Stagnation Not at Whole Foods

Consumers are dynamic not static according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, Washington based Foodservice Solutions®.  The halo of ‘better-4-you’ that consumers place around Whole Foods continues to expand customer relevance creating new electricity for both Whole Foods and Snap Kitchen according to Johnson.

When Snap Kitchen announced its partnership with Whole Foods Market to launch Snap Kitchen's fresh, ready-2-eat meals in select stores throughout the Southwest region, regular readers of this blog asked if that meant Amazon Go would start selling Ready-2-Eat Snap Kitchen Meals as well.

Currently, Snap Kitchen meals are available for purchase only in all six Whole Foods Market stores in Austin, Texas, where both companies are headquartered.  Regular readers of this blog know that between 4:00PM and 7:00PM its crowded at all Whole Foods particularly in the fresh prepared food section as consumers continue migrating too grocerant niche fresh prepared food as the answer to the age-old question, ‘What’s for Dinner’.

Jon Carter, CEO at Snap Kitchen stated “Whole Foods Market was an early pioneer in changing the way consumers look at real food, mindful eating and healthy living," … "Similarly, our mission has always been to help improve the lives of others by making it easy to eat healthy, delicious meals made from well-sourced ingredients, with options to meet a variety of lifestyles and nutrition goals."

Expanding meal options Snap Kitchen's new lineup offered at Whole Foods Market stores features 35 fresh prepared meals and beverages, including plant-based offerings suitable for vegetarians and seafood-based meals—all of which are made without gluten and color-coded by lifestyle category, including vegan, keto, Whole30, and paleo.

Jessica Johnson, regional vice president of the Southwest region at Whole Foods Market stated “We understand people are busier than ever these days and we're excited to offer a new healthy line of ready-to-eat meal options that meet our high-quality standards and meet the need of our customers,"    

Battle for Share of Stomach

Focused on grocerant niche fresh fast foods that are ‘better-4-you’ Snap Kitchen meals are made fresh daily, never frozen, and do not contain any gluten, antibiotics, added hormones, or artificial preservatives, flavors or colors. Additionally, Snap Kitchen uses compostable containers with recyclable lids to help reduce waste.         

Carter continued "We couldn't be more thrilled to partner with such an iconic name that is essentially synonymous with healthy living and eating," …"This is a unique opportunity to grow Snap Kitchen's retail footprint on a significant scale and also introduce our nutrient-packed meals to a new set of health-conscious shoppers seeking a happy, healthy lifestyle."  Consumers are dynamic not static how is your brand keeping up with consumer demand for fresh fast food?

Johnson stated “that in my minds-eye the new electricity must be very efficient for the supply chain 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 and beverage retailers to survive the next generation of retail must embrace the artificial intelligence revolution while simultaneously embracing fresh food and beverages that are portable, fresh, with differentiation that is familiar not different.  Does your retail path forward look more like yesterday than tomorrow? Why?

Foodservice Solutions® team is here to help you drive top line sales and bottom-line profits. Are you looking a customer ahead? Visit www.FoodserviceSolutions.us for more information or contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us Remember success does leave clues and we just may the clue you need to propel your continued success.

More on Whole Foods dynamic focus Tomorrow

Are Grocery Stores Big Money’s Big Mistake

Did big money do what it has always done that is drink out of the cup of compliancy? Today food consumers are eating out at restaurants less they are also cooking from scratch less at home than ever before.  According to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® consumers are migrating to Grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared meal components at an accelerated rate.

According to commercial real-estate firm CoStar Group “Commercial square footage of retail food space per capita last year set a record, with 4.15 square feet of food retail per person.” That is nearly 30 times the amount of space allocated to groceries at major chains in 1950.

The simple fact is consumers are buying meals and food for takeout today at companies the ilk of IKEA, Eveytable, EatFitGo, Snap Kitchen, Boston Market, Wawa, Sheetz, and Dollar General.  Never before in America has so much retail square footage been devoted to selling food simply put there is just too much.

A massive build-out by retailers has left the country piled up with grocery shelves as consumers are shifting from big weekly shopping trips to more snacking and to-go meals. The mismatch has flattened retail sales and leaves the industry vulnerable to a wave of closures that some executives, bankers and industry experts think is coming soon.

While shopper loyalty to conventional grocery store chains lifted same-store sales for food retailers by at least 3% annually since 2013, that metric was flat in 2016 and is projected to remain static this year as competition grows, according to FactSet. “There’s only so much food we can buy,” said Suzanne Mulvee, director of research for CoStar.

