Foodservice Solutions

Smoothie King’s Flatbread Lesson: Why Hand-Held Food Is the Next Growth Platform

2026-08-16T00:16:00.000-07:00

Smoothie King may have started with smoothies, but its latest sales performance demonstrates something much bigger about the American foodservice consumer: beverages are food, flatbreads are food, and hand-held foods are increasingly becoming the format for how America eats.

The Dallas-based chain reported 9% same-store sales growth in July, with its new Chicken Flatbreads identified as one of the important contributors. Launched in June, the toasted flatbreads combine grilled chicken, tomatoes, cheese and a choice of chipotle, ranch or pesto sauce.

That is more than a menu extension.

It is a strategic recognition that consumers don't necessarily think in traditional restaurant menu categories. They think about what they want to eat, when they want to eat it, how portable it is and whether it fits their lifestyle.

And that is where the Hand Held Food opportunity becomes particularly interesting.

The Hand Held Food Economy Is Bigger Than Most Restaurant Operators Think

I have long argued that the food industry needs to stop defining "food" too narrowly.

A smoothie consumed as a meal replacement is food.

A breakfast sandwich is food.

A burrito is food.

A taco is food.

A pizza slice is food.

A chicken flatbread is food.

And increasingly, consumers expect all of these foods to work across multiple dayparts and locations.

There is no authoritative industry dataset that categorizes every U.S. meal specifically as "hand-held." That distinction matters because burgers, sandwiches, wraps, tacos, burritos, pizza and other portable foods are tracked in different restaurant and foodservice categories.

But the available data clearly demonstrate the scale of the opportunity.

Technomic consumer research has found that 32% of restaurant consumers in the U.S. and Canada order sandwiches and related handhelds at least once every 90 days.

That is not a niche behavior.

It is mainstream foodservice behavior.

And when handheld foods are combined with the broader universe of pizza, burgers, tacos, burritos, wraps, breakfast sandwiches, chicken sandwiches, hot dogs and other portable foods, the potential occasion base becomes enormous.

The Bigger Story: Americans Are Eating Away From the Table

The hand-held food opportunity is being amplified by another major structural change: where meals are consumed.

The National Restaurant Association reports that nearly 75% of restaurant traffic now occurs off-premises. In other words, approximately three out of every four restaurant orders are consumed somewhere other than inside the restaurant.

That fundamentally changes what a restaurant should design food to do.

Food that travels well has an advantage.

Food that can be eaten without a knife and fork has an advantage.

Food that fits into a vehicle cupholder, lunch break, commute, office, school schedule or living-room environment has an advantage.

And food that combines portability + craveability + value + speed has an even greater advantage.

The National Restaurant Association reports that 42% of U.S. adults use a restaurant drive-thru at least weekly, while 47% pick up takeout at least weekly and 37% order delivery weekly.

Those numbers tell restaurant operators something important:

The restaurant is no longer necessarily the place where the meal is eaten. It is increasingly the place where the meal is acquired.

The Drive-Thru Makes Hand Held Food Even More Important

Revenue Management Solutions reported that drive-thru orders represented approximately 65% of total QSR orders in 2025, down from the extraordinary 83% level reached in 2020.

Even after that normalization, 65% is a staggering number.

Think about the operational implication.

If roughly two-thirds of QSR orders can flow through a drive-thru, then restaurants should be designing more of their menus around foods that:

· travel well;

· remain appealing for the duration of the trip;

· can be consumed conveniently;

· don't require traditional tableware;

· fit into today's fragmented dayparts; and

· encourage add-on purchases.

This is precisely where beverages and flatbreads become strategically interesting.

Smoothies have always been portable.

Now Smoothie King is making the food component portable, too.

That creates the possibility of a two-handed or one-hand-plus-beverage meal occasion rather than a beverage-only visit.

That is a powerful distinction.

And What About Dine-In?

Dine-in has not disappeared. Far from it.

But the balance has changed.

The National Restaurant Association's data show that off-premises now represents approximately three-quarters of restaurant traffic.

Technomic's beverage research illustrates the continuing importance of the restaurant itself: 61% of beverage sales still occur through dine-in, compared with 16% through takeout, 16% delivery and 7% drive-thru overall. Among operators that actually offer drive-thru service, drive-thru's share of beverage sales rises to 28%.

That is a critical distinction.

Consumers still want the restaurant experience.

But they increasingly want restaurant-quality food that works wherever they happen to be.

The winning restaurant doesn't have to choose between dine-in and off-premise.

It needs food designed to perform in both.

Pizza Has Been a Hand Held Food All Along

Perhaps the industry's greatest example of hand-held food hiding in plain sight is pizza.

Pizza can be eaten with a knife and fork.

But American pizza culture has always made another behavior equally important: pick up a slice and eat it with your hands.

The USDA's Food Surveys Research Group reports that approximately 11% of the U.S. population consumed pizza on any given day in its more recent prepandemic analysis. More than half of pizza consumed was obtained from restaurants, while approximately one-quarter came from grocery stores.

An earlier FSRG analysis found an even higher estimate of approximately 13% of Americans consuming pizza on a given day, depending on the survey period and methodology.

That means pizza is not simply a restaurant category.

It is a highly portable food format that crosses:

Restaurant → Takeout → Delivery → Grocery → Convenience → Home

That is the Grocerant lesson.

The consumer doesn't care which channel owns the food.

The consumer cares whether the food satisfies the occasion.

Flatbread Is Pizza's More Flexible Cousin

This is why Smoothie King's Chicken Flatbread deserves more attention than simply being called a "new menu item."

Flatbread provides many of the attributes consumers already understand about pizza while giving operators greater flexibility around portion size, toppings, proteins, sauces and dayparts.

Chicken, tomatoes, cheese and sauce can create a familiar flavor architecture.

But the flatbread can be positioned as:

lunch, dinner, snack, post-workout food, afternoon fuel or an accompaniment to a beverage.

That flexibility is enormously valuable.

And because the product is hand-held, it can potentially move with the consumer.

That matters in a foodservice environment where convenience is no longer an amenity.

Convenience is part of the product.

Smoothie King Is Showing What Menu Expansion Can Really Mean

Smoothie King ended 2025 with 1,242 units, according to the information supplied in the company's release, and Technomic data cited in the release put 2025 sales at approximately $791 million.

The chain also says it has grown its store count 76% over the past decade, added 34 units since the beginning of 2026 and added 47 new store commitments to its development pipeline.

The company is also expanding its operational capabilities.

It rolled out ovens across its approximately 1,250-unit system at no cost to franchisees to support the new food platform.

That is important.

This isn't simply adding another SKU to a menu board.

It is adding food-production capability to a beverage-led restaurant system.

And the July same-store sales result suggests consumers may be responding.

Competitor Tropical Smoothie Cafe demonstrates the other side of the equation. Technomic data cited in the release show approximately $1.5 billion in 2025 sales and 1,659 units, with food playing a much larger role in its overall proposition.

That comparison should get the attention of every beverage-led chain.

The question isn't whether beverages can sell food. The question is how much more frequently consumers will visit when beverages and food solve the occasion together.

Consumer First. Menu Second.

This is where I believe too many restaurant companies get the strategy backward.

They ask:

"What food can we add?"

The better question is:

"What does our consumer need from us that we aren't currently providing?"

That is a dramatically different approach.

If the consumer wants a breakfast that can be eaten in the car, build around portability.

If the consumer wants a post-workout meal, build around protein and satiety.

If the consumer wants an afternoon snack, build around portion size and beverage pairing.

If the consumer wants dinner without sitting down, build around portable meal bundles.

If the consumer wants restaurant food at home, design for takeout and delivery quality.

The consumer should determine the menu architecture—not the other way around.

And that is why Smoothie King's flatbread move is strategically significant.

The company is taking something it already owns—the beverage occasion—and adding a portable food occasion around it.

That is food-channel blurring in action.

Three Insights From the Grocerant Guru®

1. Stop Separating Beverages From Food

Consumers don't necessarily see a smoothie, sandwich, flatbread or pizza slice as separate categories. They see something to consume that satisfies an occasion. Operators that merchandise beverages and food as complementary components of a meal can increase relevance, frequency and check potential.

2. Make the Menu Travel

With nearly 75% of restaurant traffic occurring off-premises, portability should be treated as a product attribute, not merely a packaging decision.

Hand-held foods are particularly well positioned for the mobile consumer because the food itself becomes compatible with the consumer's lifestyle.

3. Follow the Consumer, Not the Restaurant Category

The most important question for every restaurant brand is no longer "What category are we in?"

It is:

"What consumer occasion can we own next?"

Smoothie King is demonstrating the opportunity. A beverage brand can become a meal brand. A flatbread can become a snack, lunch or dinner. Pizza can move from pizzeria to grocery to convenience. And restaurants can become foodservice platforms rather than narrowly defined categories.

The future belongs to the brands that understand that the consumer doesn't live inside your menu category. The consumer lives in occasions—and the winning foodservice brands will follow them there.

That is the Grocerant Guru® perspective. Elevate Your Brand with Expert Insights

For corporate presentations, regional chain strategies, educational forums, or keynote speaking, Steven Johnson, the Grocerant Guru®, delivers actionable insights that fuel success.

With deep experience in restaurant operations, brand positioning, and strategic consulting, Steven provides valuable takeaways that inspire and drive results.

Visit GrocerantGuru.com or FoodserviceSolutions.US Call 1-253-759-7869

The Next Restaurant Battle Is Bigger Than Food: McDonald’s, Red Bull and the Fight for Consumer Occasions

2026-08-15T00:15:00.000-07:00

McDonald’s is getting into the energy-drink business with Red Bull, but from my perspective as the Grocerant Guru®, the bigger story is not caffeine.

The bigger story is consumer evolution.

Consumers are no longer willing to define a restaurant visit by the traditional three meals a day, a limited beverage menu and a single transaction. They want more choices, more convenience, more portability and more reasons to visit—or order—from the brands they already know.

Restaurants that evolve with those expectations can create new revenue streams.

Those that don't risk losing customers to competitors, convenience stores, coffee chains, grocery stores and increasingly sophisticated foodservice retailers that are willing to give consumers exactly what they want.

McDonald's is betting that Red Bull can help open another door.

Beginning August 17, participating McDonald's restaurants will offer the Red Bull Dragonberry Energizer, combining Red Bull with raspberry syrup and freeze-dried dragonfruit. Customers looking to reduce calories can substitute Red Bull Zero, and participating restaurants will also sell an 8.4-ounce can of Red Bull.

McDonald's is simultaneously expanding its "dirty soda" strategy with the Vanilla Swirl, which combines Coke, Diet Coke or Coke Zero with vanilla and cold foam.

That may sound like two beverage launches.

I see something much bigger.

McDonald's Is Expanding the Day, Not Just the Menu

The restaurant industry has historically thought about dayparts in fairly rigid terms:

Breakfast. Lunch. Snack. Dinner. Late night.

Today's consumer does not.

An afternoon customer may want an energy drink rather than coffee. A teenager may want a customized dirty soda. A parent may want a meal and an energy drink for the road. A worker may want something cold and caffeinated at 3 p.m. without sitting down for another traditional meal.

That creates an enormous opportunity for restaurant chains.

Energy drinks are particularly interesting because the category has experienced significant growth at retail since 2020, with sugar-free products helping drive the expansion. Consumers increasingly view energy drinks as an alternative to coffee, and afternoon consumption gives restaurants an opportunity to create a new occasion between lunch and dinner.

That is precisely where daypart expansion becomes strategically important.

