At Urban Plates Price, Value, Service, Equals a Subscription

 

Driving customer frequency is more important today than ever.  Building a brand with a loyal following requires that your brands price, value, service equilibrium reflects what customer want according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

At the intersection of dinner, technology, and any restaurant brand today there is a fight for share of stomach according to Johnson.  Urban Plates recently officially launched its subscription membership program, Plate Pass. The first of its kind in the restaurant industry, Plate Pass is a monthly subscription that makes every menu item $10 (or less) for a fee of just $10 a month. Thus, the more meals you buy the more you can save. 

Adding relevance for most customers the Urban Plates subscription is available exclusively on the Urban Plates app (download for iPhone and Android) for dine-in and takeout orders, Plate Pass offers the entire breadth of the Urban Plates menu, which includes over 30 individual entrées (average cost $13.50) across four sections (plates, salads, sandwiches, and bowls) for $10 or less.

Note: The Plate Pass memberships are valid for one month from the date of purchase and automatically renew unless canceled.

Urban Plates conducted a pilot program.   Subscription members saw an average savings of $42 per month using Plate Pass. To mark the official launch of the program and make the savings that much greater, Urban Plates is pricing its $10 Everyday Menu items at $9 exclusively for Plate Pass members. All of this is part of the brand’s mission to make craveable, wholesome, and healthy food accessible to all.

Urban Plates co-founder and CEO Saad Nadhir, stated, “Everyone wins with Plate Pass," … "Members get any of our entrees for $10 or less and save an average of $42 per month for a low $10 monthly fee. The quality, variety, and great taste of Urban Plates is now accessible to all.  How are you garnering consumer buy-in to your brand?

Don’t over reach. Are you ready for some fresh ideations? Do your food marketing ideations look more like yesterday than tomorrow? Interested in learning how Foodservice Solutions® 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 the following links: Facebook,  LinkedIn, or Twitter

Chain Restaurants Need to Attend PLMA’s Trade Show in November

 

Success does leave clues and losing customer counts year after year simply has to stop if the restaurant sector wants a return to a new normal.  If not the seven, year trend of raising prices, and year over year same store customer count declines will continue according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

The fast of the matter is restaurant traffic has yet to recover. Year over year, same-store traffic was down -5.1% compared with May of 2019. Not only are guest counts declining in restaurants, but traffic performance worsened during the most recent month. April’s two-year same-store traffic growth was relatively stronger but still down 4.0%. This can’t continue forever.

This year the PLMA annual trade show will be putting a spotlight on foodservice for the grocery sector as demand for affordable, restaurant-style meals continues to drive customer adoption. The Private Label Manufacturers Association (PLMA) plans to highlight foodservice at its annual Private Label Trade Show.

When PLMA announced this week that the 2021 Private Label Trade Show, to be held in-person on Nov. 14 to 16 in Chicago, will feature expanded participation by foodservice suppliers across food, nonfood and beverage categories. Overall, the event is expected to draw more than 2,000 exhibitors and over 5,000 visitors. It was clear that the outside eye’s that need to be there are those from the restaurant sector according to Johnson.

Today, grocery stores are more competitive with restaurant takeout than ever before, PLMA said, citing a spike in demand for prepackaged, ready-to-eat prepared foods, more convenient snacks and meals to go as many consumers tire of the months of cooking at home during the pandemic.

At the same time, the New York-based association noted, a surge of in-app and online ordering for home delivery and curbside pickup have blurred the lines between retail grocery, convenience and restaurant channels. Yes, just like restaurant online ordering but consumers are learning that they can get a restaurant quality meal for less at a grocery deli then from a restaurant.

According to PLMA Vice President Anthony Aloia, stated, “Consumers have become more accustomed to finding freshly made, restaurant-style meals in supermarkets — whether prepared by in-store bakery, deli and meat departments, or brought in from a ghost kitchen or commissary — which are sold at extremely reasonable prices under the retailer’s own brands.”

