Food Retailers Struggling for Employees the Solutions is Simple

Regular readers of this blog keep telling me ‘the food industry is not brain surgery’.  They also ask why is it so difficult for so many?  So, we asked Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®. Are you ready for his answer?

Our blog readers are right the food industry is not brain surgery.  When in doubt Johnson says look at companies growing same store sales, store count, and profits as they leave success clues for those who or unsure of simply uninformed.

Having problems getting employees do what Sheetz is doing Pay MORE, while evolving your business model.  Sheetz was one a C-store now its customers consider it a fast-casual fresh food restaurant that sells gas. If your menu, product offerings look more like yesterday than today’s successful retailers its time your business model evolves.

Battle for Share of Stomach

Sheetz is investing $16.8 million to boost its store-level wages, edifying its relationship with employess driving relevance and word of mouth recruiting. Sheetz's goal is to offer competitive wages, which helps attract and retail top talent.

Travis Sheetz, president of Sheetz stated "As a family-owned and -operated business, we know our employees are our most valuable asset," … "We are deeply committed to investing in our employees and creating a great working environment where they feel valued and have the resources they need to succeed."

"Our goal is to provide competitive wages and full-time hours to as many employees as possible, as well as providing quarterly bonuses as a way for employees to share in our success," Travis Sheetz continued.

Now, this latest investment comes on the heels of a $15 million investment in employee wages in 2016. That investment coincided with a significant effort to shift more store employees from part-time to full-time work. Don’t use justification or rationalization as an excuse not to keep you company relevant for consumers or your employees.

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

Grocery Delivery Growth is Troublesome for Restaurants

While growing one sector of your grocery business is a good thing it may not be the best thing overall for your business but in this case it’s even worse for the restaurant sector according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma WA based Foodservice Solutions®. 

Edison Trends recently reported that during September, Publix accounted for a 37% estimated market share of Instacart orders, followed by Costco at 24%, Kroger at 16%, Wegmans at 12% and H-E-B at 11%. A year earlier, Whole Foods Market (20%) was second behind Publix (34%) and ahead of Costco (18%), H-E-B (15%) and Kroger (13%).  So, what this tells us is that consumers across the country are eager to embrace both technology, delivery, and grocerant niche fresh food fast according to Johnson.

Edison made note that Wegmans has moved into the top five following Instacart’s wind-down of its service with Whole Foods Market stores earlier this year. In December 2018, Instacart founder and CEO Apoorva Mehta said the company was phasing out its partnership with Whole Foods, which under the ownership of e-tail giant Amazon has been ramping up online grocery delivery via the Prime Now service. Ok, no news their Amazon has been great for Whole Foods and Amazon will do the delivery of Whole Foods fresh food and more, just watch.

Grocery delivery is still just a minnow in the ocean of grocery food options today according to Johnson, yet its delivery that is helping upend legacy restaurant year over year customer counts. Sept. 30, 2019, the top five grocery retailers by Instacart orders were Publix, Whole Foods, Kroger, H-E-B and Costco, according to Edison’s analysis, which was based on more than 50,000 transactions. Data was scaled so that the highest monthly number of orders was set to 100.

The fact is the restaurant sector owned MEAL CONVENIENCE from the 1950’s through the 2,000’s.  The restaurant sector was innovative beginning with fast food restaurants, the drive-thru, and delivery only restaurants where once pizza was the king.  The restaurant sector has capitulated innovation for copycat menus, marketing, and meal bundles according to Johnson.

Today, the only thing innovative within the restaurant sector is their justification for price increase. If success leaves clues and it does competitive pricing, meal bundling differentiation, and new avenues of distribution will resonate with consumer over price hikes.

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

Applebee’s Late to the Game but now is on the Field

Regular readers of this blog remember the confluence of the great recession and restaurant sector customer defections, and high-end restaurant closing or being sold for pennies on the dollar.  When Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® was first to note that there was one stand out; that was Morton’s Steakhouse. 

Back in the day 2009, the recession was kicking into high gear, Subway was selling a $5 Footlong and one brave high-end steakhouse introduced “Power Hour”.  ‘Power Hour was a happy hour that runs from 5-6:30 pm, Monday through Friday at the restaurant’s bar and lounge that included include select $4 beers (Sam Adams Seasonal, Budweiser and Bud Light), select $5 glasses of house wines, both red and white.

Pricing matters Morton’s surrived the recession better off than most white table cloth restaurants and other chains the ilk of Ruby Tuesday and Applebee’s and their franchisees did not do so well in the minds-eye of Johnson.