McDonald's isn't simply selling another beverage.

It is attempting to create another reason to visit McDonald's.

CPG Is Becoming Restaurant Foodservice's New Frontier

The other important piece of this strategy is the blending of CPG and restaurant foodservice.

For years, the restaurant industry largely separated itself from packaged consumer products.

Restaurants sold prepared food.

Grocery stores and convenience stores sold packaged food and beverages.

That distinction is rapidly disappearing.

Today, restaurant consumers increasingly expect recognizable CPG brands inside restaurants—and restaurants are increasingly recognizing that CPG partnerships can provide credibility, variety and incremental occasions.

Red Bull is an especially powerful example because McDonald's doesn't have to convince consumers what Red Bull is.

The consumer already knows.

That dramatically lowers the educational burden.

The restaurant gets the traffic opportunity while the CPG brand gets another distribution channel.

That is a powerful symbiotic relationship.

McDonald's Needs More Than Traffic—It Needs More Transactions and Bigger Baskets

The timing is also important.

McDonald's reported only 0.8% same-store sales growth in the second quarter, despite beverage initiatives and marketing promotions, while restaurant traffic remained weak.

That makes this beverage expansion more than a menu experiment.

It is an attempt to create incremental demand.

And that is exactly how restaurant executives should be thinking.

The question shouldn't simply be:

"What new food should we add?"

The better questions are:

What new occasion can we own?

What existing customer need can we satisfy?

What product can bring a customer into the restaurant who might not otherwise come?

What product can increase the average check without substantially increasing labor or complexity?

Those are very different questions.

The Drive-Thru May Be the Most Important Asset in This Strategy

There is another opportunity hiding in plain sight.

The drive-thru isn't simply a faster restaurant entrance.

It is a high-speed distribution platform.

Most chains continue to think about the drive-thru as a way to fulfill one order at a time.

The Grocerant Guru® sees an opportunity to think much bigger:

How many meals can one vehicle deliver?

A consumer picking up dinner for a family could potentially leave with meals for four people, an afternoon snack for tomorrow, beverages for the car and packaged products for later.

That turns the drive-thru from a transaction point into a mini foodservice distribution center.

And CPG partnerships can help make that possible.

Imagine ordering a family meal and adding an energy drink, packaged dessert, snack, bottled beverage or another ready-to-eat item for later.

The restaurant has just expanded the transaction beyond the immediate meal.

That is daypart expansion, basket expansion and channel expansion happening simultaneously.

Three Drive-Thru Ideations From the Grocerant Guru®

1. The "Add One More" Drive-Thru

Build the ordering experience around one simple question:

"What else do you need for later?"

At the speaker, app or kiosk, customers could receive highly targeted add-ons based on the order and time of day.

Breakfast could trigger an afternoon beverage.

Lunch could trigger a snack.

Dinner could trigger tomorrow's breakfast.

A family meal could trigger additional beverages or desserts.

The goal isn't to push more food.

The goal is to anticipate the next consumption occasion.

2. Multi-Meal Drive-Thru Bundles

Restaurants should create bundles specifically designed for customers picking up food for multiple people or multiple occasions.

For example:

Tonight's Dinner + Tomorrow's Breakfast + Road Beverages

The customer orders once and receives multiple consumption occasions in one drive-thru transaction.

That could increase average check while requiring relatively little incremental selling effort.

It also gives restaurants an opportunity to compete more directly with grocery stores and convenience stores for the consumer's next meal.

3. The Drive-Thru "Grab-and-Go Market"

The final opportunity is to turn part of the drive-thru experience into a miniature CPG marketplace.

Imagine a designated pickup area containing high-margin, highly portable products that customers can add to their order:

· Energy drinks

· Bottled beverages

· Packaged snacks

· Desserts

· Breakfast items

· Family-size add-ons

· Ready-to-eat products

· Limited-time CPG collaborations

The restaurant doesn't have to become a grocery store.

It simply needs to recognize that the consumer's need doesn't end when today's meal is consumed.

The Grocerant Guru® Bottom Line

McDonald's move with Red Bull is about much more than energy drinks.

It is another signal that the restaurant industry is becoming increasingly channel-blurred, daypart-blurred and occasion-blurred.

Consumers don't think in restaurant categories.

They think in needs, occasions, convenience, value and experiences.

The winning restaurant chains will increasingly look outside their traditional menus for ways to satisfy those needs.

CPG partnerships can provide restaurants with recognizable brands, incremental occasions and potentially attractive margins without requiring the restaurant to invent every product itself.

And the drive-thru may ultimately become one of the industry's most underutilized assets.

The restaurant industry spent decades teaching consumers that the drive-thru was the fastest way to get one meal.

The next generation of restaurant operators should be asking how to make it the fastest way to get several meals, beverages and consumption occasions at once.

That is where the real growth opportunity may be.

The consumer is evolving.

Restaurant chains must evolve with them—or risk watching those customers evolve right out of their brand.

Three Grocerant Guru® Takeaways

1. Own more occasions.
Don't just compete for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Build products and partnerships that create afternoon, snack, beverage and "for later" occasions.

2. Use CPG to expand the menu without reinventing the kitchen.
Strategic CPG partnerships can add recognizable products, new consumption occasions and incremental revenue while potentially limiting operational complexity.

3. Turn the drive-thru into a multi-meal distribution channel.
The next evolution of the drive-thru isn't necessarily serving more cars faster. It is serving more consumption occasions per car. The brands that learn how to put multiple meals and occasions into a single transaction could discover a powerful new source of top-line sales and bottom-line profit.

Are you ready for some fresh ideations? Do your food marketing ideas look more like yesterday than tomorrow? Interested in learning how our Grocerant Guru® can edify your retail food brand while creating a platform for consumer convenient meal participation, differentiation and individualization? Email us at: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us or visit: us on our social media sites by clicking one of the following links: Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter

Bahama Buck’s Takes the Taste of Paradise Beyond Its Four Walls: Why SnoBlast Could Be a Big Growth Step After 35 Years

2026-08-14T00:14:00.000-07:00

After 35 years in business, the biggest challenge for any restaurant or foodservice brand is not simply staying relevant—it is finding new ways to make the brand relevant more often, in more places and for more occasions.

That is why Bahama Buck’s launch of SnoBlast deserves more attention than a typical new-product announcement according to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

The frozen-treat chain is taking its signature Sno experience outside its restaurants and putting it into a grab-and-go format designed for little league tournaments, summer camps, school fundraisers, amusement parks, neighborhood celebrations and other group occasions.

That is not just a new flavor strategy.

It is a channel-blurring growth strategy.

For the Grocerant Guru®, that distinction matters.

The Big Idea: Stop Thinking Like a Restaurant

Restaurants traditionally think about growth in terms of opening more restaurants, increasing same-store sales, adding dayparts and improving throughput.

Smart restaurant brands increasingly understand that there is another question to ask:

Where else can the consumer experience our brand?

SnoBlast is Bahama Buck’s answer.

The product allows consumers to enjoy the brand away from a Bahama Buck’s location. That creates an opportunity to capture consumption occasions that a traditional restaurant cannot easily reach.

Think about the occasions:

· Youth sports

· School events

· Summer camps

· Fundraisers

· Festivals

· Amusement parks

· Neighborhood parties

· Family gatherings

· Community events

These are all high-density food occasions where consumers are already looking for something convenient, fun and refreshing.

SnoBlast essentially turns those occasions into potential Bahama Buck’s occasions.

That is powerful.

From Store-Centric to Occasion-Centric

The restaurant industry has spent decades building businesses around physical locations.

But consumers don't organize their lives around restaurant locations.

They organize their lives around occasions.

That distinction is increasingly important as consumers move seamlessly among restaurants, grocery stores, convenience stores, food trucks, delivery, takeout, entertainment venues and other food channels.

The Grocerant Guru® calls this Food Channel Blurring.

The winning brands increasingly ask:

"How can we put our food where the consumer already is?"

Rather than asking consumers to make a special trip to a restaurant, SnoBlast gives Bahama Buck’s an opportunity to travel with them.

The Packaging Strategy Is Particularly Interesting

One of the most important details in the announcement may be the least glamorous:

ambient storage.

SnoBlast pouches can be stored at room temperature until they are ready to be frozen.

Then they are placed in a freezer for 24 hours before serving.

That seemingly simple operational decision could dramatically expand the potential distribution footprint.

Why?

Because frozen products traditionally create a supply-chain challenge.

Cold storage costs money.

Frozen transportation costs money.

Frozen inventory requires freezer space.

SnoBlast's ambient-storage format creates a different proposition: store it now, freeze it when needed.

That makes the product easier for organizations to manage and potentially easier for Bahama Buck’s to sell through additional channels.

This is where product innovation becomes business-model innovation.

Convenience Is Part of the Product

Consumers increasingly value food that removes friction.

The same principle applies to organizations buying food for groups.

A school fundraiser does not want a complicated foodservice operation.

A youth sports organization does not want a product that requires extensive preparation.

A camp does not want to build an entire frozen-dessert infrastructure around one product.

SnoBlast addresses those problems with a relatively straightforward proposition:

Store it. Freeze it. Serve it.

That is the kind of operational simplicity that can help a food brand move from an individual restaurant transaction toward institutional, group and event-based consumption.

The Flavor Strategy Is Built for Both Familiarity and Discovery

Another smart move is the breadth of the flavor portfolio.

Bahama Buck’s is offering familiar flavors such as:

· Cherry

· Blue Raspberry

· Pink Lemonade

· Mango

· Tiger’s Blood

But the company also introduces more adventurous choices, including Best Maid Pickle SnoBlast and Warheads Extreme Sour.

That creates two different consumer strategies.

The familiar flavors reduce trial barriers.

The unconventional flavors create conversation.

And conversation is valuable.

In today's food marketplace, a product does not have to be consumed by everyone to generate attention. Sometimes the flavor that creates the most social conversation can help create awareness for the entire brand.

The "Better-for-You" Positioning Also Matters

SnoBlast is being positioned with a number of ingredient attributes that today's consumers increasingly notice.

The company says the product contains:

· No artificial flavors

· No artificial colors

· No high fructose corn syrup

· Allergen-friendly positioning

That matters because consumers are increasingly balancing indulgence with ingredient expectations.

Frozen treats remain an indulgence.

But consumers increasingly want indulgent foods that fit within their personal definitions of better eating.

This creates what I call the "better-for-you indulgence" opportunity.

Consumers don't necessarily want to eliminate treats.

They want treats that make them feel better about the choice.

Fundraising Could Be a Particularly Interesting Growth Engine

One of the most intriguing applications for SnoBlast is fundraising.

Fundraising gives Bahama Buck’s something traditional restaurant advertising cannot always deliver:

a built-in reason for organizations to sell the product.

A booster club, school organization or youth sports program can potentially turn a frozen treat into a fundraising occasion.

That creates a three-way value proposition:

Bahama Buck’s gets brand exposure.

The organization gets fundraising potential.

The consumer gets an enjoyable product.

That is exactly the type of ecosystem that can help a restaurant brand grow beyond its traditional four walls.

SnoBlast Is Also Hand-Held Marketing

The Grocerant Guru® has long argued that food can become one of the most powerful forms of Hand-Held Marketing.

Every time someone carries, consumes or shares a branded food product, the brand can travel with the consumer.

SnoBlast has that potential.

Imagine 100 kids at a baseball tournament.

Imagine dozens of parents, coaches and spectators.

Now imagine the product packaging carrying the Bahama Buck’s brand throughout the event.

