Hy-Vee’s Back to School Offer is “Best Breakfast in America”

 Do you believe that breakfast is the most important meal of the day? If so, you are not alone, 24.9% of consumers believe it is and so does our Grocerant Guru®. With school starting back soon Hy-Vee has rolled a new breakfast menu that they “Best Breakfast in America” breakfast menu—complete with breakfast cocktails in select locations—that focuses on fresh, high-quality ingredients.

Now any breakfast menu that includes a cocktail surely need at least a second look. The new Hy-Vee made-to-order menu features skillets, with eggs and homestyle potatoes as a base and various meat and veggie ingredient options; pancakes, including apple pie pancakes with caramel, cinnamon and whipped cream; waffles in Nutella Banana or Sweat Cream; omelets, with four varieties available as well as an option for customers to create their own; French toast, including a Berry Bliss Stuffed French Toast; and sandwiches and platters.

The extended menu also includes “classics,” such as eggs served with sausage or bacon, toast or pancakes and potatoes or fruit; biscuits and gravy; oatmeal; a breakfast burrito; and a gourmet cinnamon roll.

Ok, yes here is what you really wanted to hear about, in addition to fresh-squeezed orange juice, coffee, milk, tea and soft drinks, some Hy-Vee locations will offer a menu of breakfast cocktails, featuring mimosas, including a flight that includes four varieties; sangrias and margaritas; bloody marys; spiked coffees; and more. Breakfast hours will vary by store.

Now, with back-to-school closing in, it just might be a good time to go out to your favorite grocerant niche retailer and spend some time having a hot breakfast and a cold beverage.  That’s mix and match meal bunding the grocerant way.

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

Stewart’s Shops Looking for Next Generation of Customers

 

Looking a customer ahead is vital if you plan to grow your business over time.  At the intersection of technology advances and consumers the automobile industry is changing and consumers are testing, buying, and migrating from gasoline vehicles to electric vehicles and Stewart Shops want to roll out the welcome mat to those migrating to EV.

Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® stated, “Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food is a key driver of convenience store brand adoption.  All C-stores need to reevaluate how to message to consumers that they are welcome inside the store.”

Recently, Stewart’s Shops introduced electric vehicle chargers (EVCs) to five of its locations, having begun installation of its first store’s units, expected to be in service by the fall. That’s looking a customer ahead.

So, Stewart’s Shops broke ground on its first NYPA EVolve Electric Vehicle Fast Charging Station on July 1 in Schodack, N.Y. The chargers are powerful enough to provide a full charge to an electric vehicle in just 15 to 30 minutes. The DC (Direct Current) fast chargers have three types of plugs to fit ports on various models of electric vehicles.

EVolve New York’s chargers are available to all non-Tesla electric vehicles. Some charging stations will also have a Tesla Adapter. Stewart’s Shops currently has three Tesla supercharging stations throughout New York with plans to expand the program by installing two more by the end of 2021.

Pay attention to this part, the EVCs are expected to bring customers inside during charging to not only shop the store, but also have enough time to enjoy a hot or cold food item before departing with a fully charged battery. Are you selling grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared to tomorrows EV drivers?

They are close to being ready, as the Stewart’s Shops charging station in Schodack will be fully operational by September 2021 and is just one of five EV charging stations that Stewart’s Shops plans to open by the end of the year. The Schodack EV charging station is an extension of Stewart’s Shops current EV Charging program.

As part of NYPA’s EVolve New York Clean Energy Initiative, Stewart’s plans for other charging stations at Stewart’s Shops locations throughout New York state in Moreau, Latham, Keene and Clifton Park.

The new charging stations are not the only steps Stewart’s Shops is taking to become more sustainable. Stewart’s Shops uses solar energy at offsite location in Halfmoon and Castle Creek, N.Y., and its manufacturing plant has 2,400 individual solar panels on the rooftop that offset 75% of the power at 50 locations.

Yet, there is more, Stewart’s Shops recycles more than six tons of its cardboard daily and reuses items like totes, dairy cases, ice cream baskets, and bread trays used to make deliveries to reduce waste.

Branding begins with an invitation, at Stewarts, customers can get a discount on their coffee when they use their reusable mugs and Stewart’s also straws, as well.

Are you ready for some fresh ideations? Do your food marketing ideations look more like yesterday than tomorrow? Interested in learning how our Grocerant Guru® 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: us on our social media sites by clicking one of the following links: Facebook,  LinkedIn, or Twitter

Chuck E. Cheese Finds the Frozen Food Court

 

Where are you customers buying their next meal?  With new avenues of food distribution opening up there are some companies that are just finding avenues of distribution that they have over looked for 20+ years according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

One of those companies is, CEC Entertainment, LLC, the parent company of the world’s number one family entertainment venue, Chuck E. Cheese.  They are now expanding their reach beyond its restaurant walls and offering a new take on its fan-favorite pizza directly to consumers’ freezers. The brand announced recently, a licensing partnership with food manufacturer, Flatlander Foods, to bring a new family-favorite pizza to the Kroger Company’s frozen food aisles across the nation. New partnerships can drive new electricity into a brand, while an old line of distribution is new this will help.

