Foodservice Success Booming in the Grocerant Niche

Foodservice Solutions®  Grocerant Guru says this "Grocerant means any retail food item that is ready-2-eat or Heat-N-Eat and prepared fresh. The word Grocerant is a result of the blurring of the line between restaurants and grocery stores.

In reality a grocerant is where a consumer can find fresh prepared food aimed at the time-starved consumer with Ready-2-Eat or Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared meals or meal components that can be bundled into a meal and or packaged for Take-Out, Take-Away, or To-Go.

Today, grocerant meals and meal components are found in liquor stores, drug-stores (Walgreens), fast food restaurants, fast casual restaurants, full-service restaurants, and restaurants inside grocery stores, in legacy “deli” departments, furniture stores (Ikea), club stores (Costco) and clothing stores from Tommy Bahama, Macy’s, and Nordstrom’s.  

 When the  Grocerant Guru say’s retailer, it is broadly defining supermarkets, mass drug merchants, C-Stores (convenience stores), Furniture stores, Club Stores, Clothing retailers and fast food , fast casual restaurants and full service restaurants selling fresh prepared food, and restaurant meals and meal components sold TO-GO or delivery.

What is Driving the Grocerant Trend

Its 4 PM: your customers are just beginning to think about what's for dinner. 81% of American consumers are unsure about what's for dinner. Time Starved Consumers are looking for high quality ready to eat foods and ready to heat meals. Today's time starved consumer wants to purchase meal components that they can bundle into a customized family meal that will please everyone without spending time cooking.

Most consumers may traditionally think these items can be or are found in grocery stores in the deli / lifestyle section, C-stores in the prepared food area and prepackaged, ready to eat items and in restaurants under the To-go, takeout or take away or delivery section of the menu or on the website. The retail industry has expanded and is evolving to keep up with the demands of consumers desire to save time, improve quality, increase family flavor profile, while enabling personalization and family meal customization.

Examples of Grocerants

Restaurant examples are McDonalds, Pret A Manger Burger King, Pizza Hut, Papa Murphy's and Starbucks, each having a fresh Ready-2-Eat or Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food. In the Casual Dining sector Maggiano's Little Italy offers a buy one take a 2^nd home for free in their Classic Pastas menu section, Olive Garden, Chili’s, Boston Market and Denny’s.  That is to name but a few.

Drug Store examples Walgreens as a food destination yet Walgreens sells fresh soft-serve yogurt, coffee, sandwiches, salads  and sushi at selected stores, so they are technically grocerants.

Convenience Store examples are 7 Eleven, Wawa, Sheetz, Sheetz, and QuickChek, all of which sell fresh and prepared sandwiches, salads, beverages.

Clothing Stores Tommy Bahama, Nordstrom, Macy’s, Brooks Brothers all have or are planning restaurants selling fresh prepared food in-store. Fresh prepared Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat food is garnering consumer favor in this sector.  Expect to find more and more clothing retailers entering the grocerant niche.

Furniture Stores & Liquor Store example Ikea sells over $ 2 Billion a year in Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food in its stores (mostly meatballs-mash potatoes), Pinkies in San Angelo, Texas this past holiday season even offered complete fresh prepared full Turkey Dinners will all of the traditional side orders.  All of the fresh  prepared food is prepared on site and sold To-Go. 

Supermarket examples are Whole Foods, Trader-Joes, Central Market, and Wegmans sell fresh prepared chicken, salads, sandwiches and most offer sushi and beverages. Many are now opening in-store restaurants including fast food, full service sit down and bars all offer fresh prepared To-Go as well.

The retail supermarket and convenience store sector have unique grocerant challenges. Presentation of the Ready-2-Eat or Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food is important. When you get a meal at a restaurant, the plate and the food look great… let's call this "food for now". Many legacy retailers are primarily selling "food for later" or take-out and unless an item is a sandwich, the looks of Ready-2-Eat meals and snacks begin to change.

Why is it so hard to package food to go? In the Hot food section of the grocery store the food in most cases does not look appealing so our expectations drop when we get it for Take-Away. That may be one reason that many grocery stores are continue to open restaurants or “food courts” selling made to order fresh sandwiches or Chinese take-out.  In convenience stores like Wawa, the Ready-2-Eat food looks great in the To-Go containers. Why? Because Wawa puts the entire consumer food package together. They exert more control on the look and feel of "food for later".

Around the world we are now seeing sections in department's stores and kiosk in malls in Europe and Asia and airports around the world. The items can range from entrees to side items and deserts. Some examples of items range from fried chicken, mash potatoes, cream spinach, to liver and onions, pizza, hot dogs, steak, prime rib, various casseroles (hot-dish) to salads, side salads pie, cake and any single proportioned deserts. They can be picked up at the specific unit, or delivered.

