Collecting Mediocre Restaurant Brands Why?

Is the MTY Group, the Canadian brand operator that owns Cold Stone Creamery, Pinkberry and dozens of other brands the next ‘Sun Capital?  By that I mean a brand operator void of a clear path too customer relevance.  The customer is dynamic not static the MTY Group and Sun Capital bought brands then practiced ‘brand protectionism’ all the while the customer moved on.  Does your brand look more like yesterday than today or tomorrow?

Many restaurant brands that at one time not only had ‘cachet’ and customer relevance, they had the pulse of the consumer an understanding of how to drive brand value when legacy retailers were running flat bought by investment groups have clearly had mediocre leadership that focused on the past glory days rather than the leadership skill-set to drive relevant growth.

Battle for Share of Stomach

Regular readers of this blog know that Sun Capital closed more Boston Markets than they opened, and have reduced Friendly’s from 500 units to 174.  Why buy a chain restaurant that has lost its ‘mojo’ without a clear path drive top line sales and bottom-line profits?  How many mediocre restaurant brands have been stifled by those doing what they have always done and doing it the same way?

When MTY Group said it has agreed to buy the struggling take-and-bake pizza chain for $6.45 per share, giving the deal a valuation of $190 million Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® wondered out loud how many franchisee’s, store managers and employees will lose their jobs in the next four years? We ask what is the value of a mediocre portfolio of brands that continue to decline? Leadership needs to step-up to stand-out.

The value of a product or brand at times diminishes in consumer relevance as consumer evolve as well. The team at Foodservice Solutions® understands that the consumer is dynamic not static. Here are 10 clues to keep your brand dynamic:

1. Symbolism. Why you are there! The most successful brands are inclusive include values greater than themselves. A lifestyle, a philosophy, an emotion a point in time.

2. A story. Most major brands have a story. Examples: if you like Ford vehicles, you might be familiar with the story of Henry Ford or if you love your Nike's, you probably know how the Nike swoosh logo was created.

3. A track record. When your business is first starting out, don't fool yourself into believing that your marketing efforts are 'brand building' efforts. They're not because to build a real brand, you have to have an extensive track record with consumers.

4. Trust. When you've consistently delivered for your customers long enough, you'll gain the type of trust that many brands have. Case in point: a friend of mine always reminds people that he won't buy an automobile that isn't a BMW. He's had a good experience with his and trusts so much in the company that he doesn't believe there's a better-made car.

5. Expectation. When a consumer chooses a product or service because of brand association, he or she is buying an expectation. Perhaps it's the expectation that the branded product is of higher quality or that the service will be provided in a more efficient manner.

6. Differentiation. Expectation is often borne of differentiation. Many brands offer products and services that are commodities but they're successful in developing some differentiation for their products and services that consumers are sold on.

7. Imitators. Imitation is the sincerest of flattery and you're probably not a 'brand' until you have competitors trying to copy you.

8. Market leadership. Top brands are usually looked at as leaders in the markets they compete in.

9. Adaptability. The best brands are flexible and capable of reshaping and reinventing themselves and their messages over time. Coca-Cola is a good example of a brand that has never abandoned its core product but has evolved its message over time to keep up with changes in the marketplace and society at large.

10. A strong marketing presence. Although it's nice to believe that you can market yourself for free on Facebook and Twitter, the reality is that brands aren't advertising on television and radio because they're dumb. Building and maintaining brand equity requires awareness and awareness requires broad marketing efforts.
Steven Johnson is Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based www.FoodserviceSolutions.us , with extensive experience as a multi-unit restaurant operator, consultant, brand / product positioning expert.  www.GrocerantGuru.com  Office: 1-253-759-7869

‘Better-for-you’ Superfood Chain Everbowl Sets Sail

The ‘halo’ around grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh food continues to expand garnering attention from consumers and private-equity groups creating a platform for continues innovation and growth according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

If you are looking for an example of how to grow your ‘Superfood’ brand you need only to look at how Everbowl has done it according to Johnson with plans to add 45 units after private-equity injection the success clues are right there.

Recently San Diego-based superfood and smoothie chain Everbowl secured $3 million in funding from a Toronto-based private-equity group. The 17-unit Everbowl said the company plans to use the investment from International Franchise Inc., or IFI, a subsidiary of Serruya Private Equity, or SPE, to accelerate growth. By the end of 2019, the company said it plans to open as many as 45 locations.

Jeff Fenster, Everbowl founder and CEO stated “We are thrilled to be working with SPE and IFI to help fuel our growth. They have a proven track record of massive success working with other brands,” … “Our brand identity and company culture remain vital to our success, and we are thrilled that this partnership will allow us to facilitate our expansion, achieve our long-term business goals, while remaining true to our core vision.”

For those of you who do not know; Everbowl launched two years ago as a counter-service shop serving a menu of bowls and smoothies made with superfood bases such as acai, pitaya, graviola and acerola.  Sixteen-ounce smoothies and 24-ounce bowls cost $8 to $9. Everbowl, quickly expanded to 17 locations in Southern California ranging from San Diego to Riverside.

Aaron Serruya, CEO of IFI stated “We’re proud to be a part of a brand that continuously serves high quality, thoughtfully crafted, great tasting treats and snacks that are not only delicious and refreshing, but also good for you,”

Serruya’s other investments include Pinkberry, Yogen Früz and Cold Stone Creamery.  In late 2018, Serruya and London-based Lion Capital LLP bought Global Franchise Group, whose brands include Great American Cookies, Hot Dog on a Stick, Marble Slab Creamery/MaggieMoo’s, Pretzelmaker and Round Table Pizza.

Aaron Serruya and his brother, Michael Serruya, founded the Yogen Früz frozen-yogurt chain in Canada in the mid-1980s. They acquired a controlling interest in Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Kahala Brands Ltd. in 2013, bringing such brands as Cold Stone Creamery and Blimpie under the Serruya umbrella.

They sold Kahala to MTY Food Group Inc., a publicly traded Canadian company, in June 2016 for about $310 million.

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

Branded Product Placement Works it’s ‘The Good Place’

Success does leave clues and branded product placement works and it works great when done right according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®. Foodservice retailers need to be mindful that digital online advertising while measurable the tried and true old fashion television continues to drive measurable traffic and sales for food retailers.

Last week to celebrate the highly anticipated one-hour season three premiere of “The Good Place,” Pinkberry and Baja Fresh invited fans of the brands and show alike to get into the spirit with delicious frozen yogurt and BOGO burritos.

Pinkberry launched an exciting and buzz-worthy one day activation that is forking awesome. To celebrate the season three premiere of the hit NBC show, Pinkberry served their swirls with forks on Thursday, September 27.

Pinkberry loyalty members will be in the know and could win free rewards by posting photos of the forked swirl on their social accounts. It will have everyone thinking…what the fork, Pinkberry?

Baja Fresh will also be offering their burritos, Buy One, Get One Free all day Thursday, September 27 to celebrate the return of  “The Good Place.” We have spoken to some franchisees who reported a notable sales lift.

Each brand’s product holds special roles in the show. Frozen yogurt is a constant theme throughout the series and Maya Rudolph’s Emmy nominated guest appearance in the episode “The Burrito” is now a fan favorite.

So, how do you plan to edify your brand?  Are you building brand relevance with some of the tried and true methods of advertising? 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.