Guerrilla Tacos Grocerant Niche Mix & Match Give Away

Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant Guru®, Steven Johnson want to give a shout-out to the marketing team at Guerrilla Tacos for being elevating consumer touchpoints and highlighting the importance of grocerant niche mix & match bundling.

Why the shout-out well Guerrilla Tacos is selling Emergency Taco Kits, complete with 4 toilet paper rolls and 30 eggs. Now that’s the mix & match bundling that expands customer relevance today. I need not say more.  It is an outstanding promotion.

So, when Guerrilla Tacos had just found out they had to close the inside seating, leaving them with a problem: What to do with the leftover food? Thus, according to CNN, “Co-owner Brittney Valles, chef and fellow co-owner Wes Avila, and other members of the team put their heads together. Valles wanted to do something like a batch meal -- but no Lean Cuisine vibes, she said. Something that felt fun and homey, the rest of the team agreed.”

So, that’s their idea for Emergency Taco Kits.  The kit includes, five pounds of roasted chicken, five pounds of carne asada, a pint of red salsa, a pint of green salsa, tortillas, onions, cilantro, and rice and beans. To help alleviate customers' shopping needs amid coronavirus concerns, the restaurant also decided each kit should include emergency essentials: Four rolls of toilet paper and 30 eggs.  In the battle for Share of Stomach mix & match meal bunding is a fundamental ingredient.

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, www.Linkedin.com/in/grocerant/ or www.twitter.com/grocerant/

Battle for Share of Stomach

New Technology Brings Fresh Food to You

Food trucks have delivered fresh food to work sites, workers, and offices for 100 years or so.  However, like everything else technology has evolved and one company is now using advacned robotics to drive incremental success according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

Ono Food Company, is launching later this month the first of a fleet of mobile food trucks powered by advanced robotics that’s right advance robotics in a food truck. 

Ono Blends, is billing its smoothie shop on wheels, as the first mobile restaurant in the world that uses cutting edge technology and advanced robotics to power everything from ordering to food production. The company plans to launch Ono Blends in late October at a popular Venice, Calif. food truck lot, where it will share space with Roy Choi’s pioneering food truck, Kogi BBQ.

Regular readers of this blog know that “differentiation does not mean different it means familiar but with a twist” well  Ono Blends Co-founder and CEO Stephen Klein stated  “There’s no one else doing this,”

Klein, worked at grocery delivery company Instacart and robotic coffee bar Café X in San Francisco, clearly garnering the insights, for his innovative, incremental food platform, Ono Foods that launched in July 2018 with his business partner Danny Fukuba. Fukuba previously led robotic assembly for SpaceX and worked at Zume Pizza, which uses robot pizza cooks. Johnson says this guys know food, technology and portability all hallmarks of the grocerant niche.

Ono Foods, focus is on state-of-the art food trucks that move around and feed people in so-called food deserts. “We believe the future of robotics is modular. It can be placed in different locations,” Klein said.

Garnering $2 million in capital raised from investors, the team spent the past several months developing a menu of healthy but affordable custom blended smoothies. Signature and customizable shakes are made by an assembly line of machines outfitted in a 56-square-foot space inside a 23-foot long Mercedes Sprinter.

 Interactive and participatory the team built a viewing window is built at eye-level so customers can watch their smoothie being prepared. Klein stated “Ono’s robotics system resembles the automation at fast-casual bowl concept Spyce in Boston, which made national headlines when it opened in May. Famed chef Daniel Boulud is an investor.”

Let’s talk making fast food fast and fresh, Ono robots can crank out a 20-ounce avocado & matcha smoothie in about 60 seconds. The cost: $5.95. Klein said the price is a bargain when compared to brick and mortar shops in the Los Angeles area.

Consider that Moon Juice, which has three shops in boujee Los Angeles enclaves, sells its wellness-centric shakes for $12 to $14. Klein continued “Fast-food options usually fall into two buckets: fast, healthy, and unaffordable, or fast, unhealthy, and affordable and nothing in between,”. “Combining our backgrounds in tech, automation, and culinary fine dining, we knew we could fill this void to give more people access to healthy, high-quality food.”

