Consumers drive foodservice sales while changing value metrics.



Legacy food retailers driven by outdated metric’s just may be unwitting market share capitulators. The consumer is redefining value at home, in restaurants including where they buy food. One needs only to look that the prepared fresh food area expanding in grocery stores and convenience stores.

Once called the deli now called the grocerant section, meal solutions, quick fix’s or ready-2-eat sections. Company after company is expanding, enlarging and repositioning this booming niche to accommodate the demand for increased options for the consumer.

Super Max is one food retailer that has done and outstanding job with both the breakfast daypart and lunch daypart. Safeway’s lifestyle stores are building on the lunch daypart and doing great things in the PM or dinner daypart. What are some of the new values driving consumers in the grocerant niche:

1. Ready-to-eat

2. Fresh, local better for you

3. Portion size options, single serve

4. Multiple choice of sides and entree per day

5. Portability

Since 1991 retail food consultancy Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma, WA has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche for more on Steven A. Johnson and Foodservice Solutions® visit http://www.linkedin.com/in/grocerant, twitter.com/grocerant or Facebook Steven Johnson

Regional Food Manufactures creating an opportunity from quagmire.



Trapped in the demand cycle of legacy clients wanting traditional products and innovative industry leaders building customer frequency with grocerant fresh prepared food that is Ready-2-Eat or Heat-N-Eat and portable. Regional prepared sustainable food manufactures appear to be capturing market share.

Foodservice retailers are entering the grocerant prepared food niche at break-neck speed. Recently Walgreens announced they too were entering the prepared food niche. Regional manufactures seem to be garnering business from legacy manufactures the likes of Sara Lee The opportunity for growth on a regional level with Walgreens and 7 Eleven are growing stronger week by week..

The confluence of events stirring retail foodservice consumer discontinuity is well under way. These events may be blurring the traditional lines between retail foodservice niche players, but not the line to the consumer.

The food value proposition equilibrium for the consumer today balances; better for you, flavor, and traditional products all blended into something with a twist. In industry speak, differentiated does not mean different to the consumer it means familiar. Creating or identifying distinctive differentiated food consumable’s as an entity with identity by day part is what is needed now. Understanding the unique balance between palate, price, pleasure and the consumer’s drive for qualitative distinctive differentiated new food consumables places me and Foodservice Solutions® in a select industry grouping.

Since 1991 retail food consultancy Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma, WA has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche for more on Steven A. Johnson and Foodservice Solutions® visit http://www.linkedin.com/in/grocerant, twitter.com/grocerant or Facebook Steven Johnson

The Rise of the Grocerant Niche, learn about it at the NRA Show Sunday May 22 2PM.



Foodservice Solutions® Steven Johnson to speak on a panel in May at the NRA Show on Channel Blurring, his topic is: The rise of the grocerant. The rise of grocerants, c-stores, food trucks and other outlets is giving consumers many new foodservice choices. Moderator Bill Cross, vp restaurant brand licensing, Broad Street Licensing Group, will be joined by Julie Washington, vp & general manager-consumer products, Jamba Juice and retailing expert Steven Johnson, president, Foodservice Solutions will provide the information you need to win in this quickly changing world.

Steven Johnson has been a restaurant franchisee and concept developer, is globally recognized for his blog “The Grocerant.” An industry expert in alternative channels of food distribution, he is President of Foodservice Solutions® specializing in the “grocerant” niche in both fresh and prepared foods. The “grocerant” concept includes grocery stores offering Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat foods too convenience stores, restaurants and now even the drug store sector. The foundation of Johnson’s work in the channel are the 5 P’s of food marketing: Product, Packaging, Placement, Portability and Price. He holds a Master of Science in Food Marketing with distinction from Saint Joseph’s University, and a Bachelors of Arts degree from the University of San Francisco. He is a member of Beta Gamma Sigma, the International Business School Honor Society. Johnson has received numerous awards including 3 EMMEY, awarded by 3M for “Outside the box” thinking and team leadership.

Since 1991 retail food consultancy Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma, WA has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche for more on Steven A. Johnson and Foodservice Solutions® visit http://www.linkedin.com/in/grocerant, twitter.com/grocerant or Facebook Steven Johnson

Amazon Fresh is elevating food sales and delivery on a global platform.



At one time many on Wall Street scoffed that Amazon would ever be a serious threat to retailing. Today they continue leading while evolving retailing. Five years ago they began sell fresh food in the Seattle Metro area. They have since expanded retail food sales and deliver in Great Britain and in Germany. Now the world is watching. Wal-Mart the world’s largest retailer is considering a new test of delivery in Southern California. Has Amazon found the “last mile solution”?

Foodservice Solutions® 5 P’s of food marketing: Product, Packaging, Placement, Portability and Price; play a key role on how food will be sold, packaged and delivered. When Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh and prepared food is thrown into the mix, consumer frequency and customer loyalty will both increase.

