At Peapod Partnerships Deliver Success

Regular readers of this blog remember Webvan and that it was founded in 1996.  Wenvan was at  one time the king of grocery delivery.  Those same readers also know that Webvan raised tons of money and then folded in a spectacular collapsed in 2001.

While the food trade publications predicted the end of grocery delivery back in the day one company proved them wrong; that company was Peapod.  Founded in 1989 Peapod continues to delivery groceries has found a profitable template driving growth. How so all the while Peapod was creating strategic partnerships creating new electricity.

Once again Peapod is now expanding and offering grocery delivery for Giant customers. Online grocer Peapod, in partnership with Giant Food Stores, has opened its newest wareroom in North Coventry. It is the fourth Peapod wareroom to open in Pennsylvania, and brings 120 new jobs to the area.

The wareroom, which opened for business last month is strategically attached to the Giant Food Store, employees process online orders for groceries for delivery to homes and business in the area or for customer pick-up.

Sarah Baird, vice president of operations for Peapod stated “As more shoppers look to the convenience of online grocery shopping and delivery, the new wareroom will enable Peapod to serve up to 25 percent more shoppers in the greater Philadelphia area”.

Baird continued “that Peapod has experienced double digit growth in the region for the last three consecutive years...We’re very excited about this new facility. We have been in Pennsylvania since 2011 and have had amazing success”.

“At Peapod, our attention is always on the quality of the service we deliver to the customers — making sure every piece of produce, every piece of meat we send out is perfect,” she said. “And with this opening, we are investing in the neighborhood and our new customers.”

Fred Morgan, district director, at Giant stated “For us it’s about convenience for our time-starved consumers. It is easy to order, pick up or have the groceries delivered,” The wareroom is set up like a grocery store with shelves full of products — but it doesn’t carry the same number of items. “We offer an assortment that is similar to what is in the store. Perishables are 100 percent picked from the store,”  

Have you tried Peapod,? Here is how you can customers visit www.peapod.com, where they can browse for the items they want — produce and meats, local specialties and all the basics. They will then schedule a time for delivery — either next day or up to two weeks out. Drivers will deliver at the selected time, or customers can arrange to pick-up at designated locations.

Today Peapod is owned by Ahold Delhaize USA company, has delivered more than 40 million orders to date.  Regular readers of this blog know that members of our team worked with Webvan, Ez2get, Food.com and others back in the day.  We would like congratulate Peapod in this the year of foodservice partnerships on their continued growth and success.

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

Think Amazon & Whole Foods as Food + Price will Drive Customer Adoption

Success does leave clues and as traditional chain grocery stores struggle to keep stores open and chain restaurants continue to capitulate customer counts and top line sales and bottom line profits to the convenience store sector it appears that the grocery store sector is picking up some of the C-store success clues according to our Grocerant Guru®.

Yes, regular readers of this blog know that Steven Johnson Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant Guru® coined the term "grocerant" back in 1996 and trademarked it. The term grocerant refers to any fresh prepared food item sold in any channel for takeout, to-go, delivery, or sold in a drive thru.  Grocerant food is about Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food according to Johnson.  Simply put grocerant food at non-traditional fresh food outlets is driving customer adoption. 

Foodservice industry icon Bonnie Riggs of The NPD Group recently pointed out that grocery stores selling grocerant niche fresh food “generated 2.4 billion visits and $10 billion in sales in 2016 by promoting restaurant-quality freshly prepared foods. Now that’s a lot of grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat to eat fresh prepared food.

Riggs explained that grocerant offering “represent an extension of what's known in the supermarket trade as the service deli, those staffed counters in many upscale stores that have long offered salads, fresh bakery items and rotisserie chickens. Grocerants, however, take these delis to the next level with niceties that can include sit-down service with waiters, full bars and even sushi chefs.”

Consumers are not confused by the offering of restaurant quality offerings at C-stores, Club stores, furniture stores, or drug stores but retailers seem bewildered at all of the new avenues of fresh food distribution and must reevaluate just who is the competition.

Riggs continued “more than 40% of Americans buy freshly prepared foods from grocery stores. Besides being fast, it can be cheaper than traditional takeout. A grocerant meal costs $4.22 on average, according to NPD, compared to $7.96 at a fast-casual restaurant, a 53% difference.”

The Price Value Service equilibrium in retail foodservice has changed according to the team at Tacoma, WA Foodservice Solutions®.  Restaurants, Grocery stores, furniture stores, club stores, drug stores and dollar stores are all selling grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared meal components?

Since 1996 the continued expansion of the grocerant niche has driven change within the retail foodservice industry including increasing awareness of fresh food, food safety, food packaging, most important it met consumer demand and filled a void that traditional restaurants, grocery stores and other retailers did not. Amazon and Whole Foods will elevate the competitive undercurrents within retail foodservice today.  Does your brand look more like yesterday than tomorrow?

www.FoodserviceSolutions.us  is the global leader in grocerant niche business development.  We can help you identify, quantify and qualify additional food retail segment opportunities.  Has your company had a Grocerant ScoreCard completed?  Want one?  Call 253-759-7869 Email: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us