PDQ Fresh Chicken and Baby Boomers Welcome

 

If success does leave clues and it does Paul Anka has picked up a few over the years. Paul Anka is an icon to many and singing success that every Baby Boomer knows with hits like Diana, It's Time to Cry, My Heart Sings,  It Doesn't Matter Anymore

Paul Anka's credits include the theme for The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, He wrote "Teddy",and lyrics to "My Way", Frank Sinatra's signature song (originally the French song "Comme d'habitude").

Now the world-renowned artist has teamed up with PDQ restaurants (People Dedicated to Quality) to create a jingle for the award-winning premium chicken brand. Anka is a long-time fan of PDQ and produced a 30-second commercial that lets listeners know they can “Count on PDQ” for fresh chicken and a Tender Lovin’ approach to its guests. All Baby Boomers know his sound, and Anka wants them to try PDQ’s chicken.

So, the jingle will air on radio stations in the Orlando, Ft. Lauderdale/Miami and Tampa Bay markets starting on Wednesday, July 28. Anka and PDQ are also working together to give away tickets and other unique experiences as part of his United States tour starting this fall.

Anka is the only artist in history to have a song on the Billboard charts during seven consecutive decades, and his LP and single sales collectively number more than 90 million per BMI. Anka received the prestigious Johnny Mercer award by the Songwriters Hall of Fame and is also the recipient of the 2020 French National Order or Merit by President Macron for his international career as an author, composer, and performer. He was named the 21st most successful artist in Billboard history, alongside Elvis Presley and The Beatles.

“Paul Anka is a legend in the music industry, his music spans generations, and we are honored that he has created this incredible jingle for our brand,” says PDQ Chief Marketing Officer Frank Rappa. “Paul is beloved throughout the world. He exemplifies a Person Dedicated to Quality.”

Once again, Anka has more than 500 songs to his credit, including “Put Your Head On My Shoulder,” “My Way,” and the famous theme from “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.” He has also collaborated with other legends in the music world, including Celine Dion, Buddy Holly, Michael Jackson, Tom Jones, Olivia Newton-John, Frank Sinatra, and many others. PDQ will have a success story to tell with the sounds of Anka on their side.

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

Church’s Chicken Consumers want Delivery

Food delivery has been gaining speed for over 30 years and pizza has been the mainstay growth driver fro some time.  However, regular readers of this blog know that KFC of Canada 18 years ago was posting delivery numbers of over 20%. 

Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® was working with KFC Canada on elevating online ordering and delivery back in the day with cyberslice and Food.com and one has to wonder how could it have taken a chain the size of Church’s Chicken so long to discover delivery?  Then tout it as if it was the next coming of the chain?

We ask does your marketing, positioning, and business model look more like yesterday than today?  Now figure consider this Church’s Chicken spent a year studying the logistics of third-party delivery before beginning a rollout, an upfront investment that executives cite as a key reason for the rapid-fire adoption now underway within the chain. 

Hector Munoz, global CMO for the 1,078-unit quick-service brand stated “It’s a lot easier than we thought it would be,”  “We did our homework all of 2017 to prepare for executing in 2018.” Pete Servold, EVP of U.S. operations for the largely franchised brand continued “We studied it so much that we went into it with our eyes wide open,” Johnson contends they should have opened their eyes 20+ years ago and they look like a chain of 2000 not one like today or tomorrow.

Still, the shift into delivery was not without its surprises. Church’s decided to forge ahead with the service even though customers can’t yet use the brand’s app to place delivery orders. Instead, they order through the apps of Church’s four third-party partners, and the brand learned those users aren’t typical Church’s customers.

Servold noted that Church’s core in-store product is bone-in chicken then stated “We see probably triple the number of tender sales [through delivery], which is a good indication that these are new customers,” Johnson was not surprised stating customers move and brands must move with them.  Today’s customers are dynamic not static brands that want to stay relevant must be dynamic as well. 

Inching ahead Church’s is working on an order-and-pay-ahead function for its app, as well as a catering program. For the sake of the brand, franchisee let’s hope they don’t take 20 years to figure out their next step forward. 

Are you looking for a new partnership to drive sales? Are you ready for some fresh ideations? Do your food marketing ideations look more like yesterday than tomorrow? 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.

Chick-fil-A Meal Kits Expand Branded Buzz

Chick-fil-A wants to put food on you dinner table if you buy it in the drive-thru cooked or even if you want to go home and cook a ‘home cooked meal”.  Chick-fil-A is selling meal kits at 150 test stores in and around Atlanta, GA with menu items that are easy to prepare, flavorful, and fresh.

According to Steven Johnson, the Grocerant Guru® Chick-fil-A is the first fast food-chain to sell meal kits and he insist that it is a natural branded line extension that will garner industry buzz and be a key undercurrent driver of a new grocerant niche business model that is being developed at fresh fast food restaurants.

Michael Patrick leads the company's Mealtime Kit program for Chick-fil-A stated "We're good at serving high-quality chicken," "If you want chicken in your meal kit, we want you to think of Chick-fil-A." According to Patrick their meal kits are straightforward, family-style favorites like crispy Dijon chicken, chicken parmesan, chicken enchiladas, chicken flatbread and pan roasted chicken with greens. Naturally, it's all chicken, and that's no accident.

Patrick says Chick-fil-A has an advantage. "Customers are already coming to us for food, so the opportunity to be convenient — solve two meal problems in one visit — is the definition of convenience," Johnson agrees saying the brand ‘halo’ Chick-fil-A customers place on the brand are a natural platform to build incremental sales. .

Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant ScoreCards tell us that at 4PM 64.7% of consumers do not know what’s for dinner and Patrick says that "We're solving that 4 p.m. problem." Is your business model expanding? Is your branded selling an incremental meal to your customers?  Why Not?

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

At PDQ Partnerships Pile up Profits

Fresh food retailers from grocery store service delis, convenience stores, and restaurants continue to look for ways to drive incremental sales. In 2018 partnerships are the platform most companies are finding the new electricity that will drive incremental top line sales and bottom line profits according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

PDQ will begin rolling out Ice Cream Floats as part of a partnership with Coca-Cola. Leveraging the strength of partnership to create new menu ideations is nothing new.  However working with stredgic partners on menu and marketing innovation programs that are integrated into your yearly plan can prove profitable according to Johnson.

Michael Brannock, Executive Chef of PDQ stated “We are constantly evolving our menu and coming up with new options to satisfy cravings,” .. “Everyone loves a delicious ice cream float, and these new creations are a fun way to kick off the summer.” Where are you looking for your new electricity?

What is the new electricity that is driving your top line sales and bottom line profits?  Are your customer counts growing?  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.” Differentiation does not mean different it means familiar but with a twist and this has that.

Johnson stated “that in my minds-eye the new electricity must be very efficient for the supply and includes such things as fresh foods, urban clothing, grocerant consultants, coins /currency, autonomous delivery, cashier-less retail, cash-less payments, digital hand held marketing. This program has all of that.

Foodservice 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.  That will require brands to embrace new fresh food partnerships more now than ever before 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