Tops Markets Meal Kits Score

It’s important to remember that while Meal Kits are “Training Wheels for Millennials” according to Tacoma, WA based Grocerant Guru® Steven Johnson they are also meal simplification, for many more.  Meal Kits are a platform that continues to evolve with attributes that resonate with consumers.  So who is doing a good job with them?

When Tops Markets partnered with Chef’d to sell meal kits in dedicated displays inside Top’s stores physical stores, they were the second grocer to ink a deal with the service in recent months. So why Chef’d? Well Chef’d for one thing offers “generous portions” for two made with fresh and simple ingredients that can be prepared in as little as 10 minutes, the kits contain pre-portioned ingredients and step-by-step recipe instructions. Unlike other services, Chef’d doesn't require any subscription plan for using the kits, which will be available in Top’s 171 supermarkets giving Chef’d the volume to keep pricing in line consumers expectations.  

Chef’d, works directly with meat processor Smithfield Foods to create the kits.  They now offer five varieties for in-store purchase including: Weeknight Chicken Pad Thai, Maple Glazed Pork Chops, Cajun Style Chicken Pasta, Pan-Fried Spicy Pork Udon and Herb Crusted Flank Steak.

The Meal Kits are developed through combining the Smithfield, Va.-based processor’s product development, sourcing capabilities, distribution network and brand portfolio with the service’s renowned chefs, meal portfolio and direct-to-consumer experience. So you see it’s a new avenue of distribution.  What are you doing different?  How are you expanding?

Today brick-and-mortar stores are critical to pure-play ecommerce meal kits’ future: Over the summer, market researcher Field Agent reported that some 78 percent of consumers want, to some extent, grocery stores to develop meal kits they could purchase in stores, suggesting that they may drop delivery kits in favor of ones sold at supermarkets.

Once again according to Johnson his success of Chef’d's and other services’ is partnerships.  Yes the price, quality, and service play a key role in the undercurrent of success.  However, Johnson insists that when you boil it down partnerships, with brands and relationships with customers to rule the day.

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

Domino’s Fresh Food Marketing is Fabulous

Regular readers of this blog know that Domino’s dominance digital fresh food ordering has been leading the Pizza sector for the past four years in growth.  So just how have they been able to do it?  Well according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® they do it with a brand invitation that consumer interactive and participatory.  Here is an example.

Recently Domino's Pizza began sending out birth announcements for its latest labor of love—a baby registry powered by Gugu Guru. Parents-to-be can create their own registry at http://dominosbabyregistry.com/.

Meenakshi Nagarajan, Domino’s director of digital marketing  stated “There’s nothing more exciting—and exhausting—than welcoming a new member to the family,” “From baby showers to the big delivery, our baby registry makes it easy to enjoy pizza during the exciting events leading up to the baby’s arrival and thereafter.”

Domino’s under stands their target consumers and after creating and customizing their registry, parents can choose from a variety of gift card themes to use before and after their little ones’ arrival. For instance, customers can shower expectant moms and dads with the gift of pizza at their gender reveal party, or allow them savor one last bite before baby. All gifts will be delivered to the parents-to-be as Domino’s eGift cards.

Some options include: Hormonal and Hangry—The struggle is real (priced at $20); and Sleeping Through The Night—Trust Us. It’s a reason to celebrate ($25).

Nagarajan continued “Earlier this year we introduced Domino’s wedding registry, which was extremely well-received by our customers,” .. “Introducing a baby registry was a natural progression. In fact, our baby registry is making its debut exactly nine months later’.”

One lucky person will win free pizza for a year and several other pizza-themed gifts such as onesies, leggings, moccasins, and mugs from Gugu Guru by entering on their blog or via the widget displayed on the Gugu Guru Facebook page. Once registrants select their gifts, they can share their wish list with family and friends on social media or with a unique URL. How are you extending your brand invitation?

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 the clue you need to propel your continued success.

Cashier-Less Foodservice Retail has Arrived

Technology is border-less it is no long constrained inside a computer help us learn, read, write and play according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®. Complexity free food shopping will be the NEXT BIG THING, according to Johnson.

