Picnic Works Partnerships with a Larger Domino’s Franchisee is more than Interesting

 

Domino’s the chain restaurant that delivered fast fresh food first, with a ½ hour guarantee back in the day has its largest franchisee of Domino's stores outside of the USA testing technology in stores that will help it save both time and labor cost according to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru®, at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® who stated, “if anyone can help drive new electricity into a brand it is Picnic Works and Domino’s Pizza.”  

In case you have not heard, Picnic Works, a Seattle-based innovator of food automation technology, has officially announced a new partnership with industry-leading Domino's Pizza Enterprises Ltd, the largest franchisee of Domino's stores outside of the USA, to explore how restaurant automation can enhance customer and employee experiences around the globe. Both companies are coming together in Berlin, Germany as part of an innovation demonstration of the Picnic Pizza Station in a Domino's store.

Pretty cool ha? So, the two companies are trialing the Picnic automated pizza assembly system in a functioning Domino's store in Germany; the Picnic Pizza Station can assemble the most popular pizzas by applying sauce, cheese, freshly sliced pepperoni and other ingredients.

This trial demonstration's goal is to understand how automated pizza assembly can assist Domino's employees in producing fresh, consistent pizza as efficiently as possible. This program is part of an initiative between Picnic and Domino's that started in 2021 that has included research, product testing and multi-national planning.

Don Meij, Group CEO & Managing Director of Domino's Pizza Enterprises Ltd, "Our mission is to deliver customers hot, fresh meals, safely, at an affordable price, and we want to explore how we can empower team members by giving them the best tools and resources to make their jobs more efficient and rewarding,".

Meij continued, "Over the next decade we intend to more than double the number of stores Domino's Pizza Enterprises Ltd and our franchisees operate, which means we will need an additional 100,000 team members working across Europe and the Asia-Pacific – the key question will be 'how do we make their roles as rewarding as possible so they can deliver the best possible service for our customers?'"

"Our team has been working with Picnic to understand and fine-tune how assistive technology can be used to make their jobs easier without compromising on the quality, consistency, or taste that our customers know and love." 

This just might be the right approach, as the foundation for this multi-year partnership began with shared goal setting, planning, customer research, global opportunity investigation, and ingredient testing from a combination of top strategists, technicians, and food scientists from both companies. With the Picnic Pizza Station installed in the Berlin restaurant, the partnership moves to a new phase of collaboration to help both Picnic and Domino's Pizza Enterprises Ltd assess, define and refine potential food automation solutions for the future.

In a Battle for Share of Stomach

Are you Advancing your Platform

Clayton Wood, CEO of Picnic, stated, "As a global leader in pizza with more than 3,400 stores in 10 markets, and the recent announcement it intends to acquire three more markets, Domino's Pizza Enterprises Ltd has long been a pioneer in restaurant innovation," …. "After many months of laying the groundwork for a robust and fruitful partnership, we're thrilled to continue applying our award-winning food automation experience to help Domino's further explore the benefits of automation."

The collaborative research conducted to date by both companies in Germany showed that consistent quality was the most important attribute when ordering pizza. More than 85 per cent of German respondents noted that they are curious to see the robotic equipment in action.

Understanding the team helps drive success, so Domino's Pizza Enterprises Ltd leaders from Europe, Asia and Australia have visited Picnic headquarters in Seattle numerous times to plan and test ingredients from Domino's worldwide kitchens. A global team of innovation experts, country managers, and executives have worked together to choose the Berlin demonstration location.

Then the in-store demonstration phase began by installing a Picnic Pizza Station in the busy Domino's Tiergarten store, training employees and maximizing system operations. Through daily check-ins and real-time online performance monitoring, both companies will assess the impact of assistive technology and the results of the trial.

Now when you consider that the Picnic Pizza Station is autonomous and completely customizable for each order – after loading the dough, the Picnic station takes care of applying the sauce, cheese, freshly cut meat, and additional toppings. The finished pizzas are then loaded into the store's ovens for cooking. Each hour, the Picnic station can assemble up to 100 pizzas with one operator. Not bad!

For international corporate presentations, regional chain presentations, educational forums, or keynotes contact: Steven Johnson 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. For more information visit GrocerantGuru.com, FoodserviceSolutions.US or call 1-253-759-7869

Restaurants, C-Stores, and Entrepreneurs Biz-Dev Sustainability is Electric

 

The team at Foodservice Solutions® has dubbed 2021 the year that the food industry turns ‘from me to we’ as retailers from every sector of foodservice including grocery, restaurants, convenience stores, dollar stores and entrepreneurs announce plans to turn to electric powered vehicles for a sustainable future.  

Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® identified, quantified, and qualified the grocerant niche and stated ‘with elevated awareness focused on climate change food retailers will be first, focused, and forthright why the retail food industry most evolve with electric vehicles for sustainability.

So, Gallery, a leading innovator of mobile carts for food, beverage and retail businesses, has announced a unique partnership with AYRO, Inc. and Club Car to launch a new line of electric vehicles to help bring food, beverage, and retail merchandising safely to consumers this fall.

Get this the custom-designed E Vehicles are designed and built by Gallery using AYRO’s Lithium-Powered Vendor Box on the Club Car 411 Vehicle to support mobile power for a range of on-board food service. The new electric vehicles feature convenient hot and cold storage and dispensing to ensure food and beverage items are safely stored, transported and delivered. Operating on at least 50 percent of fuel costs, the zero-emissions vehicles require far less energy than full-sized, gas-powered food trucks and do not require any special charging infrastructure.

Dan Gallery V, President, Gallery, stated “As colleges open their campuses and businesses prepare workplaces for the return of employees and guests, traditional dining experiences are not possible. Companies are looking for creative new ways to provide food & beverages,". "Instead of bringing people to the food, we are bringing food to the people and now, more than ever before, consumers need convenient grab-and-go options that are safe, reliable, and efficient.”

The Battle for Share of Stomach 

Is Getting Better for You

Understanding the halo of better for you, Gallery E Vehicles help food, beverage and merchandising operators bring their products directly to consumers. The environmentally friendly, cost-effective, fully customizable light duty vehicles are the latest in Gallery’s line-up of innovative products being used in venues across the country, from major NFL stadiums to colleges and universities, conference centers, airports and malls.

AYRO CEO Rod Keller, stated “At AYRO, we pride ourselves in being able to quickly deploy purpose-built electric vehicles in order to enable sustainable fleets. We serve a wide range of industries that each experience unique challenges, but by collaborating with our customers and partners like Gallery, we can custom engineer solutions that fulfill specific needs –  such as bringing food and other resources safely to the point of demand, reducing noise and emissions, and providing cost savings,”.

“Whether you’re running to class, on your way into the office, or heading to catch a flight, we all need convenient on-the-go food and beverage choices right now, and we need to know they are safe,” says Gallery.

For more than 40 years, Gallery has supplied thousands of mobile food kiosks and portables for many of the country’s top sports venues and household brands including Pepsico, YUM Brands, Starbucks and many more. This summer, Gallery also launched a set of UV light solutions and products to help venues and other public spaces in their reopening efforts during the pandemic.

Are you looking for a new partnership to drive sales? Are you ready for some fresh ideations? Do your food marketing tactics look more like yesterday that tomorrow?  Visit GrocerantGuru.com for more information or contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us Remember success does leave clues and we just may have the clue you need to propel your continued success.

Virtual Kitchens can Drive Chain Restaurant Growth

 

Operational efficiencies be dammed why not grow with out 85% of the operational cost. When Michael Porter wrote operational effectiveness means performing similar activities better than rivals perform them I don’t think in the restaurant sector he was thing about a virtual restaurant vs a free standing restaurant.

However, according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® “a new business model is developing for meal aggressors specifically the restaurant sector that can reduce the cost of opening a new outlet, in a new territory, state, or region for as much as 85% of what it used to cost.  How?  Using a virtual Kitchen. Here is just one example.

So, Coolgreens CEO Robert Lee announced that the brand has executed a franchise agreement with Humza and Fariha Idrees to open two Coolgreens in Orlando. The first will open in a virtual kitchen space in October, and then a brick-and-mortar restaurant will follow in 2021.

No consider that it will be located in Central Orlando, Coolgreens will operate in a multi-functional shared kitchen facility (virtual kitchen). Guests in the city and surrounding suburbs can order healthy lifestyle foods like salads, wraps, sandwiches and grain bowls for delivery only. Coolgreens will work with five major third-party delivery partners to serve a 20-mile radius.

Humza Idrees, stated, “We are thrilled to introduce Coolgreens to the Orlando community,”… “Now more than ever, Coolgreens is set up to succeed. It’s a brand that evolves and innovates in order to match both current and future market trends. Right now, consumers want to eat their favorite restaurant food, but many feel most comfortable doing it in their own homes. We feel we can fill this need by offering Coolgreens for delivery through a virtual kitchen. Our flavorful, healthier food is a largely untapped delivery option, and we will be able to serve a much greater trade area. We can’t wait to begin delivering Coolgreens’ delicious items to the Orlando area.”

