MOOYAH Burgers and Ruby Tuesday think Plant-based Foods Will Help Sales

Copycat marketing is required when the customer moves.  There is no doubt that consumer adoption of plant-based food and beverages is the undercurrent of customer trial and adoption for new brands and new menu items in 2020 according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA base Foodservice Solutions®.

The conundrum for companies the ilk of MOOYAY and Ruby Tuesday is how do you enter a space and not look like ‘Johnny come lately’ so you branded messaging has customer relevance with a point of differentiation? In the case of Ruby Tuesday, you create new electricity for your brand via a partnership with a global retail giant known for ‘health & wellness’.  

For Ruby Tuesday that meant a partnership with a Nestlé via Sweet Earth Foods.  Fleur Veldhoven, vice president of food marketing at Nestlé Professional stated “Many consumers are looking to cut back on meat despite how much they enjoy eating it, and a plant-based protein option like our Sweet Earth Awesome Burger is the perfect no-compromise way to balance their diets,”.

Battle for Share of Stomach

Sweet Earth said its Awesome Burger was developed with Nestlé research and development support with no genetically modified ingredients and U.S.-sourced yellow pea protein, natural plant extracts and coconut oil.

MOOYAH point of differentiation by selecting a black bean vegan burger to replace its vegetarian burger and found it with the Dr. Praeger’s brand. New partnerships can drive new electricity for restaurant brands as long as the new product has differentiation with all of the ‘relevant consumer touchpoints’ according to Johnson.

In short differentiation dose not mean different, rather it means familiar but with a twist.  So, do you think either MOOYAH or Ruby Tuesday’s has the right balance of differentiation and consumer relevant touch points? How are you driving growth? Does your brand have new electricity?

Johnson stated “that in my minds-eye the new electricity must be very efficient for the supply chain and includes such things as fresh foods, Online ordering, delivery, plant based foods,  sampling, toy’s, beer, 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 food and beverage retailers to survive the next generation of retail must embrace the artificial intelligence revolution while simultaneously embracing fresh food and beverages that are portable, fresh, with differentiation that is familiar not different.  Does your retail path forward look more like yesterday than tomorrow? Why?

Are you looking for a new partnership to drive sales? Are you ready for some fresh ideations? Do your food marketing tactics look more like yesterday that tomorrow?  Visit www.FoodserviceSolutions.us 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.

Packaging too Drive Sales at Restaurants, Retail, and Foodservice

Foodservice chain after foodservice chain are beginning to understand how packaging can help them drive incremental sales in areas the ilk of catering, takeout, and retail according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

When Juice It Up! announced the availability of its new Juice It Up! Pack. Designed for on-the-go convenience, at a 10 percent discount, Johnson noted that grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food and beverages are leveraging the power of packaging to drive incremental sales.

It’s clear to see from the picture above that the pack is perfect for group occasions such as office meetings, soccer games and beach days. The Juice It Up! pack comes in three product category options, smoothie, raw juice or blended juice, while each individual item can be customized to its recipient.

Food packaging is driving innovation and change for all segments of food retail.  Johnson noted that food giant Nestle’s CEO Mark Schneider, stated, "Making recycled plastics safe for food is an enormous challenge for our industry. That is why in addition to minimizing plastics use and collecting waste, we want to close the loop and make more plastics infinitely recyclable.

"We are taking bold steps to create a wider market for food-grade recycled plastics and boost innovation in the packaging industry. We welcome others to join us on this journey." Nestlé will also collaborate with other organizations for cleaning up plastic waste from oceans, lakes, and rivers. How are you driving innovation? How are you driving new electricity for your branded products? Do you need a new partnership?

Are you looking for a new partnership to drive sales? Are you ready for some fresh ideations? Do your food marketing tactics look more like yesterday that tomorrow?  Visit www.FoodserviceSolutions.us 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.

McDonald’s ‘PlantWich’ a Millennial Touchpoint

Lead, follow or get out of the way.  In the case of plant-based protein McDonald’s has elected to follow.  So, just what does that mean?  Industry insiders know that no plant-based protein company had enough product supply for McDonald’s to rollout a new plant-based product nationwide.

According to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® McDonald’s is testing of the operational and marketing messaging of a “P.L.T.” sandwich — plant, lettuce and tomato, featuring Beyond Meat patties at 52 southwestern Ontario, Canada, locations for 12 weeks.

Michaela Charette, head of consumer insights at McDonald’s Canada stated “As we expand the test, we’re continuing to listen to our guests across southwestern Ontario and assess the appetite for a plant-based alternative within the McDonald’s menu,”. This test is about edifying customer relevant touchpoints particularly with Millennials who are driving the plant-based protein adoption according to Johnson.

Regular readers of this blog know that McDonald’s also sells an imitation meat burger with a product from Nestle in Germany.  Plant-based proteins are no longer an option.  They have become a menu item of necessity if you want to avoid the “Food Veto”.  (Food Veto don’t have don’t go)

Leaders do not always have to lead.  There are times that they should follow in this case size does matter and filling the supply chain with product is a bigger problem than testing a new product?  The question every food manufacture of plant-based protein should be asking is who is McDonald/s going to buy?

