Fresh Fruit The Favorite Snack is Fast Fine Food

When NPD’s  Snacking in America report found fresh fruit is the “favorite snack among all ages, according to the Snacking in America report. Consumers 65 and older eat the most fruit, followed by children under 12. Teens, ages 13 to 17, eat the least amount of fruit but their consumption increases as they get older.”

Fresh Fruit is Fast Food. Consumers continue looking for “better for you food.”   In a poll taken by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation they found that “nearly 70% of Americans reported eating more fresh fruits and vegetables than five years ago”.  Why? Health and affordability were cited as the most important qualities.

Interestingly the poll noted that,” 23% know “a lot” about where the fresh produce they buy comes from. Forty percent said they knew “a little”, 25% said they didn’t know too much and 11% said they didn’t know anything about their produce.”

Seventy-one percent of respondents said that grocery stores were their most frequent source of fruits and vegetables, while 14% and 7%, respectively, said the same for farmers’ markets and big box supercenters.

The survey said that 64% felt that purchasing regionally/locally grown fruits and vegetables was “very important” to them, while 93% of those surveyed said it was “very important” or “somewhat important” that all Americans had equal access to fresh produce.

Demand for Fresh Fruit is a driving force in the exploding growth in health vending format within the Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh food grocerant niche.

Burgerville is a restaurant chain that has integrated regional fresh fruit seasonally into it menu with great results with items like Strawberry Balsamic Chicken Wrap and a plethora of Strawberry refreshments. (burgerville.com) Success does leave clues and better for your focused food is one of them.  Fresh fruit is Ready-2-Eat and better for you and your customer. Fresh fruit is fast food fun that is good for your company and customer.

Interested in learning how the 5P’s of Food Marketing can edify your retail food brand while creating a platform for consumer convenient meal participation, differentiation and individualization contact us via Call 1-253-759-7869 or Visit: www.FoodserviceSolutions.us

Technology Once a Restaurant Attribute now Competitor

New, Faster, Better were taglines of chain restaurant companies marketing campaigns of the 1970’s, 1980’s by newly hired MBA’s of that era touting Operational Efficiencies or, Throughput Advances. Legacy chain after chain headed by a Boomer CEO’s simply built a store and consumer came.  It was a time when differentiation was in name only and copy-cat menu’s and décor ruled the day. Little has changed.

Today, if it was not for menu price increases those legacy chains would be closing stores nearly as fast as they opened them.  Some are, by the way. The reason is Customer Counts at restaurants nationwide continue to slip. Does your restaurant messaging, menu, and media look like yesterday or tomorrow?

Websites, Online Ordering, Mobile Interaction / Ordering / Payments were the touted by MBA’s of 1990’s and 2000’s. Most legacy restaurant industry companies are doing all or tried a version or combo of each thinking that testing technology will keep them in the game until the economy recovers.  OhYeah that did not happen either and many Boomer CEO’s are under fire.  Today, the consumer has moved from Ritual Consumer to Virtual Consumer when shopping for food. 

Regular readers of this blog have heard of Amazon Fresh and Amazon Spotlight (fresh meal deliver), each driving success, filling an unmet consumer need. A need-set that went unrecognized by legacy food retailers or overlooked, discounted, and dismissed as non-competitive. 

Technology companies are today courting the Virtual Consumer while integrating “Better for You” messaging, simple and restaurant quality meals all without the cost of retail locations. This new retail model is direct to consumer, something we touted for chain restaurants in 1999, early once again. There are many technology companies doing direct to consumer currently creating additional industry disruption.  Today I will focus on just one such company; Blue Apron another by the way is Munchery.

Blue Apron slogan is: “Healthy & Delicious meals without shopping the shopping.” … “Skip the store and get fresh ingredients delivered at home. Get 2 meals FREE when you try Blue Apron!” That by the way is three meals new Virtual consumers won’t be eating at a restaurant, buying from a grocery store, or picking up in a C-store’s fresh prepared food section.  How is your brand positioned to compete with technology competitors? Is your business model more like yesterday or tomorrow?

