The Grocerant Guru's Guide to Navigating the Memorial Day Meal Maze: How Restaurants and Grocerants Can Save the Day

As the Grocerant Guru®, I've seen how the lines between grocery stores and restaurants have blurred, creating a new dining paradigm that's perfectly suited to solve the Memorial Day meal dilemma. As we approach this long weekend, families across the United States are preparing for celebrations and gatherings. Yet, the perennial question looms: what to serve at these festivities? According to recent survey data from Numerator, 57% of Americans are planning to celebrate Memorial Day, with food and alcohol topping their shopping lists.

For those wrestling with meal plans, the answer may lie not just in restaurants, but also in the burgeoning world of grocerants. These establishments can alleviate the holiday meal stress, offering convenience, variety, and a welcome departure from the traditional cooking routine. Here's how grocerants and restaurants can become the superheroes of Memorial Day weekend:

Convenience: With packed schedules and the desire to maximize leisure time, convenience is paramount for many families during holidays. Grocerants and restaurants can offer ready-to-eat meals, catering services, and meal kits that simplify the cooking process and eliminate the stress of planning and preparation.

Variety: Memorial Day celebrations range from backyard barbecues to intimate dinners. Grocerants and restaurants can cater to diverse tastes and preferences by offering a broad range of menu options, including classic American fare, international cuisines, and dietary-specific dishes to accommodate everyone at the table.

Community Gathering: Memorial Day is a time for uniting with family and friends, and grocerants and restaurants provide the ideal setting for communal dining experiences. Whether it's a casual brunch, a festive lunch, or a lively dinner, these establishments offer a welcoming atmosphere where loved ones can relax, connect, and create lasting memories.

Supporting Local Businesses: By choosing to dine out or order from local grocerants and restaurants, consumers can also contribute to the vitality of their communities. Supporting local businesses not only fosters economic growth but also celebrates the unique flavors and culinary talents that make each neighborhood special.

Flexibility: For those who prefer to enjoy the holiday festivities at home, many grocerants and restaurants now offer delivery and takeout options, allowing customers to enjoy restaurant-quality meals in the comfort of their own surroundings. This flexibility ensures that everyone can partake in the celebration, whether they're hosting a backyard barbecue or enjoying a cozy night in.

As consumers gear up for Memorial Day weekend, the pressure to plan and prepare meals can be daunting. However, by turning to grocerants and restaurants for assistance, families can reclaim their time and focus on what truly matters: spending quality time with loved ones and honoring the spirit of the holiday.

With their convenient services, diverse menus, and welcoming environments, grocerants and restaurants have the power to transform Memorial Day weekend from a culinary challenge into a delicious and memorable celebration for all.

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

Hardee’s a regional Drive-Thru Thanksgiving Dinner

Thanksgiving is just around the corner and Hardee’s understanding the undercurrents of consumer food spending has extending its brand with the ‘better-for-you’ halo of Thanksgiving creating a holiday meal with differentiation yet a familiar twist and according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® is good food marketing.

Hardee’s is testing its first seasonal Thanksgiving in a Box meal.  This is one fast food limited time offer our Grocerant Guru® thinks is spot on. Equipped with new Thanksgiving research, Hardee’s has found that nearly half of Americans (45 percent) are exploring alternatives to the traditional Thanksgiving.  The Hardee’s Thanksgiving in a Box includes:

·         Stuffing Tenders: A take on Hardee’s hand-breaded chicken tenders. Stuffing Tenders are 100 percent all-white meat chicken tender’s hand-breaded with sage and herb stuffing breading, resulting in a crispy golden-brown tender, served with savory chicken gravy.

·         Sweet Potato Waffle Fries: Classic waffle cut fries made with sweet potatoes, tossed in sweet waffle batter and fried up fresh and crispy.

·         Toasted Onion Coated Green Beans: A take on green bean casserole. Crisp green beans coated in a toasted onion breading fried to golden brown.

·         Savory Chicken Gravy: Perfect for dipping Stuffing Tenders.

The new Thanksgiving Box are available starting at $6.99 at participating restaurants in Jacksonville, Florida, now until December 3, or while supplies last. Success does leave clues and leveraging research to edify your focused limited time offers is a very good thing to do. This offer has the right customer facing price points, messaging, packaging, and seasonality to drive incremental sales.

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, www.Linkedin.com/in/grocerant/ or www.twitter.com/grocerant/

Battle for Share of Stomach

City Barbeque Holiday Takeout Package

At least one grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food will grace 87.4% of all meals service at home this year according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.  

This year City Barbeque wants to sell you an entire meal and is now taking orders that available by reservation only. You can choose from a smoked bone-in ham or a whole smoked turkey: both meal options come with two pan sides and a quart of gravy, feed 14 folks (with leftovers), and are available for $149.

There is also a meal featuring a smoked turkey breast is for $69; this meal feeds eight folks (with leftovers) and comes with two-quart sides and a pint of gravy. Due to limited supply, these holiday meals and meats are only available to order in-store or over the phone.