 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

Starbucks Partnership too Drive 'At-Home' Coffee In The US

When Starbucks formed a partnership with Nestle to drive incremental sales in retail aisles, the goal was simple, drive ‘at-home’ branded Starbucks sales while creating new electricity for the brand and product line according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

Nestle’ is known as a manufacture of ‘better-for-you’ family foods in grocery stores that has it’s foundation in innovation and ‘health & wellness will this February in the US rollout more new Starbucks products.

The new Nestle’ line will strengthen Starbucks' coffee offering by giving customers the option to enjoy the beverage in the comfort of their homes. It includes, among others, cold brew concentrate, fresh brew coffee, and blends of Starbucks coffee with essential vitamins and golden turmeric extending the ‘halo’ of better for you with relevance for Starbucks into the home according to Johnson.

The new products extend the range, and will build upon the portfolio of innovation of the global coffee alliance, formed in August 2018, to create a revolutionary coffee experience for consumers. In 2019, Nestlé launched a range of 24 Starbucks products across various platforms, including coffee creamers in the US.

Success does leave clues and Starbucks is driving both relevance and new electricity with this partnership. Johnson stated “that in my minds-eye the new electricity must be very efficient for the supply chain and includes such things as fresh foods, Online ordering, delivery, plant based foods, sampling, toy’s, beer, developing new brand relevance,  fortified coffee, grocerant positioning, fresh food messaging, autonomous delivery, cashier-less retail, plates, glasses, cash-less payments, digital hand-held marketing.

All food and beverage retailers to survive the next generation of retail must embrace the artificial intelligence revolution while simultaneously embracing fresh food and beverages that are portable, fresh, with differentiation that is familiar not different.  Does your retail path forward look more like yesterday than tomorrow? Why? Outside Eyes can delivery Inside Results.  

Are you looking for a new partnership to drive sales? Are you ready for some fresh ideations? Do your food marketing tactics look more like yesterday that tomorrow?  Visit www.FoodserviceSolutions.us 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.

Wendy’s Breakfast Three Strikes You’re Out

In 1985 Wendy’s introduced breakfast, then retreated and plug one breakfast after franchisee discord.  In 2007, Wendy’s again launched breakfast then retreated pulling the plug but allowing a few to continue on with breakfast.  Well, here they go again with a national roll-out of breakfast.  Why?  Is it different from their competitors or simply a ‘look-alike’ day-part meal someone with was tasked to do rather than a true strategy point of differentiation?

Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® thinks Wendy’s is making a mistake entering the breakfast niche half-heartedly.  Johnson believes that differentiation does not mean different but familiar with a twist.  In the case of Wendy’s new breakfast offerings that does not seem to be the case. Given that lack of differentiation it is questionable if Wendy’s franchisees will be willing to stick with the new format. After all this is exactly what they have done twice before.

Garnering franchisee ‘buy-in’ is critical to the long-term success of any franchise restaurant group.  One question that has to be asked is how long can a franchisor allow discontent within its franchisee group before the entire organization’s leadership is in jeopardy?

Do chain marketer’s get three months, six months, or a year to drive incremental sales or is one promotion and done?  It takes in many cases two years to roll out a new product from R&D, Supply Chain, and Operational training.  Is six months enough?\

For the third time Wendy’s will be trying to roll out a breakfast platform nationwide in the first quarter of 2020.  Now we hear from Ron Ruggles at NRN that Wendy’s “will consider offering franchise operators the option of opting out later on”.  Let’s not forget that is what they did before and look where that got them back to square one starting from scratch. 

NRN reported that the “new breakfast platform, which has been tested in 300 stores from 6:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., is expected to contribute 6% to 8% of sales in the partial 2020 fiscal year and has been tailored, with help from franchisees, to simplify operations.”

Wendy’s CFO Gunter Plosch, recently stated “franchisees will “have an opportunity to potentially raise concerns if the breakfast business is not creating enough financial returns for them.” … Wendy’s would be willing to discuss with those operators the potential of opting out.”

That sounds a lot like leadership by default. Marketing capitulation even before the roll-out.  That’s not leadership, that is a sign of discontent. Success does leave clues and lacking the support from your franchise partners is not a good way to start a new marketing campaign.  With $20 million in the breakfast launch already invested we ask will it work?  Will McDonald’s and Burger King under cut this copycat lack luster offering and sink the program?  Odds are they won’t sit back and cheer for Wendy’s long-range breakfast after hearing franchisee can opt-out.

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 Facebook.com/Steven Johnson, www.Linkedin.com/in/grocerant/  or www.twitter.com/grocerant

If you are Selling Innovative New Foods Sell Too the Young

Success does leave clues and Millennials seem to have an unquenchable thirst for food discovery and adoption according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®. So, if you have a new food or packaging product the messaging should be targeting the grocerant niche.

Recently, the Michigan State University Food Literacy and Engagement poll surveyed more than 2,100 Americans on emerging food technologies and options, including plant-based meats, cell-cultured meats, insect proteins, meal kits and GMOs. 

