QuikTrip Convenience Store Expanding with Health Care / Urgent Care

 

There is no doubt that finding a way to drive incremental business in the convenience store space is a hard thing to do.  However, Quik Trip is edifying its brand with the ‘halo’ of better for you by adding MedWise walk-in medical clinics and many of its locations.

Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®, stated, “Quik Trip will garner customers looking for health care and be able to introduce them to their brand, food offering, Gas, and beverage options that many will have never before enjoyed. 

There is no doubt that QuikTrip Corp. is looking to expand the types of convenient services it offers by opening more urgent care clinics.  With its wholly owned subsidiary MedWise LLC plans to develop more walk-in medical clinics in regions such as Wichita, Kan., and Kansas City, Mo.

MedWise spokesperson Antonya Pharr noted that no estimated opening dates for new sites yet exist, according to a Kansas City Star report.

Medwise Chief Medical Officer Patrick Aguilar, stated, "QuikTrip is known for friendly, efficient delivery of high-quality products to customers around the country,"…. "We believe that these are the exact characteristics that will help us provide excellent care to patients at MedWise."

Aguilar continued, “that patients have a right to expect high-quality clinical care, and QuikTrip's reputation for fast and reliable service at more than 900 convenience stores will help support that mission.”

In case you did not know, MedWise LLC currently operates 11 MedWise urgent care clinics in and around the Tulsa, Okla., area. The company first opened MedWise urgent care clinics in the retailer's home state of Oklahoma in 2020. Each facility employs 10 to 15 people.

MedWise Urgent Care offers a broad range of urgent care services, including:

·         Testing for COVID-19, flu and strep;

·         Treatment for illnesses, injuries and infections for all ages;

·         Vaccinations and flu shots; and

·         Occupational medicine services such as DOT, state and government physicals, pre- and post-employment physicals, and Workers' Comp assessment.

So, existing MedWise clinics allow patients to use Medicare and Medicaid to access services, according to the report. In-person and telehealth appointments can also be made in addition to walk-in appointments.

Urgent care isn't the only area in which QuikTrip is expanding. The convenience store operator is reportedly planning to open three c-stores in the Chicago metropolitan area, with the first expected to open its doors in 2023. How are you expanding your brand?

Are you ready for some fresh ideations? Do your food marketing ideas 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

 

The Drive-Thru is Getting Faster Focusing on the Consumer

 

Once again it took someone form outside the food industry to develop a solution that was so obvious and simple it is a great step forward for the industry according to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®. 

Get this, after 11 years in the NFL, retired veteran linebacker Stephen Tulloch opened a coffee shop in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, never imagining his first post-football entrepreneurial venture would lead to the invention of an innovative new point of service tool that is becoming a game-changer for restaurants and drive through businesses across the country. 

So, Tulloch opened his first Circle House Coffee shop in the Flagler Village area of Ft. Lauderdale in 2018.  Business was booming at the brick-and-mortar café, especially at the drive-thru, as the first coffee shop in the area to offer drive-up service, until the pandemic hit in 2020.  

Consider, that this ideation was born from necessity and innovation during a global pandemic, the former pro football player created the “Tully Arm,” a safe, patented, no-touch point of purchase system that makes staff and customers feel at ease when visiting the drive-thru or walk-up window at his restaurant. 

Stephen Tulloch, Founder and CEO of the Tully Arm and Circle House Coffee, stated, “Like so many restaurant and food service businesses at the height of the pandemic, I was ultra-focused on how I could not only keep the business open and running but find ways to keep employees and customers safe at the same time,” …. “The Tully Arm accomplished those goals and so much more for my business, from enhanced customer service to employee retention and morale, to a stronger bottom line.”

That’s right, the Tully Arm helps keep employees and customers safe, minimizes the spread of contagious diseases, speeds up service times, and gives customers peace of mind, knowing their credit card or debit card is safely in their own possession at all times.  

So, unlike systems typically found inside of businesses, the Tully Arm system is mounted outside, with a metal-jointed arm that swings out to cars in the drive-thru, providing a no-touch payment system with its own automatic hand sanitizing station.  The system also processes contactless payments such as Apple Pay and offers a tip function that allows staff to collect additional gratuity.

Tulloch said the Tully Arm was a game-changer for his business during the pandemic, and the invention has become an essential part of his daily business operations today.  

Tulloch continued, “When you free up your staff from having to handle transactions, it gives them more time to prepare coffee drinks and food, which increases speed and overall service for customers,”.  “The excellent customer service brings in more tips, which in turn boosts morale, employee retention and job satisfaction, and has even helped us attract employees at a time when nearly every restaurant has become chronically understaffed.”

Here is the payoff. Tulloch has seen a 35 percent decrease in labor costs, a 140 percent increase in employee tips, and has had zero percent fraud or chargebacks since installing the Tully Arm at his Circle House Coffee Shop.  His patented Tully Arm is now available for drive-thru, food trucks and walk-up businesses nationwide.

