Expanding the food melting pot, the grocerant niche is doing just plus new points of distribution.



Alice May Brock said: Tomatoes and oregano make it Italian, wine and tarragon make it French, sour cream makes it Russian, lemon and cinnamon make it Greek, soy sauce makes it Chinese, garlic makes it good.

I say, grocerant meal components bundled and portable make a family meal, a happy meal!

Grocerants allow customers to select from Italian, French, Russian or Greek and utilize the components at home any way they like. The new American meal can be a composite of any prepared food components that the individual may want and they can mix and pair them any way as well. Our society is a composed for people from all over the world, with different cultures, traditions and flavor preferences. The new American meal is a melting pot of flavor and choice.

Prepared ready-2-eat and heat-N-eat foods are now available for all comers and can be found at Convenience stores, Grocery stores, Restaurants, Mobile trucks all just waiting for the taking.

Consumers have been exposed to a plethora of flavors and have not the time to master the skill of cooking each. This growing trend is empowering the consumer to establish new customs and traditions in eating better, more flavorful food. The Grocerant niche is about convenient meal participation, differentiation and individualization.

Success leaves clues: Foodservice Solutions® in Tacoma, WA has been gathering them just for you! For a Grocerant program review or opportunity assessment contact Foodservice Solutions®.

Since 1991 retail food consultancy Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma, WA has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche for more on Steven A. Johnson and Foodservice Solutions® Bing or Google Grocerants or visit http://www.linkedin.com/in/grocerant, twitter.com/grocerant or Facebook Steven

Private label food brand managers are out branding legacy retail food brand managers.



Private label branded products contribute too the success of Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, Kroger, Starbucks and Walgreens brands while building market share, top line sales and bottom line profits. Without inflated ego’s professional brand marketers continue to create, position and place quality consumer focused products that garner a loyal following.

Economic downturn aside it’s about private label retailers improved quality and selection that is driving the success. A Nielsen survey found “Fully 88 percent of shoppers globally said they intend to keep buying private label even after the economy improves, suggesting that store brand quality has reached parity with national brands and delivers on consumer expectations”.

Private label brand managers have created great-tasting better-for-you comfort food utilizing legacy brands niche success but adding their own twist to create differentiation within consumers comfort zone. Here at Foodservice Solutions® we contend that differentiation does not mean different it means familiar with a twist. Success does leave clues and private label brand managers are picking them up and exploiting them in the Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh and prepared food niche.

Since 1991 retail food consultancy Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma, WA has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche for more on Steven A. Johnson and Foodservice Solutions® Bing or Google Grocerants or visit http://www.linkedin.com/in/grocerant, twitter.com/grocerant or Facebook Steven

Food, Local, Fresh drive decentralization within the grocery sector?



The grocery sector finds itself in another quagmire of its own making. Driven largely by category managers and number crunchers that leverage the past, not present or future of food retailing, again is not sure what direction it should peruse.

Kroger and Safeway have built a national footprint and have tried to leverage buying power into a branding voice. It has not worked. From Tom Thumb to Fred Meyer both Safeway and Kroger allowed regional brands to remain, diminishing any added brand value halo that may have been developed.

Given the growth within ready-2-eat and heat-N-eat fresh and prepared food niche combined with the consumer focus on sustainably it just might be best for the grocery sector if regional operating chains/units were spun off and allowed to develop their own identity with relevant consumer messaging.

Since 1991 retail food consultancy Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma, WA has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche for more on Steven A. Johnson and Foodservice Solutions® Bing or Google Grocerants or visit http://www.linkedin.com/in/grocerant, twitter.com/grocerant or Facebook Steven

Mix and Match food bundling continues to be a hallmark of the grocerant niche.



Customization, personalization, and globalization are key attributes of any grocerant niche fresh prepared food program today. Combine that with the ability for families to mix and match meal components and incremental sales follow.

Subway’s $ 5.00 foot long too First Watch’s “2 for You” a mid day deal that empowers consumer choice allowing them to choose two items from a menu of half - portioned soups, sandwiches, and salads.

First Watch chief marketing officer Chris Tomasso said “the breakfast-and-lunch-only concept conducted 12 months to 18 months of consumer research that found the brand’s customers sought customization options for sandwiches, salads and soups at an attractive price point.”

Food retailers are finding that when these tactics are combined with Foodservice Solutions® 5 P’s of Marking which are: Product, Packaging, Placement, Portability and Price with a consumer focus incremental sales follow.

Since 1991 Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma, WA has been the global leader within the Grocerant niche. For more on Steven A. Johnson Bing or Google Grocerant or visit http://www.linkedin.com/in/grocerant or on Facebook.com/StevenJohnson

Macy’s edifies grocerant niche ready-2-eat and heat-N-eat fresh prepared food movement.



