Mix and Mach Bundled Grocerant Meal Components Drive Foodservice Sales

Today convenient meal participation, differentiation and individualization; are each hallmarks of the Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared grocerant niche.  That continues to is the recipe for retail food success in 2020.

Alice May Brock said: “Tomatoes and oregano make it Italian, wine and tarragon make it French, sour cream makes it Russian, lemon and cinnamon make it Greek, soy sauce makes it Chinese, garlic makes it good.”

Consumers like bundled meal components as they allow customers to select from Italian, American, French, Russian or Greek and utilize the components at home any way they like.  The new American meal can be a composite of any prepared food components that the individual may want and they can mix and pair them any way as well.  Remember not every one want to eat the same thing the same night or even at the same time.

Grocerant meal components empower choice continuing a long-standing tradition, the United States is a melting pot of people from all over the world, with different cultures, traditions and flavor preferences.  The new American meal is a melting pot of flavor and choice.  Meal components that can be mix and matched for home consumption are integral to retail success.

Fresh prepared and portable Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat food is now available for all consumers and can be found at Liquor Stores, Dollar Stores, Convenience stores, Drug stores, Grocery stores, Restaurants, Mobile trucks, and new on-line points of fresh food distribution all just waiting for the taking.  When developing new menu items do you consider where the food will be consumed or how and where you can sell it?

Consumers have been exposed to a plethora of flavors and have not the time to master the skill of cooking each.  The rapidly growing grocerant trend is empowering the consumer to establish new customs and traditions in eating better, more flavorful food.  The Grocerant niche is about convenient meal participation, differentiation and individualization.

Foodservice Solutions® 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® based in Tacoma WA is the global leader in the Grocerant niche visit Facebook.com/Steven Johnson, Linkedin.com/in/grocerant or twitter.com/grocerant  Contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us   for more.

The Fresh Market High-End Steakhouse Dinner Meals

Foodservice Solutions®, Grocerant Guru® Steven Johnson based in Tacoma, WA revealed Foodservice Solutions® recent Grocerant ScoreCards found 88.7% of consumers bought Grocerant niche / Ready-2-Eat or Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food because it was Fresh. With 86.4% of consumers saying they were seeking a specific Flavor, 82.6 % believe it is restaurant quality and 77.2% were buying because it was a Fast Meal. 

The fact of the matter is special occasion dinning is not dead.  Consumers are buying special occasion meals from new and different channels of distribution. They are eating those meals at home.  

Dan Portnoy, chief merchandising officer for The Fresh Market stated, “While these are unprecedented times, our guests still want to treat themselves to a special meal, whether they are celebrating a birthday, anniversary or even a Saturday night dinner socially distanced with some friends,”

Portnoy continued, “That is why we are launching The Fresh Market’s Ultimate Dinner Meals, which rival the quality of any fine-dining restaurant meal. We are kicking it off this week with the Ultimate Steakhouse Dinner Meal featuring our prime-grade steaks, premium appetizers and sides, as well as one of our signature desserts, a gourmet fresh fruit tart.” So here is what you get:

The Ultimate Steakhouse Dinner Meal feeds six, retails for $149.99 ($25 per person) and consists of two USDA Prime First-Cut New York strip steaks; two USDA Prime first-cut ribeye steaks; two USDA Prime Chateaubriand-cut filet mignon steaks; 2 pounds of ready-to-cook seasoned asparagus; six ready-to-heat loaded twice-baked potatoes; one caprese platter with fresh tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil; and one 9-inch signature gourmet fruit tart made fresh in store with more than 1 pound of fruit.

Battle for Share of Stomach

Cooking and heating instructions come with the meal, in addition to suggested wine pairings.

Customers can order the meals two ways:

·         Curbside Pickup: Shoppers can scan the QR code with a smartphone camera or go on the grocer’s website to have their meal ready in as little as two hours.

·         In-Store Pickup: Shoppers can pre-order online by 2 p.m. to have their meal ready the next day.

The grocer’s other meal solutions include weekly ready-to-cook Little Big Meal entrées and sides, designed to feed a family of four for $25 or less, and one-skillet Market Meal Kits, which are ready in 20 minutes or less and feed two people.

The Fresh Market also recently introduced seasonal value meals for those seeking a high-quality offering that serves more people. This month, it’s a ready-to-cook Seafood Boil that feeds eight for just $7.50 per person, for a total cost is $59.99.

