Grocerant Sales Success is All in the Numbers in 2024

If you are a restaurant, bodega, service deli, or convenience store selling grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat or Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food this year it’s time to remember what got you to where you are today.  The first thing you need to look at is your topline-sales and bottom-line profits according to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

Johnson reminds us that others the ilk of Ben Johnston is the COO of  Kapitus, had to say:

With ever rising costs for supplies and staffing, there are important measures restaurant owners can take to navigate an uncertain economic climate in 2024. That being said, unemployment remains low across the country and consumer spending is strong despite higher interest rates. We expect this to continue, at least in the near term.

In these uncertain times, we encourage restaurant owners to take the following steps:

Forecasting Financial Needs—Restaurant owners should determine whether they are likely to need capital going into the 2024 and if so, work to line up that capital now. The most common mistakes small business owners make is failing to properly forecast the cashflow needed to secure the inventory and staff required. Small business owners are by nature optimistic, and sometimes optimism causes us to overlook the downside contingencies that can become essential when things don’t go as planned.

Restaurant owners should work to forecast their busy and slow seasons and use these projections to determine whether they are likely to need capital as they transition into their busy season.

Banks have been reducing exposure to small businesses ever since the pandemic, and now with higher interest rates putting pressure on bank deposits and greater regulatory scrutiny, banks are reducing their loan books even more. Fortunately, there are a number of small business lenders who have been expanding their ability to provide small business capital in the face of this bank contraction. Small business owners should consider exploring options with their bank as well as these non-bank lenders.

Consider Offerings to Attract Customers—Restaurants trying to attract price conscious diners should make sure that their menus carry several low-cost, higher margin staples that can be sold at reasonable prices. Consider reducing the size and price of certain staples and then offering a “super-sized” portion for a higher price. Keep a close eye on your margins, and don’t be afraid to slim up menus and reduce hours of operation if demand begins to slip.

Retaining Staff—Flexible shifts and secure shifts may actually be more important than wages to some employees. An effort to maximize staffing levels by cutting shifts short or imposing last minute shifts can be very disrupting to employees’ lives. It may be easier said than done, but allowing employees more input into their shift times and durations can go a long way to creating employee loyalty. We also encourage restaurants to automate as much of their process as possible, keeping headcount light.

Planning for Growth—When considering expansion plans, restaurants should understand the demand in their local market as well as the competitive environment. A restaurant’s success is likely to be driven more by the local economy and by the competition than by national economic indicators. 

Restaurants are expensive to start and can take years to become important fixtures of the community. As a result, it is important to have a good capital plan in place. Most restaurant owners have financial backers to help them get off the ground, and debt financing relationships to help them grow and cover temporary shortfalls of capital. Having the right financial relationships is important, and fortunately there are a number of non-bank lenders who are able to provide financing options to restaurants.

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

With Summer in Full Swing Snacking is Top of Mind

School is out, families are on planning for vacation, the weather is good with outside activities garnering more and more time and attention.  All that means is consumers are looking of meal substitutes, meal replacements, and an excuse to eat all the fun stuff of summer. 

Restaurants, service deli’s, conveniences store’s all want to fill that meal gap with everything from Pizza, Slurpee’s, Burgers, Ice Coffees, we could go on and on.  Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® stated, snacks are an important component in mix & match meal bundling solutions that every restaurant, service deli, and convenience stores should be expanding as options as a new era of what defines a meal is emerging.

Now consider this from a neuroscience-based consumer insights market research firm Alpha-Diver's "The Snack 50 Psych Pulse" unveils the first psychology-based snack brand rankings and offers insight as to what kind of snacker consumers are, and what affinities determine which brands are winning consumers over.

Alpha-Diver CEO Hunter Thurman, stated, "While previous snack food rankings have been based on popularity polls, sales volume or reviewer critiques, the 'Snack 50 Psych Pulse' is the first ranking of brands based on the WHY's of consumer behavior," ... "The Snack 50 provides diagnostics from a consumer perspective of brand performance, including brand affinity, brand usage momentum and brand growth paths."

When it comes to the five leading dimensions that determine which brands are winning the hearts and wallets of consumers, price tops the list:

1.       Price: Does the brand offer good value?

2.       Time: Does the brand fit daily life routines?

3.       Social: Is the brand socially endorsed/acceptable to one's peers?

4.       Physical: Does the brand carry any negative connotations regarding consumer feelings?

5.       Emotional: Does the brand carry any fear of disappointment?

With these factors at play, the leading snack brands ranked via Alpha-Diver's proprietary Psych Pulse composite score of key dimensions include behavior (consumption routines), emotion (consumer enthusiasm) and trajectory (product usage momentum).