The food is no longer just the product.

The product becomes the advertising.

That is an important distinction.

Why 35 Years Matters

There is also a bigger lesson here.

After 35 years, Bahama Buck’s isn't simply trying to become a different company.

It is extending what it already does well.

The brand has built equity around tropical flavors, frozen treats and its "Taste of Paradise" positioning.

SnoBlast takes those existing brand assets and makes them portable.

That is often a smarter growth strategy than creating something completely unrelated.

The strongest brand extensions frequently answer three questions:

1. What do consumers already love about us?

2. Where can't consumers currently get it?

3. What format would make it easier to consume?

SnoBlast has a compelling answer to all three.

The Grocerant Guru® Growth Equation

I see a larger foodservice lesson here.

The next generation of restaurant growth will not necessarily come from simply building more restaurants.

It will come from building more consumption occasions.

A restaurant brand can grow through:

Restaurants + Takeout + Delivery + Retail + Events + Fundraising + Foodservice + Portable Products

That is the new growth equation.

And this is precisely where restaurant brands can learn from grocery and convenience stores.

Grocery has spent decades learning how to put food into consumers' homes.

Convenience stores have learned how to put food into consumers' daily routines.

Restaurants have traditionally focused on bringing consumers into restaurants.

The opportunity now is for all three channels to learn from one another.

SnoBlast Could Become More Than a Product

If Bahama Buck’s executes well, SnoBlast could eventually become more than a seasonal frozen product.

It could become a brand platform.

The company could potentially explore additional opportunities around:

· School fundraising programs

· Youth sports partnerships

· Corporate events

· Theme and amusement parks

· Grocery and retail distribution

· Convenience-store placement

· Catering

· Festivals

· Stadium and venue concessions

· Large-scale community events

The important point is that the brand doesn't necessarily have to own every location where the product is consumed.

It simply needs to own the experience.

That is a very different growth philosophy.

Three Insights From the Grocerant Guru®

1. Growth Comes From Creating More Occasions, Not Just More Locations

After 35 years, Bahama Buck’s is demonstrating that a restaurant brand can grow by expanding its occasion footprint.

The question every restaurant CEO should be asking is:

"How many times can consumers encounter our brand when they are not inside our restaurant?"

SnoBlast is an excellent example of answering that question.

2. Convenience Is a Competitive Weapon

The ambient-storage format is strategically important.

The easier a product is to store, transport, prepare and serve, the more places it can potentially go.

Food brands should stop thinking about convenience as merely a consumer benefit.

Convenience is also a distribution strategy.

3. The Future Belongs to Brands That Travel With the Consumer

The restaurant of the future does not necessarily have four walls.

It can be a restaurant, a pouch, a grocery item, a convenience-store product, a catering program, a fundraiser or an event experience.

SnoBlast demonstrates how a 35-year-old restaurant brand can take something consumers already love and give it a new life outside the restaurant.

That is not abandoning the restaurant model. It is expanding the brand model.

And in the increasingly blurred foodservice marketplace, the brands that can move from place-based consumption to occasion-based consumption may ultimately have the greatest opportunity to grow.

The Grocerant Guru® Bottom Line: Bahama Buck’s SnoBlast is a smart example of what happens when a mature restaurant brand stops asking, "How do we get more people into our stores?" and starts asking, "How do we get our brand into more people's lives?"

After 35 years, that may be exactly the kind of next-generation thinking required to create the next 35 years of growth.

Tap into the Foodservice Solutions® team for greater understanding of New Electricity or for a Grocerant Program Assessment, Grocerant ScoreCard, or for product positioning or placement assistance, or call our Grocerant Guru®. Since 1991 www.FoodserviceSolutions.us of Tacoma, WA has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche. Contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us or 253-759-7869

THE FAST-FOOD CROWN HAS CHANGED HANDS

2026-08-13T00:13:00.000-07:00

Jersey Mike’s Dethrones Chick-fil-A After an 11-Year Reign—And McDonald’s and Subway Have Already Learned This Lesson the Hard Way

McDonald’s built the fast-food empire. Subway made “fresh” a national marketing weapon. Chick-fil-A made service a competitive advantage. Now Jersey Mike’s is rewriting the rules of QSR leadership according to Steve Johnson, The Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

There are restaurant rankings—and then there are industry inflection points.

The newly released 2026 American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) Restaurant and Food Delivery Study represents one of those moments.

After 11 consecutive years as America’s customer-satisfaction leader among quick-service restaurants, Chick-fil-A has finally been dethroned.

The new No. 1 is Jersey Mike’s, which posted an ACSI score of 84, edging Chick-fil-A at 83 and finishing five points above the QSR industry average of 79.

One point.

That's all that separates Jersey Mike’s from Chick-fil-A.

But from my perspective as the Grocerant Guru®, this isn't really a one-point story.

It is a leadership story.

And it is a story about how the American consumer's definition of a great fast-food experience has evolved.

“Consumer leadership is rented, not owned. The brand that best understands what customers value next gets the crown.”

— Steve Johnson, The Grocerant Guru®

The history is fascinating.

McDonald’s taught America to value speed, scale and consistency.

Subway taught America to value freshness and customization.

Chick-fil-A taught America to value hospitality and operational execution.

And now Jersey Mike’s is demonstrating the power of freshness, customization, food quality, service and perceived value working together.

That is why this ACSI result matters far beyond the sandwich category.

THE 2026 SHOCK: JERSEY MIKE’S IS NOW NO. 1

Jersey Mike’s enters the ACSI rankings at the top with a score of 84.

Chick-fil-A follows at 83.

The QSR industry average is 79.

ACSI's 2026 analysis identifies Jersey Mike’s strengths in areas including freshness, food variety and value, while its operational story is equally important.

The chain has been expanding rapidly while maintaining a customer-satisfaction score above every other QSR measured in the study.

That creates a fascinating question for the restaurant industry:

Can a restaurant brand grow aggressively without sacrificing the customer experience that made it successful?

Jersey Mike’s is now the industry's most interesting case study.

A HISTORY OF THE FAST-FOOD CROWN

How America's QSR Leadership Has Changed

THE McDONALD’S ERA

SPEED + SCALE + CONVENIENCE

For decades, McDonald’s represented the ultimate fast-food operating model.

Standardization.

Speed.

Convenience.

Drive-thru.

National advertising.

Real-estate density.

Menu familiarity.

The Golden Arches became one of the most recognizable brands in the world because McDonald’s understood something revolutionary:

Consumers wanted restaurant food that was predictable, accessible and fast.

McDonald’s helped build the modern QSR industry around those principles.

But there was an important limitation:

Being the biggest did not necessarily mean being the most satisfying.

THE SUBWAY RISE

FRESHNESS + CUSTOMIZATION

Subway changed the conversation.

The customer could walk into a restaurant, choose the bread, select the ingredients, watch the sandwich being assembled and customize the meal.

The preparation became part of the experience.

And one word became central to the brand's marketing:

FRESH

Subway demonstrated that consumers didn't necessarily want fast food to look or feel like traditional fast food.

They wanted something they could personalize.

That was an enormously important development in food marketing.

But eventually, competitors learned the same lesson.

2015

CHICK-FIL-A TAKES THE CROWN

In 2015, Chick-fil-A entered the ACSI restaurant rankings with an extraordinary score of 86.

The brand quickly established itself as the benchmark for customer satisfaction.

Its competitive weapon wasn't simply chicken.

It was service.

Friendly employees.

Order accuracy.

Clean restaurants.

Speed.

Consistency.

Hospitality.

Operational discipline.

Chick-fil-A effectively transformed service from a restaurant function into a brand asset.

That was the beginning of an extraordinary run.

2015–2025: THE 11-YEAR CHICK-FIL-A DYNASTY

For 11 consecutive years, Chick-fil-A held the top spot in ACSI's QSR customer-satisfaction rankings.

That achievement should not be minimized.

In an industry where consumers have thousands of choices, maintaining the highest satisfaction score for more than a decade is extraordinary.

Chick-fil-A didn't merely sell chicken.

It created a highly repeatable customer experience.

And that experience became a competitive moat.

2025: THE INDUSTRY WARNING LIGHTS FLASH

Chick-fil-A remained the customer-satisfaction leader.

But the competitive landscape was changing.

Consumers were becoming more price-sensitive.

Restaurant inflation was reshaping meal decisions.

Digital ordering was changing how customers interacted with restaurants.

Grocery stores and convenience stores were expanding prepared-food offerings.

And consumers increasingly had more choices for the same meal occasion.

The restaurant industry was entering a new era.

The battle was moving from “fast food” to “best meal solution.”

That distinction is central to understanding what happened next.

2026: JERSEY MIKE’S TAKES THE CROWN

84 — JERSEY MIKE’S

83 — CHICK-FIL-A

79 — QSR INDUSTRY AVERAGE

The historical significance is that Jersey Mike’s accomplished this in its first appearance in the ACSI rankings.

That makes the result even more remarkable.

Jersey Mike’s didn't spend a decade climbing to the top.

It arrived at the top.

THE REAL WINNER: THE CONSUMER EXPERIENCE

The most important lesson in the 2026 ACSI data isn't the one-point difference between Jersey Mike’s and Chick-fil-A.

It is what the broader measurements tell us about consumer expectations.

Customers evaluate much more than the food.

They evaluate:

Food quality.

Order accuracy.

Speed.

Courtesy.

Cleanliness.

Digital ordering.

Convenience.

Value.

That is the modern restaurant product.

The sandwich is only part of it.

The burger is only part of it.

The chicken sandwich is only part of it.

The experience is the product.

McDONALD’S: THE GIANT THAT LOST THE SATISFACTION LEAD

McDonald’s remains one of the most powerful restaurant brands on Earth.

But its customer-satisfaction performance tells another story.

The 2026 ACSI QSR table places McDonald’s at 72, substantially below the industry average of 79 and 12 points below Jersey Mike’s 84.

That is a remarkable gap.

And it creates an enormous opportunity for McDonald’s.

The company doesn't have a brand-awareness problem.

It doesn't have a distribution problem.

It doesn't have a convenience problem.

It has an opportunity to turn its enormous scale into a more consistently satisfying customer experience.

Scale gets customers to the door. Experience gets them to come back.

SUBWAY: THE FRESHNESS PIONEER THAT LOST ITS DIFFERENTIATION

Subway deserves enormous credit for changing fast-food marketing.

It helped teach consumers that fast food could be:

Fresh.

Customizable.

Visible.

Personal.

But competitive advantages don't remain exclusive forever.

The industry learned.

And Jersey Mike’s has taken many of those same principles and built them into a compelling modern experience.

Subway's 2026 ACSI score is 79, exactly matching the QSR industry average.

The lesson is powerful:

“Being first to market with a consumer benefit doesn't mean you will own that benefit forever. Someone else can execute it better.”

— Steve Johnson, The Grocerant Guru®

CHICK-FIL-A: DETHRONED, NOT DEFEATED

This distinction matters.

Chick-fil-A scored 83 in 2026.

That is still an exceptional customer-satisfaction score.

And ACSI continues to identify Chick-fil-A as the clear leader within the chicken category.

So this is not a Chick-fil-A collapse story.

It is a story about competitive expansion.

For 11 years, Chick-fil-A defined excellence for the overall QSR customer experience.

Now another brand has shown consumers that excellence can come from a different combination of attributes.

Freshness + food quality + customization + service + value.

WHY JERSEY MIKE’S WON

Jersey Mike’s has several characteristics that fit the current consumer mindset particularly well.