While technology is crucial to the business model, Klein said food quality is paramount. “The quality of the food is still the most important thing. Automation is the means to the end,” he said. Every drink is “designed to keep people energized and rejuvenated throughout the day,” the company said.

Technology is important for all food retailers according to Johnson.  Ono Blends said advanced robotics improves order accuracy, minimizes food waste, reduces water usage, and improves speed of service.  Food safety is also enhanced with self-cleaning technology.

Is you brand getting faster, fresher, or closer to you customers? Are you focusing on relevant customer touchpoints that are both interactive and participatory?

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 www.FoodserviceSolutions.us  of Tacoma, WA has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche. Contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us or 253-759-7869

Can Shake Shack Customized Marketing Cut It

Sure, Shake Shack sales volume per store are impressive today averaging $4.6 Million per unit in Q4 2018.  They did that by offering a ‘better burger’ and you can get anywhere else.  Ok, so now what as Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

The problem is Shake Shack is now running into the same problem Whole Foods, Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen, and all other specialty food retailers find after several years of successful growth. Shake Shack caters to an urban lifestyle consumers with more disposal income and consumers with more exposure to fresh food fare according to Johnson; the problem is those consumers are limited in numbers. 

So, when Shake Shack announced that will be rolling out two food trucks—one in the greater tri-state area (NY, NJ, CT + PA) and one in the Atlanta metro area we ask Why? Do they think they can sustain growth in the suburbs?  That is highly unlikely unless they reduce the average check size substantially.

Sure, fans of Shake Shack can book the truck at www.shakeshack.com/truck by simply filling out the form with their name, email address and event details. The Food Truck menu is customizable based on the event, and can include Shack classics like the ShackBurger, Chick’n Shack, ‘Shroom Burger, fries and shakes. Pricing is based on the duration of the event and the number of estimated people in attendance. 

We ask will that drive sales, build buzz, or simply put Shake Shack in the same league as Red Robin and Burger King?  What is Shake Shack’s goal? Drive Growth, Drive Profits, Drive Brand Buzz and at what cost?

The truth is the next 15 years growth in urban communities will outpace that of the suburbs for most branded food growth according to Johnson.  Who, continued saying urban brands growth needs to be focused on urban 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, www.Linkedin.com/in/grocerant/ or www.twitter.com/grocerant/

Evolving Foodservice from Food Truck to Restaurant

Regular readers of this blog understand the undercurrents driving the increase speed in which the foodservice industry sector is evolving.  Regular readers also understand how difficult it is for any brand.  Well Steven Johnson, our Grocerant Guru® thinks this story, struggle, and success will help inspire you keep driving your brand forward.

One popular food truck operator Balkan Treat Box with food inspired by the Balkan region from Bosnia to Turkey, Balkan Treat Box first hit the streets in March 2017, delivering something different and exciting for the St. Louis dining community and beyond.  Now Balkan Treat Box the food truck is going to evolve into a ‘brick-and-mortar’ restaurant.

Founded by Loryn Feliciano-Nalic and her husband Edo are living the ‘American Dream’ according to Johnson.  Nalic stated “We’ve been pretty overwhelmed by the response,”... “We never expected our food to resonate so profoundly with our local community. It still feels surreal that there will now be a permanent home for Balkan Treat Box.”

Loryn’s humble hospitality makes you feel at home. Locals say “Her love and care for the cuisine is palatable in her food. “My best friend growing up was Croatian. I found a sense of community with the local Turkish dance community. My husband is Bosnian so I fell in love with him and his country’s food and culture. Everything on our menu has a special story to me,” she states. The new Balkan Treat Box will feature a menu of seven to nine dishes with frequent specials, and guests will still enjoy their BTB favorites.

The food truck’s wood-burning hearth will be recreated in the restaurant so Nalic can bake her signature somun bread (similar to a pita) fresh daily in the open hearth. The soft, airy bread creates the perfect vessel for her Döner with rotisserie chicken, onion, cheese, cabbage, tomato, lettuce and “BTB doner sauce” or the Cevapi, small, tender beef sausages grilled to perfection and served with Nalic’s addictive, tangy kajmak, a spreadable dairy condiment made with cream and cheese, onion, cabbage and fefferoni pickled chiles. Another signature for Balkan Treat Box, scarcely found across the United States, is the not-to-miss Pide, a Turkish wood-fired flatbread served with kajmak, ajvar (a spicy, smoky roasted red pepper spread), herbs, cabbage and fefferoni.