Sheril Kirshenbaum, co-director of the poll stated, "Willingness to adopt new alternatives to traditional agricultural products varies tremendously across age groups, and public acceptance of these emerging technologies will determine winners and losers in the international marketplace.” Let’s see the key findings:

PLANT-BASED MEATS

·         35% of Americans have consumed plant-based meat in the past year; 90% say they would do so again. 

·         42% have not consumed plant-based meat but are willing to try it. 

·         30% are unwilling to try it. 

·         Of consumers already eating plant-based meat, 48% are under 40 years old, 27% are over 40.

CELL-CULTURED MEATS

·         35% of American consumers say they are likely to buy cell-cultured meats.

·         49% of these consumers are under 40 years old.

·         25% are 40 and older. 

INSECT PROTEINS

·         25% of American consumers are willing to try foods made with insect-based protein, such as cricket powder.

·         40% of these consumers are under 40 years old.

·         15% are 40 and older. 

MEAL KITS

·         32% of American consumers have tried meal kits within the past 12 months.

·         44% of these consumers are under 40 years old.

·         24% are 40 and older. 

GMOS

·         47% of Americans think they rarely or never consumer GMOs or don't know how often they do so.

·         55% of those under 40 recognize they consumer GMOs daily or once a week.

·         32% of those age 40 recognize this.

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

Nestle & Brightloom Partnerships Drive Starbucks Growth

Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant Guru® Steven Johnson called 2019 the year of the partnerships in foodservice and without a doubt the largest companies in the world are will be driving success for years to come on the partnerships and new electricity created this year.

In a new partnership Starbucks’ commitment to technology-powered retail solutions took another step forward announced it is teaming with Brightloom, the restaurant tech company formerly known as Eatsa. And with the deal, the Seattle-based coffee giant is once again working with Adam Brotman, its onetime chief digital officer.

How deep is the partnership? Well, Starbucks will share key components of its “digital flywheel” software with Brightloom in return for an equity stake and seat on the San Francisco-based company’s board of directors.  Setting itself up for long term growth according to Johnson just like they did with Nestle.

So, speaking of Nestlé they launched new Starbucks Creamers, marking this the first time the Starbucks brand has entered the refrigerated creamer category, a growing U.S. category projected to top $7.8 billion by 2023, according to Mintel. Less than a year from inception to shelf, Starbucks Creamers are the fourth product platform developed since the companies formed a global coffee alliance in August 2018. The companies continue to drive strong momentum and deliver a premium coffee experience for consumers in the grocery aisle. So, how are you building new electricity?

Starbucks Creamers will be available in three flavors: Caramel, White Chocolate, and Cinnamon Dolce, inspired by customer-favorite handcrafted beverages served at Starbucks cafés: Caramel Macchiato, White Chocolate Mocha and Cinnamon Dolce Latte. Beginning this August, Starbucks Creamers can be found in the refrigerated aisle where groceries are sold and select online retailers across the U.S.

Johnson stated “that in my minds-eye the new electricity must be very efficient for the supply chain and includes such things as fresh foods, plant based  foods,  sampling, toy’s, beer, 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 food and beverage retailers to survive the next generation of retail must embrace the artificial intelligence revolution while simultaneously embracing fresh food and beverages that are portable, fresh, with differentiation that is familiar not different.  Does your retail path forward look more like yesterday than tomorrow? Why?

Are you looking for a new partnership to drive sales? Are you ready for some fresh ideations? Do your food marketing tactics look more like yesterday that tomorrow?  Visit www.FoodserviceSolutions.us 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.

Battle for Share of Stomach

7-Eleven Too Sell Fresh Food Faster

Is it time once again to laud our second most popular blog of all time Roll, Roll, Roll Away Roller Grill? Well not only does Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® believe it is but so it appears does Seven & I Holdings Co. Ltd the parent company of 7-Eleven.

The Japanese parent company has been sending some not-too-subtle encouragement to step up efforts to sell more fresh and fast food. Regular readers have know this for years and we have documented the new fresh food progress from pizza, sandwiches, coffee, and salads during the past 12 years.

Seven & I Holdings Co. Ltd. Last week via a recording to review results that its “Irving-based 7-Eleven U.S. operation reported the highest operating income in its history and posted a 3.4% comparable store sales increase in the first quarter. And while fresh food and the company's 7-Select private brand products drove the improved results, the Japanese parent sees more potential.”… 

"The development and improvement of fast food items is important and something which we will be doing going forward," Seven & I said in its first-quarter report. "We also believe changing public perceptions of 7-Eleven in the United States to be important. In order to change public perception when it comes to buying food products at 7-Eleven, like is common in Japan, we will be strengthening store cleanliness and improving customer service."  The company reported:

For 7-Eleven's U.S. stores, the sales momentum continued this spring, with same-store sales up 5.2% in April and 2.8% in May,” …7-Eleven's U.S. operating income of $161 million was up $31 million from a year ago,”  While the roller grill continues to play a pivotal roll at 7-Eleven the undercurrents of growth for the brand continues to be fresh food fast according to Johnson.

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

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