Safeway’s Service Deli Simply Outperforms

 

Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®, in the evolving landscape of grocery retail, Safeway has embraced a customer-centric strategy, transforming its service deli into a flagship example of the grocerant revolution.

By focusing on consumer needs and preferences rather than traditional grocery metrics, Safeway has created an engaging, profitable deli experience that outshines competitors like Kroger, which remains anchored to Wall Street-driven metrics. Here, we explore how Safeway’s grocerant-focused approach has become a benchmark for the industry and highlight seven attributes that drive its success.

Safeway’s Grocerant Revolution: A Consumer-First Approach

Safeway’s service deli is a testament to the growing demand for Ready-2-Eat (RTE) and Heat-n-Eat (HNE) meal solutions. Recognizing the shift in consumer behavior toward convenience, Safeway has successfully integrated restaurant-quality offerings into its grocery aisles. This focus aligns with the grocerant model, blending the best of grocery retail and restaurant dining to cater to time-starved, flavor-seeking consumers. Unlike Kroger, which prioritizes cost efficiencies and shareholder returns, Safeway leverages customer insights to drive its product offerings, operational decisions, and marketing strategies.

Seven Attributes of Safeway’s Grocerant Success

1.       Mix-and-Match Meal Bundling Safeway’s service deli offers customizable meal bundles, allowing customers to mix proteins, sides, and desserts to suit their preferences. This strategy not only encourages larger basket sizes but also enhances customer satisfaction by providing tailored solutions for busy families.

2.       Elevated Freshness Standards Safeway prioritizes freshly prepared foods, emphasizing scratch-made dishes and chef-inspired recipes. These quality standards resonate with consumers seeking healthier, flavorful alternatives to traditional takeout.

3.       Dynamic Menu Rotation By frequently updating its menu with seasonal and trending items, Safeway keeps the deli experience fresh and exciting. Limited-time offers and new product launches drive repeat visits and create a sense of urgency.

4.       Ethnic Cuisine Exploration Safeway’s deli celebrates diversity with a range of global flavors, from Mediterranean salads to Asian-inspired entrees. This approach taps into the growing demand for authentic ethnic meals, attracting adventurous eaters.

5.       Convenient Packaging Solutions Single-serve and family-size packaging options ensure that Safeway’s offerings meet the needs of various customer segments. These solutions also reinforce the brand’s commitment to convenience and practicality.

6.       Digital Integration and Meal Planning Tools Safeway’s app and website feature meal planning tools and promotions tied to its deli offerings. Customers can easily browse options, find deals, and plan their meals, streamlining the shopping experience.

7.       In-Store Engagement Safeway’s deli counters feature knowledgeable staff who provide recommendations, offer samples, and highlight new items. This personalized service fosters trust and encourages customers to explore the full range of offerings.

The Kroger Contrast: Legacy Metrics Over Consumer Trends

While Safeway thrives by prioritizing the consumer, Kroger remains tethered to legacy grocery metrics focused on margins and operational efficiencies. Kroger’s service deli offerings often lack the innovation and flexibility seen at Safeway. Reliance on pre-packaged, mass-produced options and limited customization alienates consumers seeking fresh, tailored meal solutions. Furthermore, Kroger’s emphasis on cost-cutting frequently undermines the quality and variety of its deli selections.

Think About This: Winning Hearts and Wallets

Safeway’s grocerant-focused service deli underscores the importance of adapting to consumer-driven trends in the competitive grocery sector. By embracing mix-and-match bundling, quality standards, global flavors, and innovative customer engagement, Safeway not only drives top-line sales but also strengthens brand loyalty and profitability. As the grocerant model continues to gain traction, Safeway stands as a shining example of how putting the customer first leads to enduring success.

Don’t over reach. Are you ready for some fresh ideations? Do your food marketing ideations look more like yesterday than tomorrow? Interested in learning how Foodservice Solutions® 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 us on our social media sites by clicking the following links: Facebook,  LinkedIn, or Twitter

Target Thanksgiving Dinner for 4 less than $25

 

Cash strapped, time starved, and college loans are just some of the problems driving Gen Z and Millennial consumers to the dinner table at home this year.  However, if you are not going out for Thanksgiving to a restaurant or relatives Target has a deal for you.

According to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® with a complete understanding of the state of the consumer and a focus on building long term customers Target has come out with a Thanksgiving meal serving four people that it said costs less than $25, including turkey at under $1 per pound, as well as an array of sides and desserts for less than $5. The items are available both in stores and via Target.com. Let’s take a look:

Target’s $25 Thanksgiving meal deal is composed primarily of items from the retailer’s Good & Gather private brand. Those hosting a larger Thanksgiving party, the retailer noted, can double the list to serve eight guests.

