The consumers is dynamic not static and Tacoma, WA
based Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant Guru® Steven Johnson as regular
readers of this blog know chain restaurants muse be dynamic as well. In the case of Firehouse Subs it is clear the
chains leadership has the pulse of the consumer right.
When Firehouse Subs noticed a shift in customer
traffic patterns they took a close look they found that the “Dine-in incidents
declined as take-out business steadily rose”.
Don Fox, Firehouse’s CEO knew that was a problem. In Firehouse’s DNA is its steamed meats and
cheeses and just try wrapping those sandwiches in paper or foil, however, and
the differentiator suddenly cuts the other way: The bread is soggy. Moisture
builds up the food quality goes down.
Don Fox, Firehouse’s
CEO stated “It’s just that it wasn’t as good as what we were serving in the
dining room. In the dining room we don’t package the food at all,” … “We serve
the food plated in a basket. Great visual appearance. Every sandwich made and
heated to order. That’s the ideal serving condition.”
Once the problem was
defined the team at Firehouse Subs focused on how to bridge the to-go food quality gap. It took a
lot of work to identify, quantify and qualify the problem and create a new
system wide packaging lineup.
The new packaging It
consists of three bagasse containers, which are “100 percent compostable
eco-friendly material made from the fiber mass of sugarcane. There’s one for
Firehouse’s new smaller subs, one for medium sandwiches, and a container ideal
for large orders. The containers are also microwaveable and heat tolerant up to
212 degrees, designed to handle hot food, grease, and be cut resistant.”
Fox stated “From a
green perspective, it’s an environmentalist’s dream. But the key benefit is
it’s just excellent for the presentation of our product,” … “Far, far superior
to anything we’ve done in recent years. We really feel we’re in the best position
we’ve ever been to deliver an experience for our take-out customers that’s now
on par with our dine-in experience.”
It must be noted that
to execute and implement the change it too a year. Fox says Firehouse had to
find a manufacturer who could produce the vast quantity his growing chain
needed. It required tooling at the plants and ramp-up time.
“The manufacturing
capacity out in the packaging universe was fairly limited,” Fox says. “… The
logistical challenges were a little different because the cube size for
shipping was a lot different than the wraps. It does add cost to the PNL but we
feel it’s well worth the investment on the PNL to improve the guest experience
on the off-premise consumption.”
Success does leave
clues and identifying, quantifying, and qualifying a problem is step two. Step one is our success clue of the day the
customer is dynamic not static paying attention to the consumer first.
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
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