1. Visible preparation

Customers can see the ingredients being sliced and the sandwich being made.

2. Customization

The consumer participates in creating the meal.

3. Freshness

Fresh preparation is not merely a claim—it is part of the theater of the transaction.

4. Focus

The menu is relatively focused compared with many competitors.

5. Value

The customer can see what they are getting.

And that last point is increasingly important.

Because today's consumer is asking:

“Is this worth what I am paying?”

That is a very different question from:

“Is this cheap?”

THE NEW DEFINITION OF VALUE

Restaurant executives have spent years talking about value as though value means discounting.

I disagree.

The 2026 marketplace demonstrates why.

Value is increasingly:

PRICE + QUALITY + EXPERIENCE + CONVENIENCE

If the food is excellent, the order is accurate, the service is friendly and the experience is convenient, consumers may perceive a higher-priced meal as a better value.

That is the Price–Value–Service Equilibrium.

And it is one of the most important concepts restaurant and grocery executives should be watching.

THE GROCERANT CONNECTION

Now we arrive at the bigger story.

The consumer who chooses Jersey Mike’s doesn't necessarily think:

“I am choosing a QSR.”

The consumer thinks:

“What am I going to eat?”

That person could choose:

· Jersey Mike’s

· Chick-fil-A

· McDonald’s

· A grocery deli

· A convenience store

· A prepared supermarket meal

· Takeout

· Delivery

· A ready-to-eat meal

· A heat-and-eat meal

That is the essence of the grocerant revolution.

Food channels are blurring.

Restaurant executives increasingly compete with grocery.

Grocers increasingly compete with restaurants.

Convenience stores increasingly compete with both.

The real competition is for the meal occasion.

And Jersey Mike’s just demonstrated how powerful a focused food proposition can be.

WHY THIS MATTERS TO GROCERS

The grocery industry should pay very close attention.

If consumers reward a restaurant because they can see food being freshly prepared, why shouldn't a grocery deli do the same?

Why hide the production process?

Why put prepared foods behind glass where consumers cannot see the craftsmanship?

Why not create food theater?

Slice it.

Grill it.

Chop it.

Assemble it.

Finish it.

Hand it to the customer.

That is what I call:

Hand-Held Marketing.

The product becomes the advertising.

THE MENU-SIMPLICITY LESSON

There is another lesson hidden inside the Jersey Mike’s story.

The restaurant industry often responds to slowing traffic by adding menu items.

More choices.

More limited-time offers.

More ingredients.

More complexity.

But complexity comes with a price.

More inventory.

More training.

More labor requirements.

More opportunities for mistakes.

More operational friction.

Jersey Mike’s demonstrates the potential power of a different strategy:

Do fewer things—and execute them exceptionally well.

That is not necessarily a smaller ambition.

It can be a smarter operating model.

THE 2026 QSR SATISFACTION SCORECARD

Brand	2026 ACSI Score
Jersey Mike’s	84
Chick-fil-A	83
Jimmy John’s	81
Panda Express	81
KFC	80
Papa Johns	80
Pizza Hut	80
Domino’s	79
Raising Cane’s	79
Subway	79
Burger King	78
Panera	78
McDonald’s	72

Source: American Customer Satisfaction Index, 2026 Quick-Service Restaurant Study.

FOUR INSIGHTS FROM THE GROCERANT GURU®

1. VALUE IS NO LONGER THE SAME THING AS CHEAP

Consumers increasingly want to know whether the entire experience is worth the price.

The winning question isn't:

“How cheaply can I sell this?”

It is:

“How much value can I deliver for the price?”

2. FRESHNESS MUST BE SHOWN, NOT JUST PROMISED

Subway helped teach the industry that freshness could be a marketing weapon.

Jersey Mike’s demonstrates that the strategy still has enormous power when the execution is right.

Restaurants, grocers and convenience retailers should make food preparation visible.

**Don't just advertise freshness.

Make freshness theater.

3. OPERATIONAL SIMPLICITY CAN BE A COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE

In a labor-constrained, inflationary environment, every additional menu item creates operational complexity.

A focused menu can improve consistency, training and execution.

Do fewer things better.

That may be one of the most underappreciated growth strategies in foodservice.

4. TODAY'S LEADER DOES NOT OWN TOMORROW

McDonald’s once represented the ultimate fast-food experience.

Subway helped redefine freshness.

Chick-fil-A dominated customer satisfaction for 11 years.

Now Jersey Mike’s has the crown.

That is the lesson:

“Consumer leadership is never permanent. Every market leader eventually faces a competitor that understands the consumer's next expectation better.”

— Steve Johnson, The Grocerant Guru®

THE GROCERANT GURU® FINAL WORD

Jersey Mike’s didn't dethrone Chick-fil-A simply by selling better sandwiches.

That explanation is too simple.

It won because the experience surrounding the sandwich has become part of the product.

Customers see the preparation.

Customers participate in customization.

Freshness is visible.

The menu is focused.

The experience is repeatable.

And the brand has demonstrated that it can expand while maintaining an exceptional customer-satisfaction score.

That is a powerful combination.

The historical progression is now clear:

McDonald’s

Speed + Scale + Convenience

↓

Subway

Freshness + Customization

↓

Chick-fil-A

Service + Hospitality + Execution

↓

JERSEY MIKE’S

Freshness + Customization + Food Quality + Value + Execution

The crown has changed hands.

But now comes the hard part.

Defending it.

Jersey Mike’s has demonstrated that it can reach the top.

Now the industry will watch whether it can remain there as the system grows.

For Chick-fil-A, the challenge is to defend an extraordinary service culture while finding new ways to surprise customers.

For McDonald’s, the challenge is converting unmatched scale and convenience into a more satisfying experience.

For Subway, the challenge is making the word fresh distinctive again.

For grocers and convenience retailers, the lesson may be even bigger:

The restaurant is no longer competing only with another restaurant.

It is competing with every place a consumer can get the next meal.

And that means the next generation of foodservice leadership will belong to the brands that understand one fundamental truth:

“The consumer doesn't care which food channel you belong to. The consumer cares whether you can solve the meal occasion better than anyone else.”

— Steve Johnson, The Grocerant Guru®

That is why Jersey Mike’s becoming America's new QSR customer-satisfaction leader is about much more than a sandwich.

It is a signal.

The fast-food crown has changed hands.

And the battle for America's next meal occasion has just become much more interesting.

— Steve Johnson
The Grocerant Guru®
Foodservice Solutions®

America doesn't have a lettuce problem. It has a food-trust problem.

2026-08-12T00:12:00.000-07:00

The 2026 Cyclospora outbreak has now reached 15 states, with 6,358 laboratory-confirmed illnesses, 278 hospitalizations and two deaths tied to the multistate investigation as of August 5. Federal investigators have linked the outbreak epidemiologically and through traceback to recalled iceberg lettuce from Taylor Farms de Mexico, with Taco Bell exposure at the center of the original restaurant investigation.

But here's the bigger restaurant-industry story according to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®:

Consumers don't buy supply chains. They buy meals.

And when they stop trusting the lettuce, salad, bowl or fresh topping on the plate, they don't necessarily investigate the supplier.

They simply choose another restaurant.

That's why food safety has officially moved from the back of the house to the front of the brand.

The Grocerant Guru® calls it the Fresh-Food Trust Equation: Fresh + Safe + Traceable + Transparent = Competitive Advantage.

Cyclospora Is Changing the Restaurant Business: Why Fresh Food, Traceability and Consumer Trust Are Now One Equation

The Grocerant Guru® Food Safety Scorecard

Taco Bell: RED — Directly Named

Chopt: RED — High Fresh-Food Exposure

Chipotle: ORANGE — High Fresh-Food Exposure

Panera Bread: ORANGE — High Fresh-Food Exposure

CAVA: ORANGE — High Fresh-Food Exposure

Burger King: GREEN/ORANGE — Lower Observed Traffic Impact

McDonald's: GREEN — Lower Observed Traffic Impact

Chick-fil-A: GREEN — Lower Observed Traffic Impact

Subway: ORANGE — Recall/Supply-Chain Exposure Requires Caution

Sweetgreen: ORANGE — Consumer Perception Exposure, But Different Lettuce Profile

Important: These are risk/exposure classifications, not allegations that any chain caused illness. FDA and CDC have specifically linked the current multistate outbreak to recalled iceberg lettuce from Taylor Farms de Mexico and identified Taco Bell exposure in the epidemiological investigation. FDA says the investigation remains ongoing and additional restaurants, brands, retailers or distribution channels could be identified.

The Restaurant Industry Has a Lettuce Problem

Fresh food has become one of the restaurant industry's most powerful sales propositions.

Now it may also be one of its biggest vulnerabilities.

The 2026 Cyclospora outbreak is forcing restaurant executives to confront a difficult reality:

Consumers don't experience the supply chain. They experience the food.

They don't see the farm.

They don't see the processor.

They don't see the distributor.

They don't see the lot code.

They don't see the receiving log.

They see lettuce sitting on their taco, salad, sandwich or bowl.

And when something goes wrong upstream, the restaurant brand can absorb the downstream consumer reaction.

That is the real story behind the 2026 Cyclospora outbreak.

The Numbers Are Getting Too Big to Ignore

The FDA's August 5 update reported:

· 6,358 illnesses

· 15 states

· 278 hospitalizations

· 2 deaths

· Illness onset continuing through July 31

· Recalled lettuce distributed through foodservice across 29 states

· Recalled retail products sold through Walmart in multiple states

FDA said the outbreak investigation continues and that the true number of illnesses may be higher because some people recover without medical care or are never tested.

The CDC similarly reported 6,358 illnesses associated with this multistate outbreak and emphasized that this outbreak is only one component of the broader national Cyclospora surveillance picture.

This distinction matters.

6,358 is not the number of all Cyclospora illnesses in America in 2026.

It is the number associated with this particular multistate outbreak as of the August 5 federal update.

That is an important food-marketing fact.

Taco Bell Is Ground Zero for the Restaurant Story

The FDA's traceback investigation initially converged on Taylor Farms de Mexico, which supplied shredded iceberg lettuce used at Taco Bell locations where people who became ill reported eating.

In the original five-state investigation, 1,644 people reporting Taco Bell exposure were identified, and ingredient-level analysis found that 90% of the interviewed cases reported eating iceberg lettuce.

By August 5, the federal investigation had expanded to include people reporting exposure to Taco Bell or recalled Taylor Farms iceberg lettuce, across 15 states.

Taco Bell stopped using lettuce from the identified Taylor Farms supplier beginning July 17.

And the consumer response was immediate.

Placer.ai data showed Taco Bell traffic down 18.9% on July 17 compared with the relevant day-of-week benchmark period.

That is not merely a food-safety statistic.

That is a marketing statistic.

The Five Chains Taking the Biggest Consumer-Perception Hit

1. Taco Bell — The Direct Hit

Risk Rating: RED

Taco Bell is the only major national restaurant chain that federal investigators explicitly placed at the center of the initial outbreak investigation.

The chain's challenge isn't simply lettuce.

It is trust.

Taco Bell has to convince consumers that:

"The food you order today is not the food that created yesterday's concern."

That is a much harder marketing assignment than simply launching a new menu item.

The encouraging news?

Yum Brands said Taco Bell sales began recovering after the temporary outbreak-related decline, suggesting that rapid corrective action and communication can help restore traffic.

Grocerant Guru® Grade:

Crisis Response: A-

Consumer Trust Recovery: In Progress

2. Chopt — The Fresh-Food Paradox

Risk Rating: RED

Chopt has an entirely different problem.

