Mix & Match Meal Components Are What’s for Dinner

Meal planning begins for most Americans close to 4 PM, as that’s when it’s time most of you are about to end your work day and head home.  In fact, 83.2 % of all US consumers are unsure about what's for dinner at 11:30 AM and 64.7% don’t know what’s for dinner at 4PM in the United States according to Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant Guru® Steven Johnson found in recent Grocerant ScoreCards.

Today, Time Starved Consumers are looking for high quality Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared meal components. Time starved consumers want to purchase meal components that they can bundle into a customized family meal that will please everyone without spending time cooking. Regular readers of this blog know that mix & match meal components are the hallmark of the grocerant niche.  

Times are changing and consumers traditionally thought that these items could only be found in grocery stores in the deli / lifestyle section, or in C-stores in the prepared food area and prepackaged, and as Ready-2-Eat or Heat-N-Eat fresh food items.  Today, restaurants are all offering meals To-go, Takeout or Take-Away or delivery section of the menu or on the website, directly competing with grocery stores.

The retail industry has expanded and is evolving to keep up with the demands of consumers desire to save time, improve quality, increase family flavor profile, while enabling personalization and family meal customization.

Miz & Match Grocerant Food can be found In:

Restaurant examples are McDonalds, Pret A Manger Burger King, Pizza Hut, Papa Murphy's and Starbucks, each having a fresh Ready-2-Eat or Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food. In the Casual Dining sector Maggiano's Little Italy offers a buy one take a 2nd home for free in their Classic Pastas menu section, Olive Garden, Chili’s, Boston Market and Denny’s.  That is to name but a few.

 Drug Store examples Walgreens as a food destination yet Walgreens sells fresh soft-serve yogurt, coffee, sandwiches, salads and sushi at selected stores, so they are technically grocerants.

 Convenience Store examples are 7 Eleven, Wawa, Sheetz, Sheetz, and QuickChek, all of which sell fresh and prepared sandwiches, salads, beverages.

 Clothing Stores Tommy Bahama, Nordstrom, Macy’s, Brooks Brothers all have or are planning restaurants selling fresh prepared food in-store. Fresh prepared Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat food is garnering consumer favor in this sector.  Expect to find more and more clothing retailers entering the grocerant niche.

 Furniture Stores & Liquor Store example Ikea sells over $ 2 Billion a year in Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food in its stores (mostly meatballs-mash potatoes), Pinkies in San Angelo, Texas this past holiday season even offered complete fresh prepared full Turkey Dinners will all of the traditional side orders.  All of the fresh prepared food is prepared on site and sold To-Go. 

Supermarket examples are Whole Foods, Trader-Joes, Central Market, and Wegmans sell fresh prepared chicken, salads, sandwiches and most offer sushi and beverages. Many are now opening in-store restaurants including fast food, full service sit down and bars all offer fresh prepared To-Go as well.

Grocerant Food is Family Food

The retail supermarket and convenience store sector have unique grocerant challenges. Presentation of the Ready-2-Eat or Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food is important. When you get a meal at a restaurant, the plate and the food look great… let's call this "food for now". Many legacy retailers are primarily selling "food for later" or take-out and unless an item is a sandwich, the looks of Ready-2-Eat meals and snacks begin to change.

Why is it so hard to package food to go? In the Hot food section of the grocery store the food in most cases does not look appealing so our expectations drop when we get it for Take-Away. That may be one reason that many grocery stores are continue to open restaurants or “food courts” selling made to order fresh sandwiches or Chinese take-out.

In convenience stores like Wawa, the Ready-2-Eat food looks great in the To-Go containers. Why? Because Wawa puts the entire consumer food package together. They exert more control on the look and feel of "food for later".

Around the world we are now seeing sections in department's stores and kiosk in malls in Europe and Asia and airports around the world. The items can range from entrees to side items and deserts. Some examples of items range from fried chicken, mash potatoes, cream spinach, to liver and onions, pizza, hot dogs, steak, prime rib, various casseroles (hot-dish) to salads, side salads pie, cake and any single proportioned deserts. They can be picked up at the specific unit, or delivered.

