Walgreen’s fresh food is expanding consumer choice, while attracting consumers from restaurants.

The food options now available in non-traditional avenues of distribution continue to drive consumer discontinuity within traditional restaurant sectors.  Menu, meal or snack options of fresh prepared high quality food are now attracting consumer too new channels.  Restaurateurs while innovative are simply not keeping up with the innovation from non-traditional fresh food chain outlets. If success leaves clues retooling menus focused on evolving consumer eating habits, styles and flavor profiles may prove more useful than staying with existing niche profiles.

Joseph Magnacca will at the end of this month replace Kim Feil, Walgreen Co’s Chief Marketing officer.  His focus of late has been driving top line sales and bottom line profits in the front of the store with food, fresh food ready-2-eat and heat-N-eat.

Mr. Magnacca was with Duane Reade and did the same thing there increasing consumer traffic, consumer loyalty with fresh prepared grocerant niche food products. This will be a significant change for Walgreen’s yet not unfamiliar territory.  It was not that long ago that Walgreens was one of the largest food retailers in the US.  Grocery stores and restaurants chains should all be keeping a close eye on what is happening in this sector.

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