For Taco Bell, lettuce is one ingredient among many.

For a salad-focused restaurant, fresh produce is the product.

That creates a much more difficult substitution equation.

Placer.ai reported a 14.3% decline in Chopt traffic in the initial period following the outbreak.

This is the Fresh-Food Paradox:

The more your brand depends on fresh produce, the more a produce scare can attack the center of your brand proposition.

3. Chipotle — The Category Halo Effect

Risk Rating: ORANGE/RED

Chipotle has not been identified as a source of the outbreak.

The company said its ingredients were not believed to be associated with the outbreak and that it was monitoring the situation.

Yet traffic still fell.

Placer.ai initially measured a decline of approximately 6.9%.

Why?

Because consumers don't always make ingredient-level distinctions.

They make category-level decisions.

Taco Bell.

Chipotle.

Mexican food.

Lettuce.

Fresh produce.

Fear travels faster than the supply chain.

4. Panera Bread — The Freshness Challenge

Risk Rating: ORANGE

Panera also experienced a traffic decline despite no public evidence that its ingredients caused the outbreak.

Placer.ai measured an initial decline of about 6.6%.

This demonstrates a critical restaurant marketing reality:

You can be operationally clean and still experience consumer fallout from someone else's food-safety problem.

That is called reputational contagion.

5. CAVA — The Fresh Bowl Effect

Risk Rating: ORANGE

CAVA's initial traffic decline was smaller—approximately 4.2% in the Placer.ai data.

But strategically, CAVA is highly exposed because its customer proposition includes:

· Fresh vegetables

· Greens

· Herbs

· Bowls

· Salads

· Fresh toppings

This means CAVA has to manage something Taco Bell doesn't:

The consumer perception that "fresh bowl restaurants" may be riskier during a produce outbreak.

Again, that does not mean CAVA was implicated.

It means the category is exposed.

Five Chains With Comparatively Lower Initial Traffic Impact

This is where the data becomes particularly interesting.

Placer.ai reported the following July 17 traffic changes versus the relevant day-of-week averages:

Chain	Initial Traffic Change	Grocerant Guru® Exposure
Taco Bell	-18.9%	🔴 Very High
Chopt	-14.3%	🔴 Very High
Chipotle	-6.9%	🟠 High
Panera Bread	-6.6%	🟠 High
CAVA	-4.2%	🟠 Moderate
Subway	-3.3%	🟠 Moderate
Burger King	-2.4%	🟢 Lower
Chick-fil-A	-4.2%	🟢/🟠 Lower
McDonald's	-0.8%	🟢 Lower
Wendy's	-13.3%	🔴 Traffic hit, but not necessarily outbreak exposure

Therefore, the five comparatively less affected by the initial consumer-traffic shock are:

1. McDonald's — -0.8%

2. Burger King — -2.4%

3. Subway — -3.3%

4. Chick-fil-A — -4.2%

5. CAVA — -4.2%

But there is an important caveat:

"Least affected" does not mean "food-safety unaffected."

And traffic data is not the same thing as outbreak exposure.

The Subway Question Shows Why Traceability Matters

The Taylor Farms recall created another layer of complexity.

Recall information and industry reporting identified foodservice distribution involving multiple channels and supplier codes. Some reporting has associated recall codes with restaurant/distribution entities including Subway and Jack in the Box, but those code interpretations should not be treated as federal confirmation that those chains served contaminated food.

That distinction matters.

The FDA has explicitly warned that its investigation is ongoing and that additional brands, restaurants, retailers or distribution channels may be identified.

For restaurant executives, the lesson is straightforward:

Know your ingredient provenance before the crisis—not during it.

The Sweetgreen Lesson Is Even More Interesting

Sweetgreen provides a fascinating example of how ingredient differentiation can become a marketing asset.

The company has said it does not use iceberg lettuce.

That does not make a restaurant immune from foodborne illness.

But it gives the brand an opportunity to communicate:

"Here is specifically what we do differently."

That is much stronger than:

"We take food safety seriously."

The consumer wants specifics.

The Fresh-Food Fallout Is Bigger Than Restaurants

The problem isn't confined to restaurants.

The FDA said recalled iceberg lettuce was distributed to foodservice customers across a broad geographic footprint and that recalled Marketside products were sold through select Walmart stores.

Reuters reported that fresh lettuce unit sales fell 9% nationally during the week ending July 18, while consumer concerns spread beyond lettuce to other fresh foods in some markets.

That is a grocerant problem.

Why?

Because consumers increasingly move fluidly among:

restaurant → grocery deli → convenience store → takeout → delivery → prepared food

The food channel is blurring.

A food-safety scare can therefore move across channels just as quickly as consumers do.

And Now Comes the Second Food-Safety Shock

There is another development restaurant executives cannot ignore.

On August 9, Taylor Farms recalled prepared foods containing jalapeños because of a separate Salmonella investigation involving Coast Citrus Distributors.

Reuters reported that the recall involved retailers including Walmart and Kroger and came immediately after the Cyclospora-related lettuce recall, intensifying concerns about fresh-food safety.

This does not mean the two outbreaks have the same cause.

They do not.

But from a consumer perspective, the distinction may not matter.

The consumer sees:

fresh produce + recall + illness + Taylor Farms + restaurant food.

That creates a powerful trust challenge for the entire fresh-food ecosystem.

Five Grocerant Guru® Food-Safety Insights

1. Traceability Is the New Freshness

For decades, restaurants marketed:

Fresh.

The next generation must market:

Fresh + Safe + Traceable.

The winning restaurant will be able to tell its customer:

where the ingredient came from, when it arrived and how it was handled.

2. Food Safety Is Now a Marketing Function

Food safety used to live primarily in:

operations.

Today it belongs in:

operations + supply chain + communications + marketing + customer experience.

Why?

Because food safety changes traffic.

And anything that changes traffic is marketing.

3. Supplier Diversification Is Risk Management

The restaurant industry has spent years optimizing procurement.

Lowest cost.

Highest consistency.

Largest volume.

But the next question should be:

What happens if this supplier disappears tomorrow?

The answer requires:

· Multiple qualified suppliers

· Geographic diversification

· Alternative ingredients

· Backup distribution

· Lot-level traceability

· Rapid recall capability

The lowest-cost supply chain isn't necessarily the lowest-risk supply chain.

4. Menu Flexibility Protects Revenue

The best restaurant menus are not merely delicious.

They are resilient.

If lettuce disappears:

Can the customer still build a great meal?

If cilantro disappears:

Can the restaurant substitute another flavor profile?

If fresh tomatoes are unavailable:

Can the menu continue operating without appearing compromised?

That is menu engineering for the next decade.

5. Transparency Beats Reassurance

The weakest crisis statement is:

"We take food safety very seriously."

The strongest is:

"Here is what happened. Here is the ingredient involved. Here is where it came from. Here is what we removed. Here is when we removed it. Here is what we are doing differently."

Specificity builds confidence.

The Grocerant Guru® Restaurant Food-Safety Scorecard

Factor	Score
Ingredient traceability	★★★★★
Supplier diversification	★★★★★
Recall speed	★★★★★
Crisis communication	★★★★★
Menu flexibility	★★★★☆
Consumer transparency	★★★★★
Fresh-food resilience	★★★★★
Alternative sourcing	★★★★★
Cross-channel risk monitoring	★★★★★

Three Actions Every Restaurant CEO Should Take Now

1. Build an Ingredient "Kill Switch"

Every restaurant should know:

Within hours—not days—which restaurants received a suspect ingredient.

If you cannot answer that question rapidly, your traceability system is not fast enough.

2. Create a Fresh-Food Backup Map

For every high-volume fresh ingredient, identify:

Primary supplier → secondary supplier → geographic source → substitute ingredient → menu workaround.

That turns a supply-chain crisis into a menu-management exercise.

3. Turn Food Safety Into a Customer-Trust Program

Don't wait for an outbreak.

Show customers that the company knows:

where its food comes from, how it is handled and what happens when something goes wrong.

Transparency should be part of the brand—not merely part of the crisis response.

The Grocerant Guru® Bottom Line

The 2026 Cyclospora outbreak is not simply a story about lettuce.

It is a story about trust.

It is a story about supply-chain concentration.

It is a story about consumer perception.

And it is a story about the increasingly blurred line between restaurants and grocery fresh food.

The restaurant industry has spent billions teaching consumers to want:

fresh.

Now the industry needs to teach consumers to trust:

fresh.

That means the next competitive advantage won't simply be:

Fresh Food.

It will be:

Fresh Food You Can Trust.

And the restaurant brands that can prove it—not merely promise it—will have the strongest competitive position.

The Grocerant Guru® Food-Safety Equation:

Fresh + Safe + Traceable + Transparent = Trust

And in the modern foodservice business:

Trust = Traffic.

Traffic = Sales.

Sales = Growth.

That's the next chapter of the Fresh-Food Economy.

Jollibee’s $5 Million AUV Formula: Why the Filipino Food Giant Is Turning U.S. Restaurants Into Global Growth Engines

2026-08-11T00:11:00.000-07:00

The Grocerant Guru® View: Jollibee has figured out something many restaurant companies struggle to achieve—global differentiation with local relevance

Jollibee is becoming one of the most interesting growth stories in the global restaurant industry.

The Filipino-born restaurant company has quietly built a U.S. business where individual restaurants are generating nearly $5 million in annual sales, while the parent company is operating a global portfolio of more than 10,400 stores and cafés across 33 countries.

That combination is powerful.

It means Jollibee is not simply expanding its store count. It is demonstrating that its restaurants can generate substantial consumer demand before the company even reaches anything close to national U.S. scale.

And that may be the most important food marketing fact of all.

According to Jollibee’s 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document, U.S. freestanding restaurants that were open for the full 2025 calendar year averaged approximately $4.91 million in annual gross sales, while in-line locations averaged approximately $5.07 million.

That is an extraordinary number for a relatively small U.S. restaurant footprint.

It also raises the obvious question:

What happens when Jollibee goes from approximately 80-plus U.S. restaurants to several hundred?

The answer could reshape the competitive landscape for American chicken, QSR and fast-casual restaurant brands.

Jollibee ScoreCard: The Numbers Behind the Momentum

Metric	Jollibee Fact
U.S. AUV — freestanding	$4.91 million
U.S. AUV — in-line	$5.07 million
North American Jollibee network	100+ restaurants
U.S. restaurants	80+ and growing
U.S. 2024 sales	$333 million
Jollibee global restaurants	1,700+
Jollibee Group stores/cafés	10,400+
Jollibee Group countries	33
Jollibee Group brands	19–20, depending on reporting classification
2026 Q1 JFC systemwide sales growth	+10.3%
2026 Q1 international systemwide sales growth	+13.5%
2026 Q1 Jollibee global SWS growth	+10.7%
2026 Q1 gross new stores	181
2026 Q1 international openings	149

Jollibee Group reported that its total network reached 10,421 stores at the end of Q1 2026, consisting of 3,499 stores in the Philippines and 6,922 internationally.

That distinction is important.

Jollibee the restaurant brand is not the same thing as Jollibee Foods Corporation, the global restaurant company.

The Jollibee brand itself has more than 1,700 restaurants globally, while Jollibee Foods Corporation owns, operates, franchises or has significant interests in a much larger collection of restaurant and coffee brands.

That portfolio includes Jollibee, Chowking, Mang Inasal, Red Ribbon, Greenwich, Yonghe King, Smashburger, Tim Ho Wan, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, Highlands Coffee, Compose Coffee, Milksha and others.