Visit: www.FoodserviceSolutions.us  if you are interested in learning how Foodservice Solutions 5P’s of Food Marketing can edify your retail food brand while creating a platform for consumer convenient meal participation, differentiation and individualization or you can learn more at Facebook.com/Steven Johnson, Linkedin.com/in/grocerant or twitter.com/grocerant

Uber Eats and McDonald's Team Global McDelivery Plus Free Stuff

Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant Guru®, Steven Johnson calls 2019 the year of ‘partnership’ success has no doubt that McDonald’s ‘Global McDelivery Night’ will be a big success because it partnered with Uber Eats and is consumer interactive, participatory while creating incremental brand electricity.

So, when you order McDonald’s fresh fries at home on September 19^th, 2019 you just might get a free a side of cozy socks, slippers or, even a sleeved blanket.  So, why go out order-in from McDonald’s.

Here is how it works: customers who order McDelivery with Uber Eats from a participating restaurant on September 19, starting at 5 PM, will be able to add an item from our McDelivery Night In line for free, while supplies last. Think loungewear, games and other merchandise. Order fries at home and they might just come with a side of cozy socks, slippers or, yes, even a sleeved blanket.

So, in the U.S.? Order McDelivery with Uber Eats from a participating McDonald’s to receive a limited-edition item from the McDelivery Night In line on September 19, beginning at 5 p.m. local time, while supplies last. Find participating restaurants. Sound simple, it is.  That’s food marketing is supposed to be.

How are you driving new electricity into your brand? 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, free stuff, 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?

Are you looking for a new partnership to drive sales? Are you ready for some fresh ideations? Do your food marketing tactics look more like yesterday that tomorrow?  Visit www.FoodserviceSolutions.us for more information or contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us Remember success does leave clues and we just may have the clue you need to propel your continued success.

Millennial’s Quest for Food Discovery is the Key Driver of Plant-based Food Sales

Regular readers of this blog know that ‘Food Discovery’ is the undercurrent running throughout most Millennials and Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® all evidence points to that quest for discover as the key driver of plant-based food growth.

New research by Sweet Earth Foods and conducted by OnePoll, the survey found that millennials’ relationship to food is unique from that of previous generations, as almost six in 10 millennials (57%) currently subscribe to a special diet, such as plant-based, Keto, vegan or Whole 30.

The results found that millennials spend $2,242 at the grocery store and $1,672 dining out over the course of a year– averaging $187 and $139 per month, respectively — and they also try an average of 46 new foods.

Why this might be a trend rather than a fad.  Well, for those who follow a special diet the study found, 44% do so because it’s better for the environment, while 37% say it’s more ethical. Millennials report making 17 tweaks or changes to their diet per year, with the top changes found to be eating healthier foods (46%), avoiding sugar/carbs (41%) and focusing more on plant-based foods (36%). That’s in addition to a third (34%) who have cut down on their meat consumption.

But while social media might not be where millennials are finding their food inspiration, respondents are using it for other things. Seven in 10 (69%) have posted photos of their food to social media in the past year; of those, 26% have taken 10 or more photos to get one that’s social media- worthy. And when it comes to what they eat, millennials’ top priorities are cost (48%), having it be full of nutrients (46%) and no artificial additives in their food (40%). This is followed by organic food (39%) and having it be plant-based (37%).

Now that brings us to JUST, a company that applies cutting-edge science and technology to create healthier, more sustainable foods, launched a new campaign to celebrate Better Breakfast Month, observed annually in September.  Because Millennials want better-for-you meals and snacks all day long according to Johnson.

JUST is teaming up with more than 150 foodservice operators, including restaurants, colleges and universities, to highlight how to make breakfast better for people and the planet with the plant-based JUST Egg.

