Coffee Catches Customers

Coffee shops, fast food restaurants, and convenience stores are all garnering incremental customers, top line sales, and bottom line profits driven by an increased demand in fresh full flavored coffee according to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

Today consumers purchase an average of 3.6 beverages per week from c-stores, restaurants, and new non-traditional foodservice locations. Simply put ‘On-the-go’ beverage consumption is fueling coffee visits thus foodservice outlet visits according to Johnson. In fact 64% of consumers have drank coffee within the past month, either at home or from a foodservice outlet.

Erica Colgan, Product Manager at Huhtamaki stated that many of these visits are likely happening on-the-go. “In general, consumer lifestyles are becoming more mobile”... “Coffee has always been an important part of the morning routine for many people, but with busier schedules, it’s often easier to grab a cup to go while on the way to work, school or errands.”

Colgan continued “A great to-go cup starts with proper insulation. While many busy professionals don’t have the time to linger over a cup of coffee in the morning, they want it to stay hot on the go. Not only do quality cups keep beverages at the right temperature for a longer period of time, but they also make it more comfortable to hold—something that’s important for customers who stop in before their morning commutes. “With proper insulation, drinks will stay hot and the cup stays comfortable to the touch, making it easier to hold during commutes and while on-the-go,”

Fresh fast full flavored coffee service in the morning has incremental brand-building power for foodservice outlets. Retail foodservice outlets can print logos and other branding on the outside of cups, which increases brand recall for consumers. With branded cups, an operator can gain additional exposure. Colgan says “allows operators to showcase their brand in a high-quality way. And now, the extended sleeve provides even more room for branding.”

More and more municipalities are banning legacy plastic and Styrofoam cups.  Are you prepared with the proper cups for takeout?  Do your brand cups look more like yesterday than tomorrow? The best-designed to-go cups will take into consideration consumer needs and preferences, and adapt to those needs.

Success does leave clues and being prepared with branded cups of fresh brewed coffee that is full flavored is a clue not operator should over look.  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

Wahlburgers On your Grill are What’s for Dinner

Building a brand with consumer relevance requires giving the customers what they want according to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®. The brothers Wahlberg are understand that consumers are dynamic not static so they are extending their brand Wahlburgers fast-casual restaurant brand into the grocery channel with a new line of beef products available in supermarkets.

Chef Paul Wahlberg is bringing Wahlburgers into consumers’ homes with a new line of beef products which is the new electricity driving sales at Wahlburgers. How do you plan to drive incremental top line sales and bottom line profits according to Johnson; partnerships specifically strategic partnerships will be driving retail success in 2018. Are you looking for a partnership to drive incremental sales?  

Johnson stated “in my minds-eye the new electricity must be very efficient for the supply chain and includes such things as digital hand held marketing, local fresh food,  grocerant positioning, urban farming (produce, seafood, etc.), autonomous delivery, better-for-you, cashier-less retail, cash-less payments, delivery, and voice ordering.

Wahlburgers developed in strategic partnership with ARKK Food Co., will include ground beef, pre-formed patties, pre-formed sliders and brick pack, all made with the same proprietary Wahlburgers Angus blend of brisket, short rib and chuck found in its restaurants across the country.

Executive Chef Paul Wahlberg stated “In all our restaurants and now in our new retail product, we offer a custom blend of angus brisket, chuck and short rib for great texture and flavor,”, who, along with his celebrity brothers Mark and Donnie Wahlberg, founded the restaurant chain in 2011. “We wanted to provide the best cuts of angus beef that’s always fresh, never frozen to ensure that every bite is tender, juicy and packed full of rich flavor.”

Looking for a big push the new retail beef products will be available at grocery store locations nationwide, with an initial launch over the next 30 days at Hy-Vee, Jewel-Osco, Acme, Safeway, Shaw’s and Winn-Dixie. Upon rollout, Wahlburgers beef will be available at 1,300 stores.

