Restaurants Get over it Worrying about Delivery Cost

Today, 81.7% of consumers want a dinner without having to cook from scratch according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®. Back in the day that meant going to a sit-down restaurant, today it increasing means getting dinner at a fast food drive thru. In fact, today 83.2% of all restaurant occasions occur at a fast food outlet.  

Today, grocery retailers understand that consumers simply do not have the desire, skill-set, or time to cook from scratch.  Let alone the desire to go to a grocery store and shop? Why would they?

In an effort to become more relevant with Millennials and Gen Z consumers that have a full life experience embracing technology. Grocery retailers are selling fresh food faster online.  Now that Millennials are the primary grocery shoppers with growing family’s restaurants risk losing more dinner occasions as Online food and beverage sales are expected to increase 32% annually.  So, why go out when grocery stores can deliver a meal for less?

According to Packaged Facts online sales of food and beverages in the U.S. reached $17 billion in 2018, making the U.S. the second largest food e-commerce market in the world with 15% of global sales. Through 2023, food e-commerce sales in the U.S. are forecast to increase 32% per year. As the availability of online grocery shopping expands and consumers begin to embrace online shopping for its convenience compared to shopping in-store, sales are expected to rise dramatically.

Let’s see what Packaged Fasts found and why E-commerce in the U.S. has been quick to develop due to:

·         cultural preference for convenience

·         a highly developed network of stores and malls

·         consumer tendency to spend significant amounts of time online

For online grocery shopping specifically, the combination of three elements helped create a perfect environment for growth in the U.S. between 2013 and 2018:

·         increased mobile/smartphone usage

·         improved website and mobile app interfaces

·         expansion of crowdsourced business models to delivery and shopping

There is no room for complaining about the cost of restaurant meal delivery according to Johnson.  There is room for evolving your business model to empower consumer choice, while lowering your cost of goods.

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/

Coolgreens At the Intersection of Consumers and Technology

Millennials and Gen Z consumers have a full life experience embracing technology while those of us, of a certain age, continue to experiment, try, test, and toil with new fresh food avenues of distribution if the new platform saves us time while adding freshness, we like it.  

So, when Coolgreens a company that wants to make its mission to “feed your life” even more convenient announced that it will introduce smart fridges that will serve its signature salads, wraps and snacks Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® stated “making fresh food fresher and faster works more often than not.”

The new ‘Coolgreens Market’ are set to become a platform for a more affordable and delicious way to grab healthy food on-the-go fast. Coolgreens is has ‘chef-inspired’ meals and meal components that will be made fresh daily in an off-site local kitchen and delivered fresh to its smart fridges. Guests will simply swipe their credit card, open the fridge, explore the variety and make a healthy selection.

Coolgreens Market CEO Robert Lee stated “We’re always looking for additional opportunities to serve our guests, and Coolgreens Market allows us to reach them in new ways,” …. “Everyone is super busy and often it’s tough to get healthy food on-the-go. Coolgreens Market solves that challenge and enables us to offer a selection of the quality menu items that are sold in our restaurants, in a convenient, affordable way. It’s literally ready whenever you are.”

With a smaller footprint, Coolgreens will be locating its new smart fridge concept in office buildings, medical and corporate campuses, airports, rail stations, college and university campuses along with retail mixed-use developments. Any place where large amounts of people gather and are on-the-go will be a target for the new concept.

Lee continued “We are excited to offer this unique franchise opportunity,” … “Coolgreens Market is a very cool concept that is designed to make it even easier for our guests to get our healthy, delicious recipes. Interested franchisees will be able to serve healthy food in a whole new way, while also producing an attractive revenue stream.”

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.

Foodies Last Minute Christmas Gifts

Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant Guru® based in Tacoma, WA, Steven Johnson hears from food professionals and foodies around the world on a regular basis. Much of the time it is about have you been to this concept or that concept. Have you seen, tasted, or tested this new fresh food meal component? This time a year the most often asked question is what is the best food gift for a foodie? 