JUST Egg is now stocked by 20 of the 23 largest retailers in the U.S. and is the #1 selling refrigerated liquid egg in the Natural Channel, according to SPINS, the leading provider of data and insights for natural, organic and specialty products1.

Global consumption trends and studies show that a growing number of people are seeking out plant-based products and healthier, protein-rich, low sugar options. JUST Egg, which is perfect for omelets, scrambles and quiches, ticks those boxes and more. In consumer surveys, 77% of those choosing JUST Egg are meat eaters; 21% do not eat animal products; and 57% plan to eat more plant-based proteins in the next 2 years.

Breakfast, lunch, dinner, or for a snack, plant-based foods will drive the undercurrent of new product adoption at restaurants, grocery stores, c-stores, and dollar stores according to Johnson. 

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/

US Restaurants Customer not Eating-less They are Eating Somewhere Else

Many legacy US based chain restaurants look more like yesterday, act more like yesterday, and are led by CEO’s to old to understand the undercurrents of change technology has brought to every sector of food retail today according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.  

Brand protectionism drove restaurant sales and store count growth while garnering banks and investors to line up and invest back in 1970’s, 1980’s, and 1990’s now the caution signs are out. Franchisees are upset, as customer counts continue to fall.  It seems that the CEO moto of ‘do-no-harm’ has doe has done the opposite as grocery stores service deli’s are growing at 8.2% and C-stores sales are growing at 6.5% a year.

Restaurant sales growth was -0.7% for August, the second consecutive month according to Black Box Intelligence™ data from TDn2K™, based on weekly sales from over 31,000 locations representing 170+ brands and $72 billion in annual sales. There is no getting around it.  Chain restaurants must evolve their business model according to Johnson.

Here is why:  Restaurant sector same-store traffic growth was -3.9% in August, following -4.0% in July.  September 2019 is the grocery store sectors Family Meals Month and that sure does not help the restaurant sector as they are having a tough time serving one meal at a time.

Regular readers of this blog know our Grocerant Guru® has 6 Pillars for growth he has outlined the past three years.  However, many legacy chain restaurants continue practicing brand protectionism looking more like yesterday than today or tomorrow and year over year customer counts reflect how consumers feel about where they are today.  Consumers are dynamic not static food brands must be dynamic as well.

Are you ready for some fresh ideations? Do your food marketing ideations look more like yesterday than tomorrow? 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.

Battle for Share of Stomach

Time Starved Consumers Continue Migrating to the Grocerant Niche

Battle for Share of Stomach

 Retailers of every ilk are adding new or more grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared grocerant niche food according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.  

Today the opportunity within the grocery sector alone has reached $13 Billion in sales and according to the Food Marketing Institute. The report goes on to say that sector is growing at an annually rate of 8.2%.  So, if you are wondering where restaurant customers go when they raise prices.  They are going where they can save money and time to the grocery store deli according to Johnson.

In FMI’s 2019 Power of Foodservice at Retail study found “that 63 percent of consumers continue to incorporate time-saving solutions in the form of semi- and fully-prepared items for dinner, but opportunities exist for grocers to garner greater visibility as the primary dinner solution.

The 2019 survey participants offered feedback for their stores to focus on faster service, more cuisine variety, healthier dishes as well as healthier alternatives to current options, competitive prices, more information, freshness, knowledgeable and available staff, and various operational improvements such as cleanliness and in-stock performance.

 Let’s see what else they found:

1.        “The study notes that grocers with a positive reputation in retail foodservice can serve as strong motivation for 64 percent of shoppers who say they will actually go out of their way to find these stores,”  

2.       Eighty-eight percent of shoppers want to see more new items and flavors in retail foodservice. In fact, the most frequently mentioned word in the open-ended suggestions of the survey was “more,” in combination with words such as variety, food, options and items. 

3.       31 percent, want to see flavor and item rotation on a monthly basis, but 28 percent want even greater levels of innovation and recommend a weekly or even daily rotation. 

4.       The importance of speed is once more underscored by the grab-and-go, ready-to-eat format being the most popular method, which is of interest to 68 percent of shoppers. 

