Who is selling what where? Do you understand the convergence of food retailing and the grocerant niche?



You can tell when an industry is in transition. Retail foodservice is undergoing the largest transition since the success of McDonalds. Retail grocery store chain operators Wegmans, Public’s and Safeway all have now opened free standing restaurants. Leveraging their buying power, corporate balance sheets, and branding expertise they can obtain prime locations, reduce distribution cost, reduce food cost. Public’s Crisper’s is the largest of them all.

Restaurants chains including Taco Bell, Boston Market, White Castle and California Pizza Kitchen all sell fresh or prepared food in grocery stores. Many are now making there way into the retail drug store sector and dollar store sector.

Walgreens, Rite Aide and CVS are all now selling grocerant niche fresh prepared Read-2-Eat or Heat-N-Eat prepared food. Target, Sears and Amazon.com are all now selling fresh food. Now food manufactures are entering the mix. Quoting NRN.com “Bubba Burger, which for two decades has sold frozen beef and turkey patties in groceries and on military bases, will debut the first of four planned Original Bubba Burger Grill units in the Jacksonville, Fla., area and is looking at a fifth location.”

Success leaves clues and legacy food operators utilizing the same positioning, branding and distribution systems of the 80’s, 90’s or 00’s; it might be time to look over your shoulder. You will see everyone is coming after you. Yes, the food industry is in transition. The grocerant niche is winning. Is your team prepared for 2012, 2013 or 1990?

Since 1991 Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma, WA has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche. For product or brand positioning assistance contact Steven A. Johnson and Foodservice Solutions® or visit http://www.linkedin.com/in/grocerant or on Facebook at Steven Johnson, GOOGLE: Steven Johnson Grocerants or twitter.com/grocerant