Gusto not Gas at Casey’s

 

Evolving with grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food is an art that Casey’s General Store has been doing for the past 14 years, and doing it very, very, well according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

With all of the gusto of a young restaurant start-up and a grocerant niche want-to-be, Casey's General store has evolved too Casey’s and went fuel-free with its newest store. The retailer opened its first location without any gas pumps in Des Moines on April 22, replacing fuel with food!

So, the new 3,380-square-foot store, located at 3121 Forest Ave. near the campus of Drake University, will operate from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. seven days a week, according local press reports. In lieu of fuel sales, the store will focus on food, beverages and typical convenience items filling out the grocerant niche mix and match bundling opportunity.

This first non-fuel convenience store in Casey's portfolio, the store will serve as something of a testing ground and could lead to more stores without fuel pumps. Katie Petru, director, communications & community, at Casey's, stated, “As a non-fuel model, the new store will best fit the needs of the community in which it operates.”

Petru continued, "We think that everything we have here is what the community and guests in this very walkable environment will need,"  "This is the only store like this in our portfolio, so we will learn some things from it," Petru said. "And I think regardless, we're always looking at where we're situating ourselves and what will make sense there. I think a more urban environment or college campus environment could naturally lend itself to consider whether fuel needs to be there or not."

Messaging matters, so to celebrate the new store's opening, Casey's is offering special deals such as single-topping pizza slices for $1, medium fountain drinks for $1, doughnuts for 50 cents and free coffee.

"It's just all about welcoming the community into our doors and getting them to try out Casey's if they haven't before," Petru explained. Local residents who attended the grand opening reportedly commended Casey's for filling a need in the area, which has few grocery options in the Drake University neighborhood.

The company previously operated a Casey's Pizza Express store in Pleasant Hill, Iowa, which also did not sell fuel, but the location offered pizza for takeout and delivery only and did not have standard convenience store offerings. Mix and Match bundling is a hallmark driving success within the grocerant niche according to Johnson.

Brand messaging matter to all both young and old, so to commemorate the store opening, Casey's donated $10,000 to the local Roosevelt High School and provided a $50,000 Cash for Classrooms grant to East High School. Now in its second year, the Cash for Classrooms program will support projects, physical improvements and resource requests at accredited K-12 public and non-profit, private schools in Casey's communities across the Midwest. How much Gusto do you have?  Ready to evolve from a restaurant to a grocerant?

Invite Foodservice Solutions® to complete a Grocerant ScoreCard, or for product positioning or placement assistance, or call our Grocerant Guru®.  Since 1991 Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma, WA has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche. Contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us or 253-759-7869

At Bojangles Customer Relevance is A Valued Touchpoint

 

When your Hot your Hot!  Bojangles has an outstanding feel for customer hot button pain points.  If there is an issue bothering consumer’s they try their best to solve it if it is at one of their restaurants or in messaging from the Bojangles brand itself. 

Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®, stated, “Bojangles gathers data on trends affecting consumers and integrates that with their proprietary data and it is at that intersection they excel at elevating solutions to edify their relationships with consumers.”

Here is a one great example: Bojangles is Giving Away $10 Gas Gift Cards with Family Meals

So, according to data compiled by AAA, gas prices reached the highest levels on record in March 2022. Bojangles is giving away $1 million in free gas to help customers offset the rising cost of fueling up their tanks. Just think about it.  That is 100,000 ten-dollar gift cards. If you get one, you’re going to tell a friend!  That’s right good news travels just as fast as bad news does.  This is 100,000 points of good news.

Now understand, this is good only until supplies run out, every purchase of a Bojangles Family Meal – featuring 12 or 20 pieces of bone-in chicken, plus scratch-made biscuits, choice of home-style fixins and Legendary Iced Tea – will come with a $10 gas gift card. 

Jackie Woodward, Bojangles Chief Brand and Marketing Officer, stated, "Southerners are known for being friendly neighbors, so as a Southern brand, it’s in our DNA to want to help our customers who are feeling the pain of soaring gas prices,” …. “We don’t want anyone to have to choose between enjoying a delicious meal with the family or buying gas, so let Bojangles help with both.”

Once again, according to data compiled by AAA, gas prices reached the highest levels on record in March 2022. As a family-forward chain known for providing great food and tremendous value, Bojangles saw an opportunity to rally and help thousands of customers during the gas crunch.

Woodward continued, “This is the first time in Bojangles’ history that we’ve ever given away $1 million, but we know our customers are worth it, and we’re just glad that we could come together with all of our franchisees to support them,”.