Many of us have been too the Amazon Go Seattle, WA location and witnessed firsthand the hustle going on inside.  While Amazon and its Amazon Go project remain under wraps.  Success does leave clues and those clues are coming from JD.Com of Amazon’s rivals and the second biggest online retailer in China after Alibaba of course.

Recently JD.com announced that, ‘in partnership with Hong Kong real estate developer China Overseas Land & Investment Ltd, it plans to open hundreds of unmanned convenience stores with technology reportedly more advanced that Amazon’s.  Its trial shops have already been tested by the 10,000 employees at its Beijing headquarters.

JD’s shops will use RFID’s and cameras with facial recognition and image recognition technology on the store ceilings to track each customer’s movement and product selection.  AS the store learns from a customer’s preferences over time, it will also begin to show personalized advertisements.  The same tracking technology will also help store owners restock inventory more efficiently.

That’s not all, JD.com tested a second shop model that uses low-cost piecemeal technology solutions, such as smart shelving tools, that will allow existing stores to upgrade and increase the efficiency of their operations.

Foodservice retail has been slow to evolve, slow to adopt consumer facing technology, slow to adopt grocerant fresh food positioning, and even slower to admit it according to Johnson.  Food industry experts from NPD Group, Nielsen, The Hartman Group, and Willard Bishop have been pumping out reports that reflect data points with yesterday’s points of relevance so often Foodservice Solutions® keeps asking will they all be working for food industry magazines publishers.  

Technology is borderless it is no long constrained in one country or another.  Consumers today continue to migrate to Grocerant Niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food.  Is your company moving fasted enough to stay relevant?  Are you implementing a complexity free foodservice platform?

Are you trapped doing what you have always done and doing it the same way?  Interested in learning how www.FoodserviceSolutions.us 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. 

Restaurants need to Double Down on Delivery

Driving top line sales and bottom line profits while consumer’s path to purchase is evolving faster than most legacy restaurant brands has created a quagmire that stagnates customer count growth according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

In a recent Digital Commerce Survey from BRP found that same-day delivery has tripled in the past year with more growth to come. Here are some specifics:

1.       Currently, 51 percent of retailers indicate they offer same-day delivery, a sharp jump from 16 percent last year.

2.       Within the next two years, 65 percent plan to offer this service.

3.       Delivery through third-party services, such as Uber or Lyft, also rose from 20 percent last year to 32 percent this year, as retailers try different ways of offering customers the flexibility to shop, purchase and receive goods on their own terms, the survey found.

Jeffrey Neville, vice president at BRP  stated "With Amazon offering same-day delivery in some markets, the push is on for retailers to get items delivered to customers as soon as possible," said. "Autonomous delivery and distribution are the next step with self-driving vehicles soon a reality and a few food delivery start-ups already testing the concept."

The path to purchase is evolving fast driven by consumer behavior and mobile technology each are dramatically changing the traditional retail model, according to the BRP report. Within Foodservice  Amazon continues to disrupt brick-and-mortar retail through the acquisition of Whole Foods, restaurant franchise bankruptcies and company owned store closures are changing the landscape for food retailers.

What’s next according to the report, key customer imperatives for the future are:

1.        Combining behavioral, historical and customer profile data aids retailers in delivering tailored and relevant content to meet customers' individual needs. Thirty-eight percent of retailers indicate that improving personalization is a top digital customer experience priority.

2.       Customer expectations for a personalized, seamless experience require retailers to follow customers' journeys as they research and shop from anywhere. Nearly half (49 percent) of retailers will offer customers the ability to 'start anywhere, finish anywhere' within the next five years.

3.       Retailers' technology, processes and organization need to be unified and aligned across channels to offer a seamless and consistent customer experience. More than half (54 percent) of retailers indicate that creating a consistent brand experience across channels is a top priority.

Are you Looking A Customer Ahead 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

Sheetz is Primed with Voice-Activated Ordering

Driving customer relevance is but one of the clues to the continued success of Sheetz convenience Stores according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.  Another of the clues too Sheetz on-going success is its unique ability to leverage partnerships cultivating long term relationships.  That’s just what it has down with Amazon according to Johnson. 