The meal includes the following products:

• Good & Gather Premium Basted Young Turkey (frozen, 10 lbs.)
• Good & Gather Russet Potatoes (5 lbs.)
• Good & Gather Cut Green Beans (14.5 oz.)
• Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom Soup (22 oz.)
• Ocean Spray Jellied Cranberry Sauce (14 oz.)
• Stove Top Turkey Stuffing Mix (6 oz.)
• Heinz HomeStyle Roasted Turkey Gravy (12 oz.)

 

Understand the growth of within the grocerant Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food niche this mix and match bundled meal Thanksgiving dinner also edifies Target’s efforts to serve up more customer focused solutions for convenient meals.

The fact is Target has had a lot of success with their meal bag business, which is a grab-and-go meal in a bag for less than $15. It’s at the intersection of Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat where consumers are migrating from one brand to another according Johnson.  Target wants to be located in the center of that intersection.

Now consider this, Targets Thanksgiving meal, is offering a selection of other “must-have fixings." They include side dishes for less than $5, such as Caesar salad, seasoned sweet potatoes, vegetables, lemon-basil rice and mac-and-cheese, plus desserts for under $5, like the retailer’s Favorite Day-brand apple crisp ice cream, pumpkin spice soft sandwich cookies and mini pecan pies. Also available are adult beverages for $5, such as California Roots cabernet sauvignon wine and chardonnay white wine, and for the first time, Bellante prosecco and Bellante prosecco rosé from U.K. retailer Marks & Spencer.

Digital Mobile Marketing works and Target also is touting the convenience of ordering online. Customers can order everything for the $25 Thanksgiving meal deal at Target.com and pick up items in-store or have a Target associate bring the items to their vehicle through the free Drive-Up service (click-and-collect orders ready within two hours).

They can have items delivered to their doorstep in as soon as one hour via Target’s same-day Shipt service ($35 order minimum, with deliveries free for Shipt members or $9.99 per order non-members). Participants in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) can use their benefits to pay for eligible grocery items in- store or via Target.com, the Target app or mobile payment options.

Invite Foodservice Solutions® to complete a Grocerant ScoreCard, or for product positioning or placement assistance, or call our Grocerant Guru®.  Since 1991 Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma, WA has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche. Contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us or 253-759-7869

Target Targeting Restaurant Employees

 

Food retailer’s lookout, Target is coming after your employees. Restaurants, Convenience Stores, Grocery Stores and Dollar Stores are going to soon be feeling the effect of Target stores raising its starting wage to anywhere from $15 an hour to $24 an hour, depending on the job and the local market. 

According to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® the scramble for employees within the food space just got much more difficult. Between Costco, Amazon, and Target offering a full range of benefits and full-time work, it will be much harder to recruit good team members.

Targets new wage range covers hourly employees working at Target stores, supply-chain facilities and headquarters locations. The move is meant to "position Target as a wage leader in every market in which we operate." 

Target Chief Human Resources Officer Melissa Kremer, stated, "Our team is at the heart of our strategy and success, and their energy and resilience keep us at the forefront of meeting the changing needs of our guests year after year," …."We want all team members to be better off for working at Target, and years of investments in our culture of care, meaningful pay, expanded health care benefits and opportunities for growth have been essential to helping our team members build rewarding careers."  Now Target went on to say it will invest up to $300 million more in its workforce in the coming year. 

In a Battle for Employees

You Can Win

Here is where it hurt restaurants, as Target also said that employees working a minimum average of 25 hours per week will be eligible for more benefits, sooner. Beyond shortening the waiting period for enrolling in benefits, Target said that it has expanded fertility benefits and doula reimbursement in most health plans for 2022 and that most plans also will offer free virtual physical therapy and acupuncture coverage. Employees will have quicker access to 401(k) saving plans, as well, according to the company. 

In case you forgot, in August, Target announced that it was offering fee-free tuition to full- and part-time U.S. team members through a partnership with Guild Education and more than 40 colleges, universities and other educational institutions. What are you selling, and how are you selling it?  Is it time to adjust your business model and meal solutions options?

Invite Foodservice Solutions® to complete a Grocerant ScoreCard, or for product positioning or placement assistance, or call our Grocerant Guru®.  Since 1991 Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma, WA has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche. Contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us or 253-759-7869

Target Getting Fresh for 2 Million New Customers

Success does leave clues and Target is getting fresher faster by listening to it new first time digital drive-up customers.  According to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® “Target is giving customers more of what they want, when they want it”

Regular readers of this blog know that consumers increasingly want more grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food. So, get this, more than 5 million customers shopped on Target.com for the first time during the first quarter, including over 2 million first-timers for Drive Up service.

Consumers are dynamic not static according to Johnson and Target Corp. is evolving faster making fresh and frozen food available through its in-store Order Pickup and curbside Drive Up online grocery services. Giving consumers what they want when they want it.

Digital sales are working at Target  as sales in Q1  were up 141%.  The move adding fresh and fresh frozen into the mix, adds another 750 produce, dairy, bakery, meat and frozen items to the product selection for in-store and curbside pickup, according to Target.

