Wawa’s Fan Favorite Hoagiefest Expands

Success does leave clues and Wawa’s grocerant niche made to order customizable hoagies are celebrated yearly during what the company calls Hoagiefest.  This year Wawa is expanding its hoagiefest to Florida.

Beginning Feb. 20 through April 2, 2017 any of Wawa's classic, 10-inch hot, cold and breakfast sandwiches are on sale for $4.99. The classic hoagie usually sells for $5.69 at Flordia locations.

The c-store chain first began holding Hoagiefest in 2008 and it has become a fan favorite. Only Florida Wawa stores will offer the Hoagiefest promotion during the spring. Stores in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia will hold Hoagiefest in the summer.

Wawa with more than 740 convenience stores is an industry leader in grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food that is portable.  Success does leave clues and Hoagiefest is one way that Wawa shares success with its best customers. 

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

 

Exploring Foodservice and Generation Z

Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant Guru® Steven Johnson stated “you can find Generation Z (Gen Z) at the intersection of Hands-On In-Store retail and interactive participatory foodservice perfectly balanced with mobile technology and it is at that intersection that Gen Z is validating foodservice authenticity.”

The path to purchase for Gen Z is not so unexpected, as the first “digitally native” generation most discovery for Gen Z begins with a hand held mobile devise and extend into the retail footprint for validation. The global Gen Z population set to reach 2.6 billion by 2020. When it comes to Gen Z we ask, Are you looking A Customer Ahead?

IBM and the National Retail Federation (NRF) are in a new study they found several interesting facts about Gen Z let’s take a look at some of those focusing on foodservice.  Here they are:

 1.  Retailers need to create more interactive engagement around their brands to serve the “always on,” mobile-focused,

2.   Generation Z expects technology to be intuitive, relevant and

3.   Create a personalized, interactive experience with the latest digital advances or risk falling behind.

4.   Gen Z has access to $44 billion in buying power

5.   75% saying they spend more than half of the money that is available to them each month,

6.   52% of Gen Z consumers will transfer loyalty from one brand to another

7.   66% saying product quality and availability are the most important factors

8.   65% focus on value

9.  74% of respondents spend their free time online, with 25% online five hours or more each day.

10. 73% of Gen Z use their phones primarily to text and chat

11. 36% would create digital content for a brand,

12. 42% would participate in an online game for a campaign

13. 43% would participate in a product review.

14. 62% will not use apps or websites that are difficult to navigate

15. 60% will not use apps or websites that are slow to load.

So it’s important to remember that just as Millennials overtook Gen X, there’s another big buying group retailers need to plan for, and it’s even larger that group is Generation Z.  Is your brand at the intersection of Hands-On in-store retail interactive participatory foodservice? Is your brand perfectly balanced with mobile technology for food discovery? Can Gen Z is validate your branded foodservice authenticity?

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? Email us at: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us or visit:  www.FoodserviceSolutions.us for more information.

Whole Foods Evolving into Whole Foodservice

When you have leased more space than you can use for traditional grocery items what do you do?  Well in the case of Whole Foods as we all know they have been and continue absorb some of that space for grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food. 

The simple fact is customer like the portable fresh prepared food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  The fresh prepared food section has become the home of many customer’s comfort foods, comfort meals, and family meal components. Whole Foods has made dinner complexity free. 

Given the rapid propensity of consumers to avoid cooking from scratch creating less demand for traditional grocery CPG products Whole Foods is developing a new in-store restaurant concept with a Brazilian theme.

THE prototype for a new in-store Brazillian fast-casual chain will be part of a supermarket Whole Foods intends to re-open in May in midtown Atlanta, the grocer confirmed last week.

The new in-store restaurant will be called Roast, “the concept will incorporate many of the innovations creeping into the fast-casual market, like bar service in the evenings. Customers can order cocktails as well as beer and wine, and a pool table will be part of the attraction” according to Whole Foods

The concept with be both consumer interactive and participatory as Roast “will  adopt a made-to-order service line a la Chipotle. Patrons specify what they want in their bowl-style meal, including the protein. The meats will be cooked churascaria-style aka fire-roasted.