 

Chain restaurants suppliers will be there, including some the nation’s largest foodservice, such as Sysco, US Foods, Aramark and McLane, among other — will on the show floor at this year’s event along with buyers from major grocery retail chains, PLMA said.

These foodservice distributors and wholesalers offer highly developed brand programs, ranging from value labels in food, nonfood and takeout packaging to proprietary labels in such categories as coffee blends, farm-raised meat and produce, craft cheese, artisan bakery, sustainably sourced seafood and ethnic fare, including Italian, Latin and Asian specialty foods, the association said.

Get this, last year, the top 20 private-brand categories by dollar volume included frozen prepared foods at $2.3 billion (with an 11.1% market share), deli prepared foods at $2.2 billion (with a 38.7% share) and grocery prepared foods at $2 billion (with a 12% share), according to the 2021 PLMA Yearbook. By unit volume, grocery prepared foods (1.3 billion, with a 13.1% share) and frozen prepared foods (763.7 million, with a 12.9% share) were among the top 20 private-label categories.

Many “best in class” retail chains already have expanded their convenience-focused food offerings for prepared, kitchen and table-ready meals, either packaged for online pickup or delivery or for grab-and-go from stores, according to PLMA.

Retailers simultaneously have rolled out new mobile purchasing, shop-from-home and last-mile delivery options to make it easier for customers to get prepared foods. In addition, grocery retailers have latched onto restaurant food trends, including farm-fresh and locally sourced ingredients, better-for-you fare (natural, organic and minimally processed foods), more options for special diets (plant-based, vegetarian and vegan) and international cuisine.

The battle for share of stomach is on. After climbing to over 50% of total U.S. food spending in recent years, foodservice market share plunged to a low of 30% in April 2020 while retail food spending soared to a 70% share, according to the FMI-The Food Industry Association’s U.S. Grocery Shopper Trends 2021 study. Through March 2021, that has shrunk to a 12% gap in favor of food retail, with restaurants’ monthly revenue still 17% below earlier levels, FMI reported.

PLMA press release stated, “As the pendulum swings back towards normalcy in months ahead, restaurants  whether fast food, takeout fast-casual or fine dining — are sure to feel pressured to engage the challenge posed by all this expansion of foodservice at retail. Expect them to fight to woo their customers back,”

Regular readers of this blog know that, ordering convenience, delivery, and full flavored food, will be among the battle lines for fast food and takeout. Less crowding, touchless payments and visible sanitation will no doubt continue to matter for in-dining experiences.”

Why worry? Restaurants will be facing additional expense for such improvements and a possible rise in labor costs, we can also expect to see more aggressive promotions and lower prices. Taken together, these likelihoods are sure to make all manner of private-label products from foodservice suppliers increasingly attractive to restauranteurs from a margin perspective.

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

Is Chipotle Gambling with Success

 

If your house is anything like our house, I’m sure you have heard the words, ‘turn off the computer and come to dinner’.  There is more than one family meal in America that has been eaten cold when a child or errant adult just could not get off the computer while playing games.

Gamification is not gambling; it is an excellent way to edify brand relevance with a growing base of consumers according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® who stated, “gamification empowers brand interaction and edifies participation.”

For those of you who don’t know, Gamification by a brand, is the strategic attempt to enhance systems, services, and branded activities in order to create similar experiences to those experienced when playing games in order to motivate and engage customers.

So, when Chipotle Mexican Grill and livestream gaming platform Twitch announced a partnership naming Chipotle the exclusive limited-service restaurant of /twitchgaming, a new channel on the platform, the team at Foodservice Solutions® knew it was a sound thoughtful strategic decision.

This is the first partnership of its kind for Twitch the successful social media platform.  Chipotle, will be the official marketing partner for the channel, which is being described as a place for gamers by gamers on the platform.

So, the channel will have sessions about the future of gaming, news related to gaming, celebrity participants and more. Throughout the summer, Twitch will host multiple events to boost the channel’s reach, and some of those will be in partnership with Chipotle.

