Fresh & Easy is getting more “Better For you” food in 2011.



Grocerant ready-to-eat and ready-to-heat food is just another reason Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Markets sales and profits are expanding. Refocusing on the American Consumer, Fresh & Easy just might be consumer quick & simple answer with its grocerant offerings. This year Fresh & Easy is expanding its eatwell product line. The retail chain, with locations in California, Arizona and Nevada, is adding at least 11 new items to its offerings and 7 new units in Northern California.

All of the new products are within the eatwell product line contain “no more than 25 percent of the daily values for calories, fat, saturated fat and sodium. In addition they do not contain artificial colors or flavors, high-fructose corn syrup or added trans fat; preservatives are used only when necessary, according to Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market. “

Fresh & Easy understands Foodservice Solutions® 5 P’s of food marketing: Product, Packaging, Placement, Portability and Price. You can see that in their new eatwell line offerings of “steak and spinach salad, curry chicken wrap, minestrone soup and garlic alfredo salmon. All eatwell products carry front-of-pack nutritional labels listing the calories, fat, saturated fat and sodium. The new products sell for under $4. The company also recently introduced frozen eatwell meals that sell for $1.99.”

Since 1991 Foodservice Solutions® a Tacoma, WA based retail foodservice consultancy 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, BING / GOOGLE: Steven Johnson Grocerants or twitter.com/grocerant

Grocery stores theme song for 2011



The theme song for grocery stores in 2011 should be STUCK IN THE MIDDLE WITHOUT YOU! A&P is in bankruptcy and closing stores. BJ’s announced it will close 5 Stores during its restructuring, Shaw's announced that it will Close 5 More Stores and Safeway shares continue to slip.

Legacy grocery store chains want to be all things to all consumers. It has not worked for them any time during the past 25 years. During the past 25 years new growth in the restaurant sector was stellar. Most important restaurant customer frequency increased.

All of this while grocery stores stock the shelves with items that they only sold one or two per month. Continued building bigger and bigger stores when consumer were telling them it took to long to shop in a grocery store! Legacy grocery store operators set out to prove they were right. Utilizing legacy metric’s basket size as an additional focus rather than the customer. The results are clear there are 23,500 fewer grocery stores in the US today than there was 25 years ago. This year there will be even fewer.

The grocerant niche is growing. Trader Joe’s with the highest sales per square foot in the industry on the other hand is growing units. Units that are smaller by the way are selling grocerant ready-to-eat and ready-to-heat fresh and prepared food. Success does leave clues and Germany based Trader Joe’s has listened to the consumer and is winning.

Since 1991 Foodservice Solutions® a Tacoma, WA based retail foodservice consultancy 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, BING / GOOGLE: Steven Johnson Grocerants or twitter.com/grocerant

Retail food success is building in the Grocerant niche.



As long as multi- generational family’s gather for meals together, the demand for more divergent flavors will continue to permeate. Grocerant style food offerings allow for increased family integration, understanding and acceptance.

The food value proposition equilibrium for the consumer today balances; better for you, flavor, and traditional products all blended into something with a twist. In industry speak, differentiated does not mean different to the consumer it means familiar. That is where the Grocerant niche falls, it is consumer inspired, component driven and flavor familiar. Understanding the unique balance between; palate, price, pleasure and the consumer’s drive for qualitative distinctive differentiated new food consumables places Foodservice Solutions® in a select industry grouping.

Understanding, creating or identifying distinctive differentiated food consumable’s as an entity with identity by day part in an area of understanding Foodservice Solutions® excels. Outside eyes can bring new light and assist your company’s redevelopment and deployment of new products. Grocerant specialist can work with you to identify distinctive differentiated food consumables.

Since 1991 Foodservice Solutions® a Tacoma, WA based retail foodservice consultancy 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, BING / GOOGLE: Steven Johnson Grocerants or twitter.com/grocerant

Is a Burger battle brewing beneath McDonalds in America?



