Stepping Up Execution
By Maureen Azzato
As the articles for this web site and our premiere issue began rolling in from our many talented editorial contributors and I started reading, I nearly forgot I was supposed to edit them because they were so interesting and compelling. All of the editors searched high and low for interesting coverage and , not surprisingly, found wonderful examples of foodservice execution at retail from a variety of channels, including grocery, mass merchandisers, convenience stores, cafes, kiosks and the meal-prep segment, which is our cover story this issue. The editors also researched and incorporated best practices from the more traditional restaurant players, including fast-casual and quick-service restaurants.
What they found in their quest is that there is no shortage of new concepts and innovation in retail foodservice. Currently, on-the-go foodservice may be the stepchild of traditional restaurants, but the gap in quality and service is narrowing as operators step up their offerings, their employee training and their execution.
Years ago, retailers began losing market share to restaurants; people were eating fewer meals at home as they looked for easier and fast ways to feed their families. Consumers were eating out more frequently, and when they did eat at home, they opted for takeout or other convenient meals.
Loath to allow restaurants to gain too much ground, many retailers fought back and found ways to regain that vital share of mind and share of stomach. Some innovative operators who shared their successes with us for our launch -- such as Publix Super Markets, Hy-Vee Inc., Wawa Inc., Sheetz Inc., BJ's Wholesale Club and Wal-Mart Stores Inc., to name a few -- are seeing their on-the-go foodservice sales and profits soar. How are they doing it? They're focusing on restaurant-quality food and execution.
"Many retail outlets will start looking more and more like restaurants," said Wade Hanson of Chicago-based Technomic Inc., a foodservice research and consulting firm. "Retailers need to understand this and stay on trend with both the retail side and the foodservice side."
Not surprisingly, the operating mindset and culture of retail are vastly different from those of foodservice, and often the two sides of the business can butt heads. The friction between the two endeavors "is changing," according to Harry McHugh, an executive with Wawa Inc, operator of 570 convenience stores. "I would have said that there was a culture clash up to three years ago. The convenience store industry, certainly, is doing better." The same is true of grocery and other segments aggressively tackling foodservice.
What you are going to see on this web site and in the pages of the premiere March issue of On-the-Go Foodservice is that there are many retail innovators out there trying new and bold things. They are taking foodservice concepts and putting new spins on them and are, in some cases, creating hybrids. Few are doing that more boldly and quickly than operators in the meal-prep business.
Jay Gordon's cover story, "Clockless in America" (see March_2008 highlights on the home page), brings to life the 24/7 world of the meal-prep industry, which is constantly reinventing itself to literally feed America's hunger for convenient and portable meal solutions. The meal-prep industry is responding very quickly to consumers' increasingly fast, hectic and clockless lifestyles.
"It's all about control in their lives," said Andy Ford, who heads up Culture Waves, a consumer insight-delivery system pioneered by foodservice marketing specialists Noble & Associates. "People want breakfast available at noon, and hair care at midnight."
While an increasing number of Americans want to pick up a ready-to-cook or ready-to-heat meal on their way home from work, others are willing to spend a couple of hours preparing a month's worth of meals at meal-prep retail locations.
"The initial concept of the meal-prep business was based on customers signing up in advance and assembling the meals themselves," said Bert Vermeulen, founder of the Easy Meal Prep Association. "More recently, it's become more of a retail business where customers can walk in and get meals for tonight in smaller quantities that they don't necessarily assemble themselves, or [they can] assemble meals for the month. There is room for both concepts, and for hybrids."
The bottom line is that there is always room for a good idea in foodservice if it is well planned, systematically rolled out and consistently executed.
And one thing is clear -- many savvy retailers are stepping up all aspects of execution.
Maureen Azzato is Publisher & Editorial Director of On-the-Go-Foodservice and Chief Content & Marketing Officer of parent company ALM Business Media Inc. You can reach Maureen at mazzato@OnTheGoFoodservice.com.