Melissa McLeanas, VP of Global Licensing, Media and Branded Entertainment Development of CEC Entertainment, LLC, stated, “We are thrilled to bring Chuck E. Cheese to the grocery aisle with a new product inspired by our famous pizza and created to be enjoyed in family homes across the country,”. “This partnership is just the beginning as we continue to grow our Licensing Division and extend our brand in new categories for families to enjoy outside of our four walls. 

It took a long time to make the leap, after offering families a delicious pizza for over four decades, this new avenue of distribution for Chuck E. Cheese offers a new option for the family chef at home. The tasty new pizzas are available in two flavors: Cheese and Pepperoni and can be found exclusively at Kroger stores across the country.

So, the Chuck E. Cheese pizzas are produced in the USA and follow USDA nutritional guidelines, are made with 100% mozzarella cheese, and offer an excellent source of calcium. Each pizza also includes an offer for 250 free e-tickets that can be used for future visits at any participating Chuck E. Cheese location. The new Chuck E. Cheese frozen pizzas are available for purchase for just $6.99 each.

Most regular readers of this blog know that CEC Entertainment, is now under new leadership, and we all know why. While Chuck E. Cheese has continued to grow internationally in Latin America and Europe and plans to open more than a hundred new stores in the U.S. and internationally over the next three years this is a good first step according to Johnson.  How are you creating new electricity?

According to Johnson, “Brand relevance is in part driven with innovation in new food products in combination with new avenues of distribution all of which are the platform for the new electricity.”  That said, what are you waiting for?

Johnson stated “that in my minds-eye the new electricity must be very efficient for the supply and includes such things as fresh foods, 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 retailers to survive the next generation of retail must embrace the artificial intelligence revolution while simultaneously embracing fresh food that is portable, fresh, with differentiation that is familiar not different.

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 GrocerantGuru.com 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.

Panera Bread Interactive Participatory Proactive Messaging

 

Panera Bread is inviting consumers to include then in their daily activities, thus keeping Panera top of mind.  How do you extend the halo of your brands ‘better for you’ messaging?  At Panera Bread its as easy as designing swimwear according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

What more health, fun, and interactive that swimming in the summer time.  Very little.  Panera Bread’s marketing team understands that their customers are active, seeking food discovery, while looking for the foods and food companies with ‘better for you’ products.  Johnson, went on to say there is no doubt that this line of product will sell out fast.

So, when Panera Bread last week released a line of swim-related merchandise centered around the restaurant chain’s soups, specifically the broccoli and cheddar. No one laughed, once again Panera one upped the competition in sending a brand invitation to its target consumer.

We all know that Panera Bread soup has hundreds of copy-cat recipes on the internet and is a cult-favorite among fans. So, the Panera marketing team tossed the copy-cat’s a challenge according to Johnson. 

You have to like the customer relevance, as the new collection, described on Panera’s TikTok account as “SOUP-er,” includes two one-piece swimsuits and two patterned swim trunks. The first set (one one-piece and one set of trunks) has a pattern of illustrated broccoli and cheddar with a turquoise background. The other set is emblazoned with the word “Soup” and the brand’s logo in Panera’s signature green and yellow.

Get this, Panera Breads team even created a circular pool float in the shape and design of its famous bread bowl, giving consumers the chance to fully embody their favorite soup by wearing the patterned swimsuit and floating in the bread-bowl float.

This isn’t the first time the fast-casual brand has done a marketing campaign around its soup, but it is the first merchandise line. Panera previously released a commercial centered around its soup with ‘The Office’ star Phyllis Smith, a fellow St. Louis native.

The merchandise can be purchased at swimsoups.com. Click through to see the swim line.

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

HelloFresh Meals, Meal Kits, make Menu Magic

 

With new avenues of fresh food distribution opening up around the world monthly, weekly, and seemingly daily food retailers must ask themselves one question every Monday morning.  That question is what are we selling, to whom, and where?  That is according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru®, at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

HelloFresh, was at one time only a Berlin, Germany based meal kit company.  Is doing all the right things according to the Grocerant Guru® because it clearly appears that they are not only asking all the right questions on Monday mornings, but following up with action that is garnering top line sales and bottom-line profits.

Regular readers of this blog know that HelloFresh now has a growing U.S. presence. They are now entering the highly competitive online grocery business today with the launch of HelloFresh Market. So, HelloFresh Market is a digital store that offers customers a range of add-ons to the meal kit order they already receive on their doorstep—from quick meals to pantry essentials, fresh produce and ready-to-heat meals. That will drive incremental sales of Grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared meals according to Johnson.