During the past 4 decades hamburgers drove sales and propelled the overall restaurant industry. Without a doubt the hamburger is now globally recognized as a penultimate American food. It is ready-to-eat, hand held and prepared to eat on the run; convenient, simple and affordable. Contrary to popular belief Americans do not eat hamburgers daily. There simply is not room in the minds-eye of the consumer for all of the hamburger chains in America today.

McDonalds with innovative new products, continually reimaging stores and a focus on the consumer is the global leader in restaurant sales and the hamburger niche. In the United States the undercurrents of a sector in upheaval and transition is emerging for every position except number one. McDonalds is and will remain number one for many years too come.

However legacy second tier hamburger chains Wendy’s, Burger King, Sonic are circling in a quagmire of there own making. Each is trying to re-energize the halo of success they have not seen in years. Success to date has proven allusive for each in their effort to re-energizing. It is very likely that one or two of the three might very well be much smaller in five years than it is today.

One of the reasons is that there are hamburger companies on the move including Steak & Shake which is profitable once again and refocusing on growth. Then upstarts Five Guy’s, Smashburger, Fatburger are garnering market share from those legacy second tier players. The next company in the QSR niche to watch will be In-N-Out Burgers. If In-N-Out Burgers does half as well in Texas as they do in California and Nevada they will accelerate growth and watch out. One of these three; Wendy’s, Burger King or Sonic might just fade away.

Is Carl’s Jr. losing market share because they tried to enter the mid price set with the $ 4.00 burger or is it the California economy nagging at the door? In any case the mid-priced hamburger category is over crowed as well. In fact we may have seen the tipping point at the mid-priced burger category now that seemingly all celebrities including the likes of, Bobby Flay, Emeril Legasse each have opened and are more and more gourmet burger restaurants. While Red Robin and Fuddruckers struggle too maintain market share, The Hard Rock Café and TGI Fridays are trying to pull away from the burger category.

The metrics for the burger industries customer mix are in flux. Clearly some of the legacy players that focus on the franchisee more than the consumer are going to continue to lose market share too both new up-start chains and regional players that are positioned to win. I believe a shake out in the hamburger niche will begin in 2011 and a road map to the future will evolve this year.

Since 1991 Foodservice Solutions® a Tacoma, WA based retail foodservice consultancy 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, BING / GOOGLE: Steven Johnson Grocerants or twitter.com/grocerant

Food price value equilibrium continues it’s resetting.



George Bernard Shaw said, “There is no love sincerer than the love of food.” There is no greater gift that customer that loves your food, and will pay for it-but at what price? The consumer does not understand or believe in channel blurring. Channel blurring is only in the minds eye of the Brand Marketer. Here is my formula for establishing customer focused pricing:

Price + Quality + Service + Portability = Value

Incremental Value = Constantly Changing Menu (Seasonally / Sustainability with creditability).

Now, let’s look at what is happening at different companies, price and channel of distribution are clearly challenging each other this is about share of stomach. While Subway started the focus on the $5 foot-long we can see just where it has gone.

1. T.G. I. Fridays offer in 2010 a Jack Daniel's® Burgers and Jack Daniel's® Chicken Sandwiches for $5 and will offer $5 off all Jack Daniel's® Grill entrees for a limited time at approximately 600 US based participating restaurants.

2. Steve Davis, Arby’s CMO said $5 has become a magic number for fast food.

3. Shane’s Rib Shack has a family meal (feeds 4) for $20.

4. Popeye’s now as value meals from $1.99 & $2.99

5. McDonalds has three mini meals for under $3.00

The economy continues in a quagmire so price can be a determining factor. Brand marketers must be aware of the new product and price points that non-traditional competitive channels will introduce. Including attractive packaging, new product bundling options which in turn will contribute to establishing new long term price value models going forward.

Since 1991 Foodservice Solutions® a Tacoma, WA based retail foodservice consultancy 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, BING / GOOGLE: Steven Johnson Grocerants or twitter.com/grocerant

Where will we get a family meal in 2011?