The technology enabled concept will allow for both ordering at the counter or via self-service kiosks, seating will be provided for 48 dine-in customers and all food can be packed for takeout.

How are you evolving your brand?  Are you selling yesterday’s CPG products just like you did ten years ago?  Does your restaurant footprint reflect a menu of ten years ago or are you selling more than yesterday’s menu for today customers?   All foodservice retailers must evolve or fade away?  Are you’re year over year customer counts growing?  No?  The Grocerant Guru® can help.

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.

Snap Kitchen a Retail Delight

Foodservice Solutions® found while routinely conducting Grocerant ScoreCards that customers were ‘delighted’ and felt a sense of enlighten discovery after visiting Snap Kitchen according to our own Grocerant Guru® Steven Johnson.

Snap Kitchen makes healthy, handmade meals from scratch for consumers who want fast food that isn't junk food. Think of Snap Kitchen this way Snap Kitchen is ‘better-for-you’ fast comfort food according to Johnson.  Foodservice Solutions® recently found that at 4 PM 64.7% of people do not know what’s for dinner. 

Consumers don’t want just ‘Grab-N-Go’ they want the ability to have a family meal that is ‘better-for-you’ yet fast to prepare.  That’s the primary driver of the rapid growth of grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-n-Eat fresh prepared food in every sector of retail foodservice today. Snap Kitchen is attempting to pair the ease of convenience with quality, healthy food in multiple channels simultaneously.

Snap Kitchen understand that consumers want the ability to mix and match meal components into the perfect family meal fast.  Thus Snap Kitchen meal components range from gluten-free, paleo, vegan, and other diets. Where does the delight come in? Simple most meals and meal components  have a shelf life of five to seven days so you don’t have to shop every day.  

One important finding from the Grocerant ScoreCards was Snap Kitchen has meal components for all day-parts from breakfast offerings that include “almond butter maple pancakes (180 calories) for $4.79 and chicken sausage egg tacos (300 calories) for $5.49. Lunch and dinner options include brisket hash (under 500 calories), shrimp and chorizo paella (370 calories) and soups, salads, snacks and sweets.”

Understanding the evolving consumers is important.  Why is Snap Kitchen a retail delight?  Well look at this finding from Snap Kitchen; “the company's biggest day is Monday, when customers purchase multiple meals for the week, and the average check for a "mature" store is $25.”  Snap Kitchen understands how customers think.  Do you?  Grocery stores do 20% of their business on Sunday’s.

What day would you like more sales?  The team at Foodservice Solutions® believes that restaurants, grocery stores, convenience stores all need to evolve their business model so that they can provide relevance to consumers.

Extending the halo of ‘better-for-you’ Snap Kitchen has begun operating a wholesale business alongside its retail operation, including ordering online, mobile app, Uber Rush and provides prepared foods to some Whole Foods Markets stores. Where do you sell your branded food?

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?  Want one?  Call 253-759-7869 Email: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us

Grocerant Guru® Retailers Don’t Forget Rotisserie Chicken

Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant Guru® Steven Johnson’s after being invited to a Sadie Hawkins dance dad said dance with the one that brought you.  Grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat food drove top line sales and bottom line profits for grocery stores when they introduced rotisserie chicken.  Success does leave clues and our clue for today is keep dancing with rotisserie chicken.

With competition for share of stomach increasing and with 85% of family meals containing at least one grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat or Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared meal component rotisserie chicken just might be the center piece for the table you have been looking to expand your fresh food meal components options with according to Johnson.  