Here is a sample of what Blue Apron is offering “Blackened Drum over Cheddar Cheese Grits with Sorrel, Parsley & Chive Salad”. They describe the meal this way: The technique of “blackening” fish is a hallmark of Louisiana Cajun cuisine. The fish is coated in an aromatic blend of herb and spices then seared in a hot pan. The seasonings are allowed to char slightly, giving the fish its characteristic, deep brown or black color. This method releases and blends the essences of the herbs and spices, creating an intensely flavorful, aromatic crust.”

Foodservice Solutions® was first in the food industry to introduce and position companies the ilk of Cyberslice, Cybermeals, Food.com and Threep.  Understanding consumer’s migration with food purchasing, messaging and placement is key in developing next steps for consumer success.

For international corporate presentations, educational forums, or keynotes contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us  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. www.FoodserviceSolutions.us

Technomic Edifies Foodservice Solutions® 5 P’s of Food Marketing

The undercurrents of change and success within the food industry today can be traced back directly too Foodservice Solutions® 5 P’s of Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food marketing. Developed by Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant Guru™ Steven Johnson in 1994; then introduced, implemented, and integrated by foodservice companies including Full Service Restaurants, Chain Drug Stores, Grocery Stores,  QSR’s, and C-Store clients.  The 5 P’s are:

After repeated successful retail food industry adoption of Foodservice Solutions® 5 P’s of Fresh Food Marketing, Technomic conducted qualitative and quantitative research then compiled the following infographic highlighting the importance and consumer relevance that portability play’s today.  The infographic is entitled Pertinence of Portability:

Highlighted by Technomic is the fact that 51% of the U.S. consumer order Food-2-Go once a week or more. When order breakfast On-The-Go 56% of consumers say portability is important. From 2012 to 2014 consumers ranking the importance of portability for snacks jumped from 55% to 60%. We are delighted that Technomic has highlighted the growing important role that portability plays with food consumers today.

Foodservice Solutions®  excels at vertical brand product positioning, marketing strategy, and business development specifically identifying, quantifying and qualifying niche opportunity for global foodservice related activity specifically Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food. Call 1-253-759-7869 today learn how the 5 P’s can Drive Sales at your Full Service Restaurant.

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

Restaurant Price Value Service Equilibrium Discontent

The National Restaurant Associations Chief Researcher Hudson Reihle  Says 75% of Restaurant Industry Traffic is Off Premise. 

With 90 Million plus consumers between the age of 18 and 36 milling around outside U.S. restaurants it is by far and away the most sought after group of customers. These consumers are called Millennials and are in search of food discovery, value, and a social experience.  They are resetting the price, value, service equilibrium for restaurant operators.

How important are Millennials to your restaurant? In” A 2010 report from Oracle, that focused on the banking sector, estimated that Millennials’ purchasing power will reach $2.45 trillion next year and $3.38 trillion—more than that of the Baby Boomer generation—by 2018. Longer-term, Millennials seem like too big a demographic for restaurants to ignore.” The answer is very important. Now back to the formula.

The old formula was: Price + Quality + Service + Portability = Value .  That formula has evolved with Millennials today Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant Guru has reevaluated, calculated and evolved the formula with Millennials and here is the new formula:  Price + Quality + Social + Portability = Value.

Retailers seeking additional incremental value from Millennials must be Constantly Changing Menu items enabling Millennials to Discover Seasonal Relevance, Authentic Sustainability with Creditability.

In a recent study of 2,000 Millennial-aged U.S. consumers titled “Understanding Millennials” conducted by the Hartman Group found:

1.   55 percent prefer communal tables at restaurants.
2. 68 percent ask friends before selecting a restaurant.
3. 87 percent will splurge on a nice meal even when money is tight.
4. 40 percent will order something different every time they visit a restaurant.
5. Millennials eat out the most frequently at lunch
6. They tend to eat four smaller meals a day at non-traditional times.
7.  30 percent eat foods that are certified organic (as compared to 21 percent of Gen X-ers and 15 percent of Boomers).
8. They prefer whole foods over processed food.
9. They will spend more on ethically sourced meats and farm-to-table experiences.
10.  80 percent want to know more about how their food is grown.
11. Food companies among Millennials’ top 10 most-trusted brands: Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, Ben & Jerry’s, In-N-Out Burger.
12. When shopping in grocery stores, Millennial foodies spend more on premium ingredients and are more likely to opt for small-batch handcrafted beers and artisanal cheeses than the big brand names.
13. Custom food options, such as the 87,000 possible drink combinations that can be had at a single Starbucks unit, are seen as a need, not a luxury. 
14. It’s just not about nutrition for Millennials. They view food as entertainment and self-expression. 
15. Most important when choosing food in general, the top-scoring attribute was “A good value for the money,” at 36 percent. Good value was also the top-scored when respondent were asked what is more important when choosing food from a restaurant. Thirty-nine percent said value mattered most. 