Understand the future. After serving as director of marketing and operations for Tesla in Minneapolis, Idrees started looking into other businesses that aligned with his personal goals of living a healthy life. He and Fariha moved to Orlando in early 2020 and sought out Coolgreens. Idrees said his forte is reading trends and understanding what drives consumer behavior. Because Coolgreens has stayed ahead of the business curve, he saw a promising future for the brand.

“As an entrepreneur, I know there is a special opportunity here even during a pandemic,” Idrees adds. “There is a need for Coolgreens’ nutritious, chef-inspired menu in Orlando. My wife and I are excited to become part of Coolgreens and encourage our new community to join us in leading a healthy lifestyle.”

Are you ready for some fresh ideations? Do your food marketing ideations look more like yesterday than tomorrow? Interested in learning how our Grocerant Guru® 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: us on our social media sites by clicking one of the following links: Facebook,  LinkedIn, or Twitter

Hot Head Burrito Branding Familiarity for Customer Relevance

                                                       

Consumers know what a restaurant chain looks like, acts like, and markets like.  When you are beginning to grow and expand beyond you local neighborhood it is important that your brand edifies itself with messaging that is ‘familiar’ to consumers according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®. That is a great platform to drive new electricity into you brand.

In the case of Hot Head Burrito that familiarity comes in the way of branded product partnership, specifically A Hot Head Burrito made with your choice or Fritos corn chips or Doritos tortilla chips. That is menu innovation with familiarity and customer relevance according to Johnson.

You don’t have to be a ‘large’ chain to garner a partnership with a national brand.  You do have to have an identity of your own that can be edified with another branded product so you can create a menu entity with identity that consumers can relate to an elevate relevance.  

You can now add your crunchy favorite to any Hot Head Burrito or Bowl for only $1 more. Whether you prefer a Classic Chicken Burrito, a Spicy Steak Burrito or the super spicy Mango Habanero Barbacoa Burrito, you will love the extra flavor and crunch when you add Fritos or Doritos. 

Hot Head Burrito founder and president Ray Wiley, stated, “I’m a huge fan of a Fritos Burrito,”  “I love the awesome crunch and want it every day.” This new product has, taste, texture, and tantalizing flavor touchpoints consumers are familiar with according to Johnson.

Note: All Hot Head locations via Doordash, GrubHub, Postmates and UberEats based on delivery service availability.  On-line ordering for convenient customer pick-up is available at all 78 Hot Head locations with Curbside pickup also available at most stores. 

All Burritos and Bowls at Hot Head are fully customizable with 12 sauces and over 30 fresh and flavorful ingredients. Big and little appetites can find the perfect fit with the availability of ‘Lil Bowls and ‘Lil Burritos.  Keto and Paleo friendly options are also available. The Nutrition Calculator on the Hot Head Burritos’ website allows customers to meet their personal dietary goals and easily see the calorie and nutrition results https://hotheadburritos.com/nutrition.

Johnson stated “that in my minds-eye the new electricity must be very efficient for the supply chain and includes such things as fresh foods, online ordering, delivery, plant based foods, sampling, toy’s, cereal, developing brands,  grocerant positioning, fresh food messaging, autonomous delivery, cashier-less retail, plates, glasses, cash-less payments, digital hand-held marketing.

All food and beverage retailers to survive the next generation of retail must embrace the artificial intelligence revolution while simultaneously embracing fresh food and beverages that are portable, fresh, with differentiation that is familiar not different.  Does your retail path forward look more like yesterday than tomorrow? Why?

Are you ready for some fresh ideations? Do your food marketing ideations look more like yesterday than tomorrow? Interested in learning how Foodservice Solutions® 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 us on our social media sites by clicking the following links: Facebook,  LinkedIn, or Twitter 

Food Retail Partnerships Deliver Success

Once again this year our team has been talking a lot about “The 65 Inch HDTV Syndrome” that Foodservice Solutions® Tacoma, WA based Grocerant Guru®, Steven Johnson was the first to identify, quantify, and qualify for clients and the industry. Why, have we been talking about; simply it drives sales.

Foodservice Solutions® team loves leaving success clues and when we learned that Olo, a leading digital food ordering platform for the restaurant industry, announced that it is working together with Google to enable customers to order directly from restaurant brands across Google Search, Maps and the Google Assistant we has to share the news about the new electricity this partnership could drive for your brand.  