During the past several years food research companies have uncovered that a family meal can be many things. Most important companies the ilk of Technomic, The Hartman Group and Mintel all have discovered multiple options for obtaining the family meal. Key in each of the findings and most interesting too all of us is where the food for the meal comes and how it is prepared and or assembled in the home.

Here is my take from the collective data: Meal time is now becoming a time of convenient meal participation, with differentiation and individualization for the entire family.

Here are three examples of which we have seen first hand and each reflects a composite of research on just how meal times are changing.

1. IN home Family Dinner with Children: Comprised of meal components from McDonalds & Taco Time for children under 14 years olds and dinner for adults from Whole foods prepared meal section. This is dinner, is it a family meal. Since they all eat together it is assembled in the home and eaten at the same time. This is not an every day occasion but more often than you may think.

2. Urban family Dinner: During a recent business trip after a meeting I went to a business associates home ordered food in. His wife, I and him, we ordered from three separate companies (Italian Chinese, Greek) one was pickup next door. I was assured this was not unusual in their household. Again we all ate at the same time, same table simply different food. This occurs much more than you think.

3. Take & Bake pizza is the sole food item only 60% of the time. The other 40% of the time it is complemented with prepared food from other outlets either grocery stores or restaurants. The frequency of 18 – 24 years consumption of pizza is once every 3.7 days.

Are you selling food that can be bundled and or un-bundled in order to become a mix & match meal component for a family meal? Success does leave clues and many retail food operators are now adopting Foodservice Solutions® 5 P’s of food marketing: Product, Packaging, Placement, Portability and Price.

Since 1991 Foodservice Solutions® a Tacoma, WA based retail foodservice consultancy 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, BING / GOOGLE: Steven Johnson Grocerants or twitter.com/grocerant

Convenience stores continue consumer relevance in 2011.



The conveniences store sector will continue new unit growth and industry consolidation well into 2011. That consolidation which we were first to point out last year is creating a consumer foodservice battle field in Florida in 2011.

Florida a state with continued high unemployment, a low minimum wage, falling home prices has attracted QSR’s from every niche. In 2011 the convenience store sector is out to steal share of stomach from QSR’s, Grocery stores and Dollar stores. Wawa will open several units in Florida, the first in that state. Wawa is the per-store sales leader within the C-store sector and leader in fresh prepared food sales. Wawa’s quality food offerings, customer focused service and competitive pricing will ensure continued success and consumer acceptance.

7 Eleven has been remodeling stores, and recently acquired 183 units that they plan to remodel and introduce their new fresh food pairings. 7 Eleven is finding success in fresh food like much of the rest of the C-store industry. The ready-to-eat and ready-to-heat grocerant food niche is driving consumer frequency while building consumer brand loyalty.

7 Eleven, bundled with potential but constrained by self imposed legacy operating guidelines, franchisee minimalist investments mindset and roller grill mentality may capture the low end customer but not the hearts and minds of the Florida’s consumer.

Casey’s general stores while not entering Florida will continue with their Midwest expansion. Casey’s

fueled with new consumers attracted by the new ready-to-eat and ready-to-heat fresh and prepared food grocerant style offerings will monitor what’s working in Florida. Then implement that success within their system better than any other player.

While legacy QSR’s and legacy grocery store operators scoff that the prospect of losing consumer to the convenience stores sector 2011. This year may prove tool be an eye opening experience for many.

Grocery stores, Restaurants and Convenience stores are all scurrying to reposition their menu mix of better for you prepared food to garner an increase in share of stomach. Competitive may not be a strong enough word for the battle between sectors and companies for share of stomach. The Grocerant niche is where all the action is consisting of better for you prepared portable ready-to-eat and ready-to-heat food it about share of stomach and the convenience store sector is going after it.



Florida is where the action will be in 2011 for the consumer share of stomach. Winn Dixie, Publix, Burger King and Subway will all be focusing on core consumers in a dramatic battle for contemporary consumer relevance.

Since 1991 Foodservice Solutions® a Tacoma, WA based retail foodservice consultancy 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, BING / GOOGLE: Steven Johnson Grocerants or twitter.com/grocerant