Well, according to Johnson the best gift to give any foodie is a restaurant gift card.  Yes, even our own very own Grocerant Guru® has found that foodies prefer the ease of dinning out. In a new study the National Restaurant Association found that Restaurant gift cards appeal to 72% of consumers.

Let’s see what else they found:

1.       National Restaurant Association finds 47% of adults plan to give eatery gift card this holiday season

2.       About 47% of U.S. adults say they plan to give a restaurant gift card this season, That number rises to 60% among consumers with children in the household,

3.       “Ninety percent of people tell us they enjoy going to restaurants, so a gift card is pretty much one size fits all,” Riehle said. “They are also a good choice for someone who wishes to give an experience rather than a material item.”

4.       More than half of consumers (56%) said they would want a gift card from their favorite restaurant.

5.       Nearly a quarter (22%) would like to use a gift card to try a new restaurant they haven’t been to before; and

6.       More than one in five (21%) would like a gift card for a restaurant they wouldn’t otherwise get to visit.

7.       As for when consumers use their cards, 20% said they would use the gift as soon as possible,

8.       while 40% planned to save it for a special occasion. When they do use them, more than a third (35%) said they would splurge and order more expensive items than usual.

So, if your looking for a gift for a foodie or a friend consider a gift card from a restaurant or a grocerant niche ready-2-eat or heat-n-eat fresh food outlet.

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

Give them what they Want

Gift Cards

Battle for Share of Stomach 

7-Eleven’s Digital Platform is Consumer Driven

Evolve or fad away is the old foodservice adage.  In the case of 7-Eleven with over franchises and/or licenses more than 69,077 stores open around the world one thing is clear according Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® there is no other food retailer better at evolving that 7-Eleven.

Set on the foundation of saving consumer time, 7-Eleven has focused on its core time stared consumers with innovation after innovation.  Today 7-Elevens digital team is at the industry forefront expanding effortless and convenient solutions with relevance to edifying its relations with today’s consumers.

7-Eleven digital team recently announced that it has reached 25 million loyalty members through its 7Rewards loyalty program. Since expanding its 7Rewards loyalty program two years ago, 7-Eleven has seen membership in the app-based platform almost triple (266%) from 9 million to 25 million members.

How are you engaging consumers? Is your brand driving relevance with technology?  While technology is important Foodservice Solutions® grocerant scorecards indicate that Gen Z and Millennials are drawn to 7-Eleven in large part because of ‘price’ and new fresh food and beverage offering many of them with the ‘halo’ of better for you around them.

Within every sector for foodservice today it is still the food & beverage offerings customer frequency first and technology can edify that relationship in a proactive, meaningful and measurable way.

For international corporate presentations, regional chain presentations, local educational forums, or keynotes contact: Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions.  His extensive experience as a multi-unit restaurant operator, consultant, brand / product positioning expert and public speaking will leave success clues for all. For more information visit www.GrocerantGuru.com , www.FoodserviceSolutions.us or call 1-253-759-7869

Wegman’s Restaurant Conundrum

Build more Wegmans Lifestyle Stores or give consumers fresh food fast via a qualitative restaurant?  The choice was clear in the case of Wegmans full-service restaurant Blue Dalia according to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® close Blue Dalia it’s not in line with the fresh fast food you are selling at your stores.

The Blue Dalia, which closed, just 18 months after opening. Grocery stores even if they are ‘lifestyle’ retailers must understand that selling quality fresh prepared Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat food in a grocery store for immediate consumption or customized home meals is not the same as selling food at or in a restaurant.  

A Wegmans spokesperson stated, “The reason, in large part, that the Blue Dalia closed was that it competed with our own in-store restaurant food options, like the burger bar, sushi, pizza and much more.”

Foodservice Solutions® grocerant scorecards are do not reflect the spokespersons naïve comments.  The simple fact is a grocery store service deli / prepared food customer is the same as the restaurant customer but the expectations for each eating occasion is tremendously different.