It took 8 years from then for Applebee's to sell sold its first $1 cocktail but now 10 years later Applebee’s Dollarita, a $1 margarita, has since become a hallmark holding the chain together. So, why did it take 10 years? Is you chain simply doing what they always did and doing it the same way?  How’s that working?

Well, the Dollarita came on the heels of a period of considerable changes for the brand. It had a new president, John Cywinski, who came on board in in March. There was new leadership at the parent company, too, when CEO Steve Joyce came on five months later. He replaced Julia Stewart, who was pushed out earlier in 2017 after having spent the prior few years trying to elevate the Applebee's brand with moves like those fancy steaks. What is you chain not doing they could?  Grocerant niche Foods? The Price, Value, Service equilibrium’s focus need to be on the consumer.

Applebee’s announced its first national third-party delivery partnership, with DoorDash, and a few weeks later announced another partnership with Grubhub. Again, late to the game. Why? Will it work.  Hell yes! Consumer want delivery regular readers of this blog have know that since 2009.  Where have you been?

Consumers are dynamic not static.  All food retailers must be dynamic as well. Don’t wait 10 years to edify your relationship with your consumer. 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.

Kroger Stumbles Forward: Looking more like Yesterday than Today or Tomorrow

Back in the day there were 1,225 thriving malls in the US and everyone of them had a food court that kept shoppers from getting hungry while they shopped according to Foodservice Solutions® Tacoma, WA based Grocerant Guru®, Steven Johnson.  Today, less then 700ish, are doing well and many others are are doing all they can to stop stores from closing and leaving the mall.

The food court could not save the mall and it will not save legacy grocery stores the ilk of Kroger according to Johnson.  So, when Kroger opened new store in downtown Cincinnati, complete with a ‘food hall’ aka food court it was a sure sign that looking backward for Kroger was easier than looking a customer ahead in the minds-eye of the team at Foodservice Solutions®.

Kroger can call it what they want but to food professionals it’s a food court and it will be consumed with problems the ilk of, operator - turnover, marketing, and access problems others retailer have gotten away from. Kroger’s food court features a full-service bar and five local Cincinnati restaurants: 

·         Kitchen 1883 Café and Bar

·         DOPE! Asian Street Far

·         Django Western Taco

·         Eli's BBQ

·         Queen City Whip

One miss-step can be over looked.  However, our Grocerant Guru® recently visited a Kroger remodeled Fred Meyer store (Pictured above).  It looks like a grocery store from 1990 who’s focus was fresh food?  We ask why?  Sure, Kroger invested $ 12 Million in Main & Vine three years ago only to close it 19 months later.  How could it be that they do not leverage any lessons learned? We ask, why would you remodel a store and have it reflect yesterday customer expectations, not today’s or tomorrows?

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.

New Kum & Go Partnership Drives Grocerant Fresh Food Focus

Convenience store sector fresh food continues to attract new consumer growing sales at 9.6% a year according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.  The convenience store sectors new focus on grocerant niche fresh food continues to garner chain restaurant customers much to the dismay of the restaurant sector.

Kum & Go has entered into a new three-year commitment with PHA that will, result in healthier offerings, including fresh fruits and vegetables, grab-and-go items, beverages and prepared items in its fresh food program garnering new customers, creating new electricity.

Last week Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA) and NACS announced that Kum & Go is committing to offer healthier foods at healthier prices throughout its 400 locations improving consumers fresh food touchpoints according to Johnson.

PHA, is a nonprofit that helps leverage the power of corporate America to improve the food supply, has now helped to expand healthier options in more than 2,500 convenience store locations nationwide.

Nancy Roman, President and CEO of PHA stated “One in two Americans visits a convenience store every day. The convenience store industry has recognized the important role they must play in providing healthy, nutritious options for customers,” … “We are excited to have Kum & Go’s commitment to expand healthier options throughout its 400 stores.”

Kum & Go’s three-year commitment with PHA will result in healthier offerings, including fresh fruits and vegetables, grab-and-go items, beverages and prepared items in its fresh food program. Kum & Go will also be offering special price promotions on healthier items and will include healthier options in its “&Rewards” customer loyalty program.

Kum & Go Chairman and CEO Kyle J. Krause  stated “Kum & Go is proud to announce these new commitments with Partnership for a Healthier America,” …“The partnership’s mission to ensure all families have access to nutritious foods is in lock step with our own goals to help make healthy choices convenient and accessible for all.” How is your brand driving new electricity?

NACS President and CEO Henry Armour stated “The convenience retailing industry is committed to making the healthy choice the convenient choice. Kum & Go’s commitment with PHA furthers the work of the country’s leading convenience retailers and distributors to help make a positive difference in millions of Americans lives every day,”.

