Zippin Expands Non-traditional Locations to Expand the Brand

Regular readers of this blog know that Zippin is a check-out free retailer. Well in order to drive adoption Zippin has now has partnered with Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, Calif., to open the first in the world in-arena checkout-free convenience store and according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® that’s the incremental visibility that the brand need.

The new Zippin store will be located at the Southwest entrance of Golden 1 Center and will be open during Sacramento Kings home games and concerts at the arena. Sacramento Kings Chairman and Governor Vivek Ranadivé stated “We are committed to leveraging technology to identify and deliver cutting-edge, innovative solutions that enhance the fan experience,”  “Using AI-driven checkout-free technology we are excited to deliver a first-of-its-kind frictionless shopping experience ensuring our guests are able to get back to the action as quickly as possible.”

Starting this month (October 2019), Golden 1 Center fans and guests will have the opportunity to purchase food and beverage items such as popcorn, draft beer and a variety of snacks and drinks without the hassle of checkout lines and self-scanners.

For those of you who are not regular readers of this blog; San Francisco-based Zippin uses AI technology with cameras and sensors to accurately identify who bought what as shoppers walk around the store shopping naturally. So, here is how it will work:

Using the award-winning dual mode Sacramento Kings + Golden 1 Center app and/or the Zippin app, fans and guests can visit the store, grab items off the shelves, and exit without waiting anywhere or scanning any items. The receipt will appear in the app.

Shoppers who do not have the app will be able to enter the store by presenting a valid credit or debit card at the entrance.

Zippin’s technology also provides real-time inventory tracking allowing concessionaires to re-stock at just the right intervals and maximize sales conversion. As Zippin keeps accurate count of all the products on every shelf in the store, shoppers will be able to use the Kings or Zippin app to browse what is available in the store from anywhere.

Zippin CEO and Co-founder Krishna Motukuri stated “Banish the checkout line. That’s Zippin’s motto,”“I can’t think of a better place than a sports venue to eliminate the checkout line. When Zippin launches in Golden 1 Center this Fall, Sacramento Kings fans will be able to walk in, grab a beer, and walk out in under 30 seconds.”

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

Chipotle Mexican Grill Elevates Educates Edifies Customers

In a proactive and unique partnership Chipotle Mexican Grill announced its participation at the 2019 Scripps National Spelling Bee with its very own spelling bee: Chipotle Bee, For Real. Elevating and edifying your brand message is a key drive of future growth and create a platform for a new electricity within the brand according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

This unique proactive branded platform was hosted by Justin Howard, Chipotle Bee, For Real took place on a specially-created stage and featured Chipotle’s 51 ingredients. Chipotle invited spellers to tackle one complex ingredient found at other restaurants, and one simple, real ingredient found at Chipotle. The competitor list included words like carrageenan, dimethylpolysiloxane and lecithin. Chipotle’s list included avocado, beef and cheese.

Chris Brandt, Chief Marketing Officer of Chipotle stated “Chipotle only uses real ingredients in its kitchens, and those ingredients tend to be simple to pronounce and easy to spell,” … “However, other restaurants frequently use artificial or processed ingredients and preservatives that are often much more difficult to spell and say, so we highlighted this difference in a unique way at the Scripps National Spelling Bee.”

Valerie Miller, Communications Manager for the Bee stated “Our spellers have voracious appetites for words and good food, and they were thrilled to have a chance on the Chipotle stage,” …“We are also passionate about Chipotle’s mission of cultivating a better world, which we aim to achieve through the pursuit of education.”

So, the Chipotle Bee, For Real incorporated 102 words which were complete with special pronunciation guidelines, definitions, origins and uses in a sentence. Spellers that were up for the challenge received prizes including exclusive Chipotle Bee pins, Chipotle Bee foil notebooks and Chipotle gift cards.

Chipotle’s presence at the Bee is consistent with it’ Behind the Foil campaign that launched this year. Behind the Foil focused on the transparency of Chipotle’s kitchens by featuring real employees cooking real food from real ingredients. This year’s national finalists can attest that eating real to cultivate a better world is as easy as it sounds.  Have you created a platform for new electricity?

According to Johnson, “Brand relevance is in part driven with innovation in new menu related products in combination with new avenues of distribution all of which are the platform for the new electricity.”

Johnson stated “that in my minds-eye the new electricity must be very efficient for the supply 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 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.

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/