So just what is your New Electricity? Success does leave clues 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 a Grocerant Program Assessment, or new Grocerant niche product Ideation?  Want one?  Call 253-759-7869 Email: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us

Dunkin Donuts Conundrum

Sure changing the name of your company can imply customer relevance just look with it did for Kentucky Fried Chicken when they converted to KFC 10 years of stagnation and capitulation of market share according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®. So the questions becomes can a name change from Dunkin Donuts to Dunkin drive growth or is this another case of political correctness gone awry?

Dunkin’s morning business accounts for about 60 percent of system-wide sales. That segment has reported positive for Dunkin year-over-year and increased sequentially each quarter in 2017. While industry insiders have known that Dunkin sells more beverages than Donuts and sandwiches in the minds-eye of the consumer that donut and coffee in the morning is still top of mind according to our Grocerant ScoreCards conducted by the team at Foodservice Solutions®.

The team at Foodservice Solutions® reminds us that consumers are dynamic not static and chain restaurants must be dynamic as well. When Dunkin announced several new goals to drive growth our team asked to those goals look more like yesterday marketing tactics than tomorrow’s customer relevant strategy?     Dunkin where is your new electricity coming from to fuel customer relevance? 

Let’s take a look at what they announced and you let me know yesterday or tomorrow? Here’s:

1.       Dunkin’ Deals: These are a series of value offers expected to go live at participating restaurants throughout the year. The first (active until February 25) includes two Egg and Cheese Wake-up Wrap Sandwiches for $2, and, to drive afternoon traffic specifically, a medium hot or iced latte for $2 from 2 to 6 p.m.

2.       Beverage changes: Dunkin’ is extending its premium tea and frozen beverage lines, as well as introducing more espresso products. Dunkin’ said it will focus on Cold Brew, Iced Coffee, and Frozen Dunkin’ Coffee. The brand posted its highest quarter beverage comparable sales of the year in the fourth quarter.

3.       New breakfast sandwiches: As mentioned earlier, breakfast sandwiches boomed for Dunkin’ in 2017. Now, Dunkin’ will bring back old favorites, like the Sweet Black Pepper Bacon Breakfast Sandwich, and offer additional flavored bacon on sandwiches throughout the year.

4.       DD Perks Loyalty: Dunkin’ added more than 2 million members to its loyalty program in 2017, bringing the total membership to about 8 million. On-the-go mobile ordering, a perk available only to rewards members, returned a retrial rate of 80 percent.

5.       Tender agnostic test: In the second half of 2018, Dunkin’ said it will test “tender agnostic” participation in its loyalty program. This means members can earn points using all forms of tender, including their DD card, credit, debit or cash.

6.       Delivery and catering: Dunkin’ is testing a newly built digital catering platform in several key markets this year. The brand said it also expects to continue testing and expanding third-party delivery options with the goal of creating a combined platform in 2019.

7.       Drive-thru improvements: Dunkin, noted earlier, sees more than 75 percent of new restaurants moving forward to feature a drive-thru lane. The NextGen design, which debuted January in Quincy, Massachusetts, features a drive-thru lane dedicated exclusively to mobile ordering and allows Perks members who order ahead to bypass the ordering lane and merge straight into the line for the pickup window. Dunkin’ said, on average, drive-thru locations boast 40 percent higher sales volume throughout the system.

8.       Speaking of the NextGen Store: Dunkin’ new design, also 25 percent more energy efficient, also includes a beverage bar tap system that can pour cold beverages such as nitro coffee. There are grab-and-go snacks, new uniforms, and yes, the innovative double drive thru. Expect about 50 of these to hit the landscape by the end of the year.

9.       Packaged growth: Dunkin’ has expanded its consumer packaged goods business from about $400 million in retail sales to $900 million in the past three years. Ready-to-drink bottled iced coffee business exceeded $150 million within the first year of launching.

Success does leave clues and its clear to the team at Foodservice Solutions® incrementalism just might be the best way to describe tactics of yesterday. In 2018 brand protectionism does not serve the consumer, the brand or your franchisees.

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.