Success Grocerant Growth, The Food Hall in Trinidad and Tobago

 

At the intersection convenience and nutritious grocerant niche fresh Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat food can be found now at The Food Hall in Piarco Plaza in Trinidad and Tobago. The grocerant niche continues to drive customer adoption, top-line sales, and bottom-line profits around the world.

That is the intersection where consumers want dinner but don’t want to cook, it is where the grocery store meets a restaurant; elevating the shopping experience and edifying a grocery brands customers base according to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

What’s for dinner is more than simply grocery shopping today according to Johnson. Omar Hadeed, Jonas Zakour and Daniel Fakoory created The Food Hall, grocerant concept to provide a simple solution for their customers asking themselves What’s for Dinner. he one-stop shop with their "grocerant"– The Food Hall at Piarco Plaza on Friday.

So, the concept lets shoppers stock their pantries and not have to worry about what meal to buy since there is a buffet filled with different dishes to choose from. The chef's station is an interactive participatory platform for shoppers so they can see meals being cooked in front of them, learn new recipes and even sample them.

Zakour was recently quoted saying, “this project was born three years ago and though it took a long time to materialize, he was glad it can finally open its doors to the public. Hadeed expressed the same sentiments and added, "It's so exciting to see the space filled for the first time with customers enjoying the experience that we've presented."

The article continued, "We all come from different industries myself retail, Zakour distribution and Fakoory from the restaurant industry. So, we combined our skill sets all into one to try and make this a place that you know invites customers and gives them the ultimate experience at a fantastic price point. For us. It's about the joy that we see our customers getting and the community we are serving. We will be employing 140 people."

You are going to love this, The Food Hall will be occupying 36,000 square feet of space, 20,000 for the retail sector and 16,000 for the kitchen, bakery, two prep rooms and warehouse space. In the next six months, the stakeholders will be launching a click and collect room that will be 7,000 square feet for people to collect their groceries or their next meal. Yes, here is the best part! Hadeed could not give the exact cost of the facility, but said it's double what they had budgeted for the project. I know most all of our readers are saying to themselves been there, done that!

Though the grocery had only been opened for such a short time, Hadeed has already started wondering and thinking of when the next grocerant will be opened.

Hadeed stated, “we don't look at ourselves in a supermarket. We didn't come into the space to compete against other supermarkets. We're full hybrid grocerant mixed between a grocery and a restaurant. We're preparing chef quality means a lot of our staff on the back in come from the restaurant industry."

Location, location, location, “why the Piarco Plaza was their choice for the placement of the grocery. He said there are almost 100,000 people within a four- or- five-mile radius. He added that the Piarco International Airport is in close proximity as well as several industrial parks filled with employees. Hadeed said there are too few options in the area and so set themselves apart by catering to customers for their next meal.”

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

Trifecta Drives Growth at Choice Market

 

Mix and match meal component bundling is one of the hallmarks driving customer adoption of grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

Johnson stated “Choice Market hit the trifecta when they focused on mix and match bunding of groceries, prepared foods, and beverages including beer and wine. Winning in the food space today is not brain surgery.  It requires focusing on the three consumer touchpoints with the most relevance. That is exactly what Choice Market is doing.”

So, in case you are not a regular reader of this blog, Choice Market, is an omnichannel convenience store operator based in Denver, has recently secured growth financing to help fuel its next phase of growth throughout the U.S.

Choice Market was founded in 2017, they are currently operating several convenience stores in the Denver metro area with an additional location opening by the end of the year. This round of financing is a portion of the overall capitalization and will fund the opening of additional locations, build out of the organization and deployment of Choice’s proprietary digital customer experience across new channels and formats.

With consumer touchpoints top of mind, Choice, whose mission is to make good food accessible and convenient for all, will be launching a new mobile app, e-commerce website, native delivery and loyalty program. As of Sept. 18, customers will be able to order any item from Choice’s diverse selection for contactless pickup or for “e-delivery” which leverages a fleet of electric vehicles and e-bikes. That is incremental customer relevance according to Johnson.

This new digital experience empowers customers, so they can shop for groceries, prepared foods, and alcohol by dietary lifestyle, local suppliers or recipe and will receive personalized offers based on their shopping history. Starting with its fourth location, Choice will offer a frictionless experience in which customers can use their mobile app to pre-order prepared food, scan a QR code upon arrival, grab their groceries and leave without ever checking out. What are you focusing on to drive top line sales and bottom-line profits?

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

Grocer Hy-Vee Focus on Meals Once Is a Success Clue

Regular readers of this blog know that in order to garner a larger share of stomach food retailers must shift to a focus on meals.  Building top line sales and bottom-line profits today requires all food retailers to focus on meals and meal components according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

This year Hy-Vee will mark National Family Meals Month this September with resources, solutions and giveaways that will bring families together for mealtime in unique ways in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Here is why: Foodservice Solutions® recent Grocerant ScoreCards found 88.7% of consumers bought Ready-2-Eat or Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food because it was Fresh. With 86.4% of consumers saying they were seeking a specific Flavor, 82.6 % believe it is restaurant quality and 77.2% were buying because it was a fast meal. 

The Food Industry Association (FMI) develop National Family Meals Month assist its members ebb the flow of customers from one channel to another that sells meals and meal components.   Research shows that children who share regular family meals typically display better grades, improved nutrition, stronger family relationships and higher self-esteem, and that they're less likely to use drugs and alcohol according to FMI.

Battle for Share of Stomach

So, throughout the month of September, Hy-Vee is providing tools to help families have at least one more meal together each week. The grocer’s support of National Family Meals Month includes the following (additional announcements will be made throughout the month as well):

·         A sweepstakes will give families the chance to participate in a 90-second shopping spree to win free groceries, plus the opportunity to earn an additional $1,000. The shopping sprees will be held in select markets in celebration of Hy-Vee’s 90th anniversary and National Family Meals Month. All events will take place before store hours, with employees and participants wearing masks and maintaining social distancing to keep everyone safe. Information on how to enter will be shared on Hy-Vee’s Facebook page and website.

·         Contactless drive-thru giveaways offering free Hy-Vee Mealtime dinners will be held in select markets. Approximately 500 meal kits that serve four to six people will be given away at each event, with the aim of helping to bring families around the dinner table, as well as to aid those who might be financially burdened due to COVID-19. 

·         Kids can eat free with each purchase of an adult entrée every day in September at all Hy-Vee foodservice departments, as well as at Wahlburgers at Hy-Vee and Hy-Vee Market Grille locations. Customers can get one free kids meal with each purchase of a select adult entrée, valid for dine-in and carry out or delivery from hy-vee.com/mealtime. Delivery is available in some markets, and the offer is open to children ages 12 and younger.

·         Daily recipes, weekly meal ideas and grab-and-go dinner options will be offered on Hy-Vee’s social media platforms to make mealtime easier. The Hy-Vee KidsFit social media platforms will share videos and resources to encourage kids and parents to stay active and make healthy choices together.

·         A digital Family Cooking Guide containing themed recipes will help support various dietary needs and lifestyles. The resource is available on hy-vee.com/familymeals.

·         Live cooking demonstrations with Hy-Vee dietitians will take place each Sunday at 5 p.m. CT on the Hy-Vee Facebook page. Viewers can participate in the Q&A sessions and enter for the chance to win prizes.

·         Free, virtual family-friendly health-and-wellness classes led by Hy-Vee dietitians will help educate children and adults on how to manage healthy lifestyles.

Invite Foodservice Solutions® to complete a Grocerant Program Assessment, 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