Talk about edifying the relationships with its customers.  Now the Sheetz customers have a new way of ordering their favorite Made to Order food and they can do that from the comfort of their couch.  All they have to do is ask Alexa.

The Sheetz help created a new skill for Amazon’s Alexa, an interactive, voice-activated personal assistant, which allows customers to place an order just by voicing the command. Customers who have a Sheetz online ordering account and an Alexa-enabled device can use the new Sheetz skill for Alexa by:

1.       Logging into their account on the Sheetz website and selecting their favorite order and preferred store for pickup;

2.       Searching for and enabling the Sheetz ordering skill through any Alexa-enabled device or Alexa app;

3.       Saying, “Alexa, start Sheetz,” or “Alexa, order my favorite from Sheetz”; and

4.       Letting Alexa guide the rest of the way.

Ryan Sheetz, associate vice president of Brand Strategies for Sheetz  stated "We could not be more excited to bring this next generation of innovation to our customers and industry," said . "From the inception of our MTO menu more than thirty years ago, to the introduction of touch-screen ordering in 1993, to the launch of the voice-activated ordering today, our goal has always been to continue to innovate and reinvent ourselves in order to provide the ultimate convenience to our customers."

Success does leave clues www.FoodserviceSolutions.us  is the global leader in grocerant niche business development.  We can help you identify, quantify and qualify additional food retail segment opportunities.  Has your company had a Grocerant ScoreCard completed a Grocerant Program Assessment, or new Grocerant niche product Ideation?  Want one?  Call 253-759-7869 Email: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us

December 17, 2017

Restaurants need to Double Down on Delivery

Driving top line sales and bottom line profits while consumer’s path to purchase is evolving faster than most legacy restaurant brands has created a quagmire that stagnates customer count growth according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

In a recent Digital Commerce Survey from BRP found that same-day delivery has tripled in the past year with more growth to come. Here are some specifics:

1.       Currently, 51 percent of retailers indicate they offer same-day delivery, a sharp jump from 16 percent last year.

2.       Within the next two years, 65 percent plan to offer this service.

3.       Delivery through third-party services, such as Uber or Lyft, also rose from 20 percent last year to 32 percent this year, as retailers try different ways of offering customers the flexibility to shop, purchase and receive goods on their own terms, the survey found.

Jeffrey Neville, vice president at BRP  stated "With Amazon offering same-day delivery in some markets, the push is on for retailers to get items delivered to customers as soon as possible," said. "Autonomous delivery and distribution are the next step with self-driving vehicles soon a reality and a few food delivery start-ups already testing the concept."

The path to purchase is evolving fast driven by consumer behavior and mobile technology each are dramatically changing the traditional retail model, according to the BRP report. Within Foodservice  Amazon continues to disrupt brick-and-mortar retail through the acquisition of Whole Foods, restaurant franchise bankruptcies and company owned store closures are changing the landscape for food retailers.

What’s next according to the report, key customer imperatives for the future are:

1.       Combining behavioral, historical and customer profile data aids retailers in delivering tailored and relevant content to meet customers' individual needs. Thirty-eight percent of retailers indicate that improving personalization is a top digital customer experience priority.

2.       Customer expectations for a personalized, seamless experience require retailers to follow customers' journeys as they research and shop from anywhere. Nearly half (49 percent) of retailers will offer customers the ability to 'start anywhere, finish anywhere' within the next five years.

3.       Retailers' technology, processes and organization need to be unified and aligned across channels to offer a seamless and consistent customer experience. More than half (54 percent) of retailers indicate that creating a consistent brand experience across channels is a top priority.

Are you Looking A Customer Ahead 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

Pizza Inn Expands Non-Traditional Outlets

The ever expanding grocerant niche has attracted retailers from ever sector according to Tacoma, WA based Grocerant Guru® Steven Johnson of Foodservice Solutions®.  That includes Pizza Inn who’s tag line is “America’s Hometown Pizza Place,” new prototype for a non-traditional licensing model called Pizza Inn Express, or PIE for short, that will give customers a fast, seamless experience when picking up their favorite hot pizza.