So, the integration allows Olo’s network of more than 70,000 restaurant brand locations to be enabled on Google’s platforms so that consumers can order directly on Google from Search and Maps. Users can also use their voice and ask the Google Assistant for help. On Android and iOS phones, users can say, “Hey Google, order food from [restaurant],” or “Hey Google, order food again from [restaurant].”

Olo’s platform called Rails, enables restaurants to efficiently process orders originating from third-party destinations, is now integrated across Search, Maps and the Google Assistant, transferring each order directly into the restaurant’s point of sale and ordering stream to improve operations efficiency and guest experience.

Brands working with Olo and Google enjoy efficiencies of a two-way integration, benefiting from accurate pricing, menu, and product availability, while inbound orders are automatically placed into existing point-of-sale (POS) systems. Rails makes it easy for restaurant operators to list menu items on third-party marketplaces and drive incremental sales without the need to manage multiple tablets on the restaurant counter and disparate order flows. This integration reduces lag, increases order success rates, and enables faster and more accurate ordering experiences.

Noah Glass, founder and CEO of Olo  stated “Search is increasingly becoming the path to purchase in the restaurant space and we are thrilled to team up with Google to make ordering easy while allowing restaurants to own the digital relationship with their guests,” …”Any consumer searching for a restaurant brand should have easy options to order from the restaurant directly with as few clicks as possible, which is what this integration enables.”

The integration is one of the latest tools to help restaurant brands receive online orders. Portillo’s Hot Dogs and Checkers & Rally’s were the first Olo brands to pioneer this integration with Google, providing enablement to their high-volume locations for customers. Is your brand ready to grow? Are you looking for some new electricity?

Consumers are dynamic not static how is your brand keeping up with consumer demand for fresh fast food? How are you driving new electricity into your brand?

Johnson stated “that in my minds-eye the new electricity must be very efficient for the supply chain and includes such things as fresh foods, plant based  foods,  sampling, toy’s, beer, developing brands, unique urban clothing, grocerant positioning, fresh food messaging, autonomous delivery, cashier-less retail, plates, glasses, cash-less payments, digital hand-held marketing.

All food and beverage retailers to survive the next generation of retail must embrace the artificial intelligence revolution while simultaneously embracing fresh food and beverages that are portable, fresh, with differentiation that is familiar not different.  Does your retail path forward look more like yesterday than tomorrow? Why?

For international corporate presentations, regional chain presentations, local educational forums, or keynotes contact: Steven Johnson 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. For more information visit www.GrocerantGuru.com , www.FoodserviceSolutions.us or call 1-253-759-7869

Time Starved Consumers want Grocerant niche Fresh Prepared Food

Success does leave clues and Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® continues to find that research firm after research firm continues to follow his lead edifying how, why, and when consumers migrate from legacy channels of fresh food distribution into or add grocerant food to their line-up customer follow.

Most recently Beth Brickel, senior research director on the Insights and Innovation Team at EnsembleIQ edified Johnson’s findings with a new study that found “while 42 percent of shoppers prioritize "quick and easy" when the goal is to satisfy hunger, other factors have more influence than simply convenience; 31 percent prioritize quality and 25 percent prioritize selection and variety.

While Foodservice Solutions® recent Grocerant Scorecards continue to find the top two reasons to purchase grocerant niche prepared meals are 76.2% of consumers are time starved, 69.3 % lack the cooking skill-set to prepared flavor profiled meal.

Here are some of Brickel’s study's other key takeaways that you might find interesting they include:

Increasing satisfaction with heavy c-store shoppers must remain a focus. And while beverages and snacks should not be ignored, meal occasions are most at risk for the c-store shopper.

A majority of all shoppers consider themselves health-conscious. But what does that really mean? The No. 1 indicator of "healthy" in their eyes is freshness.

Think household. Nearly half of shoppers' purchase decisions (49 percent) are influenced by a partner, while 41 percent are influenced by children.

Influence on where to purchase is led by word-of-mouth. Digital resources are not far behind, particularly for millennials.

Most frictionless services, although underrepresented across convenience, perform better elsewhere than at grocery or fast food. Frictionless services can include mobile ordering, delivery services and more.

Concerns about food freshness and quality are the top reasons preventing grocery and fast-food shoppers from purchasing at c-stores. Their perceptions of freshness are affected by store and merchandising cues that go beyond the actual food, such as store cleanliness and an uncluttered interior.

Both grocery and fast-food shoppers would be motivated by a selection that offers more better-for-you options. Increasing this type of offering could prompt higher purchase frequency.

Better variety is the most requested change by c-store shoppers. Nearly two-thirds of study participants (32 percent) listed selection/variety as their response to an open-ended question on what they'd like to change about c-stores. 