Hams, whole turkeys, and turkey breasts can be purchased independently as well, with hams and whole turkeys available for $79 and turkey breasts for $45. Just like the award-winning meats City Barbeque serves every day of the year, all of the joint’s mouthwatering holiday meats are smoked on-site over local hickory wood.

Mix and match meal components are hallmarks of the grocerant niche and City Barbeque serves a wide range of classic homemade sides—including sweet potato casserole, smashed potatoes and gravy, green beans with bacon, creamy mac & cheese, corn pudding, and more—available by the pint, quart, or pan. For those looking for something a little less traditional for their holiday table, City Barbeque serves up whole briskets and whole pork shoulders to carve at home; full-service holiday catering is also available for those who want to avoid the kitchen entirely.

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.

White Castle’s Grocerant Holiday Cravings Delight

White Castle is an iconic restaurant brand that edifies its relationship with consumers every year during the holiday season branded integrated marketing according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

Once again White Castle is ringing in the holidays with its seasonal favorite Turkey Sliders and sweet potato fries.  Do you wonder why they are favorites well to start they are just 99 cents. White Castle explains that turkey sliders are made with all-natural, white-meat Butterball turkey. Cravers will have their choice of two options with the Bistro Turkey Slider, featuring a turkey burger topped with a tangy-licious bistro sauce, and the Cheddar Apple Butter Turkey Slider, topped with oh-so-smoky cheddar cheese and cinnamon apple butter.

Jamie Richardson, vice president at White Castle stated “With each season, we strive to bring bold new flavors and these seasonal sliders offer everything holiday shoppers are looking for—convenience, value and Craveable comfort food,”…“Although there’s plenty of proof that our fans love White Castle at any time, these seasonal offerings might just have them thinking it’s the most wonderful time of the year.”

Grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat hand held food for immediate consumption offered a limited time offer is a great way to drive incremental seasonal sales according to Johnson. 

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.

Is Boston Market Getting On Track

Regular readers of this blog know that Boston Market’s sales building conundrum has not been a anything that could not have been predicted.  However the team at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® wonders aloud ‘could it be that Boston Market is back on track’?  Our Grocerant Guru® just might be the hold out saying it’s still too early as tactics and strategy at Boston Market have over the past 7 years lacked a cohesive grocerant niche focus.’  

However in an effort to edify sales Boston Market announced a limited time offer  (LTO) for $109.99, a Heat & Serve Ham Dinner for 12.  The offer included spiral-sliced or boneless ham, mashed potatoes and gravy, cinnamon apples, sweet potato casserole, fresh-baked cornbread and two apple pies—can be picked up in restaurant or delivered directly to your door through the Boston Market Home Delivery program.

Boston Market Vice President of Marketing, Tim Hartmann stated “Easter and the arrival of spring are an ideal time for reflecting over a traditional holiday meal,” says. “With multiple festive offers and ways to celebrate, consumers can find everything they need at Boston Market to serve a truly special and delicious Easter meal this year. After all, less cooking time means more family time."

The full menu of Boston Market Easter meals include:

·         Heat & Serve: Chilled complete meals, entrees, sides or pies to feed four to twelve are fully cooked and can be ordered ahead of time for pick up at any Boston Market restaurant on March 29 and March 31 from 11 a.m.—8 p.m. or Easter Sunday from 8 a.m. —4: p.m. Complete Easter Dinners or Essential Easter Dinners include ham, turkey or both starting at $69.99. Complete Easter Dinners feature everything needed for a complete feast, including entrees, sides, cornbread and dessert; Essential Easter Dinners include an entree, sides and cornbread.

·         Home Delivery: Anyone in the continental United States can now order a chilled complete Boston Market meal and have it shipped directly to their door. Choose from six pre-cooked Easter feast options at BostonMarket.com and place your order before March 27. Each order will ship frozen and once fully thawed, be ready to heat and serve within two to three hours.

·         A La Carte: Enjoy chilled, fully cooked main dishes, individual sides or desserts, which can be picked up at Boston Market locations nationwide between March 29 and April 1.

·         Easter Meal: Join Boston Market March 30 – April 1 for a honey-glazed, hand-carved ham meal served with a choice of two sides, fresh-baked cornbread and a slice of apple pie for $12.99 while supplies last. The full menu will also be available.

·         Catering: For as low as $10.49 per person, Boston Market can cater hot, Easter meals for pick up or delivery from March 12 through April 1. Perfect for groups of five to 5,000, the create your own Easter buffet option includes a choice of ham, rotisserie turkey and signature rotisserie chicken.

This offer is not Boston’s Market’s first grocerant niche offering nor is it probably the best LTO that they could have brought to consumers.  However once again they are thinking in the right direction. The team at Foodservice Solutions® does wish they would integrate a cohesive customer focused grocerant niche foodservice positioning in order to garner incremental customer adoption.

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.