogi rice bowl (rice in Korean barbecue sauce with red chiles, ginger, soy and honey) and chicken alfredo (with garlic and parmesan in bechamel base).

Yes, there is more for fall entertaining, The Fresh Market has introduced The Party Meal, its latest meal deal. Available through Oct. 31, the full prepared banquet includes a chicken salad slider tray (28 oz.); a ham and cheese slider tray (35 oz.); a choice of a pepperoni pinwheel appetizer tray (33 oz.) or a caprese appetizer tray (38 oz.); one The Fresh Market original guacamole (16 oz.); Zack’s Mighty Organic Tortilla Chips with Sea Salt (9 oz.); and The Fresh Market chocolate chip mini cookies (18 count).

The Party Meal is priced at $39.99, for a savings of $12, and no reheating is required, The Fresh Market noted. Customers can order online 24 hours in advance for pick-up the next day.

“These convenient and delicious meal options are designed to help busy families save time in the kitchen while still enjoying flavorful food,” The Fresh Market stated. “Whether it’s a busy weeknight or a weekend tailgate, The Fresh Market has several options perfect for any occasion.”

The Fresh Market’s new meal kits and meal deal reflect ongoing efforts by the chain to provide restaurant-quality meal options, convenient meal solutions (such as all-in-one dinners for two and Little Big Meal dinner deals for four) and occasion-focused meal offerings, with the latter including Father’s and Mother’s Day, Easter, Valentine’s Day, Super Bowl Sunday and Thanksgiving.

Foodservice Solutions® team is here to help you drive top line sales and bottom-line profits. Are you looking a customer ahead? Visit GrocerantGuru.com for more information or contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us Remember success does leave clues and we just may the clue you need to propel your continued success.

Consumers want Fresh Prepared Food When Eating-In or Eating-Out

 

That’s right consumers want it both ways.  Regular readers of this blog know that Steven Johnson, the Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® has documented the battle between the desire to eat out and the need to eat in without cooking for over 6 years.

Grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food is a tool that helps time starved consumers garner dinner for the family that is fresh, fast, and fun according to Johnson. While we have documented the progress of the rise of the grocerant niche here from our own research. We have found some new research that digs deeper, while edifying our results it also pointed out some new insight we think are valuable. 

The insights were part of an Oracle Food and Beverage survey. The surveyed polled more than 5,700 global consumers across 11 geographies, including 512 in the Unites States.  Let’s take a look at what they found:

“This new survey shows that “Americans love new tech-driven options for ordering and retrieving food, but the flipside is that it is making them more impatient. Of those surveyed, 64% don’t want to wait more than five minutes to order at the counter or drive-thru window, while 71% of in-house diners were upset if they had to wait more than 10 minutes. More than half (55%) said they were fed up after five minutes of waiting for food in a drive-thru, and 54% were annoyed waiting more than 10 minutes for food while dining at a restaurant.

While consumers mostly dig new digital dining options, they also lament the impact it is having on in-person dining. Nearly half (47%) said they feel like all the delivery and take-out orders result in longer waits when they order in-person and 29% said the atmosphere of dining-in is hurt by delivery drivers picking up food. But despite these concerns, 46% of people noted they will eat out daily to several times a week in coming months and showed a growing loyalty to their favorite brands.”

“Online and mobile ordering was a lifeline to restaurants shut-down in the pandemic and continues to provide steady revenue,” said Simon de Montfort Walker, senior vice president and general manager at Oracle Food and Beverage. “As already short-staffed restaurants reopen, they are grappling with how to manage both in-person diners and deliveries, while meeting growing expectations on speed and service. Technology that helps kitchens manage and time orders from multiple channels will be key to keeping pace and ensuring diners stay happy and loyal.”