The $10 gas cards are available while supplies last on all 12- or 20-piece bone-in chicken Family Meals purchased in-store, at the drive-thru or with order ahead using the Bojangles app. Family Meals featuring Chicken Supremes, as well as all delivery orders, are not eligible.

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 us on our social media sites by clicking one of the following links: Facebook,  LinkedIn, or Twitter

Circle K Leverages Global Footprint for Growth

Talk about the power of a brand and its ‘footprint’. Food retailers with a global footprint have the ability to listen to consumers all over the world.  In the case of Circle K, entering into a global partnership with Niantic Inc. to bring the convenience store operator's locations to life in the augmented reality mobile game Pokémon GO was a no brainer according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

There is no doubt that the Pokémon GO partnership connects, Pokémon GO players and Circle K customers alike to in-store experiences and special in-game rewards that will drive both new electricity via customer frequency while building top-line sales and bottom-line profits. Just think more than 9,000 Circle K c-stores worldwide will transform into PokéStops and Gyms.

Kevin Lewis, chief marketing officer at Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc./Circle K, stated, "As a loyal Pokémon GO player for many years, I am personally thrilled with this new global partnership," … "I am equally thrilled to bring Pokémon GO to life with millions of our customers across our more than 9,000 stores worldwide."

So, get ready as in early 2022, Circle K will host the first of four Legendary Raid events at participating locations in-game to engage Pokémon GO Trainers, customers and mobile game enthusiasts. Once again just think about the size and scope of this opportunity as, Pokémon GO has been downloaded more than 1 billion times and is enjoyed by players in 150 countries and territories. How are you building new electricity for your brand?

According to Johnson, “Brand relevance is in part driven with innovation in new food products in combination with new avenues of distribution all of which are the platform for the new electricity.” 

Johnson stated “that in my minds-eye the new electricity must be very efficient for the supply and includes such things as fresh foods, 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 retailers to survive the next generation of retail must embrace the artificial intelligence revolution while simultaneously embracing fresh food that is portable, fresh, with differentiation that is familiar not different. 

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 

Wawa Fall is a Good Time to Test Pizza

 

Regular readers of this blog know that Foodservice Solutions® Five P’s of grocerant marketing were perfected, developed and tested over time utilizing the Grocerant Guru’s time-tested formula: Build, Measure, Learn, Repeat. Those Five P’s of Grocerant marketing have evolved.

Wawa understands that operational excellence combined with customer relevance will drive sales. Pizza is relevant to consumers without any doubt.  Regular readers of this blog know that Wawa tried Pizza once before but did not have it quite right.  So, knowing that:

1. Americans down about 3 billion pizzas each and every year.

2. The typical person takes in 46 slices of pizza per year. That adds up to about 23 pounds of pizza eaten annually.

3. Estimates put the number of pizza slices sold each second at 350, which comes out to about 21,000 per minute. That's about 1.26 million per hour and 30 million each day.

4. Men are more likely to eat pizza, accounting for 15% of total consumption, versus 11% for women. Kids between the ages of 2 and 19 prove to be the biggest pizza eaters, with 20% grabbing a slice compared to 11% of adults.

5. How much pizza is consumed at home? While there are thousands of pizza restaurants to choose from in the U.S., 59% of Americans opt to have theirs at home instead.

6. How does income affect pizza consumption? Households with an income between $75,000 and $99,000 tend to spend the most on pizza annually.  (Source: https://www.creditdonkey.com/pizza-statistics.html)

While it has been seven years since Wawa tried pizza; we know that Wawa will be using this formula to get things right, build, measure, learn, and repeat. So, the are trying a 16-inch pie, available plain or with pepperoni, can be ordered at two stores only for now and only after 4PM? Seems odd to us but that is part of the learning we guess.

Wawa spokesperson Lori Bruce, stated, "It is a test, and will help our innovation teams learn and assess whether or not to continue the offer," "We are currently offering one size, a 16-inch in both cheese and pepperoni. This is a completely different pizza than any other we've tested in the past."

Wawa tested a smaller pizza on a bagel-style crust that could be topped with a variety of ingredients in 2014, but discontinued the offering. We have the picture below and you can understand why it faded away.

Signage at the test stores indicates that the new Wawa pizza will be available for a limited time only. The convenience store retailer has not commented on the possibility of rolling out the new pizza beyond the initial test stores.

Are you ready for some fresh ideations? Don’t let 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.

Has Kroger Founded in 1902 Lost its Way?

After a failed test of a new fresh grocery concept store Main & Vine that did not resonate with consumers, at a cost reported to be over $12 Million.  Kroger is now throwing in the towel on a ‘convenience concept’ small-concept store Fresh Eats MKT, that was once again clearly not convenient or fresh enough.

