Do you want to
make money selling more food and beverage at your retail outlet? There is one clear way to do that. Grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat
fresh prepared meals are the quality and time saving families want but when you
add the option to include beer, wine, or liquor your brand become a top-of-mind
brand for consumers when they are looking for a meal, snack, or just a beverage
according to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.
There is no doubt that restaurants offering to-go mugs, bottles and margarita glasses are here to stay, pushing restaurant owners to look beyond the bar for ways to elevate the customer experience. Long past a survival tactic, among restaurant operators that offer alcoholic beverages with takeout or delivery orders, roughly 9 in 10 offer it with takeout orders, cementing a line-item that already accounts for an average of 21% of sales among full-service restaurants.
Consider
this, casual dining leads the way in off-premises options, with nearly all
restaurants that serve alcohol including it as a takeout offering (90%) and
over a quarter (26%) with their third-party delivery offerings. When it comes
to who wants to-go alcohol, more than half of millennials (62%) and Gen Z
adults (52%) report they would be more likely pick a restaurant for takeout if
they could include alcohol beverages.
One
again that is according to a new report from the National
Restaurant Association which breaks down the latest data on alcohol
trends and preferences among restaurant owners and consumers.
Michelle
Korsmo, President & Chief Executive Officer of the National Restaurant Association, stated, “The
innovation we are witnessing right now in beverage programs of all kinds is
exactly why restaurants are some of the most resilient and impactful businesses
in this country. These incredible operators have turned a survival tactic into
a major growth catalyst for their businesses. Consumers are taking note and if
we can continue to stay in front of their preferences, there is no limit to how
far beverage trends can move the needle for the restaurant industry,”
Cocktails
included in your recipe for success. Despite more than half (54%) of delivery customers stating that the
availability of alcohol beverages would make them more likely to choose a
restaurant, and the growing number of states extending or making permanent the
to-go options for restaurants, only one-quarter of adults who opted for takeout
or delivery from a restaurant during the last six months included an alcohol
beverage in the order.
That
leaves significant growth opportunities for restaurants, particularly in how
they market, package, and differentiate their offerings, according to the
report, which provides several examples and interviews from culinary innovators
in several states leading the way on alcohol sales.
The
report also reaffirms the Association’s prediction that local experiences would
be this year’s hottest trend. Despite the emphasis on to-go
options, consumers also expect local restaurants to offer experiential events.
For example, both wine (81%) and beer (79%) drinkers say they would participate
in tasting events at restaurants.
Finally,
the report emphasizes the trust between consumers and restaurants, with most
(82%) of adults that drink wine, beer and liquor saying they trust the staff at
local restaurants to make good drink recommendations.
“The
new alcohol to-go laws modernized state alcohol policy, and consumers can now
enjoy more of the restaurant hospitality experience in the comfort of their own
homes. As this report demonstrates, operators who innovatively connect the
experiential aspects of their alcohol programs with a clear off-premises
strategy are seeing enormous success with customers,” said Mike Whatley, Vice
President of State Affairs and Grassroots Advocacy, National Restaurant Association.
Don’t over reach. 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