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 Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma, WA has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche. Contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us or 253-759-7869

Starbucks Employees Empowered to Vote on Election Day

Once again Starbucks is stepping up and standing out according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®. How this time Starbucks is giving all employees time off to vote on Election Day and supporting the right to vote for all in a new company-wide initiative called Fuel Our Democracy. Need I say more.  No, but I will.

Here is how it is going to work, Starbucks employees will work with their managers to “assure they have the tools and time” to register to vote, vote on Election Day or to vote via absentee ballot. The company is also working with nonpartisan voter coalition Civic Alliance to allow Starbucks employees to further engage in civic duties by volunteering at polling sites. Afterall you need workers in the stores so this flexibility should help each and every employee time to vote.

Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson, stated, “We know that barriers exist, notably in Black and Brown communities throughout the nation, that lend to systemic racism and require greater voter access and protections,” … “Through conversations between managers and nearly 200,000 partners, we’ll ensure you have the tools and the time necessary to register and cast your vote.”

Noe more thing, Starbucks will also be encouraging their employees to register to vote and to participate in the democratic process via an in-store and digital push in September, providing tools to help customers learn how to register to vote, and figure out both where they can vote in person and how they can vote via absentee ballot.

So, Starbucks launched a portal for employees (that’s also accessible to the public) called Starbucks Partners Vote that not only provides information on where and how to vote and how to volunteer at polling places, but also news and data on specific issues like police spending and reform, elder care, COVID-19 healthcare, and civil rights, provided by nonpartisan legislative news source, Countable News.

Starbucks Johnson continued “You will hear about us partnering with civil rights groups, non-profits, governments and first responders who share our belief that every single human being—including Black, Indigenous and people of color—feels safe, welcome and respected,” …“You’ll also hear about other ways we are further using our scale for good in the communities we serve. The bottom line being: Starbucks will not wait for change; we will make change of our own.”

The team at Foodservice Solutions® encourages all citizens eligible to vote to do so. If you are an employer, we encourage you to assist your employees find time to vote.  If you are an employee, we suggest you ask your employer before election day for assistance in getting time off or in getting a mail in ballot.

Edible Expands it’ Brand Focus with FruitFlowers

When you want to attract new customers, you have to expand your brand invitation, according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®. When doing that you first must look at all the current touchpoint attributes of your current customer base and determine what could you provide them at would drive an incremental purchase, while simultaneously meeting an un met need-set for them.  

So, consider that Edible, the world’s largest franchisor of fresh fruit arrangements and other treats, has officially expanded into the floral space with the nationwide launch of FruitFlowers. According to Johnson that a brand extension with credibility.

This new product line adds fresh-cut flowers to Edible’s expansive portfolio of gifting options and is a natural fit for consumers to understand and accept. FruitFlowers is now available from Edible stores either as individual bright, floral bouquets or securely paired with Edible’s premium 12-count box of fresh dipped fruit in real, premium chocolate to create one-of-a-kind bundles delivered fresh to consumers’ doors.

Edible president and COO Cheikh Mboup stated “Edible continues to innovate how we help customers celebrate all of life’s special occasions, and today that includes fresh flowers alongside our popular signature treats,” … “What makes FruitFlowers so appealing to consumers with distinctive tastes, is that Edible is the only brand to provide a fresh flower and dipped-fruit bundle using real chocolate.”

Solve pain points, with a variety of FruitFlowers combinations now available, customers do not have to contemplate whether to send a flower bouquet or a box of fresh-dipped fruit. Plus, Edible offers the convenience of same-day and free next-day delivery.

In order to maintain Edible Brands’ reputation for quality and freshness, FruitFlowers will supply flowers direct from the farm to the Edible stores from which customers order for either curbside pickup or delivery. Each bouquet will be created with only the freshest assortment of flowers handcrafted exclusively for Edible by the brand’s partner farms, making each FruitFlowers gift different from the rest.

Foodservice Solutions® team is here to help you drive top line sales and bottom-line profits. Are you looking a customer ahead? Visit GrocerantGuru.com 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.

Within the Grocerant Niche Braggability is Driving Sales

At the intersection of Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food we find the consumer bragging about what they had for dinner, where they got it and that is was ‘fresh, flavorful, a fast meal.  Wondering what is driving customer adoption today? So, was Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®. 