The top 10 leading snack brands among consumers are:

1.       Reese's

2.       Lay's

3.       Great Value

4.       Hershey's

5.       M&M's

6.       Doritos

7.       Oreo

8.       Cheetos

9.       Snickers

10.   Kit Kat

Alpha-Diver found psychological differences across generations and genders relative to snack choices:

·         The top-ranking category among women is potato chips and is chocolate candy among men.

·         Reese's is the top-ranked brand among the general population, but Oreo is top-ranked among Generation Z (for whom Reese's slips out of the top five).

·         Hispanic consumers favor Doritos, with Reese's slipping out of the top five among this cohort.

·         Lay's ranks in the top five among all demographic cohorts, and is ranked first among younger baby boomers. Older boomers favor Hershey's chocolate.

·         Great Value emerges as the strongest snacking store brand, including strong performance among both younger and older millennials.

"One compelling insight relates to the role of store brands, or private labels. While most teams still assume they're growing due to price trade-downs, this study reveals a much more strategic role store brands are playing in fueling consumers' emotional needs," added Thurman.

The Snack 50 Psych Pulse also explores four key dimensions of consumer purchase behavior:

1.       Rational: Product provides options that make rational sense. Top performers in order are Snack Factory Pretzel Crisps, Nutri-Grain and Skinny Pop Popcorn.

2.       Experiential: Brands provide new sensory experiences. The top performers are Sour Patch Kids, Starburst and Cape Cod.

3.       Tribal: Brands provide social connection. The top performers are Aldi brands, Great Value brands and Lay's.

4.       Instinctual: These are feel-good, impulse-driven brands. The top performers are Slim Jim, Jack Links and Sour Patch Kids.

Alpha-Diver is a market research firm that applies neuroscience to understand marketplace behavior more deeply. The firm’s neuroscientists and strategists work with leading brands, retailers and the Wall Street analyst community to explain, measure and predict consumer behavior. Clients include McDonald’s, Coca-Cola and Kellanova, among others.

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 

DoorDash Grocerant Mix and Match Meal Bundling is What Consumers Want

 

Brands that focus on the consumers wants and needs tend to do better than those that focus on their own brand positioning according to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®. 

DoorDash delivers food and beverages from restaurants, grocery stores, and convenience stores and understands just why consumers are migrating to the grocerant niche filled with Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food. So, what is a meal at dinner time for a DoorDash consumers?  Let’s see just what they are now saying and doing to edify their relationship with consumers.

Last week DoorDash, launched Drinks with DoubleDash, which lets restaurant customers place an order for beer, wine or liquor at a local grocery store, c-store or liquor store with no added delivery fee. So, what they did was to empower consumers that order from restaurants to add wine, beer or cocktail fixings from local grocers and other merchants in one order.

The program is called ‘Drinks with DoubleDash’, lets users scroll through alcohol options from nearby grocers, convenience stores and liquor stores after they’ve placed a restaurant order to select drink pairings. Everything will arrive in a single order with no additional delivery fee or order minimum, DoorDash press release stated.

“We are excited to unveil the latest DoubleDash innovation with the introduction of Drinks, giving customers the opportunity to pair their perfect drink with any meal on DoorDash, conveniently bundled all in one order,” said in a statement.

DoorDash Product Manager Ben Damon, stated, “Last year, DoorDash added the delivery of beer, wine and spirits across 20 states and Washington, D.C., allowing shoppers to order drinks from restaurants, as well as grocery stores, convenience stores and other retailers. Since then, DoorDash has more than doubled the number of alcohol retailers on its platform, with 130% store growth in the category.

“We created DoubleDash with our merchants in mind, and we’re committed to helping these local business grow in new ways to expand their reach and incremental sales,” the delivery platform said in a statement.

Grocerant niche Mix and Match bunding is becoming common place as DoorDash’s announcement of Drinks with DoubleDash comes just days after delivery platform Grubhub announced its partnership with digital c-store platform Gopuff.

Under that pairing, which is currently available in a handful of cities before being rolled out to Gopuff locations across the country in the coming weeks, Grubhub customers can order fresh food, snacks, alcohol and other grocery items through the app. Orders placed on Grubhub’s platform will be fulfilled and delivered by Gopuff’s logistics network, the company said.

Since debuting DoubleDash in August 2021, DoorDash said that more than half of its users are ordering from merchants they’ve never purchased from before.

Damon continued, “As we continue on our mission to be the one-stop shop for all local commerce needs, we’re excited by the endless possibilities with DoubleDash to connect customers to new categories in a seamless way, while providing incremental growth opportunities for our local convenience, grocery and liquor store merchants,”.

DoorDash currently works with more than 75,000 non-restaurant retail stores. Should you e next?

Foodservice Solutions® team is here to help you drive top line sales and bottom-line profits. Are you looking a customer ahead? Does your messaging 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 the clue you need to propel your continued success.