While her culinary background includes working with local barbeque legend, Pappy’s Smokehouse, and artisan baker, Companion Bakery, she saw a need for a new interpretation of the Balkan region’s food. To develop the menu, she knew she had to make the difficult decision to travel without her two children or husband and study the cuisine for two months.

“I was a young, single mom for a long time, but with Edo’s support, we agreed as a family that I had to go to the source. No one in the States was doing the type of food that I wanted to create. I would offer to buy someone’s groceries at the market if, in exchange, we could come cook with them in their homes,” explains Nalic. “I studied every detail from what cuts of meat they ordered to how cevapi differs from Bosnia to Albania. The street food culture became of particular interest to me so you see all of those experiences influence our menu. The first time that I tried the pide in Turkey, I knew that I had to bring that back to the U.S. ”

After her return and the opening of the food truck, Balkan Treat Box quickly became one of the most sought-after food trucks in St. Louis. Not only for the food, but Loryn and Edo’s welcoming charm – both ensure that Balkan Treat Box will soon be a frequent restaurant destination in St. Louis. Balkan Treat Box will open this fall for lunch on Monday through Saturday until they sell out with future plans for dinner service as well as a breakfast menu. The Balkan Treat Box food truck will continue to operate on limited service for the remainder of the season and will be available to book for private events after the restaurant’s opening.

Starting this fall, it will be a little easier for fans of the popular food truck, Balkan Treat Box, to fulfill their cravings for döners and pide. Chef/owner Loryn Nalic and her husband Edo Nalic will open a brick-and-mortar restaurant for Balkan Treat Box at 8103 Big Bend Blvd., Webster Groves, Missouri, 63119 in the former Stratton’s Café.

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 www.FoodserviceSolutions.us  of Tacoma, WA has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche. Contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us or 253-759-7869

Millennials Food Trucks are Authentic

Today food trucks are attracting more and more Millennials in large part because simplicity, service, savory flavors are authentic in the minds-eye of Millennials according to global foodservice consultancy Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant Guru®, Steven Johnson. 

Food trucks have become a big business recording sales that will top $1.2 billion this year according to Johnson. One entrepreneur and foodie Greg Barnhart is making a big splash in the Windy City food truck pond with Toasty Cheese Restaurant Group.

Barnhart started with one truck called, Toasty Cheese Mobile Eatery.  His food attracted a “cult-like following” and Barnhart has not looked back. The name was fun the trucks were brightly colored.  However it the food that brings customers back like the Duck Bacon, Cilantro-Avocado Aioli and Sicilian Cherry Tomatoes to Applewood Smoked Bacon, Apple/Cabbage Slaw and Over Easy Eggs. Ok now you understand.

This spring Barnhart opened the Toasty Taco, described as “a taqueria móvil that serves authentic street Tacos, Burritos, Quesadillas, Tortas and Tamales.” Once again it’s all about food with entrees the ilk of Steamed Corn Husk Tamales stuffed with Cheese and Street Tacos and Unsweetened Plantains topped with Duck Confit, Picked Jalapeno and Queso Fresco”.

Things did not stop there as Barnhart’s mobile food empire grew this time with the acquisition of Best Truckin’ BBQ and The Crave Bar.  Which Specialized in Beef Brisket, Pulled Pork and Chicken, Best Truckin’ BBQ is all about classic American barbecue. Sandwiches stuffed with tender meat are topped with tantalizing sauces like the Spiced Pomegranate BBQ Sauce and Apple Cider Bourbon BBQ Sauce.

Barnhart stated  “With four different mobile food concepts under one umbrella, we are now able to create some really cool custom catering options for everything from office lunches and kids’ birthday parties to weddings and graduations,” So the team at Foodservice Solutions® asks what’s under your umbrella? Is your brand expanding its reach?

Are you trapped doing what you have always done and doing it the same way?  Interested in learning how www.FoodserviceSolutions.us 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. 

Beef on Wheels Lion’s Choice Launches Food Truck

There is a reason some companies have been around a long time.  In the case of Lion’s Choice, the St. Louis-based quick-service restaurant chain the reasons are very clear they evolve with consumers according to Tacoma, WA, based Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant Guru®, Steven Johnson.

