Was Wendy’s Late to the Game

Success does leave clues integrating social media a food brand and sports always seems to payoff according to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.  It’s March and basketball is top of mind in the sport world in the US and this year Wendy’s is the Official Hamburger of the NCAA which is a good thing for both the NCAA and Wendy’s brand marketing efforts. .

March Madness awakens students to the possibility of success and one more game while rekindling the youth in the rest of us.  Wendy’s understands the difficult choices in filling out March Madness brackets and is instead taking a swipe at a competitor with ’The Bracket’.  According to Wendy’s, fans have two options—Fresh Beef vs. Frozen Beef. It’s that easy.

The bracket is an interactive experience that will live on Wendy’s social channels: Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Content within the experience encourages fans to pick Wendy’s “Team Fresh Beef” and they will be rewarded with perks throughout the tournament here is how it works:

One Download Away from Exclusive Offers

Throughout the tournament, when fans pick Wendy’s as their team and download the Wendy’s app, they will receive exclusive offers each week. These ongoing deals, like a free Dave’s Single with purchase,will keep fans satisfied.

A Fresh Look for a Fresh Team

Wendy’s has also partnered with popular designer of luxury sportswear, Don C., to launch its first-ever streetwear collaboration.

“I’m excited to collaborate with Wendy’s,” says Don C. “I’m from Chicago, where being fresh is way of life, so I’m excited to team up with an iconic brand that values staying fresh as much as I do."

Wendy’s fans will be able to win items from this exclusive collection through giveaways on social media, local stops at regional tournaments and during the Final Four weekend in San Antonio.

Road Trippin’ with Team Fresh

Wendy’s Food Truck will be serving up free Dave’s Singles, challenging fans to an interactive basketball game and offering members of Team Fresh a chance to win Don C-designed swag and exclusive offers by downloading the Wendy’s app. Fans can catch the action at the following locations:

·         Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn. (3/16-3/18)

·         Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, Ga. (3/22 & 3/24)

·         Final Four Fan Fest in Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center and the March Madness Music Festival in San Antonio, TX (3/30-4/2)

The most successful food marketing tools in a food marketing tool kit today are tools that car consumer interactive and participatory.  ‘The Bracket’ is all of that and will prove add incremental value to Wendy’s brand marketing efforts according to Johnson.

Foodservice Solutions® specializes in outsourced business development. We can help you identify, quantify and qualify additional food retail segment opportunities or a new menu product segment and brand and menu integration strategy.  Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma WA is the global leader in the Grocerant niche visit Facebook.com/Steven Johnson, Linkedin.com/in/grocerant/ or twitter.com/grocerant

Trader Joe’s bundled meal components equal quality food fast.



Ready-to-eat and ready-to-heat fresh and prepared food continues to drive top line sales and bottom line profits within the grocerant niche. Trader Joe’s continues to expand its small footprint grocerant across the US with ever increasing success. That success is in large part due too quality meal components, that can be bundled in a single or large family meal quickly.

Trader Joe’s utilizes Foodservice Solutions® 5 P’s of food marketing: Product, Packaging, Placement, Portability and Price better than any other food company operating in the US. Upon any visit to Trader Joe’s you will witness a private label single or fresh or prepared entree in most of the shopping carts.

In each store they have a product sampling and information station staffed with well trained employees that can assist you in creating a special dinner, a family meal or a main dish/ casserole of your own utilizing prepared and packed private label Trader Joe’s products. Those products reduce the meal assembly and cooking time. The outcome is a quality meal in less time, for less money in most cases. You can even sip a glass of “two buck chuck” from bottle Trader Joe’s house wine while you cook.

With dollar stores cherry picking the “center of store” of legacy grocery stores one may begin to wonder how long before the large footprint legacy store will be around. New formats and fresh prepared meal solutions are clearly leading the consumer in a new direction.

Since 1991 Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma, WA has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche. For product or brand positioning assistance contact Steven A. Johnson and Foodservice Solutions® or visit http://www.linkedin.com/in/grocerant or on Facebook at Steven Johnson, GOOGLE: Steven Johnson Grocerants or twitter.com/grocerant