5.       Grab-and-go, heat-and-eat is the second most popular style, at 63 percent. 

6.       While 57 percent of shoppers have grocery store apps downloaded, 42 percent actively use one or more. 

7.       App usage is highly related to checking weekly specials (78 percent),

8.       online ordering of groceries (53 percent),

9.       getting recipes and meal ideas and researching the deli-prepared foods menu, but foodservice orders lag (38 percent).

The price, service, value equilibrium continues to reset according to Johnson.  Restaurants continue to raise prices on a year over year as of July 2019 they are up 3% with wholesale prices up only 0.7% according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. All the while grocery stores are adding new grocerant niche meal options with price points that are compelling and quality equal to that of restaurants according to Johnson.

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

Pizza Hut Hopes Football Kicks-Up Sales

NFL football is back college football is in play and Pizza Hut is leveraging its new partnership as the Official Pizza Sponsor of the NFL with the NFL to create an interactive participatory NFL-themed branded invitation for consumers that will drive top-line sales and bottom-line profits according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

This is the year season that Pizza Hut plans to pick up customers after Papa Johns fumble according to Johnson.  With a food sales focus to drive franchisees top line sales the program is simple, Buy. Play. Win. Buy Pizza Hut. Consumers can play the brand-new interactive NFL-themed game Hut Hut Win, and earn the chance to win once-in-a-lifetime NFL experiences and millions of instant win prizes.  

Here is how Hut Hut Win works: consumers join Hut Rewards, spend just $5 at Pizza Hut, and visit HutHutWin.com to register for the game. For every $5 spent at Pizza Hut, earn one of the 32 NFL team virtual game pieces and a chance at millions of instant win prizes, like official NFL merch, free gameday grub, Hut Rewards points, and bonus plays....

Fill half a game board (16 NFL teams) for a chance to score prizes like a once-in-a-lifetime experience with an NFL player, 2020 NFL Draft Weekend tickets and more. Collect all 32 NFL teams for a chance to win one of three grand prize trips to Miami for Super Bowl LIV with an exclusive opportunity to go on the field during the Pepsi Super Bowl LIV Halftime Show.   

Marianne Radley, chief brand officer, Pizza Hut  stated “In our second season as the Official Pizza Sponsor of the NFL, we’re taking our partnership to the next level for fans with the launch of Hut Hut Win,”  “Our game plan is simple—create unforgettable experiences that connect our fans to their favorite sport—like no one else can. Because we don’t just make pizza, we make memories.”  

In order to garner attention Pizza Hut’s NFL player partners are joining in on the action too, and fans playing Hut Hut Win will have the opportunity to win unbelievable experiences with none other than JuJu Smith-Schuster, Tyler Lockett, Todd Gurley, and Pizza Hut’s newest player partner, five-time Pro Bowler and two-time Defensive Player of the Year, Aaron Donald.

Once again interactive an participatory the experiences include making pizzas with JuJu at Pizza Hut Global Headquarters, unlocking an escape room with Lockett, a game night with Gurley and a ping pong pizza party with the titan of table tennis himself, Aaron Donald. Each player, and their unique activity of choice, will be highlighted in four new Pizza Hut TV commercials airing this season.  

Radley  continued “We couldn’t be more thrilled to have Aaron join the Pizza Hut family,” …“His personality is a perfect fit for our brand and he raises our roster to a new level. We’re also psyched to bring back our dynamic players (on and off the field) and fan-favorites Todd, JuJu and Tyler for their second season with team Pizza Hut.”  

Are you looking for a new partnership to drive sales? Are you ready for some fresh ideations? Do your food marketing tactics look more like yesterday that tomorrow?  Visit www.FoodserviceSolutions.us for more information or contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us Remember success does leave clues and we just may have the clue you need to propel your continued success.