Johnson revealed Foodservice Solutions® recent Grocerant ScoreCards found 88.7% of consumers bought ready-2-Eat or Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food because it was Fresh. With 86.4% of consumers saying they were seeking a specific Flavor and 77.2% were buying because it was a Fast meal. 

While many copy-cat restaurants, copy-cat marketing messaging, and copy-cat entrées have created a platform for customer discontinuity those who are winning today are focused on three consumer touchpoints that are driving customer adoption. The true undercurrent of change for chain restaurants today is customer migration.  Why concept after concept simply looks alike it has been difficult for chain restaurants lacking differentiation to find growth. Here are the three touchpoints once again:

1.       Freshness

2.       Full Flavored

3.       Fast Service

Today, Gen Z and Millennials are seeking food discovery, others are simply tired of the same old same old.  Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant Guru® Steven Johnson says “Differentiation does not mean different rather it means familiar with a twist and today that twist must be clearly defined and noticeable.” I ask does your restaurant have braggability?

Samuel Crowther explained in Henry Ford’s 1922 autobiography “My Life and Work” that Ford famously remarked, “Any customer can have a car painted any color that he wants so long as it is black.” In this statement, Ford the pioneer of the assembly line was stating that mass producing the same product in large numbers was the secret to keeping prices low.

Customization and personalization define differentiation today. There is one problem all things being equal, people like to have things that are made just for them. Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant Guru® continually reminds us that the consumer is dynamic not static. That helps explain the evolving retail demand for a food platform that includes convenient meal participation, differentiation and individualization.

Grocerant niche eating-out while eating-at-home, take-out food, and meal component bundling are leading ways in which people are looking to differentiate themselves, simplify their lives, and same time.

Braggability will Drive an Increase In

The Battle for Share of Stomach

Prior to 2005 no one would have thought that the future of food was not a chain restaurant except for our own Grocerant Guru® who was focused on virtual restaurant development and online fresh food sales.  Streets were lined with Look-a-Like Menu-a-Like steakhouses, fern bars and grills, Quick Service Restaurants and food courts in every mall and city in the United States has seemingly endless customers to draw from.

Not any longer; today the Grocerant Niche fresh prepared food has caught on fire. Once considered uniquely American the grocerant niche is booming in Europe, Asia, Australia, and Africa of late.  Universal commonalities of time saving, lack of cooking skill-set, meal component bundling have taken root.  

Simply put is It has become about consumer discovery, simplicity, and transparency fresh food fast without the labels of ingredients that no one wants to pronounce let alone understand. New unique venues and menus are two of the biggest drives companies the ilk of Pinkies Liquor stores, Wawa is much more than a C-store selling AM Coffee, lunch they are now focused on dinner, Hello-Fresh is a global Meal Kit success story driving new trends flavor focused food. Each has ‘braggability, they are different, notable driving non-traditional meals outlets and occasions to social consumption acceptance.

Is your restaurant experiencing positive customer counts?  Are you catering to diners who are looking for differentiation? Do you have a look alike / copycat menu? Non-traditional food retailers that serve great food in unusual surroundings offer a side of ‘braggability’ while creating a social buzz that is becoming a roar.  More and more that ‘braggability’ is in the form of Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food. The restaurant business is famously Look-a-Like Menu-a-Like outlets.  What do you give your customers to talk about? Boast about?

Now does your restaurant have ‘braggability’? How do you package your food? How do you package a meal?  Is the meal you offer today the same as it was ten years ago? If so them maybe your restaurant is running more like yesterday that today.  Create ‘braggability’ it’s simple it will make you noticed by new customers and notable by your current customers.

Are you trapped doing what you have always done and doing the same way?  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? Email us at: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us or visit:  www.FoodserviceSolutions.us for more information.

Church’s Chicken’s One Step Back Focuses on Two Steps Forward

We have all hear the old adage ‘What Goes Around Comes Around’.  While the foodservice business seems to be evolving with technology, the food, the customers still want the same things. According to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® when you look at the food industry from the ‘high-level’, “the core of consumers needs and wants remain constant.”

Consider this back in the day (1952) when Church’s Chicken was founded it was called: Church’s Fried Chicken To Go.  Yes, Church’s Chicken was built on the idea of convenience and accessibility for quality, value, and Texas-inspired flavor, which has become an even more pronounced focus for the brand today. Sounds a lot like the grocerant niche today don’t you think.  So, do did the food industry change much? No.