Mike Kostyo, senior manager at Datassential stated “supermarket prepared food departments are the fastest-growing segment of the foodservice industry, and predicted that the category will grow 3.8 percent in 2017.” The Food Marketing Institute (FMI) recently reported that “Prepared foods accounted for 58 percent of the $24 billion in deli sales in mid-2016 and are considered an emerging driver of growth”

Regular readers of our Grocerant Guru® blog know that mix and match meal components are key drivers for retailers in building top line sales and bottom line profits. The key question most consumers have at 4 PM is What’s for Dinner?  Consumers are seeking a family meal solution leveraging a protein entrée as the center piece creates a platform to solve the age old question What’s for Dinner.

According to Nielsen’s “Power of Fresh Prepared/Deli” study, 96 percent of shoppers purchase deli/fresh prepared foods once a year, only 12 percent think of visiting the deli regularly when deciding what to do instead of cooking dinner”.  Aggregate data from Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant ScoreCards reveled that lack of fresh prepared protein options drove consumers to from one retailer to another.

So, what other protein options should you be adding to your offerings in addition to rotisserie chicken because you always want to dance with the one that brought you.  Pork is the most widely eaten meat in the world accounting for over 36% of the world meat intake. It is followed by poultry and beef with about 33% and 24% respectively.

Expanding variety Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat proteins empowers you to offer a greater selection of mix and match meal components thus elevating the consumer perception of where to get What’s for Dinner. The ability for family meal customization utilizing single portion or multi-portion entrees and meal components is a critical success driver 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

Mission Market where Fast + Fresh Equals Competitive

Mission Market is a competitive progressive convenience store designed to provide customers with fresh food fast any way they want it.  Consumers can walk-in, order online for pick-up or delivery.  Even more important Mission Market has found the right balance / equilibrium between fast, fresh, flavorful and pricing according to Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant Guru® Steven Johnson.

Roland Foss, Mission Markets concept developer says that he hopes they perceive the brand as a "progressive" convenience store; an improvement over the more conventional stores in the convenience channel. Each of the three units open are designed to draw customers from the bustling city into the small footprint locations with a fresh food atmosphere, where they can find solace, value and convenience according to Foss.

Foss continued "[I want] a customer to come away with the feeling that this is not a typical c-store," … We also try to position ourselves around grab-and-go food, but with the promise of a market — think wide product selection. This is the ultimate in convenience: picking up a meal or snack along with the essentials and sundries you need to tide you over until the next grocery store visit."

Mission Market is designed to be inviting for all neighborhood demographics according to Foss, “successful c-stores appeal to all demographics and drive sustainable traffic through all dayparts.” Each of the three units offers quality grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared prepackaged, grab-and-go food like salads, sandwiches, sushi, and fresh-cut fruits and vegetables.

Grocerant niche Mix and Match bundling has not gone un-noticed by Foss as customers can find made-to-order personalized salads, chicken wings, Belgian fries, fried Brussels sprouts, and hand-squeezed limeade from the store’s POV Snack Shop, a partnership with local artisanal pizza joint Pizza of Venice (POV).

Foss outlined evolving growth  as Mission Market will drive incremental growth as it transitions its grab-and-go business to POV as well, with the local vendor producing and packaging most, if not all, of the c-store’s vendor-sourced grab-and-go products, Foss disclosed. Additionally, Pizza of Venice will begin selling its own pizza prepackaged in a take-and-bake format exclusively at Mission Market.

Foss is not stopping there as his team is in the process of finalizing a deal with an Asian fresh-food supplier to offer more than 20 SKUs of fresh, grab-and-go Asian foods like dumplings, sushi and salads.

"No other c-store in L.A. will be able to touch the selection Mission Market will have in the grab-and-go category," Foss insists.  What are you selling and where our Grocerant Guru® asks?

Foss noted that differentiation matters saying "Many of our competitors seem to neglect the in-store experience, content with having great locations. Instead, Mission Market aims to be a ‘one block more kind of store,’ where urban consumers will gladly walk past competitors, including drug and grocery stores, to shop here,". "We do that through attractive store design and layout, great employees, and relevant products that match the needs of our local consumers."

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? Email us at: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us or visit:  www.FoodserviceSolutions.us for more information.