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

7 Eleven is Branding Ready-2-Eat Fresh Food.

The world’s largest convenience store chain is a global growth machine, building top line sales, bottom line profits with retail outlets focusing on its own branded fresh prepared food rather than gasoline. From Tampa, FL to Tacoma, WA 7 Eleven is building / opening nearly as many new units without gas, but with a focus on 7 Eleven private label branded food offerings.

7 Eleven understand that consumers are time-starved and simply want to get in and out of the store quickly. Consumer recognize and trust 7 Elevens branded food, like the convenient locations, extended hours of operation, one-stop shopping, grab-and-go foodservice. 

With the growth of the grocerant niche 7 Eleven has proven that it continues to be with consumers jumping the curb into the grocerant with new fresh and prepared ready-2-eat and heat-N-eat meal options. 7 Eleven has offered fresh, prepared foods for years, it is only over the 4 years has fresh food accelerated its success.  7 Eleven has transitioned from a convenience stores that focused on gas too attract consumers to a grocerant / restaurant that may or may not to sell gas.

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

Where will restaurant food be sold in 3 years?

Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food continues to drive sales across all retail foodservice sectors. Building a consumer retail food brand that includes an interactive participatory consumer focus utilizing all aspects of the menu, footprint, and operational strengths today is just doing the basics.

Cultivating your food brand is more important that managing a brand. Brands are dynamic not static, they develop and grow with/for your customers.  Identifying distinctive differentiated programs, positioning and consumable’s by day part that reflect the brand, industry trends, consumer preferences that include consumer focused mobile interactive participatory brand building tools are required for consumer relevance.

Are you reaching out to your customers with programs in way that your restaurant developed 30 years ago, 20 years ago, 10 years ago?  Are you selling you food in the same restaurant “footprint” as 10 years ago? What new avenues of food distribution are you selling food in today that you were not 3 years ago?

Pew research found that 7% of business now have no landline phones and 17.5 of Americans have no landline phones.  Times have changed.  When creating or identifying distinctive differentiated food consumables as an entity with identity by day part for your menu don’t forget that your customer most likely will see that menu item first on a tablet or phone. 

Understanding the unique balance between palate, price, pleasure and the consumer’s drive for qualitative distinctive differentiated new food consumables is what keeps the restaurant industry fresh and vibrant.   The food value proposition equilibrium for the consumer today balances; better for you, flavor, and traditional products all blended into something with a twist.  In industry speak, differentiated does not mean different to the consumer it means familiar and mobile.  Don’t let you brand become so familiar that it is stale in the mind’s eye of the consumer.

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 visit: Facebook.com/Steven Johnson, Linkedin.com/in/grocerant or twitter.com/grocerant to learn more.

Dickey’s Barbecue Pit Success Coast to Coast and Channel by Channel.

Dickey’s Barbecue Pit continues expanding from coast to coast and can now be found from California to New York. Dickey’s is one of the best chain restaurants expanding the brand into the Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat grocerant niche. Dickey’s sells lunch boxes to go, has an outstanding catering program and continues to expand its line of rubs and sauces. 

Understanding the value of extending the brand Dickey’s has  Branded Merchandise Site.  Dickey’s is “the world's largest barbecue franchise.  Dickey's Barbecue has a loyal following of barbecue fans looking to turn up the heat on their holiday shopping. Just in time for Cyber Monday, the Texas-based chain is introducing branded memorabilia such as T-shirts, caps, cookbooks, and Dickey's famous Rib Rub on Dickeys.com. “

Building top line sales and bottom line profits while building top of mind awareness is positioning Dickey’s with contemporary relevance with today’s consumer. Roland Dickey, Jr., president of Dickey's Barbecue Restaurants, Inc. "Dickey's has become so much more than just a recognizable brand, we hold memories for many people. Now, we can also offer cool holiday gifts for all those resident grill masters in the family."

Customers are dynamic not static Dickey stated "Many people grew up having family dinners and good times at Dickey's and they want a piece of that nostalgia to take home," said Dickey. "The retail end of the business is something we're looking forward to sharing with our customers." Extending you brand is more important and relevant today than ever before.  Are you extending your brand or over protective of it?

 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? Visit: www.FoodserviceSolutions.us  or visit Facebook.com/Steven Johnson, Linkedin.com/in/grocerant or twitter.com/grocerant

Kiosk, Trucks, and Pop-Up’s Ready-2-Eat Fresh Food Finds Friends

Restaurateurs, entrepreneurs, chain restaurants are all looking for customers in new non-traditional points of distribution.  Each are finding ways to reduce overhead cost while maximizing operational efficiencies while garnering new customers.

Food retailers today are targeting both Baby Boomers and Millennials.  First Millennials who want to carve a path of discovery with food, flavors and non-traditional outlets. On the other hand baby boomers want to say money and feel food relevant.

Boomers and Millennials both are finding success at new fresh food retailers like Pinkies Liquor stores where Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared in store food can be found for To-Go only.

