Dunkin Expanding the ‘halo’ of Better-for-You

 

Consumer like fresh fast food, they like drive thru’s, and they like Inspire Brands restaurant retail outlets for all of the right reasons including craveability, creativity, consistency according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

Back in the day the Grocerant Guru® introduced regular readers of this blog about a new avenue of fresh food distribution that was about to take off.  That company was, Farmer’s Fridge.  Now that fresh food vending company, is testing some of its salads, bowls and breakfast items at select Dunkin’ locations elevating choice for Dunkin’s retail customers while extending the ‘halo’ of better-for you according to Johnson.

Farmer’s Fridge in its first test pilot restaurant program is taking place at six Dunkin’ stores at which a limited selection of items are on offer behind the counter. Eventually, they will be available in grab-and-go cases rather than the traditional Farmer’s Fridge stand-alone vending fridges.

Meghan Hurley, head of marketing for Farmer’s Fridge stated, “Dunkin’ was exploring new, healthy food options focused on plant-forward ingredients,”... “Our CEO was introduced to the Dunkin’ folks in 2020 and the idea was launched.”

Regular readers of this blog know that, Farmer’s Fridge has traditionally set up its vending operations in airports, college campuses, office buildings, hospitals and similar venues. There are now about 350 installations, but this is the first venture with a QSR.

So, Dunkin’ is offering two Farmer’s Fridge salads and two bowls, including a harvest salad, Greek salad, pesto pasta and a burrito bowl—the last a combo of black beans, a brown rice-quinoa blend, fire-roasted corn, roasted fajita veggies and guacamole. Also on the menu are chia pudding, apple-cinnamon oats and a yogurt parfait. None of these were developed specifically for Dunkin; these items were already in the fridges, said Hurley.

Fresh and sustainable in its vending operations, all the food is packed into recyclable glass jars. Dunkin’ customers can either recycle these at home or bring the jars back to the store where the purchase was made.

In a press release an Inspire Brands spokesperson stated “Dunkin’ is committed to delivering a wide variety of delicious, convenient menu choices to help keep our guests running all day long, including options that make it easier to eat on-the-go," "We are currently testing Farmer’s Fridge prepackaged salads, grain bowls and breakfast items inside a total of six restaurants in the Chicago and New Jersey markets. The test is designed to gather valuable feedback from consumers, franchisees and their employees to help inform future decisions.” Farmers Fridge in the minds-eye of our grocerant guru® has developed top-of-mind awareness for better for you fresh food within the vending sector and sees no reason they can’t be a perfect fit at Dunkin outlets.

Like all of us, with many of its fridges in locations that immediately shut down at the start of the pandemic, Farmer’s Fridge had to quickly transform its business model. “We lost 70% to 80% of our business that first week, but by the end of March, we built an e-commerce site on Shopify and launched self-delivery in some markets,” said Hurley. “People still wanted healthy food fast, so we were serving the same occasion as we did at the office.”

The company also relocated some of its fridges in hospitals and universities to make them more accessible to frontline workers and quarantining students. Farmer’s Fridge also debuted a Chef Collab series, using well-known restaurant chefs to create recipes for the fridges and home delivery. “When restaurants shut down, we asked the chefs what they would make at home, and they developed dishes for us,” said Hurley.

The lineup includes Andrew Kim, Paul Kahan, Missy Robbins and Stephanie Izard. Girl and the Goat’s Izard created a tofu bowl. It worked.  Almost a year later, Farmer’s Fridge business is back to pre-pandemic levels, said Hurley, but sales are going through different channels. With about half the fridges currently inactive, the company is currently doing more wholesale, e-commerce and delivery.

Hurley continued, “In 2021, “we want to take a step back and build out these channels,” ... “The menu team also wants to focus on product development and develop recipes based on trends and customers’ needs. The Dunkin’ fridges are just in test right now, but we hope to partner with other restaurants in the future.” How are you expanding the increasingly valued customer touchpoint of ‘better-for-you?

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 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.