GoPuff Leverages Mix & Match Bundling’s Joins Me to We Movement

Convenience stores have a product mix advantage over restaurants and the ability to look a customer ahead daypart by daypart.  The ability to mix and match a wider variety of products into a customize bundle; for example, a gallon of milk, dozen eggs, Ready-2-Eat Pizza or Heat-N-Eat pot roast dinner is a platform that allows for both pricing flexibility and increased customer satisfaction according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA base Foodservice Solutions®.  

Success does leave clues and industry leading companies understand that there is an increased unmet need that consumers are expressing when it comes to their everyday life and food, meals, and beverages. That is food and food packaging that has the ‘halo’ of better for you and a hallmark of the Grocerant niche.  

Convenience stores operators know that our Grocerant Guru® has been highlighting restaurants companies that are focused on elevating next year, 2021 in food, as the year the industry focuses on From Me to We” movement in food aka sustainability. That is expanding the ‘halo’ of ‘better for you’ food and food packaging offerings within every sector of retail food.

Around the world consumers are expressing greater sense of urgency around climate change, droughts, wildfires, and increase in intense tropical storms. According to The NPD Group, consumers reported in July that 63% of their eating occasions during the COVID-19 outbreak have been atypical, meaning they’re eating and sourcing foods and beverages outside of their normal routines. That disruption has elevated consumers focus or ‘better for you’ sustainable food and beverage options.

Now GoPuff is set  to join the from Me too We movement’, by making consumers' immediate everyday needs for better-for-you products more accessible with the launch of its Better For You product category.

Now get this available for delivery within 30 minutes, goPuff's Better For You product category features hundreds of healthier food, snack and vitamin options, as well as less- and non-toxic home, bath and body products.

Among the products offered are:

·         Seventh Generation Recycled Bath Tissue;

·         Halo Top Peanut Butter Cup Pint;

·         Healthy Choice Korean Beef Frozen Power Bowl;

·         Annie's Macaroni & Cheese Shells & White Cheddar;

·         Hello Whitening Toothpaste;

·         Simply Cheetos Crunchy White Cheddar Jalapeno;

·         Bolt24 hydrating beverages and more.

Grocerant niche mix and match product bundling are a key hallmark of the grocerant niche that expands customer visit frequency, satisfaction and ticket average.  GoPuff is looking a customer ahead are you?

Foodservice Solutions® team is here to help you drive top line sales and bottom-line profits. Are you looking a customer ahead? Visit GrocerantGuru.com 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. 

Noodles & Company Interactive Participatory Marketing

Making all the right move Noodles & Company, is focused on two key consumer touchpoints that all food retailers should be focusing on according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.  

Those two touchpoints are brand messaging / marketing that interactive and participatory. In a new partnership with the acclaimed People's Improv Theater in New York City and the iO Theater in Chicago, Noodles & Company is going to bring the joy and spontaneity of live events directly to guests' homes via live-streamed interactive improv shows inspired by the endless possibilities of Noodles' signature dish: Wisconsin Mac & Cheese.

So, how is this for interactive and participatory opening the door to a world of 'Mac & Cheese & Yes &,' Noodles is hiring comedians from the two theaters to showcase their talent in five virtual 15-minute performances streamed via Facebook Live from Monday, August 17 to Friday, August 21 (each show will be made available at Noodles.com following the live performances). Starting with a prompt inspired by Noodles' Wisconsin Mac & Cheese and the infinite customizations and possibilities it brings, the live improv shows will take on a life of their own with the help of audience input and the performers' boundless creativity.

"We want to deliver the live entertainment that our guests are craving right now, and what better way to do so than through an interactive event, connecting people virtually through the power of laughter?" said Stacey Pool, chief marketing officer of Noodles & Company. "With more than 2.7 million ways to customize your Noodles mac, the possibilities are truly endless, and we can't wait to see how these clever performers are inspired by the very dish that excites our own individuality and creativity here at Noodles."  

In addition to providing a bit of comic relief, Noodles & Company is continuing the cheesy fun with a sweepstakes offer for five lucky guests to win big. All week while the improv shows are running, Rewards members can enter to win a year's worth of free Wisconsin Mac & Cheese* when they use the code "Coke&" online or on the mobile app to unlock a free beverage with the purchase of an entree. Plus, guests can use the free beverage deal to be one of the first to try the new Very Berry Minute Maid Lemonade Flavor, developed exclusively for Noodles by Coca-Cola Freestyle, available starting August 17.

As if guests don't have enough reason to register for Noodles Rewards right now, for a limited time only, new members will automatically receive unlimited free delivery for 30 days simply by signing up. To participate in the all the fun, guests need to register via the mobile app or online at Noodles.com/Rewards prior to their first order.

Winners will receive a reward for one free bowl of Wisconsin Mac & Cheese loaded to their Rewards account every week for 52 weeks

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