However, over time consumer preference, priorities, and provisions demands evolve to satisfy the need-set of the day according to Johnson.  With a renewal heightened visibility due to COVID-19 significantly shifting consumer habits fast that we can look back and forward with increasing focus to understand the demand for off-premise dining, is at our core.

Now, Church’s is reconnecting with its to-go roots by offering a signature carrier option for guests to grab and go. Church’s new “Go Box” provides a complete transport method when dining away from a restaurant, for guests to indulge wherever and with whomever they please.

Brian Gies, Chief Marketing Officer for the brand stated “With the changes that have occurred this year, our guests have told us that they want to bring their favorite meals to share with more than one or two people…whoever their chosen families happen to be,” says. “The social shift has changed our dining experiences, and the new ’Go Box’ makes it easier to come together any time of day, any day of the week.

Not only are our larger serving sizes and prices relevant for these shifting consumer needs, but our new ‘Go Box’ makes it easier for large meals to be taken home, or delivered right to your door for really any occasion.”

So, Church’s rolled out completely re-vamped menu boards across the country in July that promote a new ‘Family Values’ menu line-up, featuring a variety of abundant meals that feed 6 or more with choice of mixed chicken, legs and thighs or tenders, plus a choice of homestyle sides and of course the brand’s signature Honey-Butter Biscuits.

For a limited time, the “Go Box” offers a nod to the brand’s ‘Fried Chicken To Go’ heritage, dating back to 1952. The first “Go Boxes” will feature the retro Church’s character – Churchie. Guests can order their “Go Box” Family Values meals dine-in (according to local guidelines), at drive-thru, take-out, and delivery through a local third-party delivery service, or from the brand's online order-ahead service.

Gies continued “Being able to still safely come together matters a lot these days – we can provide a solution for that to make it easier,” “Church’s new ‘Go Box’ means you can enjoy time with the people that matter most to you while having all of your down home favorites right at your fingertips.”

What’s at your brand core you have over looked? 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 us on our social media sites by clicking one of the following links: Facebook,  LinkedIn, or Twitter

Foodservice Workers Worry as Cashierless Checkouts Mushroom

Technology continues to become a foodservice workers job killer but a foodservice operators savior according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®. Now Mastercard has entered the cashierless checkout fray in a big way with several industry leading food retailers with pilots it’s launching at convenience stores and drive-through QSRs including Circle K, Dunkin’ and White Castle.

So, working with Accel Robotics, Mastercard has developed technology enabling consumers to check out without clerk assistance at any type of retail store from a restaurant to a pharmacy. Once again evolving retail foodservice pain-points with solutions that save the operator money but cost employees jobs.

The new Mastercard, Shop Anywhere platform will launch in October at select Circle K locations in the U.S. and Canada, where consumers can pay for gas and make in-store purchases via an app, eliminating the need to wait in line, according to Mastercard.

Even Dunkin’ will test Mastercard’s cashierless checkout solution at an undisclosed store where customers can walk in and pick up beverages and food without any face-to-face interaction. This solution will work for Delaware North, which operates sports venues and casinos, will enable Shop Anywhere for on-site food and beverage sales, and they will be testing it as well.

Once again at some White Castle stores, Mastercard in October is launching a frictionless order-and-pay service for motorists called AI-Powered Drive Through. SoundHound Inc. and Rekor Systems are providing technology for the drive-through service, which leverages vehicle recognition, voice ordering and artificial intelligence, Mastercard said in the release. Is there no end to this No.  If success does leave clues and it does technology will elevate operational efficiencies and chain foodservice operators will adopt, adapt, and re-assess operating metrics.  

Mastercard’s cashierless solution centers on grocerant niche grab-and-go shopping, expanding merchants’ ability to serve customers quickly, including outside of normal opening hours, and clearly reducing labor cost.

This is nothing new as Mastercard has dabbled in cashierless checkout before. In 2017 the Mastercard collaborated with AVA retail on frictionless checkout for WeWork’s Honesty Market, and it’s not the only card network exploring the concept. The foodservice industry is dynamic not static are you evolving fast enough?

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 us on our social media sites by clicking one of the following links: Facebook,  LinkedIn, or Twitter

Profits Help Win In 

A Battle for Share of Stomach

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