The T-Mobile - Burger King Partnership Drives New Electricity

If success does leave clues T-Mobile’s Tuesday’s App has driven top of mind awareness for T-Mobile while edifying legacy foodservice brand relevance according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®. Does your brand marketing look more like yesterday than tomorrow?

Back in the day a The Hartman Group study found not nothing works better than free. T-Mobile took that to heart and now that they are partnering with Burger King if you want to score a free Whopper, T-Mobile customers just download the T-Mobile Tuesdays app for iOS or Android and get ready for Tuesday, September 3.

So, T-Mobile and Burger King announced a partnership to bring more free food to Un-carrier customers each month through January, including WHOPPER sandwiches and more, through T-Mobile Tuesdays. On Tuesday, September 3, T-Mobile customers can snag a free Whopper sandwich through the T-Mobile Tuesdays app, and that royal treatment continues every month through January with free BK eats.

John Legere, CEO at T-Mobile “There are few things Americans agree on these days, but most of us agree that burgers are delicious, and free burgers somehow taste even better,” “We teamed up with BK through January because T-Mobile customers reign supreme yet again … while carrier customers get royally screwed, as always.”

Once again, if you want a free Whopper, T-Mobile customers just download the T-Mobile Tuesdays app for iOS or Android and get ready for Tuesday, September 3. When that burger craving hits, open the app, tap Redeem and log in or create an account in the latest BK app to apply your free Whopper sandwich code. Before end of day September 9, order your free Whopper on the BK app, and make your flame-grilled dreams a reality.

How are you driving brand value? How are you driving new electricity? So, is your brand looking a customer ahead?  Are you looking to grow business like you did yesterday or do you want tomorrow customers? Just where is your brand headed? How is your brand expanding its reach and driving new electricity?

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® 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/

Subway Leverages Twitch for SUBtember

If success does leave clues Subway has once again pick up the right clues to drive new electricity into its brand with a unique social media partnership with Twitch according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

So, Twitch and Subway restaurants announced that they’ll be partnering up on a custom marketing campaign as part of Twitch’s third annual SUBtember.

Beginning September 3 through September 24, in partnership with Subway, the chain is offering 50 percent off new Tier 1 subscriptions made on a web browser or our desktop app, so you can support even more of the streamers you follow on Twitch. Any new Tier 1 subscription on web or desktop app is eligible for this promotion unless you cancel a subscription in that channel after September 3. 

As in prior years, streamers will continue to receive the full value of a subscription, and there is no limit on the number of times you can subscribe using the SUBtember half-off promotion. 

As a subscriber, depending on the channel, you get stuff like:

·         Access to custom emotes that you can use across all of Twitch 

·         Subscriber badge that changes the longer you stay subscribed 

·         Ad-free viewing (with limited exceptions)

·         Exclusive subscriber content, such as a sub-only games, sub-only streaming, Q&A, sub-only chat rooms, and other benefits that streamers may offer only for subscribers.

Get the discount by logging into Twitch and clicking the Subscribe button on your favorite streamers’ channel pages. As always, there is no minimum commitment and you can cancel your subscription at any time by visiting the Subscription Management Page. 

The brand is leveling up SUBtember with Subway and offering even more benefits including:

·         Bonus Bits: Subway is throwing in 10 percent more Bits when you Cheer 10 or more in any Affiliate or Partner channel. There’s even a limited-time sub sandwich Cheermote you can cheer with.

·         Sub Gifting: Subway will be gifting subscriptions in various channels—make sure to tune in throughout September.

·         Subway on Twitch: Tune in when Subway launches their very own Twitch channel to livestream with their favorite streamers.

How are you driving brand value? How are you driving new electricity? So, is your brand looking a customer ahead?  Are you looking to grow business like you did yesterday or do you want tomorrow customers? Just where is your brand headed?

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?

Are you looking for a new partnership to drive sales? Are you ready for some fresh ideations? Do your food marketing tactics look more like yesterday that tomorrow?  Visit www.FoodserviceSolutions.us for more information or contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us Remember success does leave clues and we just may have the clue you need to propel your continued success.