Today Fresh Food Start-Up’s Need Marketing First

Regular readers of this blog have heard of the old TV Shows that has been rekindled several time called “What’s My Line’. Today the world of food marketing and how to open a new restaurant or food Start-Up has changed from word of mouth too online back-stories. Consumers what to know “What’s Your Line online."

Both Gen Z and Millennials ‘need and want to know more about what your brand stands for which in turn requires that you do as consumers do turn to ‘Google Home’ or ‘Amazon’s Alexa’ building your brand story.  That will enable your customers to find your brand, your address, and what customer are saying about you on Yelp, YouTube, or Facebook well before they ever enter you store.

Today food start-ups must begin using e-commerce to get off the ground even before your fist store front ever opens according to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®. It about the back store, your story and the journey of you brand that Gen Z and Millennials require if you want them to buy-into you’re messaging.

Marketing technology platforms the ilk of Yelp, YouTube, Facebook, and smartphones connectivity have become ubiquitous, how consumers shop is changing. Rather than a focused, planned effort, shopping is ongoing with the consumer using all of the tools at his or her disposal to research and acquire products.

Technology specifically mobile phones are changing how food and beverage start-ups are going to market. While the days of introducing products at farmer’s markets, pop-up restaurants, food and then scaling up have yet to fade. 

Regular readers of this blog know that the traditional business model is being upended. Today, start-up brands including grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared foods are adopting direct-to-consumer and third-party e-commerce initiatives to gain customers and sales velocity and eventually fund distribution into brick and mortar.  Legacy food retailer need to take note of this as it is a trend not a fad according to Johnson.

In fact the Food Marketing Institute recently found that online grocery sale are expected to reach $100 Billion by 2022.  A good deal of those sales will be fresh prepared meals and meal components according to Johnson.

Direct-to-consumer brand building allows start-ups to build a strong connection with consumers and have total control over its message evolving the relationship personalizing products with and for customers. Direct-to-consumers marketing elevate’ return on investment (marketing) R.O.I.  as top of mind for brand managers and product managers simultaneously. 

Star-up’s quickly zone in on what is working and what is not working.  Direct to consumers sales create a platform where scalability is transparent throughout the company.  Having everyone on the same page is critically important for start-up food retailers.

Retail food brands leveraging direct-to-consumer digital marketing today can compete on an even stage with companies the ilk of Amazon Go, Walmart’s both multi-billion dollar companies that are still testing  of automatic pickup, retailer click-and-collect initiatives, and two-hour delivery in some regions.  Think Blue Apron, Hello Fresh both online only formats first.  So just What’s your Line and who Knows about it?  

Success does leave clues www.FoodserviceSolutions.us  is the global leader in grocerant niche business development.  We can help you identify, quantify and qualify additional food retail segment opportunities.  Has your company had a Grocerant ScoreCard completed a Grocerant Program Assessment, or new Grocerant niche product Ideation?  Want one?  Call 253-759-7869 Email: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us

Brand-less Restaurants Maple and Sprig Fail Fast

The trade media called both, Maple and Sprig virtual restaurants or ghost restaurants.  They were restaurant delivery service that were simply brand-less ideations concocted to drive retail restaurant meal delivery sales for less according to Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant Guru® Steven Johnson.  

A restaurant brand is a unique flavor design, a signature product, a collection of identifiable menu items, a building and motif that codifies the menu, or a combination of these, employed in creating a image that identifies a product and differentiates it from its competitors.  Over time that collection of consumer associations and perceptions creates a level of credibility, quality, consumer acceptance that drive adoption; elevating the name, menu, products, and building into a valued band according to Johnson.

In the case of both Maple and Sprig building the brand never occurred. Yes, they pontificated on their ideation, industry meal solution, and business benefits but for forgot to build a brand that consumers could rally around.

Sprig CEO Gagan Biyani stated via Email that Sprig “ceased operations today because the model doesn’t work…The demand for Sprig’s convenient, high-quality food was always incredibly high, but the complexity of owning meal production through delivery at scale was a challenge”.

Maple on the other hand simply never understood restaurant branding or how to build a grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat or Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared brand according to our own Grocerant Guru®.  Here look how Maple described their own closing:

“We built a brand that struck a chord with our customers and developed hundreds of menu items, allowing us to serve millions of meals to supportive and loyal customers such as yourself. We built some truly exceptional software, allowing us not only to collect, bundle and route orders with unprecedented throughput, but to drive efficiency at every step of our process—from ingredient sourcing, all the way through delivery completion (resulting in over a million miles logged by our delivery team members). Serving thousands of meals daily across Manhattan is no small operational feat, and our team orchestrated this dance with a grace that is rare in the face of such unrelenting expectations.”

Where to start simply put hundreds of meals is not an identity. Maple like Sprig never took the time to understand retail foodservice branding.  I give them both credit for blocking, tackling, and paving the way for others that will surly follow as the business ideation was great, the business positioning was great, the rollout lacked foodservice strategy. 

The rollout of both Sprig and Maple was filled with textbook business tactics and technology that were singularly excellent and that will over time create a platform of success that other will build on. However without a brand identity there can be no successful strategy according to the team at Foodservice Solutions®. 

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

Looking for US Foodservice Investments or Opportunity

Foodservice Solutions® team has fielded more inquires for food industry investment opportunity in January 2017 than any January since 1991.  Regular readers of this blog know we regularly work with clients outside of the United States that are looking for quality United States food industry investments.

The United States has always been a melting pot of inclusion.  A place where opportunity is available for every one of every culture; balancing people, vision, profits, with hard work, and intellectual capital.  Are you looking for long term stable food industry focused investments? Give Foodservice Solutions® a try.

Our services include identifying, quantifying, qualifying, opportunity, and conducing due diligence for your prospective investments.  We can conduct due diligence anywhere you like in the United States, we specialize in the food space. 

Our clients can invest in, buy, and have the team at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® manage operations from chains to single units we specialize in food focused companies the ilk of Restaurants, C-stores, Hotels, Grocery Stores, Orchard’s, Wineries, Foodservice Equipment, any regional /national branded retailers, or buildings including strip centers, technology food focused star-ups, mobile marketing companies, Gas Stations, Fuel Companies, and food magazines.

Global chaos and uncertainty are the new reality and undercurrent driving the increase in clients seeking investments in the United States. The US is not immune to that uncertainty either however the size of the US marketplace provides sustainable strategic advantages over the long term.

So let’s cut to the chase of course there is a fee for our service.  That fee is for up-front due diligence.  That fee is required whether you invest / purchase or not, the fee is for the process of due diligence.  Questions and inquires can be emailed directly too:  Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us .   Success does leave clues if you are looking remember since 1991 www.FoodserviceSolutions.us has been the leader within the Grocerant niche.