Grocerant niche interactive participatory marketing will play a big role as part of the sponsorship, Chipotle will host a new game. “Chipotle Build Your Own PC,” inspired by Chipotle’s burrito bar format, will have players will build their own PCs with streaming “extras” (e.g. lighting panels and soundproofing equipment), and donate the PCs to a non-profit organization.

Chipotle is also launching a branded feature where hosts and guests provide their unfiltered opinions on the gaming topic at hand adding incremental authenticity to the game.

Regular readers of this blog know that Chipotle is no stranger to Twitch. In April 2020, the Newport Beach, Calif.-based brand began its Chipotle Challenger series, which allows amateur gamers to compete against gaming stars and celebrities.

They also remember that, last August, in anticipation of the launch of the chain’s Tony Hawk-inspired burrito and the professional skater’s new video game, Chipotle and Hawk teamed up for a 20-hour livestream on Twitch. The livestream gave away 5,000 burritos to fans watching and featured Hawk along with fellow skateboarder Jagger Eaton and actor Finn Wolfhard playing the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 and 2 Warehouse Demo. How are you extending your brand invitation?

Chipotle has been experimenting with alternate forms of marketing and technology this year, including accepting Bitcoin as a form of payment, TikTok, a livestreamed YouTube event with Trixie Mattel for Pride Month and sponsoring a Top Chef challenge.

Don’t give in and don’t forget, that in 2018, Wendy’s began using Twitch as a marketing tool. The brand was already known for its social media presence and began on the platform livestreaming Fortnite. Later that year, Wendy’s introduced its own Fortnite character, Wendy. The quick-service chain still has a channel on the service where it runs occasional livestreams of games including Animal Crossing and Fortnite.

So, in 2020, Wendy’s teamed up with Uber Eats to offer a new “Never Stop Gaming” menu featuring five Twitch streamers’ signature Wendy’s meals available exclusively on the delivery app.

New faces use new ideations. U.S. House representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) streamed herself playing the video game Among Us on Twitch. While on the livestream, which was one of the platform’s biggest broadcasts, she encouraged viewers to vote. Senator Bernie Sanders joined the livestream platform during his presidential run, as did President Joe Biden, to reach younger voters.

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.

Restaurants can add Customer Relevance while Saving Money that is SpotOn

 

Consumers are on the move no more so than Gen Z and Millennials in search of food discovery, an integrated mobile lifestyle, with a meal’s on demand mindset according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

Did you know that SpotOn is integrating with Order with Google, so it's even easier for hungry customers to find & support restaurants - right from a Google Search. No apps. No logins. No costly commissions. Another way SpotOn is helping future-proof you evolving business model according to Johnson. How are you adding new customer for less?

So, SpotOn develops technology that integrates the core needs of SMBs into a seamless, reliable system that becomes the backbone of the restaurant operation, providing the ease of one integrated platform while saving thousands of dollars in payments and software fees to multiple vendors.

·         For restaurants, this means eliminating the need for multiple platforms and high-cost third-party vendors by combining point-of-sale, reservations, online ordering, delivery, loyalty, website development, enterprise reporting, and more, into one integrated platform.

·         For service and retail clients, SpotOn provides point-of-sale, eCommerce, integrated delivery solutions, inventory management, loyalty, appointment software, website development and more that allows them to compete and win in the marketplace.

·         All clients have access to the shared SpotOn platform, which includes essential business tools like digital marketing, review management and data analytics, as well as a complete payment acceptance ecosystem, including invoicing, virtual terminal and the ability to accept payments in-store, online or on-the-go.

Nearly 8,000 businesses have already made the switch to SpotOn in 2021 and the company expects that number to triple by the end of the year. Restaurants and small businesses are turning to SpotOn for its no contract policy, personal service, fair pricing and integrated, cloud-based platform. Investments in innovation ensure that SpotOn’s clients have a future-proof solution with a steady stream of upgrades and improvements so they will have ready access to the best technology for the long-term. How are you adding new customers for less?

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? If so you need SpotOn.  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.