Foodservice Solutions®, Tacoma, WA based Grocerant Guru®, Steven Johnson wondered out-loud how could a company that’s been in business since 1902 not understand the undercurrents driving change in the grocery sector today?  Here is what Johnson thinks they don’t get:

1.      12,000 square feet is not a small concept in the minds-eye of the consumer,

2.      Fresh Food Fast must be sold at ‘fast food pace and price,

3.      Grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat food is not a CPG product,

4.      Mix & Match meal component bundling’s shelf life in not 7 days’

5.      Food & Beverage branded marketing integration with fuel pumps requires that all consumers touchpoints are integrated.

When Mike Schlotman, then executive vice president and chief financial officer, described Fresh Eats MKT as “a different kind of a convenience store.” Clearly, he meant short lived. Clearly reading from a ‘PR’ playbook a Kroger spokesperson said in a statement, “From the pilot, we have learned many things about how to provide quality, fresh and new foods to our customers. We will incorporate these learning's in other parts of our business.”

All that said, Kroger one think is clear, Kroger wants to sell yesterday’s consumer, yesterday’s staples.  Well that might just work during the coronavirus conundrum confusing customers.  However, that will be short lived and consumers will move on.  Our question is will Kroger be the next A&P closing, brands, shuttering concepts and spinning investors for the next 10 years or 20 years?

Do slotting fees play a big role in your food retail operation?  Do your stores look more like yesterday than tomorrow? Is basket size a more important metric than customer frequency?  Are consumers in your aisles more often this year?

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

Dash In the C-store with a Fast Casual Restaurant Appeal

In a hurry for a good fresh meal fast?  Well, in the Northeast you just might be going out to a convenience store called Dash-In according to Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant Guru®, Steven Johnson based in Tacoma, WA.

For those of you who don’t know Dash In, it has close to 60 locations throughout Maryland, Delaware and Virginia, the company is “rapidly expanding, with a focus on a number of locations across the Mid-Atlantic region.” Dash In locations feature the company’s new “neighborhood stores” concept Johnson says that is has the look, feel, and menu of a fast-casual chain restaurant.  

The ‘neighborhood stores’ include an open kitchen in the center and a wide variety of made-to-order, fresh and grab-and-go items. Darleen Nascimento, director of brand marketing at Dash In stated “All of these neighborhood store elements are informed by our commitment to deliver fresh, quality food and a personal experience to our customers every time,”

These new Dash In neighborhood store in Midlothian, Va., is 5,600 square feet with 16 fueling positions. It includes an expansive beer and wine selection — with craft beer offered through a draft growler and crowler program.

All Dash In stores feature “quick bites,” such as breakfast sandwiches, sliders, pizza and wings. But select locations also offer “food market” items, including subs, quesadillas, wraps and salads.

“When adding new menu items, we review the current menu to determine if there are any gaps in terms of flavor profiles or styles and cross-reference those against emerging trends. Then we review how new dishes can be created from components that we currently source,” said Nascimento. “The wants of the customer and the need for executional ease for our employees are always top of mind. …”

In June, Dash In debuted the French Dip Sub, which features U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prime shaved steak, provolone cheese, caramelized onions, brown gravy and black pepper mayo on an Italian roll.

Dash In also debuted its “fresh bowl” concept the Fresh Bowl Chicken Salad is an all-white chicken salad tossed with dried cranberries, red onion, a hint of lime and a croissant on top of fresh romaine lettuce. The Fresh Bowl Tuna Salad features albacore tuna, red onions and hard-boiled eggs blended together on top of fresh romaine lettuce and tomatoes.

Additional new menu items include the BLTM — crispy, center-cut bacon, lettuce, tomato and fresh mozzarella on Texas Toast — and the Poutine Meatball Sub — meatballs tossed with brown gravy, cheddar cheese curds, Monterey Jack cheese and black pepper mayo on a garlic butter roll.

They recently launched a Thai Chicken Wrap. The wrap is made with diced, antibiotic-free chicken tenders, romaine lettuce, red onion, sliced cucumber, almond flakes and sesame dressing wrapped in a flour tortilla. 

Also well received by customers, she said, is the quesadilla line, which includes four offerings: Chicken Bacon Ranch Quesadilla; Buffalo Chicken Quesadilla; Bacon, Egg and Cheese Quesadilla; and Sausage, Egg and Cheese Quesadilla. 

Just like many chain restaurants Dash In’s in-store pilot in September 2018 with No Kid Hungry, which provides nutritious meals to children, enabled Dash In customers to give back as well. Is your restaurant business model evolving as fast as many C-store business models? Are you growing food sales and 9.7%?