Success does leave clues and grocery stores can successfully open and run restaurants and restaurants can sell grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food with success if they take the time to understand the unique attributes consumers are looking for.

Looking for success clues of your own? Foodservice Solutions® specializes in outsourced food marketing and business development ideations. We can help you identify, quantify and qualify additional food retail segment opportunities, technology, or a new menu product segment.  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

Sheetz Anything Restaurants can We Can Do for Better

Restaurants concern over the increase competition from Convenience Stores is well founded according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.  Convenience stores expanded fresh grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat food is restaurant quality and often priced for less than chain restaurants can or do offer.

If chain restaurants test something that works, according to Johnson convenience stores follow with the added benefit of incremental meal component mix and match meal bundling offers that drive additional customer migrations.

So, when Sheetz partnered with Beyond Meat to become the first continental U.S. convenience store chain to introduce the Beyond Burger at its 587 Sheetz stores once again the competitive forces have created a platform for disruption.

Since the Beyond Burger ‘features a protein-heavy’, 100-percent plant-based meat alternative with the same taste and texture of a traditional beef burger that millennials have been shown affection for. Sheetz offers customers the ability to customize their Beyond Burgers with more than 47 options than most chain restaurants, including seven different bread choices, seven different cheese choices, 20 different toppings and 13 different spreads.

Mix and Match bunding is a hallmark of successful grocerant niche offering and even our Grocerant Guru® believes that Sheetz may have reached the tipping point on options.  However, those options are driving incremental customer migrations according to recent grocerant scorecards.

Dan Coffin, lead chef and assistant vice president of culinary development at Sheetz stated "Sheetz is constantly innovating and adding new menu items to give our customers what they want, when they want it, 24/7," … "As demand for healthier, diverse protein options increases, we are excited to add the Beyond Burger to our menu in our continual mission to be the ultimate one-stop-shop."

The fast-casual restaurant sector is uniquely vulnerable as the price of the Beyond Burger at Sheetz starts at $6.99 and varies by customization and toppings. Sheetz ability to elevate a product with incremental mix and match meal components is a clear advantage.

So, we ask, why do chain restaurants look more like yesterday’s food retailers than todays or tomorrows? Why are chain restaurants so slow to evolve? Is it that they have lost track of what is relevant to customers today? 

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.

Dollar Tree Garnering Grocery and Restaurant Customers with MEALS

The incremental growth in fresh frozen foods can be linked to Dollar Tree according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®. So, consider that Dollar Tree has over 15,175 related stores.  By adding fresh food, Dollar Tree is creating quite a conundrum for both grocery stores and fast food outlets according to Johnson.

Dollar Tree is wooing shoppers with value prices on groceries and art supplies, propelling the retailer to its 12th consecutive quarter of comparable-store sales exceeding 2%.

Dollar Tree President and CEO Gary Philbin recently stated “that the discount retailer’s assortment of more consumables and art supplies, renovations of old stores, expansion of its Snack Zone feature, and launch of the Dollar Tree Plus store format have driven top-line sales and transaction counts at both the Dollar Tree and Family Dollar banners. During the quarter, Dollar Tree saw increases in both traffic and ticket, with traffic slightly outpacing the ticket increase.” Chain restaurants wish that they could see an increase in traffic.  

Philbin continued “during Q3, the company expanded its Snack Zone feature to more than 1,000 stores. The Snack Zone is designed to provide customers with a compelling assortment of immediate-consumption products at the $1 price point to drive incremental sales, Dollar Tree noted. The feature spans categories such as cold beverages, candy, snack cakes, salty treats and other groceries.

Get this, during the earnings call, Philbin remarked that the retailer is selling so much lower-margin food and other consumables that the sales are putting pressure on margins. During the quarter, same-store sales at the company increased by 2.5%: Same-store sales for the Dollar Tree banner increased by 2.8%, while same-store sales for the Family Dollar banner increased by 2.3%. 

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