Walgreens Delivers via Uber Eats

 

Back in the day Walgreens was the largest chain of restaurants in the U.S. with lunch counters serving hot meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  Walgreens was the first to offer the ‘fourth meal’ serving coffee and pie all day as a meal or a snack.  The ability to expand its speed of service via Uber Eats will drive long term success according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.  Walgreens continues to evolve.  Are you evolving? Consumers are dynamic not static all retailers must be as well. 

Walgreens, shoppers will soon have such items as milk, bread, snack, health-and-wellness, beauty and personal care, and household products, as well as over-the-counter medications, delivered the same day via Uber Eats.

Since, Walgreens expanded its collaboration with Uber to offer products directly on the Uber Eats platform to customers across the United States consumers can get fresh food faster. The drug store chain’s shoppers can now have such items as health-and-wellness, beauty and personal care, and household products, as well as over-the-counter medications, delivered the same day via Uber.

This on-demand delivery service is currently available from more than 7,800 stores across the country, with Puerto Rico to soon follow. First to be offered under the expanded collaboration are top-selling Walgreens retail items on the Uber Eats app, with more added daily; the goal is to expand to the retailer’s entire assortment of more than 20,000 products over time.

“Walgreens provides our customers with seamless health and well-being experiences, and offering them convenient delivery solutions on whichever platform they prefer to shop is key,” noted Stefanie Kruse, VP, digital commerce and omnichannel at Walgreens. “Our collaboration with Uber for on-demand delivery through both Walgreens and Uber’s channels, as well as integrated vaccine scheduling, gives customers simple and easy ways to put their health and well-being needs at the forefront – which will continue to be important to them as we emerge from the pandemic.”

“By leveraging the best of what Walgreens and Uber have to offer, we’re making it easier than ever for customers to prioritize their health and wellness,” said Raj Beri, head of grocery delivery at San Francisco-based Uber. “From on-demand delivery of essentials to hassle-free vaccine scheduling all at the touch of a button, we’re focused on eliminating barriers that burden customers’ everyday life, helping them go anywhere and get anything instantly.” 

Those who want to order Walgreens items for delivery can open the Uber Eats app, tap the convenience or pharmacy icons, choose Walgreens, and start shopping. To mark the launch, Walgreens and Uber Eats are offering customers a $20 promo off orders of $30 or more through June 27.

Further, the two companies worked together earlier this year to develop a new vaccine-scheduling option via the Uber app enabling U.S. Uber users to arrange a COVID-19 vaccine appointment at Walgreens. After entering a ZIP code and selecting from the available appointment times, users can reserve a ride to the appointment by scheduling a pickup time and location. Before the appointment, a push notification reminds the user of the upcoming ride to the vaccination appointment. How are you evolving?

Success does leave clues. One clue that time and time again continues to resurface is “the consumer is dynamic not static”.  Regular readers of this blog know that is the common refrain of Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.  Our Grocerant Guru® can help your company edify your brand with relevance.  Call 253-759-7869 for more information. 

Jack in the Box Focus on Growth

 

Building sales requires inviting new consumers to try the brand.  Jack in the Box is focused on building top-line sales and bottom-line profits at each store by inviting a new generation of consumers by sending out a new message / invitation with the assistance of Jason Derulo, his fans and followers, according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

When, Jack in the Box announced a partnership with award-winning singer, songwriter, and TikTok extraordinaire, Jason Derulo, who is dancing his way into the kitchen with the fast-food restaurant, it was clear Jack in the Box branded messaging was once again gaining relevance. Limited time offers are a great way to expand your brand messaging.

So, when Derulo hit another million followers on TikTok, and marked the occasion by celebrating the million milestone with his infamous tradition -- creating his signature “Milli Meals” --  a larger-than-life dinner or dessert featuring bizarre ingredients. To further elevate the Milli Meals, Derulo and Jack in the Box are taking their culinary abilities to the next level, with creating not just a Milli Meal, but a whole restaurant exclusively available on Uber Eats. 