Mike Kupstas, CEO of Lion’s Choice stated “For 50 years our loyal customers have been coming to us, and now we’re hitting the road to come to them,”… “Creating the ‘Lean Roast Beef Machine’ is something our customers have been asking for, and we’re excited to bring our friendly service, legendary roast beef, fries and signature soft-serve custard to locations all over St. Louis.”

The first food truck for Lion’s Choice is called “The Lean Roast Beef Machine”.  It is a 29-foot, custom-built truck has taken to the streets, serving the chain’s famous roast beef sandwiches, natural-cut fries and flavor burst custard at locations throughout the St. Louis metropolitan area.

New truck new sandwich called ‘The Butcher Block sandwich’ which combines Lion’s Choice’s famous roast beef, hickory smoked ham and oven roasted turkey stacked high on a brioche bun with Swiss cheese, honey horseradish sauce and romaine lettuce.

Kupstas continued “While we are best known for our roast beef sandwiches, customers also have come to love our ham and turkey sandwiches….The Butcher Block is a great way to experience all three of our quality meats with one satisfying sandwich. It’s the perfect solution for those customers who can’t decide which sandwich to choose, and the honey horseradish provides a perfect little kick.”

Consumers are dynamic not static are you evolving with 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

Doc Popcorn Rolling Out First PopTruck

What’s faster than a cross country semi on an interstate running late, a bullet train in Europe, or a two year old on a sidewalk as soon as you take your eye of him?  Ah the answer is popcorn popping in a food truck and customers smelling freshness and lining up.  

You guessed it Doc Popcorn, the world’s largest popcorn franchise retailer, as figured that out is currently rolling out its first PopTruck.  Building a brand and loyal followers in an Omni-Channel retail world is a lot of hard work but Doc Popcorn is doing a lot of the right things with its PopTruck.

Twin Cities proprietor Bill Bentz, just happens to owns and operates the Mall of America Doc Popcorn location with his wife and two daughters, is spearheading the brand’s first foray into the food truck industry.

News reports stated that “The PopTruck, essentially a store on wheels, offers a variety of Doc Popcorn’s gourmet popcorn flavors and craft sodas. In addition, it will offer frozen lemonade in the summer, and locally roasted coffee and hot chocolate during cooler months. The new food truck model allows the Mall of America Doc Popcorn location to mobilize and be an active community business.”

In addition “The PopTruck is available for local reservations such as corporate/employee events, customer/student appreciation days, civic celebrations/events, sports tournaments, graduations, weddings and other celebrations.”

Bentz stated “At our Mall of America location, I never tire of seeing kids’ excitement over popcorn,” …“With my eldest daughter taking over the management of my Doc Popcorn store in the mall, I wanted to find a way to expand the business and stay connected to my customers. The PopTruck is an opportunity for me to spread happiness and smiles all over the Twin Cities community.”

Multi-channel is important today.  Rob Israel, founder of Doc Popcorn and ‘Big Pop  explained that  the PopTruck brings Doc Popcorn into the fastest-growing segment in foodservice. The food truck industry has increased 12.4 percent over the past five years and is expected to reach $2.7 billion this year.

Israel continued “Bill’s PopTruck is an exciting opportunity for our brand to test the food truck model,” …“Bill came to us with the idea and we co-created the concept. The PopTruck is the first of its kind for Doc Popcorn, so we’re excited to see how it’s received in the Twin Cities and determine if others in our franchise family may also benefit.”

Positioning is so important according to our own Grocerant Guru® noting that  popcorn is considered a “better-for-you snacking option”, Doc Popcorn creates its own proprietary flavor blends using high quality ingredients free of trans fat, MSG, artificial colors and preservatives. Gourmet popcorn flavors include Klassic Kettle, Sinfully Cinnamon, Triple White Cheddar, Sweet Butter, Cheesy Cheddar, Better Butter, Caramel Kettle, Hoppin’ Jalapeno, Salt-n-Pepper, and can be mixed and matched for a variety. Are you expanding your brand? 

For international corporate presentations, educational forums, or keynotes contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us  the 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. Visit: www.FoodserviceSolutions.us for more information