Grocerant Guru’s Meal Kits Success Clues

Competition within the Meal Kit sector is not a disruptive, nor are incremental points of fresh food meal kits distribution curtailing growth among current meal kit companies in the battle for share of stomach according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma WA, based Foodservice Solutions®.  

Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant ScoreCards have revealed four consumer points of irritation with meal kit offering today.  In addition the ScoreCards revealed five attributes the team at Foodservice Solutions® is convinced will propel success within the Meal Kit sector for those that evolve with consumers desires.

One of the first ways to evolve with consumers is to stop doing with irritates consumers so that’s what we will focus on in this blog today.  The top four points of customer irritation with meal kits are:

1.       Subscription

2.       Price

3.       Pre-Ordering To Far in Advance

4.       No Deserts

The one item that was not a surprise to us was that every age group was disappointed that meal kits did don’t come with desert.  Overall deserts was the most commented item listed  on the ScoreCards yet never  rated number one or two.  So what were the top five request attributes?

1.       Regular ‘food’ (not special occasion meals)

2.       Deserts

3.       Local availability at stores: Grocery, C-store, Drug stores

4.       Family Size meals

5.       Kids Meals

Some food axioms are true others defy data one such fact is Millennials have surpassed baby boomers as the largest living generation in the United States and their grocery store habits are destined to have a marked effect on future food demand. 

Data and big data tell’s us Millennials are looking to buy healthier and fresher food than their predecessors but far Millennials tell us that they want desert with their meal kits. Regular readers of this blog know what consumers say and what they do are too very different things when it comes to food retail.

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

TGI Friday’s Digital Touchpoints Drive Customer Adoption

Successful restaurant marketing requires continually edifying relevant customer touchpoints according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based global grocerant consultancy Foodservice Solutions®.

When TGI Fridays elevated their digital offering they knew they were doing all of the right things as 70% of Take-Out orders were coming from new customers.

TGI Friday’s is but another restaurant brand that has created a partnership with Amazon allowing consumers to place and complete orders via Amazon Aleza and Amazon Pay.  It might be noted that TGI Fridays was the first chain restaurants to ofer the ability to pay with Amazon while placing the order on Alexa.

Once again leading the pack with voice-activated platforms TGI Fridays understand that the consumer is dynamic not static and restaurant brands must move with the consumer. Using Alexa to order and not having to pull out a credit card save time, is simple, and provides a new avenue of distribution with very low cost of entry.  Simply put it cost a lot less than building a new store.

Amazon Alexa’s software program has an upselling component, suggestive selling component driving up customer satisfaction and the check average.  Sherif Mityas, Chief Information Officer at TGI Fridays stated “From the launch of our Friday’s mobile app, to our order-ahead feature on the Amazon App and our social media chatbots powered by Conversable, Fridays has committed to delivering a great guest experience both inside and outside of the restaurant”. 

Success does leave clues and listening to consumers and edifying customer touchpoints is our clue of the day.  Since Fridays introduced 30% ‘bigger’ ribs in October, the menu item drove 45% increase in carryout sales in pilot markets. 

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

Dickey’s Barbecue Pit Primed for the Holiday’s

When the team at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® says a company is primed for the holidays you can believe that they are talking beef.  Once again Dickey’s Barbecue Pit offers stress-free holiday meal customers can deck the table with Dickey’s savory Prime Rib while taking all the credit with none of the hassle.

Dickey’s is a one stop holiday meal stop that offers everything from a single Prime Rib to a full Holiday Feast complete with baked potato casserole, green beans, cornbread dressing and a dozen of Dickey’s famous, buttery rolls.

This year most consumers can their holiday meal delivered by one of Dickey’s delivery partners or directly from the store. Laura Rea Dickey, CEO of Dickey’s Barbecue Pit stated  “Family is the most important part of the holidays and we are thrilled to have our meals be a part of families’ traditions across the nation,” ...“Dickey's is committed to putting family first, and we are proud to offer our guests a simple solution to one of the most complex aspects of the holiday season, filling the table with a memorable holiday meal.”

Where are your meals being eaten?  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.

7-Eleven & Pillsbury Partner on Breakfast

Success does leave clues and when it comes to selling branded food no one has done it better than 7-Eleven according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.  Back in the day (1969) 7-Eleven branded the Slurpee, since items the ilk of the Big Bite, Big Gulp have help drive the 7-Eleven store count to over 60, 275 worldwide.

 Recently 7-Eleven partnered with General Mills to launch the new Pillsbury Stuffed Waffle. Each Pillsbury Stuffed Waffle is made of layers of sausage, egg and cheese wrapped in a crispy, maple-flavored waffle. They are available for $2.49 each. This is another in the platform line of hand held food for immediate consumption that 7-Eleven has help elevate the brand with consumers according to Johnson.

The stuffed waffle was designed to cater to millennials' desire for unique taste experiences and offers a perfect combination of savory and sweet, according to the company. The no-mess waffle is also suitable for on-the-go c-store customers.

The new Pillsbury Stuffed Waffle can be found at over 10,700 stores in North American in warming ovens at 7-Eleven convenience stores. Is your company looking for a food item or strategic partnership to help drive branded food sales? Are you ready to edify your brand? Is it time you Drive top line growth and bottom line profits?

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.