Uwe Voss, CEO of HelloFresh U.S said during an interview, “Ultimately for us the goal is to move to a broader food solutions group instead of a dinner solutions group,”… “We hope to take customers to other meal occasions. Right now, they receive three to five dinnertime recipes from us, but we don’t have an option for you if you want a solution for lunch, breakfast or complements to dinner such as sides, soups and salads. We know customers are interested in this.”

Winning the Battle for

Share of Stomach

 

This developing business strategy is so important as introduction of HelloFresh Market is part of HelloFresh’s midterm growth strategy, and an important step for the company with ambitions to become “the world’s leading fully integrated food solutions group.” We ask you what are your next steps?  What new avenues of distribution are you going to be expanding your brand?

HelloFresh is aiming to grab a “larger share of the dollar spend,” HelloFresh Market seeks to offer greater value and convenience to customers as a one-stop option for both curated grocery items and mealtime inspiration, Voss stated. Regular readers of this blog know we call this garnering a larger share of stomach.

The HelloFresh Market will launch with what Voss describes as a “very curated set of grocery items.” But the company’s sights are set quite literally on the bread and butter of the grocery business. Which means cherry picking the most requested replenished grocery items.  Basically, they are going to do to the grocery store sector the same thing dollar stores did.  That is be open, upfront, and win market share.

Voss continued, “Our end game isn’t 150 items. We see growing to 1,000 to 2,000 SKUs over time, into items like bread and butter, dairy—high-frequency purchase items, adding that the HelloFresh Market grocery offerings are a “starting point” of items that should feel familiar to customers as they have already enjoyed them in HelloFresh meal kits.

Most food retailers now that know that selling 50 kinds of bread does nothing to drive top-line sales or bottom-line profits. Voss reiterated, “We’re not going to sell 50 types of bread and we don’t want to lose sight of what’s comfortable for our customers who stay with us for frequency of choice,”  “The Market is very curated and fun—just like our cooking experiences.”

The introduction of HelloFresh Market in the U.S. follows the successful launch in the Benelux region, of Europe, where customers could choose from over 150 add-on items to complement their weekly meal kit recipes. Within that region, HelloFresh observed a strong link between the size of the product range and the proportion of customers purchasing add-ons through the Market, which the company will look to replicate in the U.S. As a result, HelloFresh is significantly expanding its product range across categories to provide customers with a variety of items tailored to enhance the shopping and cooking experience.

So, for HelloFresh, the beauty of its meal kit box model is the existing infrastructure to make its expansion into grocery delivery seamless for both the company and its customers.

Voss continued, “Building an exceptional meal-kit experience over the past 10 years has been key to establishing strong market leadership,”. “Through our state-of-the-art supply chain and technology infrastructure, we will provide superior full-service delivery for all meal occasions and capture a greater share of our customers’ overall food budget.”

“HelloFresh is leveraging the box to cover more food occasions,” …“Generally, as a business, we’re always looking to move closer to the customer and shorten the time it takes to get items delivered. With Market, it’s exactly the same as getting a HelloFresh box delivered. We got the whole supply chain taken care of. It’s just a matter of tagging additional high-value items on an existing order. “And it makes economic sense,”

So, how much will all this cost? HelloFresh customers can add grocery items to their meal kit orders without incurring additional shipping charges. “Say, you buy a cheesecake. It doesn’t come at an extra cost. The only thing you pay for is the cost of the cheesecake. We don’t charge extra for shipping according to the statement from HelloFresh.  

The range of HelloFresh Market offerings that will be rolling out to all customers across the U.S. over the coming months. Its curated offerings are categorized into Seasonal Bundles (cheese burgers, baby back ribs and mac and cheese); Quick Meals, Quick Breakfast (cheesy breakfast tacos, kale salad, cheese tortellini with marinara sauce and assorted Intelligentsia coffees); Sides & Complements, Desserts & Treats (garlic bread, gumbo, salads and sweets such as chocolate chip cookie dough and cheesecake); Proteins, Fresh Produce (chicken, ground turkey, apples and avocados); Grains & Pastas & Breads, Cheese (Jasmine rice, brioche buns and ricotta cheese); and Pantry Essentials, HelloFresh Flavors (olive oil, salt, pepper and seasonings).

Add things you know and like will help HelloFresh Market which will feature partnerships with a growing list of high-quality purveyors, such as Epicurean Butter, Pillsbury, Intelligentsia Coffee, Annie’s, Vive Wellness Shots and more, to offer a rotating assortment of new and exciting options, the company said.

