Tuesday, June 3, 2014

TV Dinners From Frozen to Fresh


Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant Guru™ Steven Johnson’s 5 P’s of Food Marketing have gone mainstream and global. Flooded with Email’s and informational request we thought it was time to lay out updated facts.  I think this will help start thinking about “The 65 Inch HDTV Syndrome.”

Let’s start with three facts:  First we learned that 50% of Americans over the age of 18 were single, secondly we learned that 28% of American households are Single-households, third we learned that ESPN is the most valuable cable TV franchisee.

Restaurant sector sales stagnation is due to evolving consumer eating styles and preferences.  At the intersection of the consumer, technology and retail food sales we find the grocerant niche creating and expanding points of quality food distribution.  It’s at that intersection that Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant Guru identified some universal commonalities driving consumers buying pattern changes.  Johnson calls it “The 65 Inch HDTV Syndrome”.

The grocerant niche is the result of the blurring line between restaurants, grocery stores, convenience stores, and drug stores all selling fresh prepared, portable, convenient meal solutions.  Targeted at the time-starved consumer with Ready-2-Eat or Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food components that are perceived “better for you”, and portioned for one or two. Consumers like the Convenient Meal Participation, Differentiation, Individualization / Family Customization that these retailers offer.

Restaurateurs need to be particularly mindful of developments within grocerant niche for they are driving the change within the price, value, service equilibrium in retail foodservice. Another key finding from Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant Guru™ is that “consumers single or not think that cooking and cleaning dishes simply takes too much time.  Consumers prefer to buy fresh prepared meal components, from multiple sources and mix and match the components into a customized family or personalized meal.”

It is at the intersection of the consumer, technology and Foodserivce Solutions® 5 P’s of Food Marketing: Product, Packaging, Placement, Portability, and Price that retail food sales competition is expanding. Driving ever greater Mix and Match bundled meal options and new points of distribution for consumers.

The Hartman Group edified in 2014 Foodservice Solutions® findings when they found that “71 percent of consumers visit five or more retail channels at least once a month, including convenience stores, grocery stores, dollar stores, vending machines and more.” Additionally consumers love the on-the-go options in fact Zaget’s 2013 NYC Restaurant Survey found that in New York at-home meals surpassed dining out for the first time in 30 years. 

GrubHub the nation’s number one online and mobile food ordering service data reveled that pre-game orders spiked more than 35 % for the first four weeks of the 2012 professional football season when compared to the same timeframe during the 2011 season.  With San Francisco, Phoenix, Oakland and Atlanta all leading the way.   “When it comes to watching football, the best seat in the house really is at home,” stated Susanne Dawursk, GrubHub’s brand marketing director.

More than just sports The 65 inch HDTV Syndrome is driving customers away from frozen foods as well. In a study from Packaged Facts, reports that sales in the $44 billion U.S. retail market for frozen foods have been flat to declining, with nearly all dollar sales gains attributable to inflation or new products -- not to increased consumer demand. The study found that Preference for 57 % of consumer say fresh foods the top reason why US consumers have not purchased frozen foods in the last three months, followed by preference for home-cooked meals.

The Hartman Group’s Laurie Demeritt stated in June 2014 that “ freshness is on the rise as a favored attribute, today's consumers”  Why is this important?  Mirroring Foodservice Solutions® previous work Demeritt went on to point out that “Millennials in particular are engaged with the "fresh perimeter,". The Grocerant Guru™ has continually reminded us that “Millennials are today’s, tomorrows, and 30 years from now will still be your customers.” Fresh will be around for a long time according to Foodservice Solutions® Team.

Fresh prepared Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat food in non-traditional outlets poses an ever increasing threat to restaurant growth. Want to know how to best address The 67 inch HDTV Syndrome?  Contact Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru at: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us he has been the leader in the Grocerant Niche since 1991 he can help you win.  

Can outside eye’s help your company learn from FoodservcieSolutions® food focused Build, Measure, Learn, and Repeat? Visit: www.FoodserviceSolutions.us or Call: 253-759-7869 Success Does Leave Clues

Visit: www.FoodserviceSolutions.us  if you are 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 participationdifferentiation and individualization or you can learn more at Facebook.com/Steven Johnson, Linkedin.com/in/grocerant or twitter.com/grocerant

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