Foodservice Solutions® team is here to help you drive top line sales and bottom-line profits. Are you looking a customer ahead? Does your messaging 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 the clue you need to propel your continued success.

Growing Grocery Dollar General Driving Legacy Grocery Stores Nuts

 

Doller General has been garnering customers from grocery stores for years.  The fast service, lower prices and targeting the 55% of U.S. households comprised of one or two people.  Much to their surprise they have also been garnering a larger and larger selection of U.S. customers in a hurry eve those from large households.

According to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® “legacy grocery stores the ilk of Publix, Albertsons, Kroger will very soon have to evolve or will simply begin to fade away as Doller General siphons off more and more customers.  Why will they? 

Simply consider that Dollar General on Monday announced the opening of a new DG Market in Winchester in southern Illinois. The store is just about a mile from the Dollar General location it replaces, but it features a greatly expanded selection of fresh meat and produce.

This new DG Market sell the top 20 items sold in traditional grocery stores, including lettuce, tomatoes, onions, apples, strawberries, potatoes, sweet potatoes, lemons, limes, salad mixes and more, the company said. The items cover about 80% of the produce carried by most grocery stores.

“It’s like a Walmart for a small town,” Winchester Mayor Rex McIntire told local media, adding that the city sold the land to Dollar General for just $32,500 because it was so interested in securing a grocery store for the site.

Dollar General said last year it wants as many as 10,000 of its stores to eventually carry fresh produce, making it an increasingly popular retailer in rural areas and other food deserts, especially during a time of high inflation. Regular readers of this blog knew that.

Currently, Dollar General sells fresh food in about 2,700 of its more than 18,000 stores. In August, the retailer said that sales of fresh and frozen foods had grown faster than any other Dollar General department during the first half of the year.

Dollar General CEO Todd Vasos, stated, “With our extensive store footprint, often in communities others have chosen not to serve, Dollar General is uniquely positioned to help combat hunger by offering convenient access to a variety of nutritious foods at accordable prices,”.

In case you did not know, about three-quarters of the U.S. population lives within five miles of a Dollar General store.  In addition to meat, fruit and vegetables, the new DG Market also carries the same brands and categories sold at a traditional Dollar General, the company said.

“The new DG Market format aims to provide the Winchester community with an updated design and closer access to fresh foods and a convenient location to purchase the items they want and need at everyday low prices,” Matthew Simonsen, Dollar General’s SVP of real estate and store development, said in a statement.

Success does leave clues and if you are not evolving with the consumer, you are simply fading away.

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

Pizza Hut Targets Small Families

 

It was back in the early 1990’s that our Grocerant Guru® was invited to the grand opening of the very first Pizza Hut in Hong Kong.  While walking around and talking with guest enjoying their meal one couple from Singapore told him they were disappointed.  They like the food, were smiling but disappointed. He asked them why?  They stated they had thought that Pizza Hut was a U.S. fast food restaurant.  That perception is about to change once again.

Success does leave clues and here are some key facts our own Grocerant Guru® has been share with you over the years. Most recently he stated that there were 37 million one-person households in 2021, or 28% of all U.S. households, there were 35 million two—person or 27.5 % of households in 2021. Now regular readers of this blog know that is 55.5% of all U.S. Households.

Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® has been touting the value of the ‘single’ consumer and the frequency at which they eat out at restaurants rather than cooking for 27 years. Pizza Hut is now listening and it will pay off for them.

This week Pizza Hut debuted a new hand-held offering designed not to be shared, with a value-positioned price and more daypart flexibility. The new Melts are a bit like individual slices, if those slices were folded over and dipped in sauce. Targeting the single meal, and empowering choice.

Small Families Are Big Business

Want to build a Larger Share of Stomach

So, you can order Melts that include two slices of Pizza Hut’s Thin N’ Crispy crust topped with cheese and other options, then folded over and baked in a way that evokes both a stromboli and a quesadilla.

Melts are served with dipping sauces, and the snack or meal is priced at a recommended $6.99.

There are four recipes:

·         Pepperoni Lover’s served with marinara dipping sauce.

·         Buffalo Chicken served with buffalo and ranch dipping sauce options.

·         Chicken Bacon Parmesan served with ranch dipping sauce.

·         Meat Lover’s served with marinara.

Here is where the messaging with drive home the point!  So, in a marketing campaign encouraging guests to “go solo,” Pizza Hut will award lucky guests online with $100 (as a gift card) if they agree to sign an “MDA,” or a “Melts Disclosure Agreement” pledging not to share images of the new Melts on their social media. The pledge can be made at meltsarenotforsharing.com, and the MDAs, of course, are not legally binding.

Lindsay Morgan, Pizza Hut’s chief marketing officer, stated, “We like to say—pizza is for WE; Melts are for ME because sometimes you want the delicious taste of pizza all for yourself without having to order and share an entire pie,” …. “With Melts, now there’s a new way to get the bold flavors of your favorite pizza—or what you might get on your favorite sandwich—just for you, whenever and wherever you want.”

Most of you know that personal pan pizzas are a mainstay on Pizza Hut’s menu, but the addition of Melts expands the chain’s offerings for a single diner.