European fresh food grocery retailers Aldi and Lidl are vying for U.S. market share, investing over $4.5 Billion combined in the US market over the next three years according to the team at Foodservice Solutions®. That will increase the retail footprint while elevating competition for share of stomach in all retail channels.

Change is in the air it is reported that Kroger, the nation’s largest traditional supermarket chain by stores and sales, is reducing its new-store openings this year to 55 from 100, a nearly billion-dollar drop in capital expenditures, and its chief financial officer, Michael Schlotman. All the while non-traditional meal and meal component grocerant niche retailers the ilk of Snap Kitchen, EatFitGo, Everytable just keep opening new units and expanding their reach.

Wal-Mart Stores has no other move but reposition to the middle of the grocery price range according to the team at Foodservice Solutions® as it plans additional cuts at will build 55 supercenters and smaller-format stores in its 2018 fiscal year, down from the 132 it opened in the 12-month period ending in January.

With drug stores ability to drive incremental food sales one has to question if the corner grocery store will become a drug store, as today food, beverages and other consumables account for about a third of transactions at drug stores nationwide.

Many legacy chain restaurants will continue to close units as will legacy grocery store chains and according to the team at Foodservice Solutions®.  Consumers will continue to migrate to new non-traditional points of fresh food distribution.  Is your company evolving fast enough?  Are you putting money into food retail that looks more like yesterday than tomorrow?

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.

Starbucks Grocerant Success Unbounded

Success does leave clues and Grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat continues to drive top line sales and bottom line profits in every sector of retail foodservice today according to the NPD Group. Regular readers of this blog know that it was 20+ years ago that Starbucks and PepsiCo started the North America Coffee Partnership and launched Starbucks Bottled Frappuccino chilled coffee drink.

So let’s look at the first success clue the bottled Frappuccino that has now has grown to be more than 40 ready-to-drink Starbucks beverages and more than $2 billion in retail business. Tacoma, WA Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant Guru®, Steven Johnson asks do you have any line of business doing $2 billion? No Why not?

Back in the day Starbucks served its very first espresso beverages in 1984, the Caffè Latte was a beverage unfamiliar to most Americans. But it quickly became a customer favorite with its rich espresso balanced with steamed milk and a light topping of foam as we are all now familiar.

Starbucks new Iced Latte, is now available in Salted Caramel Mocha for a limited time. This is the first Starbucks single-serve ready-to-drink iced latte. “It features cocoa and toffee notes intertwined with hints of sea salt, bold espresso and creamy milk. The Salted Caramel Mocha flavor is inspired by the seasonal customer favorite, the handcrafted Starbucks Salted Caramel Mocha served at Starbucks stores.”  Starbucks Iced Latte will roll-out in other delicious limited-time flavors throughout the year according to the company. Starbucks grocerant success is understated but not over looked by customers here let’s look at some other success:

1.       Starbucks also makes it easy to enjoy smooth and creamy Caffè Latte at home with K–Cup pods, Caffè Latte Verismo pods and Starbucks VIA Instant. Available in select Starbucks stores, grocery and online.

2.       Caffè Latte K–Cup pods: The sweet creaminess of dairy and flavor complement 100 percent arabica coffee in our Caffè Latte K-Cup pods. Available in Caramel, Vanilla, and Mocha.

3.       Caffè Latte Verismo pods: A shot of dark, caramelly Starbucks Espresso Roast meets a Starbucks milk pod, using the Verismo System.

4.       Starbucks VIA Instant Latte: This everyday instant indulgence features Starbucks coffee and delicious flavors. Available in Vanilla, Caffè Mocha and Caramel.

5.       Verismo System by Starbucks: This single cup brewing system allows customers to craft Starbucks brewed coffee, espresso, and caffè lattes consistently and conveniently, one cup at a time with the push of a button. The Verismo Milk Frother makes it possible to craft Starbucks beverages with hot or cold frothed milk for a Starbucks Experience at home.  

Will a Snap Kitchen / Starbucks retail test prove as valuable as Starbucks / Pepsi; the team at Foodservice Solutions® thinks that it can.  What new channels of fresh food distribution are you looking at?  How are you evolving your brand relevance with consumers? Are you year over year customer counts, top line sales, and bottom line profits expanding? 

Foodservice Solutions® specializes in outsourced business development. We can help you identify, quantify and qualify additional food retail segment opportunities, new menu product segments, brand relevance, and or a 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