Foodservice Solutions® team is here to help you drive top line sales and bottom-line profits. Are you looking a customer ahead? Visit www.FoodserviceSolutions.us for more information or contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us Remember success does leave clues and we just may the clue you need to propel your continued success.

At Wawa, Record Growth Signals Success

Success does leave clues Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® stated that Wawa’s growth is customer driven and a clear signal to the food industry that Wawa is exceeding consumer expectations delivery an industry leading price, value, quality, service promise.

Filling in the white space between New Jersey and Florida, Wawa will open 40 stores in northern Virginia over the next 15 years, with the first of these stores set to open in April 2020. Wawa announced plans this week to open 40 stores in northern Virginia over the next 15 years, with the first set to open in Vienna, Va., in April 2020.

The 40 planned stores in the market are expected to bring 2,000 jobs. Wawa excels at looking a customer ahead and customer facing relevance. So, new stores will be around 6,290 square feet with seating areas and will feature Tesla Charging Stations for up to eight cars.

Wawa has been undergoing a massive expansion, with plans to open a record 63 stores in 2019, that close to a $500,000,000 investment in 2019 alone on new stores according to Johnson.

For those of you not on the East coast, Wawa operates more than 870 convenience retail stores (over 600 offering fuel) in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Florida and Washington, D.C. The stores offer a large grocerant niche fresh food selection, including Wawa brands such as custom prepared hoagies, freshly-brewed coffee, hot breakfast sandwiches, specialty beverages and an assortment of soups, sides and snacks.

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

Pilot Flying J’s Food First Footprint Fuels Success

Success does leave clues and grocerant niche fresh food has been the platform of success that most food retail choose when they decide to evolve their brans with customer relevance and Pilot Flying J has made the right choices according to Steven Johnson, Tacoma, WA based Grocerant Guru® at Foodservice Solutions®.

When it comes to homestyle comfort foods PJ Fresh offering at Pilot Flying J are filled with grocerant grab-n-go fresh food options that make the ‘pit-stop’’ well worth it according to Johnson. In an effort to drive incremental growth Pilot Flying J developed a third branded footprint called Pilot Express unit as a way to enter areas where a typical major travel center won't fit from a land and acreage standpoint.

Pilot Flying J Chief Merchant Brian Ferguson describes the Pilot Express concept as a "Food first" unit. Pilot Express stores spotlight the retailer's commitment to food and beverage innovation, offering homestyle meals, grab-and-go and made-to-order sandwiches and salads, premium beverages, a bean-to-cup coffee experience and weekly limited-time offers.

Ferguson continued "We want you to walk in to an experience that you've never [had] at a Pilot before. We created a store environment that's about getting you fueled quickly, giving you tremendous options in food and beverage, and getting you out quickly," 

 Pilot Flying J's Vice President of Food Innovation Shannon Johnson said Pilot Express stores have found a sweet spot by offering a variety of food offers that meet different needs. The winning equation includes:

·         Anticipating guest need — both immediate transaction and relaxing destination; 

·         Being varied and flexible — in the same store, you can see a hot homestyle offering that allows a guest to eat and relax next to a grab-and-go item for the person of the go; 

·         Splitting grab-and-go into two categories: hot and chilled; and

·         Tying in authenticity and quality.

"We went out to market with a variety of food offers all at the same time and what we found was somewhat unexpected: that the blend of all those things was how we’re going to win," Shannon Johnson shared. "It really differentiates us in the marketplace because a lot of our competitive set doesn’t have the mix of offers that we do. We learned so much from Pilot Express." Is your business ready to evolve?

Interested in learning how Foodservice Solutions 5P’s of Food Marketing 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

Break Time Stores Updated Branded Foodservice

Customers count and today convenience stores owners understand that consumers are looking for Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food in every foodservice avenue of distribution including convenience stores.  As Break Time was evolving a new design for a 5,000-square-foot store that customers would find inviting and customer relevant they took time to insure that foodservice was a customer focus.

Curtis Chaney, MFA Oil’s senior vice president of retail operations stated “We felt that we needed to bring a more modern, open look to our stores so our customers didn’t feel pressured to make a decision. We feel we accomplished this with how open the store feels.’

In addition to its differences in layout and design, Break Time’s newest and 74th store stands apart from other locations on account of its foodservice offering. This is the retailer’s first location to offer Smokestack Bar B Q a new carryout food concept.

In addition to Smokestack Bar BQ, Break Time continues to offer customers Hunt Brothers Pizza, Dashboard Diner sandwiches, f’real shakes, roller grill options, a beer cave, and traditional c-store fare.

Branded and branding your foodservice offering will edify your relationship with consumers adding value, relevance and elevating your food offerings as a top of mind choice for consumers according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

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