The company noted that the expansion now enables online customers to order key perishables — such as milk, bread, eggs and ice cream — along with grocery staples already available through Drive Up and Order Pickup. Ok, so regular readers of this blog say why did it take them so long.  Who cares, they are beginning to get it now. 

Target Chief Operating Officer John Mulligan, stated, “The speed and convenience of our fulfillment options are unmatched across the country, and they’ve become even more critical for our guests searching for easy and safe ways to shop during the pandemic,”  “By adding fresh grocery to the pickup services our guests already love, we’re giving them even more reasons to shop at Target.”

More than 5 million customers shopped on Target.com for the first time during the first quarter, including over 2 million first-timers for Drive Up service. When you get new customers are you giving them what they want?  Consumers are dynamic not static.  Are you evolving with your consumers?

Are you ready for some fresh ideations? Do your food marketing ideations look more like yesterday than tomorrow? Interested in learning how Foodservice Solutions® 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 us on our social media sites by clicking the following links: Facebook,  LinkedIn, or Twitter

Customers Like Shopping at Costco Online

Battle for Share of Stomach

It’s never to late to cater to customers.  While Costco was late to get serious about internet retail much like Dominos Pizza was when Costco got serious they had picked up all of the right clues and they are now leveraging long standing customer value to drive incremental sales online according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

Just like Dominos pizza going from lager to leader with online pizza sales, Costco is now the new ‘King” online retailers, surpassing Amazon, which held the No. 1 spot since 2010, according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) Retail and Consumer Shipping Report 2018-2019.

The ACSI determines customer evaluations of the quality of products and services available to U.S. consumers, with all measures reported on a scale of 0 to 100, so let’s look at what they found:

1.       Costco scored an 83 on ACSI’s scale, likely thanks to its Kirkland private brand, offering quality products at a low cost, which helps keep competing brand prices low.

2.       With its retail business growth slowing since its acquisition of Whole Foods Market, Amazon retreated 4% to an ACSI score of 82, matching the combined score of smaller online retailers, which are up 1% year over year, per the report.

3.       Target Corp. trails Amazon in internet retail with an ACSI score of 80, while Walmart Inc. anchors the bottom of the category with a score of 74.

Here is what all food retailers need to think about according to the ACSI report, “the internet remains consumers’ preferred method of shopping, despite falling 2.4% to an ACSI score of 80.”

4.       Customer satisfaction with supermarkets sank 1.3% to an ACSI score of 78, according to the report. However, 5.

5.       Trader Joe’s Co. and Wegmans Food Markets showed 1% improvements over the last year, with Trader Joe’s rising to a score of 86—bringing it to the No. 1 spot across all supermarkets and retailers, including e-commerce giant Amazon (82)—and Wegmans rising to a score of 85.

6.       Publix Super Markets fell 2% to tie with Aldi, which remained unchanged, at 84. Costco also remained unchanged in the supermarket category, with a score of 83, while most other large chains declined. For example, H-E-B slipped 1% to 82, and Sam’s Club dropped 2% to 80.

7.       Whole Foods also dipped 2% to 79, despite its acquisition by Amazon, bringing it to a tie with BJ’s Whole Sale Club (down 1%), Hy-Vee Inc. (down 2%), The Kroger Co. (down 2%), ShopRite (unchanged) and the combined score of smaller supermarkets (down 2%).

So, how is your brand evolving to drive food sales, beverage sales, online or in the store? What are you doing to expand your brands customer relevance and drive sales better than other food retailers? Is your brand creating a platform that is consumer interactive and participatory?  No, well we can help.

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

Fresh, Fast, Food Convenience Store Speedway Focus is on Speed

Success does leave clues and while Speedway has been known for it service, fresh, fast, flavorful, grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat food the roughly 3,000 unit chain continues to evolve adapting to the evolving food focused consumer according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

Consumers are dynamic not static as smart phones out number land lines more and more consumers have migrated to from cash to digital payment options.  So, customers at Speedway convenience stores can now use Apple Pay at checkout elevating service once again.

Johnson stated that Speedway’s updated digital payments are outstanding as a hand held Food Marketing tool.  It is one key tools that are the undercurrents driving incremental brand adoption putting a new electricity in brand relevance for many younger consumers specifically Millennial's.

Today, new partnerships can drive sales in foodservice today as your brand is searching for the new electricity to help drive the brand forward. So, just what is your brands new electricity? According to Johnson, “Brand relevance is in part driven with innovation in new food 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, 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 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. 

Digital payment is big and getting bigger as Apple Pay is rolling out now in Target stores and more than 7,000 Taco Bell and 2,200 Jack in the Box locations in the next few months.  Customers can also use Apple Pay today at more than 245 Hy-Vee stores in the Midwest.

With the addition of these national retailers, 74 of the top 100 merchants in the U.S. and 65 percent of all retail locations across the country will support Apple Pay, according to the company.   Is your company keeping pace with consumers?

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