Get this, Jack in the Box and Derulo are launching the first-ever One in a Milli Virtual Restaurant, deliciously bold, mouthwatering meals inspired by Jack and Derulo’s favorite go-to menu items. From June 14 through June 28, the One in a Milli Virtual Restaurant will be available in select areas of Los Angeles, exclusively on Uber Eats. Check your Uber Eats app for availability. 

Jason Derulo, stated, “I’m pumped to be teaming up with Jack in the Box to celebrate my next million of TikTok followers! Jack in the Box is my guilty pleasure, so this partnership was an opportunity to bring my larger-than-life Milli Meals in a unique way, through creation the first-ever One in a Milli Virtual Restaurant.”…“With Jack’s menu variety, we curated the ultimate spread that includes five deliciously indulgent items. Fans will be able to test out our concoctions for the first time only on Uber Eats. We’re excited for you to try what we’ve cooked up!”

Yes, the kitchen-in-crime partners put their aprons on and created outrageously tasty sweet and savory treats. Introducing Jack and Derulo’s special One in a Milli Virtual Restaurant items that fans can order on Uber Eats:  

·         Milli Meal $10 – 11 (Price may vary by location), inspired by Jason’s Milli Meals, they had to create a special Milli Meal offer of course. Introducing Jack and Jason’s Milli Meal including a Triple Bacon Cheesy Jack, Roost Fries, and Mini Chocolate Croissant Bites.

·         BurgerAco, $10 a juicy jumbo patty, placed between brioche buns with Jack’s famous taco, with shredded lettuce, onion rings and a mystery sauce 

·         Mega Milli Platter, $12 a mixed base of the tiny tacos, curly fries and jalapeño poppers topped with crispy bacon, cheese sauce, shredded cheddar, ranch and a mystery sauce

·         OREO Cookie Cheesecake Milli Shake, $7 a sweet vanilla shake blended with cheesecake topped with OREO Cookie crumbles, whipped cream and even more cheesecake

·         Bacon Churro Milli Shake, $7 a sweet vanilla shake with maple syrup and bacon pieces blended with cinnamon sugar, topped with our signature churros and delicious bacon 

Even more, if you are outside of Los Angeles and want to be part of the Milli Meal experience? Jack and Derulo are giving fans a chance to order the “Milli Meal” -- one of the five menu items from the virtual kitchen -- exclusively through their Jack mobile app. Through August 8th, customers can order the Milli Meal for $10 – $11 (price and participation may vary).

Here is how simply by downloading the Jack in the Box app and purchasing a Milli Meal, customers will automatically be entered to win exclusive prizes. Two winners will be selected to win a prize pack each week, and four grand prize winners will be selected in August. Prizes range from custom sneakers inspired by Jack Box’s kicks in the most recent television commercial with Derulo, One in a Milli clothing, signed memorabilia by Derulo, Jack gift cards or other limited edition prizes. No purchase necessary. Ends 8/8/21. Select states/territories, 18+. See rules/eligibility here.

At the intersection of Derulo’s multifaceted talents and Jack in the Box’s wide variety of menu items, the collaboration combines two creative powerhouses working together to put their own spin on the most delectable concoctions exclusively for the One in a Milli Virtual Restaurant, only available on Uber Eats.

Today, new partnerships can drive sales in foodservice today as your brand is searching for the new electricity to help drive the brand forward. Ask yourself do I need a push our brand forward in search of 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.

Don’t over reach. Are you ready for some fresh ideations? Do your food marketing ideations look more like yesterday than tomorrow? Interested in learning how Foodservice Solutions® 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 the following links: Facebook,  LinkedIn, or Twitter

Amazon Fresh Grocery Just Walk Out Stumbles

 

At the intersection of yesterday’s grocery shopping, a time consuming chore, and grocerant niche fresh prepared food, Amazon Fresh pays employees well and is a step by step guide to the future of grocery shopping according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

There is however a problem.  The Amazon branded invitation for food discovery via Amazon Fresh, is strong on technology, weak on grocerant niche fresh prepared food.    Our Grocerant Guru® visited the new “just Walk Out” Amazon Fresh store in Bellevue, Wash., on June 17, 2021.

