Wow Bao Fresh Food Fast

It cost a lot of money to open a restaurant in high density, high traffic, high rent buildings but Wow Bao may be one company that can open new stores anywhere because they developed a concept that only requires three hundred square feet.

Now that might not sound like much perhaps, but is enough space for equipment storage or a large walk-in refrigerator. At Wow Bao, 300 or 350 square feet is the sweet spot.  Growth of the Wow Bao brand  has been building its footprint largely through nontraditional spaces like airports, university campuses, and sports arenas where they can deliver Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh food fast. 

Geoff Alexander, president of Wow Bao, stated “We’re able to get it to where we need to get it to and then simply steam the product. … The product is really self-explanatory and then it’s able to hold on a steam table for 45 minutes to as much as an hour and 15 [minutes] without any damage to it.”

Alexander went on  “A lot of higher-level chefs are getting into the ability to take a soft yeast dough and basically turn it into a taco by putting different ingredients in there, usually with an Asian influence. … The word ‘bao’ is becoming a lot more mainstream,”  “At the end of the day, it’s eating a comfort Chinese food … in a vehicle that’s portable and that’s different for a lot of people.”

Wow Bao’s  serves up more traditional Chinese flavors like Teriyaki Chicken, Spicy Mongolian Beef, Whole Wheat Vegetable, and Coconut Custard as a sweet bao, it has also experimented with more American flavors like a chocolate or seasonal pumpkin as sweet baos, BBQ Pork, and breakfast bao filled with ingredients like egg, bacon, Cheddar, and spicy sausage. Bao are certainly the most portable items on the menu, but guests can also order rice and noodle bowls, potstickers, dumplings, and salads.

Today Wow Bao’s operational efficiency seems second nature and after 13 years of “build, measure, learn, and repeat Wow Bao’s smaller footprint is proving to be a competitive advantage within the Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh food space.  

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

 

Burger Kings Hot Dogs Had Hidden Value

The unintended consequences of a planned promotion can at time become a key drive of ongoing strategy and that just might have been the case for Burger King.  With the launch of Grilled Dogs and other new products that have been a boon to Burger King’s comparable sales, which grew 4.6 percent during the first quarter, according to the chain's parent.

The one unintended consequence of the hot dog product introduction was a consumer price point that was again attractive to consumers but may have resulted in a reduction of overall average check. The flame-grilled hot dogs, which debuted in February, have “quickly become guests’ favorites,” Restaurant Brands International (RBI) CEO Daniel Schwartz told analysts last week.

In addition Grilled Dogs have served as an entry point for new customers and are ordered by guests as both an entree and meal add-on, Schwartz said, adding that RBI is “really pleased” with the item’s performance. The hot dogs sell for $1.99 or $4.49 as part of a combo meal slightly less than most burger offerings.

Product launches have propped up sales at Burger King, as the chain attributed growth during recent quarters to new products such as Fiery Chicken Fries and the Extra Long Jalapeno Cheeseburger.  The unintended consequences of one product can provide a platform for long term growth. 

Currently Burger King is running its 10 Chicken Nuggets for $1.49 which is a product price point that drives sales.  Price matters and Hot Dogs, Chicken Nuggets are both familiar items with a twist which is branded differentiation.  Don’t worry about Burger King they are tracking success with a keen eye on the consumer. 

Invite Foodservice Solutions® to complete a grocerant program assessment, grocerant ScoreCard.  For brand, or product placement assistance our Grocerant Guru® has the skill-set you are looking for.  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 

Meal Kits Vs Combo Meals

Meal kits are training wheels for Millennials.  Meal Kits are garnering lots of attention within the grocery sector and excitement for investors of Online meal kit companies the ilk of Hello Fresh, Plated, and Blue Apron but fast food combo meals continue to fined favor with families according to Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant Guru®.

Recent predictions that the meal-kit service segment of the foodservice market will grow to between $3 billion-$5 billion over the next 10 years based on current adoption rates. Since meal kit startups Blue Apron and Plated launched in 2012, they have raised $58 million and $21.6 million, respectively; the Wall Street Journal recently reported that Blue Apron is in talks to raise a huge new round from investors that would value the company at $2 billion. 

HelloFresh, a European meal-kit company founded in 2011 and backed by notoriously competitive startup copycat Rocket Internet, just closed $126 million in Series E funding with the goal of making incursions in the U.S. market. Blue Apron delivers more than two million meals a month, and HelloFresh claims it's already doing twice that volume. The companies are grocery store pantry busters not restaurant slayers. 

NPD recently reported that “Over the last six months, the most popular QSRs have introduced new, value-oriented combo deals that give consumers the choice they are looking for. Wendy’s 4 for $4 Meal; McDonald’s McPick 2 for $2 offering, which then changed to 2 for $5 with a different product offering; and Burger King's 5 for $4 deal are a few examples.  The results will show price is a key driver of restaurant sales success. 

In fact, combo meal visits rose by 1 percent at QSRs for the year ending February 2016 vs. the year-ago period. NPD reported that this entire increase was driven by the combo meal deals. “Combo meals purchased on a deal at lunch and dinner rose from a rate of 6 percent in the year ending February 2015 to 8 percent in the year ending February 2016. This increase resulted in an additional 110 million combo meal deal orders, or a total of 686 million combo meal deal orders. All three major hamburger chains — Burger King, McDonald’s and Wendy’s — collectively were responsible for the order increases through combo meal deals.”

Success does leave clues and while sales of meal kits continue to rise, fast food restaurant combo meals are less expensive, require no cooking, no clean-up, and have not lost favor with consumers.  Since 1991 www.FoodserviceSolutions.us   of Tacoma WA has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche visit Facebook.com/Steven Johnson, Linkedin.com/in/grocerant or twitter.com/grocerant or Contact our Grocerant Guru® at: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us

 

Pret a Manger is Grocerant Niche Ready-2-Eat Success

Success does leave clues and after 30 years of “build, measure, lean and repeat. Pret a Manager is on a roll. The success may have started in the name. What’s in a name well at Pret a Manger literally means, “ready to eat”. Pret a Manager is British restaurant chain that has made a successful leap “across the Pond” to the US where it sells a variety of ready-to-eat foods & beverages. 

Julian Metcalfe and friend Sinclair Beecham opened their first location outside London’s Victoria Station some 30 years ago. Pret (as it’s known) now operates globally and sales are up “14% to £676MM ($987MM). While expansion is key to the company’s sales increases, same store sales (year over year were up 7.5% for stores open more than a year. Not surprisingly, profits increased 14.5% that’s not bad for a company 30 years old.  It’s kinda reminds us of how Starbucks solid growth is the American dream. 

Leveraging success clues by utilizing “build, measure, learn, and repeat Pret has succeeded by adapting its menu to American tastes: freshness is important for food that is brought in in bulk from local commissaries for the mostly urban locations.

Another adaptation is six salad dressing options for boxed meals (vs. one in the UK). And coffee is sold from self-serve containers, accounting for 80% of sales stateside (vs. Europe where 80% of customers want espresso-based drinks prepared by baristas).

It important to note that in a break from conventional restaurant management, the company pays above minimum wage in hopes of retaining loyal staff.  Now with year over year same store sales of 7.5% I would say its working. 

Since 1991 retail food consultancy Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma, WA has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche for more on Foodservice Solutions® or for a Grocerant Scorecard visit http://www.linkedin.com/in/grocerant, www.FoodserviceSolutions.us  Email: Steve@FoodserviceSoltuions.us