This is why the bigger story isn't simply "Jollibee is expanding in America."

The bigger story is that Jollibee is building a global restaurant growth machine.

How Did Jollibee Get U.S. Sales Per Unit So High?

The answer isn't one magic menu item.

It is a combination of product, people, location, brand differentiation and disciplined expansion.

Beth Dela Cruz, Jollibee's North America president, has repeatedly emphasized that the company's foundation is built around craveable food and a joyful customer experience.

That sounds simple.

It isn't.

1. Jollibee sells something consumers cannot easily substitute

Jollibee didn't enter the United States trying to become another McDonald's, Popeyes or Chick-fil-A.

It brought something different.

Chickenjoy.

Jolly Spaghetti.

Peach Mango Pie.

Chicken sandwiches.

Filipino-inspired flavors.

And perhaps most importantly, the emotional positioning of joy, family and hospitality.

Jollibee says its signature Chickenjoy is hand-breaded and marinated, while the brand's menu combines familiar American QSR formats with distinctive Filipino flavor profiles.

That is classic differentiation.

If your product is distinctive, consumers have a reason to seek you out rather than simply compare your price with everyone else's.

2. Jollibee Fixed the Fundamentals Before Accelerating Growth

One of the most revealing pieces of the Jollibee story is that management didn't immediately respond to American opportunity by opening hundreds of restaurants.

Dela Cruz previously explained that the North American operation needed to strengthen the basics: product, service and cleanliness.

That is a powerful lesson for the restaurant industry.

Jollibee essentially spent years proving that the concept could work before stepping on the accelerator.

Now the company is moving from:

"Can Jollibee work in America?"

to:

"How large can Jollibee become in America without destroying what made it successful?"

That is a very different management question.

3. The Company Is Becoming More Mainstream

This may be the most important U.S. growth indicator.

At Jollibee's new Manhattan East 42nd Street restaurant, the company estimated that approximately 95% of opening-day customers were from the mainstream market, versus about 5% Filipino or Filipino American.

That is significant.

The Filipino-American community helped establish Jollibee's U.S. customer base.

But mainstream consumers can create the scale.

That means Jollibee is moving through the classic immigrant-brand evolution:

Diaspora demand → multicultural demand → mainstream demand → national brand recognition.

The recent return to San Francisco provides another example. The company opened its Market Street restaurant in July 2026, reinforcing the Bay Area as one of its major U.S. growth markets.

4. Location Is Becoming a Growth Weapon

Jollibee is not randomly filling a map.

Its recent expansion emphasizes high-traffic urban centers and strategically important markets.

The Manhattan East 42nd Street restaurant sits near Grand Central Station, putting Jollibee directly in front of residents, commuters, office workers and tourists.

That matters because a $5 million AUV is not produced simply by having a good chicken sandwich.

It requires:

Demand × access × frequency × average check × operating hours × throughput.

Jollibee is putting restaurants where those variables can work together.

5. Jollibee Is Adding Franchising—But Carefully

This may be the biggest structural change in the U.S. business.

Jollibee has moved into franchising after years of primarily building its own operating infrastructure.

The company is now working with experienced multi-unit restaurant operators rather than simply selling franchises to anyone with money.

In July 2026, Jollibee announced that it had seven franchise development groups and was on a path toward 330 U.S. franchise restaurants by 2030.

That is a major strategic shift.

And it is potentially very smart.

The company isn't using franchising to discover whether the concept works.

It is using franchising to accelerate a concept that has already demonstrated strong unit economics.

6. The Loyalty and Digital Relationship Is Becoming More Important

Jollibee has also invested in loyalty, online ordering, delivery, takeout and catering.

That matters because the next phase of restaurant growth isn't simply about opening more doors.

It is about increasing the number of occasions each customer gives the brand.

The restaurant becomes the physical hub.

The digital relationship becomes the demand engine.

And loyalty becomes the mechanism for turning trial into frequency.

That is particularly important for Jollibee because the brand already has something many emerging chains spend millions trying to manufacture:

fan passion.

7. Jollibee Is Protecting the Menu While Expanding the Market

Another smart move is that Jollibee isn't attempting to become everything to everybody.

The company continues to emphasize a focused core built around Chickenjoy, chicken sandwiches and signature items such as Peach Mango Pie, while selectively introducing new products.

Dela Cruz has also discussed expanding beverage and menu innovation while maintaining the brand's distinctive identity.

That's important.

Global growth requires localization—but not brand dilution.

Jollibee can change around the edges without changing what makes Jollibee recognizable.

What Comes Next for Jollibee in America?

The obvious target is scale.

Jollibee has publicly discussed ambitions for hundreds of North American restaurants, while its latest franchise development activity points toward 330 U.S. franchise restaurants by 2030.

Earlier North American plans targeted roughly 500 locations over a five-to-seven-year horizon.

The important thing is not whether the exact number is 330, 350 or 500.

The important thing is that Jollibee now has the economic credibility to attract sophisticated multi-unit operators.

And that's where the nearly $5 million AUV becomes strategically important.

Imagine, purely as a scale illustration, 330 restaurants producing an average of $5 million in annual sales.

That's a $1.65 billion restaurant-sales platform.

That is not a forecast—because future restaurants will have different sales levels and ramp-up periods.

But it illustrates why the unit economics matter.

Jollibee isn't just adding restaurants.

It is potentially adding billion-dollar-scale sales capacity.

But Here's Where the Story Gets Really Interesting: Jollibee Should Not Become U.S.-Obsessed

This is where the Grocerant Guru® sees the bigger opportunity.

The United States may be the company's most visible international growth story.

But it should not become the company's only growth story.

Jollibee Group reported 13.5% international systemwide sales growth in Q1 2026, compared with 8% growth in the Philippines.

And Jollibee Group's international network already represents thousands of restaurants across multiple markets and brands.

The company is becoming a global foodservice portfolio, not merely a Filipino restaurant chain.

That creates three major opportunities.

Three Grocerant Guru® Insights on Jollibee's Global Growth

Insight #1: Export the Brand Promise—Not Just the Menu

Jollibee's greatest global asset isn't Chickenjoy.

It is the combination of:

great-tasting food + hospitality + family + joy + distinctive flavor.

Those elements can travel.

The menu should be localized carefully, but the emotional proposition should remain remarkably consistent.

That is how Jollibee can enter new markets without becoming another generic international QSR.

The Grocerant Guru® recommendation:
Build a global "Joy Playbook" that defines what must never change and what can be localized in every country.

Insight #2: Think Portfolio, Not Restaurant Chain

Jollibee Foods Corporation already operates across chicken, burgers, Chinese food, coffee, tea, bakery and other foodservice categories.

That creates an enormous competitive advantage.

A consumer doesn't have to visit the same Jollibee brand every day.

The corporation can participate in multiple dayparts and occasions.

Breakfast. Coffee. Lunch. Dinner. Snack. Dessert. Takeout. Delivery. Catering.

That is essentially a global foodservice ecosystem.

Jollibee's portfolio currently spans 19 brands and more than 10,000 stores and cafés across 33 countries.

The Grocerant Guru® recommendation:
Manage the portfolio around consumer occasions, not simply individual restaurant brands.

That is how Jollibee can capture more share of stomach without requiring consumers to become loyal to just one concept.

Insight #3: Don't Sacrifice AUV for Unit Count

This may be the most important lesson.

The restaurant industry loves announcing new-store counts.

But consumers don't eat restaurant counts.

Consumers eat meals.

Jollibee has something far more valuable than rapid expansion:

evidence that its restaurants can generate extraordinary sales productivity.

The company should therefore measure global growth through a combination of:

· AUV

· same-store sales

· repeat visits

· digital frequency

· franchisee returns

· sales per square foot

· restaurant-level profitability

· brand awareness

· customer satisfaction

· market penetration

Jollibee Group's Q1 2026 results already show the foundation: global Jollibee systemwide sales increased 10.7%, while the company's total store network increased 4.9% year over year.

That is the kind of growth the restaurant industry should pay attention to.

Sales growth is occurring faster than the physical footprint.

That is a very healthy signal.

The Global Jollibee Opportunity Is Bigger Than Chicken

There is a tendency in the American restaurant industry to look at Jollibee and say:

"That's the Filipino fried chicken company."

That is yesterday's description.

Today's description is closer to:

"Jollibee is building a global restaurant portfolio around high-growth food categories and culturally differentiated brands."

The parent company has already established a presence in chicken, Chinese cuisine, burgers, coffee, tea, bakery and other categories.

And Jollibee's international growth is accelerating.

In Q1 2026, JFC opened 181 gross new stores, including 149 international openings.

That tells us something important:

The international growth engine is already operating.

America is simply one of its most visible proving grounds.

The Bottom Line: Jollibee Has Earned the Right to Think Bigger

The remarkable part of the Jollibee story isn't that a Filipino restaurant is succeeding in America.

It is that Jollibee appears to have discovered a repeatable formula for taking a culturally distinctive food brand into markets where it initially has little or no mainstream awareness.

The formula looks increasingly clear:

**Distinctive food

· joyful hospitality

· strong core menu

· high-traffic real estate

· digital engagement

· selective franchising

· operational discipline

· local market adaptation
= scalable global growth.**

And the nearly $5 million U.S. AUV is the financial proof point that makes the entire strategy much more interesting.

Jollibee's challenge now isn't proving that Americans will eat Jollibee.

They already are.

The next challenge is proving that Jollibee can multiply that demand across hundreds of U.S. locations without losing the product quality, hospitality and emotional connection that created the demand in the first place.

At the same time, management should resist the temptation to let the American opportunity overshadow the much larger global opportunity.

With more than 10,400 stores and cafés across 33 countries, Jollibee Foods Corporation is already operating on a global scale.

And that leads to the biggest Grocerant Guru® takeaway:

Jollibee's future isn't about becoming America's next big chicken chain.

It's about becoming one of the world's great multi-brand foodservice companies—while using the U.S. as one of its most powerful growth laboratories.

That's a much bigger opportunity.

And if Jollibee can preserve its nearly $5 million U.S. unit economics while scaling intelligently, the bee may be flying much farther than American fast food.

For international corporate presentations, educational forums, or keynotes contact: Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions. His extensive experience as a multi-unit restaurant operator, consultant, brand / product positioning expert and public speaking will leave success clues for all. For more information visit www.GrocerantGuru.com , www.FoodserviceSolutions.us or call 1-253-759-7869

Burger King’s Comeback: 7 Food Marketing Lessons Restaurants Can Learn in 2026

2026-08-10T00:10:00.000-07:00

BURGER KING IS EATING ITS COMPETITORS’ LUNCH, The Whopper, Better Operations, Smarter Marketing and a Return to Consistency Are Turning Burger King Into One of Fast Food’s Most Important Comeback Stories according to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

Burger King didn't win the second quarter of 2026 by inventing a new category.

It won by doing something much harder:

It made the familiar better.

While much of the restaurant industry is fighting for traffic, defending value perceptions and trying to convince consumers that eating out is still worth the money, Burger King delivered an 8.5% increase in U.S. comparable sales in Q2 2026.

That is not just a good quarter.

It is a warning shot.

Burger King's 8.5% U.S. comparable-sales growth was more than 10 times McDonald's 0.8% U.S. increase in the same quarter.

And the story gets even more interesting.

Burger King's results came after years of restaurant closures, franchisee changes, remodels, operational problems and a massive effort to rebuild the brand.

The company is not claiming the turnaround is finished.

In fact, Burger King executives have repeatedly indicated there is still substantial work to do.