While the functionality of Just Walk Out is amazing, as regular readers of this blog know from his other visits to Amazon Go stores, that he blogged about, and has spoken about around the world.  This experience was not up to previous experiences or expectations.

So, the debut of cashierless checkout for a ‘full-sized’ urban grocery store had a couple of little technology hick-ups, that’s to be expected. However, much of the grocerant niche fresh prepared food looked as if it was brought in from a slow Mariano’s grocery store from Chicago and should have been left there.

That said it’s clear the technology folks and data crunchers were in charge of defining, stocking, and pricing the products within the store.  They overlooked the fact it is consumers who buy the food.  This is a stumbling block not a road block. One might think the data crunchers used data from the past 18 months to construct the product mix within the store. If they, did you just might think the pandemic would be with us forever.  It won’t.  The data crunchers did not look a customer ahead, nor did they look a back at what the consumer was buying prior to the pandemic.  

According to conversations of consumers shopping near him in the store, our Grocerant Guru overheard shoppers marvel at the prices (high), comment on freshness (poor), all while talking about the ‘technology’.  Remember this is a store centered in the Seattle metro area filled with techies. Here is how our Grocerant Guru® summed up his trip to the team at Foodservice Solutions® HQ; “consumers could not find the ‘price, value, service equilibrium.  

Consumers will not think, I want to shop Amazon Fresh first, it will be an afterthought. The “Just Walk Out Amazon Fresh Grocery store today is more about IQ (Intelligent quotient) than EQ (emotional quotient) according to Johnson. Once again this is a stumbling block not a road block.  The team at Amazon is smart, they are smart enough to evolve their store and technology simultaneously. This iteration of Amazon Fresh will garner trial but will fall short on adoption according to Johnson.

There were areas of the store that did excel when it comes to fresh food. Those items are the pictures you see in this blog post.  It is the consensus of the team at Foodservice Solutions® that Amazon is going to fix this store, so that the branded fresh food offerings, will reflect a proper balance of IQ and EQ in order to drive customer adoption.

So, just how does the technology work?  Get this, Just Walk Out system uses overhead computer-vision cameras, weight sensors and deep-learning technology to detect merchandise that shoppers take from or return to shelves and track items selected in a virtual cart. At the store’s automated entry gates, customers are prompted to select Just Walk Out shopping or use the traditional checkout lanes.

Those choosing Just Walk Out enter the store by scanning the QR code in the Amazon mobile app, scanning their palm on the Amazon One palm signature device, or inserting a credit/debit card linked to their Amazon account. When shoppers exit the store, using the same method for entry, the Just Walk Out technology automatically debits their Amazon account for the items they take and then sends a receipt to the app.

As shoppers exit the store, Just Walk Out automatically debits their Amazon accounts for the items they take and then sends a receipt to their Amazon mobile app.

Customers who want to use conventional checkout lanes enter the store through the designated gates and use one of the staffed checkout lanes to pay with cash, credit or debit card, Amazon One or an in-store code in the Amazon app. Participants in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) also can use their electronic benefits transfer (EBT) cards to pay. Checkout lane users will get a paper receipt, and recognized Amazon customers will receive a digital receipt as well.

Dilip Kumar, vice president of physical retail and technology at Amazon, stated, “Customers have enjoyed the effortless shopping experience enabled by our Just Walk Out technology at our Amazon Go, Amazon Go Grocery, Amazon Fresh stores in the U.K., and third-party retailer stores. The feedback has been fantastic, with customers noting that skipping the checkout allows them to save time and reduce contact in stores,”, …. “Bringing Just Walk Out technology to a full-size grocery space with the Amazon Fresh store in Bellevue showcases the technology’s continued ability to scale and adapt to new environments and selection. I’m thrilled it’ll help even more customers enjoy an easier and faster way to shop and can’t wait to get their feedback on this latest Just Walk Out offering.”

Are you ready for some fresh ideations? Do your food marketing ideations look more like yesterday than tomorrow? Interested in learning how Foodservice Solutions® 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 the following links: Facebook,  LinkedIn, or Twitter