Pilot Flying J’s Food First Footprint Fuels Success

Success does leave clues and grocerant niche fresh food has been the platform of success that most food retail choose when they decide to evolve their brans with customer relevance and Pilot Flying J has made the right choices according to Steven Johnson, Tacoma, WA based Grocerant Guru® at Foodservice Solutions®.

When it comes to homestyle comfort foods PJ Fresh offering at Pilot Flying J are filled with grocerant grab-n-go fresh food options that make the ‘pit-stop’’ well worth it according to Johnson. In an effort to drive incremental growth Pilot Flying J developed a third branded footprint called Pilot Express unit as a way to enter areas where a typical major travel center won't fit from a land and acreage standpoint.

Pilot Flying J Chief Merchant Brian Ferguson describes the Pilot Express concept as a "Food first" unit. Pilot Express stores spotlight the retailer's commitment to food and beverage innovation, offering homestyle meals, grab-and-go and made-to-order sandwiches and salads, premium beverages, a bean-to-cup coffee experience and weekly limited-time offers.

Ferguson continued "We want you to walk in to an experience that you've never [had] at a Pilot before. We created a store environment that's about getting you fueled quickly, giving you tremendous options in food and beverage, and getting you out quickly," 

 Pilot Flying J's Vice President of Food Innovation Shannon Johnson said Pilot Express stores have found a sweet spot by offering a variety of food offers that meet different needs. The winning equation includes:

·         Anticipating guest need — both immediate transaction and relaxing destination; 

·         Being varied and flexible — in the same store, you can see a hot homestyle offering that allows a guest to eat and relax next to a grab-and-go item for the person of the go; 

·         Splitting grab-and-go into two categories: hot and chilled; and

·         Tying in authenticity and quality.

"We went out to market with a variety of food offers all at the same time and what we found was somewhat unexpected: that the blend of all those things was how we’re going to win," Shannon Johnson shared. "It really differentiates us in the marketplace because a lot of our competitive set doesn’t have the mix of offers that we do. We learned so much from Pilot Express." Is your business ready to evolve?

Interested in learning how Foodservice Solutions 5P’s of Food Marketing 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:  www.FoodserviceSolutions.us for more information

Pilot Flying J Partnerships Drive Sales

Success does leave clues and in retail foodservice there are very few things that work better than Limited Time Offers (LTO) of unique branded products according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®

Pilot Flying J’s new LTO Cinnabon French Toast Sausage Bites are perfect for breakfast or snacking on the road that fit in to its branded messaging creating ‘new electricity’ according to Johnson. The bites feature sausage wrapped in fluffy dough inspired by the world famous Cinnabon dough which are then rolled in Cinnabon French toast seasoning and served with a side of maple syrup.

New partnerships can drive sales in foodservice today as your brand is searching for the new electricity to help drive the brand forward according to Johnson. 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, developing brands, unique urban clothing, grocerant positioning, Fresh food messaging, autonomous delivery, cashier-less retail, plates, glasses, cash-less payments, digital hand-held marketing.

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.

Pilot Flying J has codeveloped a s fun food combo that is only $3.09 for a three count ($4.29 for a five count) and sold exclusively at select Pilot and Flying J Travel Centers. Try them with Pilot Flying J’s exclusive line of delicious coffee varieties brewed for those who drive America.

Foodservice Solutions® specializes in outsourced food marketing and business development ideations. 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