Food Sales Thriving at the Intersection of Grocerants & Consumers

Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant Guru® says that Grocerant means any retail food item that is Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat prepared fresh. The word Grocerant is a result of the blurring of the line between restaurants and grocery stores and was coined in 1996 by our own Grocerant Guru® Steven Johnson as regular readers of this blog know.

A grocerant today can be found almost anywhere fresh prepared meals or meal components are offered.  These components can be bundled into a meal and or packaged for Take-Out, Take-Away, or To-Go. Today’s pictures come from Jaya Grocer a culinary Grocerant located in Malaysia.

Grocerant meals and meal components are increasingly found in liquor stores, drug-stores, 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 our own  Grocerant Guru® say’s retailer, he 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?

At noon 83.7 percent of US consumers do not know what’s for dinner.  At 4 PM 68.7 percent of consumers still do not know what is for dinner. Time Starved Consumers are looking for high quality Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food. Today, 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 or doing dishes.

The retail industry has expanded and is evolving to keep up with the demands of consumer’s desire to save time, improve food quality, and increase the family flavor profile, while enabling personalization and family meal customization.

Grocerant Meal Components Can Be Found At:

Restaurant including: 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 Stores including: Duane Reade, Walgreens which sells fresh soft-serve yogurt, coffee, sandwiches, salads and sushi at selected stores.

Convenience Stores including:   Wawa, Sheetz, Sheetz, 7-Eleven, and QuickChek, all of which sell fresh and prepared sandwiches, salads, beverages.

Clothing Stores including: Tommy Bahama, Nordstrom, Macy’s 

Furniture Stores & Liquor Store including: 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. 

Supermarkets including:  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.

Around the world we are now seeing sections in department's stores, kiosk in malls in Europe, Asia and airports around the world. These 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.

Are you ready to join the grocerant niche if so visit: www.FoodserviceSolutions.us  if you are interested in learning how Foodservice Solutions® Five P’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

Customer Facing Technology too Speed Throughput at Wawa

Wawa excels at understanding customer relevance according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.  So last week when all of us learned that an 11-Year-Old Hacked Into a U.S. Voting System Replica in 10 Minutes we all instantly understood what Gen Z and Millennials have been telling us; without technology our companies will not be moving forward they expect it and are better with it than we are.

Wawa Inc. recently rolled out a pilot of checkout kiosks at its Broad and Walnut streets c-store in Philadelphia. The separate checkout counter on wheels accepts card payment only.  Set on rolling swivel casters, the moveable setup consists of a small counter to place drinks, food or other purchases while customers are being rung up. It is outfitted with a barcode scanner, a credit card reader and a plastic bagging station all within a total footprint no bigger than a mailbox.

The Broad and Walnut streets c-store is the only one in the City of Brotherly Love currently testing the mobile registers, in addition to a few of the busier stores at the Jersey Shore.

Lori Bruce, corporate spokesperson for Wawa, confirmed to Billy Penn that the company is officially giving the checkout alternative a try. "We are always testing new ways to improve convenience and the customer experience," she wrote in an email. "[A]t this time, we don't have a lot of details available."

How are you garnering respect from tomorrow’s customers today?  Are your meeting today’s customer’s expectations or does your company look more like yesterday than tomorrow?  When an 11 year old can ‘hack’ into our election system in 10 minutes what expectations do you think they have for your service system, technology or food delivery platform?

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

Dinner has been Displaced with Smaller Meals & even Smaller Meal Components

The undercurrents of consumer food consumption have been tracked for 100 years or more.  It was not until Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® identified, quantified, quantified, then coined the word Grocerant did the food industry refocus, renew, and reposition food research on the cultural changes driving that change.

When Johnson later identified the 65 Inch HDTV Syndrome industry legacy media scoffed but time has edified Johnson’s findings and even of the legacy food industry research companies that survived the evolving marketplace have jumped on the Grocerant bandwagon. Here are some insights from one of those legacy companies Technomic;

In Technomic’s 2018 Snacking report they found that “80% of consumers say they snack at least once a day (up from 76% in 2014). And, this trend toward more snacking is here to stay, as 55% of consumers say that in the next 12 months, their snacking habits will not change at all, while 18% say they will snack more often” The team at Foodservice Solutions® calls these occasions mini-meals and or meal components that consumers are finding at new non-traditional fresh food retailers.

The Technomic report found that “The biggest nibblers, it turns out, are young consumers, who are more likely than their older counterparts to snack three or more times per day. Younger consumers are less likely to follow traditional eating patterns, and are more likely to eat whatever, whenever, in order to satisfy their needs.”

In short the Grocerant niche is here to stay as the report continued saying “All this bodes well for the continued growth of grab-and-go meals at convenience, grocery, foodservice and other retail stores—58% of consumers say that a grab-and-go or prepackaged food area would be appealing in a retail store (such as grocery)”

The team at Foodservice Solutions® believes that consumer’s time bound constraints have placed a greater importance on family activities, than the family dinner. Thus the grocerant niche platform of family meal customization with personalization while saving time will drive incremental top line sales and bottom line profits in all sectors of retail offering meals and meal components that are portable.

Do your food marketing ideations look more like yesterday than tomorrow? 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.

Renew Refresh Replant Starbucks Expands the Halo of ‘Better-for-You’

Restaurant companies have been offering BoGo’s (Buy one Get one) for years.  Customers understand BoGo’s and understand that it’s a great deal.  Starbucks is giving consumers a BoGo of sorts a two for one with its new LTO (Limited Time Offer) but the bonus value besides being a great tasking drink it is loaded with protein so it is a meal replacement according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

Starbucks new LTO is a 16-ounce Protein Blended Cold Brew drink that is offered in two varieties: almond and cacao. The Almond Protein Blended Cold Brew is made with cold-brew coffee, almond milk, plant-based protein powder, almond butter, a banana-date fruit blend and ice. It has 12 grams of protein. The Cacao Protein Blended Cold Brew, with 10 grams of protein, is made with cold brew, coconut milk, plant-based protein, cacao powder, banana-date fruit blend and ice. Consumers can request additional packets of protein powder.