Fresh, fast and fabulous, melts will also likely appeal to drive-thru and to-go diners. Yum Brands-owned Pizza Hut has added digital order pickup windows to more than 1,500 locations, dubbed The Hut Lane. Pizza Hut has more than 18,000 units systemwide in more than 100 countries.

Looking for success clues of your own? Foodservice Solutions® specializes in outsourced food marketing and business development ideations. We can help you identify, quantify and qualify additional food retail segment opportunities, technology, or a new menu product segment.  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

Chick-fil-A Ready-2-Eat Grocerant Niche Salad Dressing on Sale

 

You have to like the fact that Chick-fil-A is continuing its tradition of expanding it brand with grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food elevating its customer focus to the dinner table according to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

When Chick-fil-A announced it began selling four of its most popular salad dressings at retail locations in the greater Cincinnati area and across Tennessee. You know what was next. Yes, Chick-fil-A plans to expand availability of its salad dressings nationwide in the Spring of 2023.  

Michael Garrison, senior director of innovation and new ventures at Chick-fil-A, stated, “We love that our guests are enjoying our salad dressings in our restaurants and can now share them more easily with family and friends at home,” … "We saw excitement from customers around the launch of our Bottled Sauces in 2020, and we are thrilled to add more retail offerings for our fans while introducing the brand to new customers in our pilot markets."

Do you want to Build A 

Larger Share of Stomach

So, starting this month, customers in Cincinnati and Tennessee will be able to purchase 12 fluid ounce bottles of the following salad dressings at participating Walmart, Kroger and Meijer stores.  

Avocado Lime Ranch Dressing 

A twist on the original Ranch, the Avocado Lime Ranch Dressing is our most popular salad dressing. This southwest style dressing includes creamy avocado, spices and lime and livens up any salad or wrap. 

Garden Herb Ranch Dressing 

The classic Garden Herb Ranch Dressing, with its traditional, creamy taste, is a savory mix of garlic, onion and herb flavors.  

Creamy Salsa Dressing 

The Creamy Salsa Dressing was originally developed by Chick-fil-A’s culinary team to pair with the Spicy Southwest Salad and blends southwest flavors of cumin, hot peppers, tomatoes and garlic.  

Zesty Apple Cider Vinaigrette Dressing 

The lightest of the four offerings, this vinaigrette is made with apple cider vinegar, fruit juices, spices and honey for a robust yet sweet flavor.  

"We’ve worked hard with our supplier and retail partners to help bring these Chick-fil-A flavors into people’s homes for their own salads, marinades and other recipes,” says Garrison. “We’re grateful that guests are so passionate about our salad dressings and sauces." 

How are you expanding your brands top of mind awareness?

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

With Arby’s Help you can Toast Your Friends

 

There is never enough time to lift a glass and toast your friendships.  Now there is a new way you can do it as for a limited-time there is a limited-edition Arby’s Smoked Bourbon; that is infused with the same smoked oak as its Smokehouse Sandwiches. Now you have to love that! That my regular readers is CRAVEABILITY.

Now customers who crave the flavor of Arby’s Smoked Brisket Sandwich may want to pair it with a shot of the chain’s new branded smoked bourbon. They can do it!

So, following on the success of its French fry-infused vodka last November, the Atlanta-based fast-food chain announced the launch of limited-edition Arby’s Smoked Bourbon on Monday. It’s available beginning Wednesday exclusively at ArbysSmokedBourbon.com for $60 plus tax.

In case you do not remember, on its first day of sale, Arby’s Curly and Crinkle Cut Fry Vodka sold out in minutes.

So, to create the bourbon, Arby’s partnered with custom craft distiller Doug Hall, CEO and co-founder of Brain Brew in Cincinnati. Hall captured the flavor of the chain’s signature Smoked Brisket and Real Country-Style Rib sandwiches, both of which are layered with meats that are smoked long and slow at Sadler’s Smokehouse in Texas and distributed to Arby’s locations.

If you like Arby’s you will like knowing that the smoked bourbon is infused with the same flavor as the meats. To create the flavor, American oak is smoked with hickory, mesquite and pecan smoke at Sadler’s. The smoked oak is placed in the bourbon and Brain Brew finishes the smoking process and bottles the spirit.

Arby’s suggests pairing a glass of the smoked bourbon with either the rib or brisket sandwich to get the full experience.

Jim Taylor, president of Arby’s, stated, “After our successful vodka launch last year, we knew we wanted to release another unexpected liquor that our fans of legal drinking age can responsibly pair with our menu items. “Arby’s smoked meats are the cornerstone of our brand, so why not use our expertise to create a delicious smoked bourbon that complements the flavors and enhances the experience of enjoying our Smokehouse Sandwiches?” 

As was the case with its vodka, Arby’s expects the branded bourbon to sell out quickly, but a second drop is planned. Consumers that sign up to become an Arby’s member before Oct. 19 at 11:59PM ET will get early insight into when there will be a second chance to score a bottle.

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