Grocer’s Relevance Continue to Decline

When a key food sector funded research project study shows a continued decline in key demographic customer loyalty one thing is obvious.  That is, usually things are much worse that then report found according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

So, currently supermarkets remain the go-to retail venue for fresh produce, but their pull is weaker among younger shoppers, according to the Food Marketing Institute’s 2019 “The Power of Produce” study. What other avenues of distribution are consumers migrating? Well, according to Johnson grocerant niche restaurants, dollar stores, and grocerant niche convenience stores.

Shockingly the report found that only 50% of all shoppers cited a full-service supermarket as their primary store for purchasing fresh produce. Wow, have things changed since I was a kid.  All that said FMI’s report gives traditional grocery stores a leg up on other retail formats, given that 55% of grocery trips include fresh produce. Ok, you know what I’ am going to say now.  We told you so! Yes, Grocerant niche fresh food sales continue to drive customer migration.

Here is where the FMI study edified what we have been saying for 1 years.  They found that the younger generation exhibits a greater affinity for buying fresh fruit and/or vegetables at supercenters and alternative retail channels, including online, dollar stores, convenience stores and farmers’ markets. Of consumers polled, just 34% of older Millennials named a supermarket as their primary store for produce.

 Rick Stein, vice president of fresh foods at FMI, said in a statement. “Specifically, the study suggests a need for a renewed focus on strategies for continued growth, including organic, locally grown produce; value-added produce for time-starved customers; produce-based beverages and private branded produce.” What he meant to say is you DONING WHAT YOU HAVE ALWAYS DONE AND DOING THE SAME WAY WILL NO LONGER WORK.

Here is some information from the study all food retailers will find useful.

1.        “Fresh fruit and vegetables also show potential to fit into more eating occasions. Although 36% of consumers polled said they eat fresh produce about three times a week or less, they would like to include it more frequently in meals or snacks, FMI found.

2.       56% of shoppers buy veggie shakes or fruit smoothies, and 53% buy cold-press juices. Those figures don’t include similar beverages people make at home or purchase from other areas of the store, such as kombucha.

Are you offering more fresh fruit and produce to your consumers as a Hand-Held Food for immediate consumption options?  If not Why?  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.

Farmer’s Fridge New Points of Fresh Food Distribution Fuel Sales

Regular readers of this blog know that Steven Johnson, the Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® has nothing but nice things to say about Farmer’s Fridge as they grow and continue open up new points of fresh food distribution all while driving top line sales and bottom line profits.

For the rest of you Farmer’s Fridge, a Chicago-based company that is selling jarred salads via refrigerated vending machines.  Recently Farmer’s Fridge secured $30 million in venture capital funding which will propel the rate of growth and expand outside their current store base.

Farmer’s Fridge, currently operates 185 vending machines in Chicago and Milwaukee, largely in office buildings, hospitals, colleges and universities, and drug stores. It also runs a stand at a food hall in Chicago.  They have another 225 vending units are slated to be in operation by the end of the year, founder and CEO Luke Saunders told the Chicago Tribune recently.

The new round of investment will allow Farmer’s Fridge to add employees as well as some 400 to 500 locations across the Midwest by the end of 2019.  Farmer’s Fridge is a Tech-centric company, with menu items such as Smoked Cheddar Cobb Salad and Peach Caprese Salad, collects data to predict consumption and adjust its supply chain.

So just what is a ‘tech-centric’ salad company the Tribune reported that “The learnings that Farmer’s Fridge leverages are not one-time; using a robust data infrastructure, machine learning, and automation, the team can constantly experiment and drive agile development of both hardware and software. “In a world where less than 5% of vending machines have systems to track inventory, the Farmer’s Fridge team is light years ahead of the pack.”

Innovation Endeavors is the key investor in Farmer’s Fridge and was founded by former Google CEO Eric Schmidt to fund projects that focus on “transformational technology.” Farmer’s Fridge workers prepare all meals in a central kitchen. Vending machines are restocked each weekday. Unsold items are donated to area food pantries.   Where are you selling food?  Are you getting closer to your customers?

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 Facebook.com/Steven Johnson, Linkedin.com/in/grocerant/ or twitter.com/grocerant