Fast is not fast enough

The survey found that consumers have a short window before they get exacerbated with the time it takes to get their order:

·         More than half (54%) of in-house diners don’t like to wait more than 10 minutes to be served and 76% are impatient after 15 minutes

·         For those ordering at the counter, 45% said they get annoyed if they must wait more than five minutes and 76% didn’t want to wait more than 10 minutes to be served

·         At the drive-thru, nearly 1 in 5 consumers (19%) don’t want to wait more than two minutes to get their food, while more than half (55%) said they were fed up after five minutes of waiting

Kicking orders to the curb

Curbside pick-up (or Click-and-collect) continues to be a popular option that both determines where people chose to eat and their loyalty towards a brand:

·         58% love this method and or are more apt to choose establishments offering it

·         43% say it makes them more loyal to the eatery

·         54% say they would spend more because of this service option, with that number jumping to 80% for Millennials

Personalized communications aren’t creepy, they’re expected

The survey found that consumers have grown to appreciate, and even expect, proactive recommendations their favorite restaurants, but want to control access to their own data:

·         55% love the idea of receiving notifications about personalized offers from restaurants based on their current location

·         45% want to be prompted with personalized order suggestions based on their purchase history

·         46% would love to manage their dietary preferences with their favorite establishments

·         56% would love visibility and control over who has access to the personal data they share with restaurants and delivery drivers

Sustainability and healthy options rising in importance

In addition to offering click and collect, and personalizing offers based on data, consumers are increasingly influenced by a brand’s sustainability, environmental and corporate governance (ESG) initiatives, and healthy meal options:

·         61% of Millennials rate efforts to lower food waste (such as donations to food banks) as vital and influential to who they spend money with

·         45% rate clear labelling about source of food and ingredients as vital, with a slightly higher percentage of men versus women (48% and 42%, respectively)

·         58% of consumers rate healthy options on menu as important, with families rating this the highest at 74%, followed by Millennials at 71%

Ordering preference is situational

While mobile ordering continues to gain steam, in certain settings, consumers still prefer human interactions:

·         65% prefer to order directly from a server when dining in, while 18% would like to order from their mobile device

·         When ordering take out, 33% would like to order directly from the restaurant on their mobile device, 18% from a third-party like UberEats from their mobile device, and 25% directly from a server

·         38% prefer to order directly from a server when ordering drive-thru, 38% prefer to order from their mobile device

·         52% of Millennials prefer to order from a server in-person, but that number drops sharply to drive-thru’s, with only 17% wanting to deal with a staff member and just 11% when ordering take-out

 Payment options expanding

While cash is still high on consumers preferred ways to pay (47%), restaurants are increasingly adapting to new forms of payments to meet changing expectations: 

·         60% of consumers like to pay with a credit card

·         25% prefer to utilize contactless payment methods such as Apple or Google Pay

·         7% are embracing alternative payments such as cryptocurrency

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

Innovative Thanksgiving Menus Drive Consumers to Restaurants this Thanksgiving

Still not sure where you are going to eat this Thanksgiving?  Don’t worry you do not have to cook.  You can go out to eat at your favorite restaurant of you can order one of the 1,900 innovative new menu items put on the menu this year.

According to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® “restaurants have been adding new grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat menu options every year.  This year there are over 1,900 new menu options that restaurants have added targeting your Thanksgiving dinner table.”

According to SpotOn, a restaurant software and payment provider, reported a list of Thanksgiving meal trends it is seeing from the independent and small chain restaurants it serves across the U.S.

Here let’s look at some of the trends for this Thanksgiving they include:

Thanksgiving Menu Items

·         A majority of items were added Oct. 23-29 and include Thanksgiving Meal Kits from Looking Glass Hospitality, Thanksgiving Dessert Boards and Cookie Decorating Kits from M. Streeting Baking Co., and even a Thanksgiving Leftovers Kit from Lucius Q.

·         In the last 30 days, SpotOn reported an uptick in traditional Thanksgiving Day sides and desserts added to its restaurant clients’ menus, including 652 sweet potato items, 421 mashed potato items, 272 yam items, 275 pumpkin pie items, 164 pecan pie items, 83 stuffing items, 44 cranberry sauce items and 24 green bean casserole items.

Business on ‘Drinksgiving’

·         The night before Thanksgiving, also known as “Drinksgiving,” is typically one of the busiest bar nights of the year as consumers kick off the start of the holiday weekend.

·         Last year, SpotOn reported its bar and brewery clients saw a 50% increase in sales on “Drinksgiving” vs. the previous Wednesday.