www.FoodserviceSolutions.us  specializes in outsourced business development. We can help you identify, quantify and qualify additional food retail segment opportunities or a brand leveraging integration strategy.  Foodservice Solutions of Tacoma WA is the global leader in the Grocerant niche since 1991

Customer Counts at Restaurants are Weak OR FLAT

The line between restaurants and food retailers is growing ever thinner. The fight for America's food dollars continues to intensify as consumers find fresh prepared Ready-2-Eat food options at a wide and growing array of outlets across almost every channel: convenience stores, chain drug stores, restaurants, grocery stores, club stores, vending and even more non-food retailers like dollar stores. While manufacturers, retailers and restaurants worry about choice overload, consumers have embraced their new choices and show no signs of returning to the old ways. This fight is taking place in what is called the grocerant niche.

The restaurant industry is not an industry known for trying to be first as in fastest to market with an ideation, food or technology advance. In the United States the larger the chain in almost all cases the more slowly they are to adopt something than a smaller chain or independent restaurants will. Chain restaurants goal is simple feed one meal at a time in the restaurant while protecting and edifying the brand.

Historically chain restaurant leaders have denied the credibility of start-up competitors as non-relevant. The pizza sector is a great example; evolving from family dinning independents to national chain of "Red Roof" Italian, then to delivery only outlets and now take-N-bake is garnering market share in the pizza sector. (Note: Home Made Pizza Company and Papa Murphy's are further examples of take and bake pizza operators.)

Trends in the Food Industry Point to an Increase in Non-Traditional Meal Occasions

At the intersection of the consumer, fresh prepared food and technology we fine that consumer eating behavior is evolving and is now beyond the control of traditional food marketers. Evolving culture and lifestyle, demographics along with the new uncertain economy are all putting pressure on the American food consumer: Demands of work, economic shrinkage, demands of raising a family, commuting, social interaction, kid's after-school activities, all contribute to a food marketplace where convenience vies with price over legacy brands. Recent advances in food packaging and new points of non-traditional food distribution have empowered consumer choice, and Americans are embracing these choices even as legacy marketers cringe. Who's after restaurant food dollars… simply put… everyone.

Why should you care if Walgreens is selling fresh prepared Ready-2-Eat and Made-2-Order sandwiches? Why should you care if Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, Safeway and Wegmans are selling Ready-2-Eat and or Heat-N-Eat fresh pizza? Why should you care if Coinstar is selling Seattle Best Coffee at 1,000 locations for $1.00?

You should care because they are selling it, and you are not! The fastest growing sector of retail food service for the past five years has been the Convenience store sector. The C-store sectors growth in large part has been driven by fresh prepared food. Non-traditional avenues of distribution are growing, gobbling market share while establishing new patterns of consumption, price points and customer loyalty.

The Shopper is in Control Spurring New Retail Food Formats

Trader Joe's and Whole Foods have created Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food items with qualitative differentiation as an entity with identity that has help propel them into Ready-2-Eat fresh prepared food leadership. In fact recent research shows that both Trader Joe's and Whole Foods are each known for high quality (restaurant quality) Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat foods with distinctive offerings. More important each is leading with innovative products and package size that create value and have positioned each chain as a food shopping destination for meal components customized and personalized for immediate consumption or mix and matched for a meal time at home. In short they are stealing your customers.

Walgreens fresh prepared food is restaurant quality and priced less than Panera Bread or Corner Bakery CAFE. Both Panera Bread and Corner Bakery CAFE thrive in urban locations. Walgreens is now growing price, quality and speed of service advantages over legacy retailers. Legacy restaurant chains must reconsider the speed at which they evolve and adapt or non-traditional outlets will capture profits margins as well.

Traditional views of meals and mealtime can pretty much be discarded. Legacy retailers waiting for the "next big thing" to copy simply might be out of luck this time. Legacy food retailers may not like to be first movers very much but it may prove that waiting too long will not work this time.