Scott Crane, CEO of Pizza Inn’s  parent company, Rave Restaurant Group, stated “Convenience stores are a $575 billion industry with 70 percent of sales attributed to in-store purchases,” says. “This could be a game-changer for Pizza Inn as we tap into new markets and expansion opportunities for our flagship brand. We’re already seeing great interest from existing and potential franchisees who see this model as a new way to serve customers the same iconic, quality pizza they have come to expect, but in a faster setting.”

Pizza Inn is targeting expansion within convenience stores, airports entertainment venue options or could go into grocery stores according to Johnson.  The licensing deal for Pizza Inn Express will allow customers to order and pay at a kiosk for grab-and-go or pick up their food at a designated spot. Pizza Inn Express was developed as a new strategy to edify the brand, to expand the brands reach as they refresh the current store base.

Pizza Inn has a strong presence in the southeastern part of the country where the convenience store segment has the nation’s highest grouping of independent operators.  Pizza Inn expects to have its first prototypes operating within the next 90 days.

Bob Bafundo, president of Pizza Inn  stated “The PIE kiosk is attractive to non-traditional operators because it allows them to move quickly, be more nimble, and react to changes in customer traffic and facilities, all at a minimal investment,” … “It’s a branded concept that’s attractive enough to be the permanent centerpiece in a travel center or airport, yet nimble enough to provide the same benefits traditional operators get from a food truck.”

Is your brand stuck? Are you trapped doing what you have always done and doing it the same way?  Interested in learning how www.FoodserviceSolutions.us 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. 

Will the 7-ElevenNow App Deliver Disruption

Foodservice Solutions® team was the first to tell you about how 7-Eleven planned to extend e-commerce in the Philippines with options that could become very disruptive to both the restaurant and grocery sectors.  Steven Johnson, our Grocerant Guru® warned that if this mass market test worked 7-Eleven would target the US next.  Well the new 7-ElevenNow App is here. 

How fast is you’re online food ordering App?  Our Grocerant Guru® believes that the new 7-Eleven’s own smartphone app for on-demand ordering and delivery is one of the best in the US. While testing of the “7-ElevenNOW’ App at the first with 10 of its Dallas stores has just begun. It is clear to us that the rollout and testing in the Philippines went well enough that they are planning to roll out the 7-ElevenNow app to other U.S. markets in 2018.

For those of you that from time to time forget 7-Eleven has more than 61,210 retail stores worldwide.  7-Eleven just might be the only retailer with the platform to challenge Amazon's Prime Now, the internet shopping juggernaut's speediest delivery service.  So just what might that mean for your fresh food sales?

Currently 7-Eleven customers have the ability to have fresh food items delivered including Slurpee’s.  Many of you have also forgotten that 7-Eleven banded, trademarked and has been selling Slurpee’s since 1969.  7-eleven with over 61,201 stores is one of the world’s best food marketing companies.

The team at Foodservice Solutions® believes that 7-Eleven ability to mix, match and bundled products via the 7-ElevenNOW App is become a industry leading disruptive force for both chain restaurants and grocery stores.

Currenlty 7-ElevenNow has "hundreds" of items including snacks, cosmetics, gift cards and home goods. Orders will be filled by 7-Eleven store employees, but deliveries will be made by services such as Postmates. If delivery is selected, the app will locate the nearest participating store and, once the order is placed it will notify a courier service. 

7-Eleven's chief digital officer Gurmeet Singh said the proprietary app "is redefining convenience."  Victor Paterno while speaking about how 7-Eleven Philippines is taking e-commerce mass market stated “Basically, we are using our logistics efficiencies to enable new e-commerce models. 

After placing their order, shoppers choose whether their order will be delivered or picked up. If delivery is selected, the app will auto-locate the nearest participating store and, once the order is placed, send it to a courier service. The courier picks up the customer’s prepped products at the store and delivers them to the customer’s location.

If shoppers choose the pick-up option, they select their preferred store. The order will be waiting for them at the register. Customers can pay for both delivery and pickup via the app. Customers that enroll for the service will receive free delivery on their first order, the company reported.

Sing continued “The app will enable our customers to get the products they want, when and where they want them, quickly and conveniently,”…. “This is redefining convenience.” Is your fresh food convenient? Is your App fast? What is customer relevance today?  Meal Kits? What’s the Next Big Thing?  Call us we know!

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