Consumers are dynamic not static how is your brand keeping up with consumer demand for fresh fast food? How are you driving new electricity into your brand?

Johnson stated “that in my minds-eye the new electricity must be very efficient for the supply chain and includes such things as fresh foods, plant based  foods,  sampling, toy’s, beer, developing brands, unique urban clothing, grocerant positioning, fresh food messaging, autonomous delivery, cashier-less retail, plates, glasses, cash-less payments, digital hand-held marketing.

All food and beverage retailers to survive the next generation of retail must embrace the artificial intelligence revolution while simultaneously embracing fresh food and beverages that are portable, fresh, with differentiation that is familiar not different.  Does your retail path forward look more like yesterday than tomorrow? Why?

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

Is Gamification Wendy’s New Platform for Success

Foodservice Solutions® Tacoma, WA based Grocerant Guru®, Steven Johnson was the first to introduce gamification to chain restaurants back in 2012 when he introduced ‘Threep’. Threep was the first mobile application that rewarded users for having shared experiences in real life. It was consumer interactive, participatory, with real time consumer relevance, adding value to restaurant brands, building sales with incremental group size, and leveraging Micro groups for Macro results.

Most gamification platforms incorporate customer frequency principles through its rewards program, incentivizing usage by allowing users to unlock better rewards and discounts the more they utilize the game or app.   

Wendy’s may be six years late entering gamification but at least it’s getting into the ‘game’ according to Johnson. With the launch of its first tabletop Role-Playing Game (RPG): Feast of Legends Wendy’s is taking all of the right steps so far.

Battle for Share of Stomach

Today, the gaming culture is on the rise, becoming more mainstream in recent years, making it the cool thing to do within a coveted community of individuals. There are 4.7 million RPG fans across the US and 13.8 worldwide. With the rise of gaming and RPG fans, Wendy’s is bringing its own creative spin to RPGs, featuring an immersive fantasy campaign to support its never-ending fight against frozen beef, whether it’s in the real world or the fantasy world of Beef’s Keep.

Feast of Legends launched at New York Comic Con in partnership with Fandom and Critical Role, featuring a panel of gaming enthusiasts. How are you interacting with your consumers? Does your brand marketing team understand gamification? Is your game as interactive for women as men?

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.

OtaJoy Foods Meal Kits Expand Flavorful Fresh Foods into your Home

Success does leave clues and at OtaJoy (Otafuku Foods, Inc.) success comes from listening to consumers and focusing on consumer touchpoints according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®. I recently cooked at home a new grocerant niche fresh prepared meal kit from OtaJoy and I must say that it elevated my cooking skill-set at home much to the delight of my family.

Food manufacturing today is about selling food to consumers that they want.  Consumers are dynamic not static and OtaJoy is expanding its brand’s reach, impowering consumers to cook fresh food fast, utilizing flavors they have come to like but do not have the skill-set to prepare at home.

OtaJoy says they goal is to share the foods we know and love in a way that's good for our customers. That's why we're constantly educating ourselves on the latest advancements in food science and manufacturing. Our Research and Development team works to source ingredients responsibly and eliminate filler ingredients from our recipes, while our production team strives to operate in the most environmentally-friendly way possible and their new meal kits do just that.

Consider this, Otafuku Foods, Inc. goes back to 1922 when Sasaki Shoten opened for business as a sake and soy sauce wholesale/retail store in Hiroshima, Japan. The rice vinegar brewery started operations in 1938, and the company lost everything when the atomic bomb hit the city of Hiroshima. Vinegar production had to be restarted from scratch after the war.

So, during WWII, a savory "pancake" with readily-available ingredients became popular due to a widespread shortage of rice. In 1950, "Otafuku Worcestershire Sauce" was introduced as the dish became even more popular, followed by "Otafuku Okonomi Sauce" in 1952. A lot of arduous research and development went on behind the scenes, but soon Otafuku had one of Japan's best-loved sauces. As Japan's passion for okonomiyaki grew, so did Otafuku Sauce Co., and they quickly expanded their line of sauces to include yakisoba, tonkatsu and takoyaki. Today, Otafuku is continuing to expand its reach testing grocerant niche fresh meal kits!  I for one think that they taste great, are simple to prepare and will help drive Otafuku to the next level.

When times hand you a lemon, or the tide is turning on your product line are you focusing on the consumers, the past, or not at all. Customers are dynamic not static.  Do you need help expanding? Visit www.FoodserviceSolutions.us or call our Grocerant Guru® at: 253-759-7869.