Looking for success clues of your own? Foodservice Solutions® specializes in outsourced food marketing and business development ideations. We can help you identify, quantify and qualify additional food retail segment opportunities, technology, or a new menu product segment.  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

Global Food Trends Catch -up with Tesco

Back in the day Tesco was the global grocerant niche leader, food industry icon and pace-setter of grocery trends and then the past began to creep in as industry food industry veterans replaced innovators according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

During the 1990’s Tesco was the innovator driving industry excitement, customer relevance, top line growth and bottom-line profits and the world watched, copied, and followed their lead.  However, over time innovative leaderships was replaced and legacy category managers were sent into eke out profits, as an unintended consequence they drove out innovation opening the door for all sorts of retail competition.

Twenty-five years later Tesco is rebooting, rereading the grocerant playbook and stepping-up to stand out as a legacy grocery store search for customer relevance according to Johnson.  With a focus on Robot-driven supermarkets, upmarket convenience stores and a tenfold increase in plant-based ready meals it appears that the ‘halo’ of better-for-you food positioning Johnson was encouraging Tesco to follow back in the day is about to take hold.

The UK’s biggest supermarket chain, which accounts for nearly a third of all groceries sold in the UK, told investors and City analysts at a presentation on Tuesday there was still room for it to open additional small stores in Britain including more than 100 One Stop outlets.

The company has 169 One Stop franchises, in addition to 776 fully owned Tesco outlets and more than 1,000 Tesco Express stores.  Today small stores are also a key part of future growth overseas, including 750 new outlets in Thailand. While the future for Tesco just might be robot technology within its distribution centers.  It is also adding self-scanning handsets and mobile apps, which enable shoppers to pay without using a till, are also expected to help Tesco save £68m in costs as it aims for all self-scan transactions to be cashless in two years and all self-service checkout payments to be cashless within five years.

It is our hope Tesco will continue to drive growth via innovation in customer touchpoints rather than regressive category tactics of yesterday.   Have your sales and profits been stifled using legacy tactics of the 1990’s.  Do your stores look more like yesterday than tomorrow?

Are you ready for some fresh ideations? Do your food marketing tactics look more like yesterday that tomorrow?  Visit www.FoodserviceSolutions.us for more information or contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us Remember success does leave clues and we just may have the clue you need to propel your continued success.

Corner Bakery Evolves Customer Relevance with Drive-Thru

Consumers are dynamic not static according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.  Customer counts continue too decline within the restaurant sector in fact same-store traffic during December was down 0.9 percent, and traffic for the fourth quarter was down 1.6 percent.  

One company Corner Bakery thinks that the time has come to put an end to brand protectionism and move outside their operations comfort zone.  So, Corner Bakery will debut a drive-thru window on Monday, January 14, marking Corner Bakery’s first drive-thru in Arizona.

This will be a remodeled cafe that originally opened in June 2016. The drive-thru feature will allow customers to place their orders onsite, online or on their mobile devices and have their orders ready at the window, all at the convenience of not leaving their vehicle.

Corner Bakery will in a lowkey way introduce the new service with an offer for a free regular coffee or fountain beverage with any purchase to customers who mention the offer on January 14, 2019. The promotion will be valid all day in the Wilmot drive-thru only, limit one per transaction/vehicle. I think they kinda miss the point about value of introducing the new service, don’t you?

Corner Bakery recently was recognized as a top restaurant chain in the U.S. by TripAdvisor for 2019, ranking in the top 10 of the large restaurant chain category of 101 or more U.S. locations. Based on millions of reviews and opinions from TripAdvisor diners, the first-ever list recognizes restaurant chains offering high-quality service and exceptional meals at a great value. That said they need to continue on the path of growth offering new avenues of distribution and a drive-thru is just that according to Johnson.

Corner Bakery CEO Frank Paci stated “We are thrilled to be able to continue to serve guests in the Tucson community with our newly debuted drive-thru,” … “Corner Bakery has many fans throughout the area who love our naturally delicious recipes, abundant with fresh ingredients. This drive-thru line is a perfect example of how Corner Bakery is evolving to offer our flavorful menu items and unmatched service more conveniently.”

The restaurant sector needs to continue to evolve offering the bundled meal components offering the ilk of Corner Bakery Café has to offer in new avenues of distribution and a drive-thru is exactly the right avenue in many locations to drive growth.  However, don’t keep it a secret?  If success does leave clues and it does; promoting and communicating the attribute of the drive-thru is as important as the drive-thru itself.

Are you evolving with consumers? Do your food marketing ideations look more like yesterday than tomorrow? 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.