Food retailing has forever changed with the success of the grocerant niche. Retailers of all kinds are experimenting selling fresh and fresh prepared ready-2-eat and heat-N-eat fresh prepared food creating a high level of consternation in the C-level suites of legacy chain restaurants and grocery stores, simultaneous creating incremental top line sales and bottom line profits for chain drug stores, dollar stores, convenience stores and department stores.

This week Macy’s launched a food truck tour “Macy’s Chefs A-Go-Go”. “The Macy’s-branded truck will make appearances in cities across the country this summer with celebrity chefs on board. The roster includes Rick Bayless, Michelle Bernstein, Cat Cora, Tom Douglas, Todd English, Marc Forgione, Marcus Samuelsson, Nancy Silverton, Ming Tsai and Takashi Yagihashi.

Dishes prepared by the chefs are free, but guests are invited to donate to Feeding America, which is dedicated to hunger relief. For every dollar donated, Feeding America can help provide seven meals to those in need on behalf of local food banks.

The tour kicks off in Miami on June 28 at the Biscayne Triangle Truck Round-Up and will hit New York, Boston, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Seattle, Portland, San Francisco and Los Angeles -- the latter being what I like to call the buckle of the food-truck belt.

Since 1991 Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma, WA has been the global leader within the Grocerant niche. For more on Steven A. Johnson Bing or Google Grocerant or visit http://www.linkedin.com/in/grocerant or on Facebook.com/StevenJohnson

5 tips on getting consumers buying your food for dinner tonight?



Consumers make choices each and every day on what they will eat. When they eat and how they eat. When given the choice, the vast majority do not want to cook. However preparing a family meal consisting of fresh prepared foods components can simplify the process, allowing for greater diversity of flavor profiles and portions size.

Consumer exposure to multi ethnic and multi cultural foods has not only created an ongoing search for the next new flavor or “hot” food entrée. It has left a void in the cooking skill set. Many consumers simply don’t have the skills or spices on the shelf to prepared there favorite meal. When consumer is shopping for ready-2-eat and heat-N-eat prepared food, here are five top reasons to pick your products.

1. Visceral presentation based on how it looks and is presented.

2. Bundling, the ability to build your meal with components you want.

3. Individualized portions, power to select quality and quantity of items viewed.

4. Convenience, unit /store location on the drive home from work, it’s fast & easy.

5. Price, ability to evaluate price vs. cost at restaurant with tip, and vs. time to cook from scratch.

Grocerant ready-2-eat and heat-N-eat fresh and prepared food is growing in popularity within every sector of retail foodservice. Is success does leave clues adoption of Foodservice Solutions® 5 P’s of food marketing is one of them.

Since 1991 Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma, WA has been the global leader within the Grocerant niche. For more on Steven A. Johnson Bing or Google Grocerant or visit http://www.linkedin.com/in/grocerant or on Facebook.com/StevenJohnson

What we learned this week in Retail Foodservice, compliancy and contrived don’t work.

2011 is nearing it mid-point. This week like so many others this year has provided the clues to success within retail foodservice particularly within the restaurant sector.

1. Leadership compliancy simply is not a platform for success within the restaurant sector when the consumer is migrating too new avenues of food distribution. This week Perkins & Marie Callender filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy. Consumer are dynamic not static. Restaurant brands that practice Brand Protectionism will simply be left behind. Consumer are looking forward, always seeking the “NEXT BIG THING”. Brands that spend more time protecting the brand rather that growing it will end up the ilk of Perkins & Marie Callender’s.

2. National TV advertising is great for brands. However never under estimate the intelligence of the American Consumer. "America's Next Great Restaurant" the TV show that inspired "Soul Daddy" restaurants after finishing first on NBC's short-lived competition series had opened three restaurants; well this week two of them were closed for good. That is just a month after opening. Consumers call tells the difference between authentic and contrived. Many national chains that are floundering because they lost authentic and force the new “contrived”.

3. Hedge funds continue to look for opportunity within retail foodservice. Those who entered two years ago are seemingly cutting there cash displacement and getting out. While others think we are at the bottom and looking to get in and make there mark (millions). One problem, are they going too keep replacing and recycling industry executives from failed, failing or complacent brand protectionism companies? The results in a dynamic retail foodservice market may not be what they are looking for.

Since 1991 Foodservice Solutions of Tacoma, WA has been the global leader within the Grocerant niche. For more on Steven A. Johnson Bing or Google Grocerant or visit http://www.linkedin.com/in/grocerant or on Facebook.com/StevenJohnson