·         Not surprisingly, the Wednesday before Thanksgiving was also the busiest Wednesday of 2021 for SpotOn’s pizza clients.

Post-Turkey Day Trends

·         After the holiday weekend is over, and the leftovers are gone, it seems diners are in the mood for a particular cuisine type(s). Last year, Japanese, sushi and seafood restaurants saw an 18% uptick in business on the Monday after Thanksgiving, welcoming in consumers hungry for a break from heavy holiday meals.

The Remaining Holidays

·         Holiday menu items, in general, have been on the rise, with over 500 holiday menu items added in the last 90 days, with the largest number of items added the week of Oct. 2. Some of the highlights include a Herbivore Holiday Meal from Pondichieri in Houston, Holiday BBQ Plate from Viewhouse with various Colorado locations and Holiday Wellington from Matthew Kenney’s Veg’d in Los Angeles.

·         SpotOn also saw an additional 405 Christmas menu items, with the largest spike added at the beginning of October, including The Christmas Mimosas at Famous Toastery, a “take n bake” Christmas Ham from Three Blondes Brewing and Christmas Chile at ABQ Burrito & Burger.

·         As for the season’s favorite flavors, SpotOn found restaurants added: 470 hot chocolate and 86 hot cocoa items, 410 peppermint items, 148 gingerbread items, 21 eggnog items, 39 candy cane items and 22 mulled wine items so far.

If customers don’t want to cook Thanksgiving dinner at home, they can now visit a restaurant and enjoy a nice holiday meal with family.

Foodservice Solutions® specializes in outsourced business development. We can help you identify, quantify and qualify additional food retail segment opportunities or a new menu product segment and brand and menu integration strategy.  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

HelloFresh Celebrity Re-Fresh

 

Meal Kit magic for HelloFresh may very well be found in a new partnership with actor Neil Patrick Harris and his husband, professional chef and cookbook author David Burtka, to promote the ease of cooking with meal kits. The partnership provides HelloFresh customers access to new family-friendly recipes developed exclusively by Burtka, in addition to comedic content featuring the pair and their twins, Gideon and Harper, enjoying meals in their own kitchen.

Regular readers of this blog know that Hello Fresh continues to lead within the meal kt category for freshness, flavor, and family fun. According to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® recent grocerant scorecards.

So, Burtka collaborated with HelloFresh to create a limited-time recipe series of meals inspired by his cookbook Life is a Partyand flavor profiles enjoyed by his family. Through Sept. 4, HelloFresh customers can have the recipes, including all of the ingredients and step-by-step instructions, delivered directly to their homes. Part of HelloFresh’s Premium Picks menu options, the recipe series offers Cheesy Chicken & Bean Enchiladas with Tomato Rice, Pico de Gallo & Lime Crema; Herb-Roasted Chicken Legs with Brown Butter Veggies & Rice; Zesty Shrimp & Slaw Tacos with Creamy Guac, Salsa & Blue Corn Chips; and Grilled Steak & Asparagus Salad with Farro, Mushrooms & Lemony Ricotta.

Harris, stated, “Our lives move a million miles a minute so finding time together as a family or with our friends — ideally over a meal — is super important to us,”  Burtka added: “Whether we’re planning dinner for the twins or entertaining friends, HelloFresh has something for everyone, any night of the week, no matter how busy our schedules are! I’m excited to bring even more family-friendly, tasty recipes to their menu through this partnership.”

Michelle Olson, HelloFresh’s culinary development manager, stated, “HelloFresh is designed to be the perfect solution for families like Neil and David’s, who don’t have a lot of time to prep but want to get the kids involved and put their own spin on classic recipes,” … “It was an honor to have Chef David Burtka in our kitchen to collaborate on these limited-edition recipes that incorporate his favorite flavors, family-friendly cooking techniques, and inspiration from his own professional cooking experience.”

Here is why the team at Foodservice Solutions® thinks this will ‘re-fresh’ Hello Fresh, because along with the recipe series, consumers can view vlog-style content featuring Harris, Burtka and their kids across OTT, linear TV, social media, paid social, and more.

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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