Product, Packaging, Placement, Portability and Price are Foodservice Solutions® 5 P’s

The retail food world is evolving at an ever increasing pace filled with innovation in food, portion size, points of distribution, and quality fresh prepared meal solutions. The price, value, service equilibrium is resetting in retail foodservice. In order to edify the brand and reinforce consumer relevance restaurateurs must leverage Foodservice Solutions® 5P's of food marketing. 

Many legacy food retailers continue to practice brand protectionism, stifle the brand while diminishing consumer relevance. The consumer is dynamic not static. Brands must be dynamic, evolving with the consumer. Four more years of watching other retail sectors thrive should be long enough. Success in the restaurant world is no longer simply about what happens within your 4 walls. Get Help Now:

Visit www.FoodserviceSolutions.us  Steven Johnson is Grocerant Guru at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions, with extensive experience as a multi-unit operator, consultant and brand/product positioning. Since 1991 Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma, WA has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche. 

Consumers Pick Heat-N-Eat # 1 Pizza Chain Again Papa Murphy’s

When you are Ready-2-Eat Pizza consumers once again this year selected Papa Murphy’s their favorite chain. In a new report released by Market Force Information after polling 6,100 consumers in the pizza category Papa Murphy’s beat the likes of Pizza Hut, Papa John’s, and Domino’s.

While new and exciting limited service brands are dotting the landscape none has garnered the attention that Papa Murphy’s has ranking # 1 the last two years.  One reason is fast growth and customer acceptance of just about everything in the Grocerant Niche which Papa Murphy’s is squarely positioned. Papa Murphy’s came in at No. 1 overall and was rated first for both quality and healthy food and second in fast service and value.

Janet Eden-Harris, CMO and senior vice president of strategy at Market Force Information stated “In addition to ranking restaurants consumers favor most, the study looks at what contributes to these preferences, analyzing factors such as service, food quality, and value.

Here are the categories that Papa Murphy’s scored very high in the poll:

1.       Food Quality

2.       Fast Service

3.       Healthy Food

4.       Friendly Service

5.       Value

Eden Harris said that “Pizza Ranch came in second overall for the category, followed by Papa John’s, Cici’s Pizza, Domino’s, and Pizza Hut. Pizza Ranch received the most votes for atmosphere and accommodating children, and CiCi’s was second in both categories. The fastest service went to Little Caesar’s, while CiCi’s took the top spot for value.”

Success does leave clues and Papa Murphy’s business model combine with food quality seems to be a clue customers like as well.

www.FoodserviceSolutions.us  specializes in outsourced business development. We can help you identify, quantify and qualify additional food retail segment opportunities or a brand leveraging integration strategy.  Foodservice Solutions of Tacoma WA is the global leader in the Grocerant niche since 1991

Market Bistro by Price Chopper Setting New Fresh Food Standards

The evolving food marketplace is on display at Price Chopper’s new Market Bistro banner; its “consumer interactive participatory foodservice, Grocerant Niche focused filled with consumer relevance” according to Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant Guru™.

If you were to ask Neil Golub, executive chairman of the Price Chopper board, to describe what exactly his new concept store is, he doesn't hesitate —  "a theme park of food."  He also said the banner is an accumulation of his experiences in the food industry.  

Market Bistro is fresh, serving fresh local food including growlers of craft cider made from local apples.

The growler station pours other regional craft brews, including Saranac Wild Hop, Wolaver’s Wildflower Wheat and Brown’s Pale Ale.

Setting new standards for Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food Market Bistro has other unique fresh features including store-grown hydroponic tomatoes, infused oil and vinegar filling station, and a gluten-free department.

In store on “Bistro Boulevard” you can find multiple stations offering custom burgers, fresh sushi, burritos, and stone-fired pizza.

Consumer relevance, in food retailing today is driven by Grocerant Niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh food.  Consumers drive change and Price Chopper new market Bistro will drive frequency, and customer adoption, top line revenue and bottom line results.  Success does leave clues.

Foodservice Solutions® specializes the Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat Fresh Prepared Food niche aka the Grocerant niche.  www.FoodserviceSolutions.us  We can help you identify, quantify and qualify additional food retail segment opportunities or a brand leveraging integration strategy.