HelloFresh has extensive experience in keeping its customers coming back for more. Its customers already rate its meal kit products every week, and Voss said the same ratings will apply to grocery items. “If a recipe doesn’t perform in our meal kits, it doesn’t come back. If there’s not enough interest in a grocery item, we will not continue to carry it.

“Our assortment is going to get more and more powerful because it’s cultivated by our customer,” added Voss. “We have to put a stake in the ground starting with 150 items. Not all 150 will be home runs out of the gate. We’ll continue to go deeper and deeper into what customers like.”

The grocerant niche is filled with Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food that is portable, much of which has the halo of better for you around it.  HelloFresh Market is focused you garnering a larger share of stomach.  We think they are the right track.

Invite Foodservice Solutions® to complete a 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

Nathan’s Famous Drives Growth While Driving Down Cost

A little over 105 years ago Nathan’s Famous was founded.  However, there has never been a time in history that it has been easier, more efficient, or cost effective to drive growth for a chain restaurant than today and according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® “Nathan’s Famous has thrived for over 105 years because they pick up success clues, and today they have pricked up on industry leading clues to drive brand growth and profits.”

So, now Nathan’s Famous has doubled the number of ghost kitchens worldwide just since June 2020. The brand is opened its 223th ghost kitchen, bringing the brand’s presence to over 18 countries across the globe.

This rapid growth of ghost kitchens comes from the development of a new brand, Wings of New York, as well the revival of the Arthur Treacher’s brand, as regular readers of this blog know.

James Walker, Senior Vice President, Restaurants, stated, "We are proud to announce that we have doubled our ghost kitchens across the globe,” says. “We could not have done this without collaboration with outside brands who have helped to bring the Flavor of New York to more guests through Nathan’s Famous, Wings of New York and Arthur Treacher’s.”

Walker continued, “While they are different in their offerings and menus, they share the focus on ensuring all menu items are ‘Memorable, Craveable and Instagrammable.’. Our goal with these ghost kitchens is not just to grow our brand around the world, but also help other restaurants by providing them additional business during these turbulent times for the industry.”

Remember that Nathan’s Famous just began incorporating ghost kitchens in the business model in 2019 working with Franklin Junction. The following year, the brand teamed with REEF Kitchens, which brought the brand to new markets in the Midwest, as well as Kitopi, to help the brand’s growth in the UAE.

So, in 2020, Nathan’s Famous introduced its new brand Wings of New York, which is a delivery only concept offering New York style wings as well as Harlem-style chicken and waffles. Earlier this year, Nathan’s Famous also reintroduced Arthur Treacher’s, a brand that’s been in the Nathan’s brand’s portfolio for years, which features hand-dipped fish, chicken and shrimp.

Invite Foodservice Solutions® to complete a 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 

Grocerant niche Food Packaging Can Drive Sales

 

Takeout, Delivery, or Drive-Thru food for immediate consumption has driven top-line sales and bottom-line profits for restaurants, grocery store delis, convenience stores, at a rate never before seen according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

It is at the intersection for fresh food fast, full flavor, freshness that saving consumers time and the grocerant niche filled with both Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food combine with single-use packaging to drive incremental sales and food safety according to Johnson.

The Foodservice Packaging Institute (FPI), released its second Consumer Perceptions on Foodservice Packaging Report to better understand the general consumer’s use and perception of single-use foodservice packaging.

To discover those consumer perceptions and provide feedback to its members, FPI commissioned a third-party to conduct a survey to find out how frequently people use single-use packaging and their perceptions and behavior choices related to foodservice packaging, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Here is some of what they found:

1.       Being leak- or spill-proof and stopping oil or grease from soaking through and staining clothes, car seats, etc. remain the most important attributes of single-use foodservice packaging for U.S. and Canadian respondents.

 2.       Clean and sanitary nature of single-use foodservice packaging items increased in importance for the highest percentage of respondents, followed by the protective/tamper-proof properties, although less than 40% said this would continue after the pandemic.

 3.       Results also showed that more than 50% of adults in the U.S. and Canada use single-use foodservice packaging at least once a week.

Natha Dempsey, president of FPI, stated, “The spotlight has grown and remains focused on single-use foodservice packaging, particularly throughout the past year,” …“We wanted to better understand consumer perceptions around these packaging products and compare them to our first consumer survey conducted in 2019. We also wanted to find out how, or if, the pandemic affected their perceptions of foodservice packaging.”

According to Johnson, single use food packaging is one of the very best ways to ensure food safety.  Much of the packaging made today can have the halo of ‘better-for-you’ when it is ether made from recycled material or made to self-decompose.

The ability to create packaging to fit your menu items perfectly and print branded messaging on your packaging will only solidify your food, brand, and customer relationship with it.

For international corporate presentations, regional chain presentations, educational forums, or keynotes contact: Steven Johnson 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. For more information visit GrocerantGuru.com, FoodserviceSolutions.US or call 1-253-759-7869