But consumers are beginning to notice.

The Whopper is selling.

Restaurants are improving.

Families are returning.

And marketing is once again creating cultural conversation.

That combination is what makes Burger King's performance important to every restaurant operator—not just burger chains.

THE BURGER KING SCORECARD

7 Food Marketing Facts Burger King Is Getting Right

Food Marketing Factor	Burger King Score	What Consumers Are Seeing
Hero Product	★★★★★	Whopper improvements are driving renewed demand
Product Consistency	★★★★★	Greater alignment between advertising and actual food
Restaurant Operations	★★★★☆	Remodels and operational improvements are becoming visible
Value Strategy	★★★★☆	Value without completely surrendering the brand to discounting
Family Marketing	★★★★☆	Kids Meals and entertainment partnerships broaden the customer base
Consumer Listening	★★★★★	Direct customer feedback is influencing operations
Cultural Marketing	★★★★★	Authentic moments are generating earned attention

Overall Burger King Food Marketing Score: 32/35

Grocerant Guru® Assessment: A+

The most important word in that scorecard is consistency.

Because consumers don't reward a restaurant simply because it has one great advertisement.

They reward a restaurant when the advertisement, food, service, price and experience all tell the same story.

1. BURGER KING FIXED THE WHOPPER INSTEAD OF FIXING WHAT WASN'T BROKEN

This may be the smartest decision Burger King has made.

The company didn't abandon the Whopper.

It improved it.

Burger King has made changes to elements including the bun and mayonnaise, while also updating packaging and presentation. The objective was not to create a completely different hamburger. It was to make the company's most recognizable product better.

And consumers responded.

Burger King said Whopper sales increased approximately 20% during the quarter.

That is an extraordinary marketing lesson.

Consumers don't always want something new.

Sometimes they want the thing they already love—only better.

The Food Marketing Lesson

Improve the icon before replacing it.

The same principle applies to grocery deli prepared foods, convenience-store foodservice and restaurant takeout.

Find the product consumers already know.

Make it better.

Make it more consistent.

Then tell them about it.

2. BURGER KING IS TURNING PRODUCT QUALITY INTO MARKETING

The famous Tom Curtis Whopper-bite video became an unexpected social-media moment.

The Burger King president took a very enthusiastic bite of the Whopper at a time when McDonald's was receiving social-media criticism over how its own executive sampled a burger.

Curtis said Burger King did not create the video specifically to contrast its product with McDonald's.

The internet made the connection.

That is exactly what makes the moment valuable.

Authenticity is becoming increasingly difficult to manufacture.

When the food is genuinely good, the executive genuinely believes in it and the marketing doesn't feel overproduced, consumers can become the media channel.

Burger King didn't simply tell consumers:

“Our Whopper is better.”

It showed an executive eating it.

Then the internet did the rest.

3. BURGER KING UNDERSTANDS THAT VALUE DOESN'T MEAN CHEAP

Burger King is competing aggressively on value, including multi-item offers designed to give consumers a reason to choose the brand when household budgets are under pressure.

But there is an important distinction:

Burger King is not trying to make “cheap” the entire brand.

It is combining:

Price + Product + Experience + Convenience + Consistency

That is a much more sustainable equation.

Consumers want value.

But value is not necessarily the lowest price.

Value is:

What did I receive for what I paid?

That distinction will become increasingly important as restaurant prices remain elevated.

4. BURGER KING IS FIXING THE RESTAURANT, NOT JUST THE ADVERTISEMENT

A great hamburger served in a tired restaurant is still a tired experience.

Burger King has spent years investing in restaurant remodels and operational improvements, supported by significant franchisee investment.

The objective is bigger than making restaurants look better.

It is about improving the complete customer journey:

Parking → Ordering → Waiting → Receiving → Eating → Leaving

Burger King executives have also acknowledged that there are still restaurants that do not represent the brand as well as they should.

That admission is actually encouraging.

A turnaround is not complete because the corporate office declares victory.

A turnaround is complete when the consumer notices the difference at the restaurant level.

5. BURGER KING IS FINALLY MARKETING TO THE WHOLE FAMILY

For years, Burger King was often perceived as a brand heavily focused on younger male consumers.

That is not enough.

Families are one of the most valuable restaurant customer groups because one transaction can represent multiple meals and multiple future visits.

Burger King's kids-meal initiatives, including entertainment partnerships such as The Mandalorian and Grogu, helped increase Kids Meal sales while giving the brand another reason to attract families.

This is more than a promotional partnership.

It is customer acquisition.

A child who has a great Burger King experience today can become tomorrow's repeat customer.

The Grocerant Guru® Marketing Question:

Are you marketing to the person buying the meal—or everyone sitting around the table?

That distinction matters.

6. BURGER KING IS LISTENING TO CUSTOMERS DIFFERENTLY

Burger King President Tom Curtis began taking customer calls.

The company says more than 100,000 incoming calls have provided direct consumer feedback.

That is an extraordinary amount of unfiltered qualitative research.

One customer reportedly told Curtis that he couldn't believe the Whopper looked exactly like it did on television.

Think about the significance of that statement.

The consumer wasn't praising the advertising.

He was praising the alignment between the advertising and the product.

That is the Holy Grail of food marketing.

Advertising says:

“This is what you're going to get.”

Operations delivers:

“This is what you actually got.”

When those two statements match, trust increases.

7. BURGER KING IS REBUILDING TRUST ONE MEAL AT A TIME

This may ultimately be the biggest Burger King marketing story.

Consumers are overwhelmed.

They are hearing conflicting messages about inflation, food prices, the economy, politics, health, tariffs, wages, restaurants and virtually everything else.

They don't necessarily know which information to believe.

But they know what they experienced.

They ate the burger.

They saw the restaurant.

They paid the bill.

They received the order.

And they decide whether to return.

That makes consistency a powerful form of marketing.

In an uncertain world, consistency creates confidence.

THREE RESTAURANT BRANDS STILL SEARCHING FOR THE RIGHT RECIPE

Burger King's success becomes even more interesting when compared with several major restaurant brands that are struggling to generate comparable momentum.

1. McDONALD'S: THE VALUE GIANT WITH A VALUE-PERCEPTION PROBLEM

McDonald's remains one of the world's strongest restaurant brands.

But its Q2 2026 U.S. comparable sales increased only 0.8%, dramatically behind Burger King's 8.5%.

McDonald's has also acknowledged execution challenges in the U.S. and changed U.S. leadership, with Skye Anderson named the company's new U.S. president.

The lesson isn't that McDonald's is suddenly weak.

It isn't.

The lesson is that even the strongest restaurant brand in the world cannot take consumer value perceptions for granted.

What Burger King is proving:

A smaller competitor can gain momentum when consumers perceive its product and experience as improving.

2. WENDY'S: THE TURNAROUND THAT HASN'T TURNED YET

Wendy's has publicly described itself as being in the early stages of a turnaround.

The numbers demonstrate why.

In Q1 2026, Wendy's U.S. same-restaurant sales fell 7.8%. Global same-restaurant sales declined 6.8%, while U.S. systemwide sales fell 7.3%. The company also ended the quarter with 164 fewer U.S. restaurants on a net basis.

Wendy's has new leadership and is working on menu, marketing and operational improvements.

But there is an enormous difference between:

“We have a turnaround plan.”

and

“Consumers are responding to our turnaround plan.”

Burger King currently has the latter.

3. PAPA JOHNS: THE CONSUMER IS TRADING DOWN—AND TRADING AWAY

Papa Johns provides another warning.

In Q1 2026, North American comparable sales declined 6.4%, while global comparable sales declined 4%. The company maintained its 2026 outlook calling for North American comparable sales to decline 2% to 4%.

That illustrates how difficult today's foodservice environment has become.

Consumers don't have to stop eating pizza.

They can simply decide that another pizza company, restaurant, grocery deli, convenience store or prepared-food option offers a better combination of:

Price + Quality + Convenience + Experience.

That is the real competitive battlefield.

THE BIGGER FOOD MARKETING STORY

Consumers Aren't Abandoning Restaurants—They're EDITING THEIR RESTAURANT PORTFOLIOS

This is where restaurant executives need to pay attention.

The consumer hasn't necessarily decided:

“I don't eat out anymore.”

Instead, the consumer is increasingly asking:

“Where is my money going to create the best experience today?”

That means a household may:

· Eat at a restaurant less frequently.

· Order takeout instead of dining in.

· Use the drive-thru more often.

· Buy prepared food from a grocery store.

· Visit a convenience store for a meal.

· Order delivery only when the occasion justifies the fees.

· Trade down on some occasions.

· Trade up on others.

This is the essence of the Food Channel Blurring phenomenon.

The competition isn't simply McDonald's versus Burger King.

It is every food channel competing for the same eating occasion.

FOUR GROCERANT GURU® INSIGHTS FOR 2026

1. CONSUMERS WANT STABILITY MORE THAN ANOTHER PROMOTION

Inflation creates uncertainty.

Consumers want to know:

What will it cost?

Will it be good?

Will I get enough?

Will my family eat it?

Will it be what the picture promised?

Brands that consistently answer those questions can reduce consumer anxiety.

Grocerant Guru® Insight:

In inflationary times, consistency becomes a form of value.

2. QUALITY IS BECOMING THE NEW PROMOTIONAL CURRENCY

Restaurant operators cannot discount their way to prosperity.

At some point, consumers ask:

“Why should I pay even this price?”

The answer must be compelling.

Better ingredients.

Better preparation.

Better portions.

Better packaging.

Better service.

Better experience.

Burger King's Whopper strategy demonstrates the power of putting the product back at the center of the marketing story.

Grocerant Guru® Insight:

Don't simply advertise the deal. Improve what the consumer receives for the deal.

3. TRUST IS MORE VALUABLE WHEN INFORMATION IS EVERYWHERE

Consumers are being exposed to an extraordinary amount of conflicting information.

Political claims.

Economic claims.

Food claims.

Health claims.

Inflation claims.

Corporate claims.

Social-media claims.

Influencer claims.

AI-generated claims.

The restaurant cannot control all of that information.

But it can control one thing:

The actual customer experience.

If the consumer sees the advertisement, receives the product and says:

“That's exactly what they promised me.”

the brand has created something much more valuable than another impression.

It has created trust.

Grocerant Guru® Insight:

When consumers don't know what to believe, they believe what they experience.

4. THE WINNING RESTAURANT FORMULA IS PRICE–VALUE–SERVICE EQUILIBRIUM

The restaurant industry has spent too much time treating price as the primary definition of value.

It isn't.

The Grocerant Guru® believes the winning formula is:

PRICE + VALUE + SERVICE = CONSUMER CONFIDENCE

PRICE

Is the consumer willing to pay it?

VALUE

Does the consumer believe what they received was worth it?

SERVICE

Was the experience easy, accurate, fast and consistent?

When all three work together, the consumer has a reason to return.

When one breaks, loyalty becomes vulnerable.

THREE ACTIONABLE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE GROCERANT GURU®

RECOMMENDATION #1: FIX YOUR HERO PRODUCT

Every restaurant brand should identify its one product consumers most strongly associate with the brand.

Then ask:

Is it actually the best version it can be?

Don't launch another limited-time offer until the answer is yes.

Burger King didn't need to invent another Whopper.

It needed to make the Whopper worth talking about again.

RECOMMENDATION #2: CLOSE THE ADVERTISING-TO-REALITY GAP

Take the picture from your advertising.

Put it next to the actual product.

Then ask your customers:

“Does this look like what we promised?”