Ok now you get it this is a meal replacement. A grocerant niche Ready-2-Drink portable meal replacement according to Johnson. This is the first time Starbucks has menued a drink that combines coffee and protein.

Get the while you can as the new nondairy beverages will be available while supplies last, according to a Starbucks press release.

Are you ready for some fresh ideations? Do your food marketing ideations look more like yesterday than tomorrow? 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.

Wienerschnitzel Sponsoring Advertising Competition

When your advertising budget compared to your sector leaders looks more like a penny than a dollar you have to try harder to while looking a customer ahead. That is exactly what Wienerschnitzel, the world’s largest hot dog chain with 333 locally owned restaurants in 11 states is doing. Wienerschnitzel has been chosen as the official corporate sponsor of the 2019 National Student Advertising Competition (NSAC) for the American Advertising Federation (AAF).

This is an outstanding opportunity for Wienerschnitzel according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.  Few people know this but Wienerschnitzel has franchisees today who have previously won this award back in their college days.

Wienerschnitzel like previous sponsors Nissan, Snapple and Yahoo! will provide a “real-world” marketing assignment to advertising and marketing students at over 150 colleges and universities in the U.S. who will develop and pitch an integrated campaign to a panel of judges. Wienerschnitzel’s specific assignment, which will focus on hot dogs, will be revealed later this year.

Doug Koegeboehn, Wienerschnitzel’s chief marketing officer stated It’s going to be amazing to have the brightest minds at the top colleges work on our business,” "In addition to being the largest hot dog chain in the world, this family-owned brand has demonstrated a deep-rooted sense of responsibility to its customers and the communities it serves, and we are proud and honored that Wienerschnitzel is the 2019 sponsor of the National Student Advertising Competition. 

The competition represents advertising, marketing and media disciplines. How is your brand reaching out? Are you looking a customer ahead? Wienerschnitzel is doing all of the right things to drive top of mind awareness, whole edifying the brand to tomorrow’s customers today.

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.

Kroger’s Simple Truth branded products Made for China

Sometimes when you have 19+ banners, and corporate brand managers outnumber the number of banners you have, and your sales lag industry leaders you have no other choice but to seek-out partnerships for new points of distribution praying for some luck to drive sales.  Does anyone think that’s just what Kroger is doing when it formed a partnership with Alibaba.com’s Tmall Global site, which features foreign products?

This new partnership enables Kroger to get a foothold in global sales for the first time in its 135-year history and pretend it is keeping pace with rivals such as Walmart. The fact is Walmart sell Walmart branded product in other countries edifying its brand value while Kroger is selling it Simple Truth private label products. 

Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® wondering out loud asked is this a new avenue of distribution to drive top line sale and bottom line profits or is it an avenue of distribution to unload over produced products?

Kroger said the company would launch the offer with a mix of dietary supplements and its private-label Simple Truth products that it sells online in the U.S. through Vitacost.com and through its online stores for pickup or delivery, where available.

The deal is the latest in a string of announcements – many of them partnerships – supporting Kroger’s $900 million Restock initiative announced last year. Kroger said the move will support the strategies objectives to “redefine the grocery experience” through its own brands, and to open new revenue streams through strategic partnerships.

Simple Truth has quickly become the second-largest brand sold in Kroger stores since launching five years ago. In 2018, Simple Truth reached more than $2 billion in annual sales, making it the largest natural and organic brand in America. Does your company have more brand managers than banners?  Are you a retailer or a manufacture?  Do you understand brand integration, messaging, or how to edify your brand value?

Foodservice Solutions® specializes in outsourced food marketing and business development ideations. 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

Will Bitcoin’s Bet on Restaurants be the Bite or Buzz Needed to Drive Customer Counts

By now most regular readers of this blog know that chain restaurants perennial innovation leader Starbucks may soon allow / enable consumers to pay for their latte with bitcoin. Starbucks has become a food and beverage innovation powerhouse and technology focused company that drives customer engagement with relevance blending interactive technology with participatory food and beverage offerings according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

Starbucks is extending the coffee customization and personalization experience too technology and the payment process by integrating bitcoin into the list of payment options.  Recently Starbucks announced that it will work in partnership with bitcoin exchange operator Intercontinental Exchange Inc. as it forms a new company to “create an integrated platform that enables consumers and institutions to buy, sell, store and spend digital assets on a seamless global network.”

The new company entity will be, called Bakkt, it will employ Microsoft cloud-based solutions to fashion a “global ecosystem” for digital currency, according to the Starbucks press release. “As the flagship retailer, Starbucks will play a pivotal role in developing practical, trusted and regulated applications for consumers to convert their digital assets into U.S. dollars for use at Starbucks,” said Maria Smith, vice president of partnerships and payments for Starbucks,

Smith continued “As a leader in Mobile Pay to our more than 15 million Starbucks Rewards members, Starbucks is committed to innovation for expanding payment options for our customers.” Further operational details about Bakkt will be announced in coming weeks, according to Starbucks, with a planned launch of the company slated for November. So will it drive customer counts? Not today according to Johnson but it will added incremental buzz to the Starbucks brand and down the road it just might.  Starbucks is looking a customer ahead, are you?

Are you looking for a new partnership to drive sales? Are you ready for some fresh ideations? Do your food marketing ideations look more like yesterday than tomorrow? 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.