Pop-Up restaurants are finding favor with both groups as well in New Orleans operators are utilizing social media to deliver menu’s and daily locations for both food trucks and Pop-Up restaurants.  The excitement for the consumer is in the discovery.  The reward is in the quality flavor and offerings which range from Filipino cuisine, up-scale burritos, to deluxe Po-boys.  

Chain restaurants are not unaware of the under currents of change within the industry, and while realizing that non-traditional locations offer operational efficiencies are much more strategic  in their approach.

Chains have targeted the likes of travel centers, college campuses, hospitals, convenience stores, military bases, and Airports.  Convenience stores are a top priority for Cinnabon, Schlotzsky’s, Carvel and Fazoli’s.

Orange Leaf frozen yogurt  on the other hand is focusing its nontraditional growth offering franchisees a new 26-foot mobile unit option, modeled after a food truck, as well as a 150 square foot to 400 square foot kiosk model designed for spots such as amusement parks, college campuses, malls, stadiums, airports, big box retailers and office buildings.

Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant Guru likes and regularly documented   Jamba Juice, which has been rapidly growing its self-service JamboGo outlets (a Vending Operation) in schools, this year signed a deal to roll out 1,000 of the units in Target retail stores.  Denny’s has opened its first non-traditional restaurant on a military base.  This unit is located at Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas, Nevada. This new unit is an off shout of the success Denny’s has found with Kiosk on college campuses.

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.  

Pizza Hut, Papa John’s, Domino’s Are Being Targeted by Restaurants

Did you ever get a pizza made in two minutes from Pizza Hut, Papa John’s or Domino’s? With Pizza consumption continuing to grow it is no wonder the restaurant sector is looking for ways to sell pizza faster and cheaper than legacy pizza operators.

QSR Restaurants selling pizza was a big idea back in the early 1990’s.  Even McDonalds rolled out pizza.  I was working on a pizza project for the US Navy at the time and was able to sample McDonalds pizza.  It was good, priced right yet even McDonalds over looked that fact that the pizza box would not fit through the drive through window.  Replacing the Window simply cost to much which l believe was the main cause for the failed pizza test. Had that test worked the Pizza industry and indeed McDonalds would look different today.

The consumer like pizza more today than back then the NPD Group reports that “75% of consumer have consumed pizza at least once in a two-week period, up from 66% in 2003.”  Technology has evolved and today many restaurants can find a pizza oven that can cook a pizza in 2 Minutes.  The pizza can be customized, cooked and served in a restaurant setting in less than 5 minutes.

Rick Wetzel, co-owner of Blaze Fast-Fire'd Pizza, a chain based in Pasadena, Calif. Had built a fast growing company within the Fast Pizza Sector.  Restaurants and local Pizzeria’s are taking notice and want in on the Fast Pizza Sales Growth.

Chipotle, Founder and CEO Steve Ells is looking at pizza, Jack in the Box has looked at Pizza and we know McDonalds has done and can do Pizza.  Will 2014 be the year that Pizza becomes the new Burger?

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.  

General Mills Innovation Leader Focusing Direct To Consumer

Success does leave clues and retail food manufacture General Mills is an industry icon not because they have been around so long.  General Mills is an icon because they focus on the consumer, innovation, technology and edifying the “brand” with consumer relevance.  That focus on the dynamic not static consumer with relevant innovation has been the foundation for ongoing success at General Mills.

Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant Guru like General Mills Marketing staff believes that “the Consumer is Dynamic not Static” It was not long after testing direct to consumer frozen food delivery via Betty Crocker Meals that General Mills qualified enough consumer demand and attributes to extend direct to consumer food sales trials.

While most consumers head to the grocery store to stock up on snacks; General Mills is now going beyond frozen meals and experimenting with a subscription service that ships snacks boxes directly to consumers.

This new subscription service is called “Nibblr”.  The Nibblr subscription, “mails subscribers a regular snack shipment that cost about $6 each time. Snackers then rate what they tasted and future shipments are based off customer tastes. Yes, if this idea sound familiar think Netflix or Pandora and consumers are not adverse to signing up for food service either.

“Nibble” is contemporized consumer relevant innovation from this multi-national food retailer.  The “Nibblr snacks aren't General Mills-labeled and are mostly fruits, nuts and trail mixes. ..General Mills launched Nibblr through a business development unit the Golden Valley-based company calls 301 Inc. That unit, started last year, was envisioned by General Mills as a way to partner with emerging companies to develop food products. Nibblr has an immediate and established competitor in Graze.com, a U.K.-based company owned by Carlyle Group L.P.”

Will it work? The competitor “Graze told Bloomberg two weeks ago that it launched U.S. operations earlier this year and already has 55,000 customers and is adding 1,000 customers a day. It will begin a major marketing push in January.”

Success does leave clues new non-traditional points of food distribution are finding success daily.  Companies the ilk of General Mills find success operating at the “Innovation Intersection”.  That intersection is filled with a cross section of industry leaders, inventors, academics, entrepreneurs, customers and suppliers.  www.FoodserviceSolutions.us is at that same intersection are you?