Meijer has an online grocery service, called ‘MeijerDoorstepGrocer.com’ is the retailer's first effort to sell non-bulk groceries online and is also the retailer's first foray into international online sales. This is a very important step for its e-commerce operations.

Fresh Direct started off in New York City about six years ago and is growing and profitable. Publix recently tested a new service for curbside delivery of customer groceries and have found the test, originally scheduled to be a year long, to be very successful in just a few short months of testing. Safeway and Albertsons both have delivery service but allot very little C-level interest in this burgeoning sector.

Online and internet shopping represents one of if not the fast growing sectors within the global food and grocery market at present, particularly across the more developed parts of the world. The grocerant niche continues to develop across the globe and Amazon my care out a leading position.

Since 1991 retail food consultancy Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma, WA has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche for more on Steven A. Johnson and Foodservice Solutions® visit http://www.linkedin.com/in/grocerant, twitter.com/grocerant or Facebook Steven Johnson

Take Away, Grab-and-Go food is convenient meal planning!



Grocerant niche food is prepared ready-2 -eat including heat-N-eat fresh and prepared food. It can be sous vide /cook chill or frozen. It must have the ability to be portable however. It can be eaten on-site, in the car, at the office or down the road at the park. At times it is reheated; it is focused on single serve portions or portions for two.

One of the most interesting new developments is bundling of the meal components. It’s a mix and mach game that is very empowering for the consumer. Consumer’s can buy a fresh prepared sauce, and utilize it on fish, steak, chicken, a burritos or pasta. Two people in a home may use the same sauce on two different entrees! The same can be said for each course of the meal. This mix and match of small portion, fresh identity in quality products makes meal time a time of convenient meal participation, differentiation and individualization.

What is the most exciting are the new points of distribution of quality ready-2-eat and heat-N-eat fresh and prepared food. In Asia Convenience stores assemble meals on site and many get delivery of fresh food three times a day; focused on the next meal period. With this focus on freshness and quality consumers are paying respect by spending more and more money on food at C-stores.

Department stores are a source for grocerant food in Asia and Europe. Where outstanding displays of quality prepped, prepared and packaged. In the US you can now find fresh prepared grocerant niche food in most urban chain Drug stores.

Since 1991 retail food consultancy Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma, WA has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche for more on Steven A. Johnson and Foodservice Solutions® visit http://www.linkedin.com/in/grocerant, twitter.com/grocerant or Facebook Steven Johnson

The new normal in retail foodservice is meal components.



When 4 PM roll’s around, time constrained multi-tasking consumers focus on the need for convenience is relentlessly the new normal. Grocerant ready-2-eat and heat-N-eat fresh and prepared food that is prepped, portable presented as mix and match meal components continues to be what is hitting the mark for the consumer within retail foodservice.

Eatzi’s Bakery & Market is a perfect example of a company that understands both how to be a successful merchant & retailer. What does that mean to the consumer to be both a merchant & retailer? In the case of Eatzi’s it means authentic, fresh and individual; all of which are consumer empowering.

Whole Foods is doing a good job at bridging the gap with the consumer. Empowering choice of better for you private label products, and fresh prepared ready-2-eat better for your food. Quick Chek understands this as well and continues to see success in the form of customer frequency levels increasing.

The new normal is being able to position your product as incremental important meal component. Grocerants are the next level of foodservice. When 4 PM rolls around are you still in the selling ready-2-eat or heat-N-eat food game?

Since 1991 retail food consultancy Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma, WA has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche for more on Steven A. Johnson and Foodservice Solutions® visit http://www.linkedin.com/in/grocerant, twitter.com/grocerant or Facebook Steven Johnson

Convenience Store sector breaks out while leading all retail foodservice growth.

The grocerant niche filled with ready-2-eat and heat-N-eat fresh and prepared food continues to drive growth in all retail foodservice sectors. Surprising too many but not to us here at Foodservice Solutions® the C-store sector is projected to grow again this year an additional 4.1 percent. When you combine the previous two years growth rate the C-store sector at the top of the retail foodservice growth charts for the past three years. Success does leave clues and it’s obvious the C-stores have picked them up.

The C-store sector has been overlooked by most food retailers as a true competitor. The consumers have driven top line sales at the sectors leaders, Sheetz, Wawa, QuickChek, Rutters on the back of fresh food sales.

Consumers drive change and industry historians / research document that change and report it later. Long understood as the ultimate destination for convenience, the introduction and rapid adoption of quality fresh food has leveled the competitive landscape in the minds eye of the consumer.

Since 1991 retail food consultancy Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma, WA has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche for more on Steven A. Johnson and Foodservice Solutions® visit http://www.linkedin.com/in/grocerant, twitter.com/grocerant or Facebook Steven Johnson