Wednesday, June 24, 2009


The price, value, service equilibrium is resetting in Grocery stores, Restaurants and C- stores. Each is reconfiguring their ready to eat ready to heat Grocerant™ niche food product lineup. Looking for new product, packaging and consumer price points that will drive traffic. All have noticed a discontinuity in consumer food shopping behavior and all are fighting for share of stomach. Contributing to this displacement is a focus by restaurant chain leaders on short term market metrics particularly price and away from the consumer. Which in turn has caused a loss is consumer traffic as important as price might be other attributes are much more important. The consumer is turning to the grocery store hot food section (ready to eat). The problem is the grocery stores were not ready for it. The have dropped the ball, food quality is reflective of a bygone era of fried food or heat lamp food warm with few qualitative attributes. Groceries do not understand foodservice customer service in the hot food ready to eat niche! There are of course exceptions like Wegmans, Central Market, A&P and Metropolitan Market. Consumers will not stay long if things don’t improve rapidly. The battle for the consumer dollar continues in the Grocerant ready to eat ready to heat niche is on.

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