If the answer is no, don't blame the photographer.

Fix the food.

Fix the packaging.

Fix the operations.

Fix the training.

Fix the consistency.

Because the best food marketing isn't what you say.

It's what the consumer receives.

RECOMMENDATION #3: STOP CHASING TRAFFIC—START EARNING OCCASIONS

The restaurant industry needs to stop asking:

“How do we get more visits?”

and start asking:

“Why should the consumer choose us for this occasion?”

Breakfast.

Lunch.

Dinner.

Kids' meal.

Late night.

Takeout.

Drive-thru.

Delivery.

Family meal.

Snack.

Game day.

Work lunch.

The restaurant that wins more occasions wins more customers.

And that is where the future of the Grocerant niche becomes increasingly important.

The consumer isn't loyal to a channel.

The consumer is loyal to the best answer to the occasion.

THE GROCERANT GURU® BOTTOM LINE

Burger King's 8.5% comparable-sales growth is impressive.

But the number isn't the real story.

The real story is what Burger King did to earn it.

It improved its hero product.

It invested in restaurants.

It focused on operations.

It used value strategically.

It expanded its family appeal.

It listened to consumers.

And it created marketing that felt authentic enough for consumers to amplify.

That is not simply a Burger King turnaround.

It is a food marketing lesson for the entire restaurant industry.

The next generation of restaurant winners will not necessarily be the companies with the loudest advertising, the biggest discounts or the most complicated technology.

They will be the brands that make consumers say:

“I know what I'm going to get.”

“I know what it will cost.”

“I know it will be good.”

“I know my family will like it.”

And most importantly:

“I trust them.”

In an era of inflation, economic uncertainty, political misinformation and information overload, that may be the most powerful competitive advantage of all.

The future of food marketing isn't simply about winning attention.

It's about earning trust—one meal, one occasion and one consistent experience at a time.

That's the Burger King lesson.

And that's the Grocerant Guru® opportunity.

Success Leaves Clues—Are You Ready to Find Yours?

One key insight that continues to drive success is this: "The consumer is dynamic, not static." This principle is the foundation of our work at Foodservice Solutions®, where Steven Johnson, the Grocerant Guru®, has been helping brands stay relevant in an ever-evolving market.

Want to strengthen your brand’s connection with today’s consumers? Let’s talk. Call 253-759-7869 for more information.

What the Rise and Fall of Boston Market Teaches Us About Following the Consumer

2026-08-09T00:09:00.000-07:00

Boston Market is one of the most fascinating cautionary tales in modern restaurant history according to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®. Here is what he thinks about the rise and fall of Boston Market.

At its peak, Boston Market had approximately 1,200 locations and was one of the early pioneers of what we now call the fast-casual and grocerant marketplace. The brand understood something important long before many other restaurant companies did:

Consumers wanted somebody else to prepare dinner for them.

Boston Market offered rotisserie chicken, mashed potatoes, vegetables, cornbread and other familiar comfort foods in a format that delivered the feeling of a home-cooked meal without requiring the consumer to actually cook it.

That was a powerful consumer proposition.

But the marketplace did not stand still.

Today, Boston Market has reportedly dwindled to only a handful of locations. That means roughly 99.5% of its locations have disappeared from the marketplace.

The lesson isn't simply that Boston Market made bad decisions.

The bigger lesson is that the consumer kept changing while Boston Market struggled to change with them.

The Grocerant Guru® calls this the Consumer Relevance Gap: the distance between what a company thinks consumers want and what consumers are actually choosing today.

7 Things Consumers Loved About Boston Market That Fueled Early Adoption

Boston Market did not become a 1,200-unit chain by accident. The company identified several powerful consumer needs.

1. Someone Else Cooked Dinner

This was the foundational insight.

Boston Market gave consumers a way to put a recognizable dinner on the table without grocery shopping, chopping, cooking, cleaning and spending an hour or more in the kitchen.

Today, that sounds obvious.

In the 1980s and 1990s, it was a powerful competitive proposition.

2. Rotisserie Chicken Felt Fresh and Familiar

Rotisserie chicken was not an exotic food.

It was recognizable, approachable and perceived as a better-for-you alternative to many traditional fast-food options.

The aroma, presentation and visual theater of the rotisserie also helped create appetite appeal.

3. The Meal Was More Than Chicken

Boston Market understood that consumers didn't necessarily want a chicken entrée.

They wanted a meal.

Chicken plus mashed potatoes, vegetables, cornbread and other sides transformed the purchase from "buying chicken" into "solving dinner."

That distinction is enormously important in today's grocerant marketplace.

4. It Delivered the Comfort of Home Cooking

The brand positioned itself around food that looked and tasted familiar.

It wasn't trying to convince consumers to learn a new cuisine.

It was essentially saying:

"You can have the comfort of home cooking without doing the cooking."

That remains a powerful consumer proposition today.

5. It Was Convenient

Boston Market was an early example of what today's grocerant consumer considers normal:

restaurant-quality—or restaurant-positioned—food purchased quickly and taken home.

The consumer didn't have to sit down for a traditional restaurant meal.

6. It Offered Family-Friendly Value

A Boston Market meal could feed multiple people with relatively familiar foods.

That made the brand particularly relevant to families looking for an alternative to cooking.

7. It Was an Early Food-Channel-Blurring Concept

Perhaps the most important point is that Boston Market anticipated the future.

The brand operated between traditional restaurant food and the home meal.

That is exactly where today's grocerant niche has exploded.

The problem wasn't that Boston Market identified the wrong consumer need.

The problem was that competitors eventually figured out how to satisfy that same need better, cheaper, faster and in more convenient places.

7 Missteps That Helped Accelerate Boston Market's Decline

1. Overexpansion and Over-Financing

Boston Market expanded aggressively and took on substantial debt.

The company essentially attempted to build a national infrastructure around a concept before proving that each location could consistently generate attractive economics.

Growth became an objective in itself.

The Grocerant Guru® lesson:

Revenue growth without sustainable unit economics is not growth. It's financial acceleration toward a problem.

2. Mistaking a Consumer Trend for Ownership of the Trend

Boston Market correctly recognized that consumers wanted prepared meals.

But it did not own the underlying consumer need.

Consumers wanted convenient dinner solutions.

That meant Boston Market was competing against restaurants, grocery stores, convenience stores, takeout, delivery and eventually digital ordering.

The company effectively defined its competition too narrowly.

3. Underestimating Grocery Stores

This may have been the biggest strategic mistake.

Consumers absolutely embraced rotisserie chicken.

But many consumers discovered they could buy one while already shopping for groceries.

That eliminated an entire trip.

And grocery stores could sell the chicken alongside salads, vegetables, bakery products, beverages, desserts and other prepared foods.

The grocery store didn't just sell the consumer dinner.

It could sell the consumer everything needed for dinner.

That is the essence of Food Channel Blurring.

4. Losing the Convenience Battle

Boston Market's original convenience proposition was powerful.

But convenience evolved.

Consumers increasingly wanted:

· Online ordering

· Mobile ordering

· Pickup

· Drive-thru

· Delivery

· Third-party delivery

· Frictionless payment

· Personalized offers

The consumer's definition of convenience kept expanding.

A restaurant that simply offered "fast takeout" was no longer necessarily convenient enough.

5. Becoming Financially and Operationally Distracted

Ownership changes, restructuring, debt, real estate considerations, declining units and financial challenges can create an environment where management becomes focused on survival rather than consumers.

That is a dangerous place for any consumer-facing company.

The customer doesn't care who owns the restaurant.

The customer cares about:

Price. Value. Quality. Convenience. Service. Experience.

6. Failing to Reinvent the Brand Fast Enough

Boston Market had tremendous brand awareness and a strong consumer proposition.

But brand equity is not a permanent asset.

It has to be renewed.

Consumers were introduced to new competitors, new meal occasions, new ordering platforms and new ways to purchase prepared food.

Meanwhile, Boston Market increasingly became associated with an earlier version of the restaurant marketplace.

The brand needed to continually answer:

"Why should today's consumer choose us today?"

7. Financial Distress Became a Consumer Problem

Eventually, financial problems became operational problems.

When a restaurant company cannot consistently pay landlords, vendors, food suppliers or other obligations, the consequences eventually reach the consumer.

Restaurants need food.

They need employees.

They need functioning locations.

They need landlords willing to keep them open.

They need technology.

They need advertising.

They need suppliers.

Once the financial engine breaks down, the consumer experience inevitably follows.

That can create a death spiral:

Fewer consumers → lower sales → less cash → operational problems → poorer experience → fewer consumers.

7 Avenues That Benefited From Boston Market's Demise

Boston Market didn't simply disappear.

Consumer demand migrated.

That is one of the most important lessons from this story.

1. Grocery Store Rotisserie Chicken

Grocery stores were perhaps the most obvious beneficiary.

Consumers could purchase rotisserie chicken while already shopping for groceries.

The consumer didn't have to make a separate restaurant trip.

2. Grocery Prepared Foods and the Modern Deli

The grocery deli evolved dramatically.

Consumers could increasingly buy complete prepared meals:

entrée + side + salad + beverage + dessert.

The grocery deli became a direct competitor for the same dinner occasion Boston Market originally targeted.

3. Costco and Other Warehouse Clubs

Warehouse clubs demonstrated how powerful the combination of price, portion size, convenience and perceived value could be.

For many consumers, a low-priced rotisserie chicken became one of the most compelling food values in retail.

4. Other Quick-Service and Fast-Casual Chicken Brands

Competitors learned from the consumer demand Boston Market helped establish.

Chicken became an enormous restaurant category, with brands competing around:

· Rotisserie

· Fried chicken

· Grilled chicken

· Chicken sandwiches

· Chicken tenders

· Family meals

· Combos

· Takeout

Boston Market helped prove the demand existed.

Others found ways to monetize it more effectively.

5. Online Ordering

Online ordering fundamentally changed the meaning of convenience.

Consumers no longer needed to call a restaurant, wait in line or even enter the restaurant.

They could decide what they wanted, order it and frequently schedule pickup before leaving home.

The transaction moved from the restaurant to the consumer's smartphone.

6. Third-Party Delivery

Third-party delivery platforms expanded the competitive battlefield even further.

Consumers could compare restaurants from their phones and have prepared food brought directly to their homes.

The restaurant no longer had to be the most convenient physical location.

The food could come to the consumer.

7. The Broader Grocerant Ecosystem

Perhaps the biggest beneficiary wasn't one company.

It was an entire ecosystem.

Grocery stores, convenience stores, restaurants, delivery platforms, foodservice operators and retailers all began competing for the same consumer occasion:

"What's for dinner?"

That is the modern grocerant marketplace.

And that marketplace is far larger than the traditional restaurant industry.

The Grocerant Guru’s 4 Big Insights

Insight #1: Never Confuse Your Product With the Consumer's Need

Boston Market thought it was selling rotisserie chicken and home-style sides.

Consumers were actually buying:

Dinner.

That distinction is critical.

Consumers don't necessarily care about your category.

They care about getting their needs met.

The winning company identifies the need and then continually finds the easiest, best and most relevant way to satisfy it.

Insight #2: The Consumer Doesn't Care About Your Competitors—Only Their Choices

Boston Market's competition wasn't just another restaurant.

It was:

the grocery store, Costco, the convenience store, another restaurant, the freezer aisle, online ordering, delivery and ultimately whatever solution was easiest for dinner.

This is why I believe every food company needs to think beyond traditional category definitions.

The consumer decides who your competition is—not your org chart.

Insight #3: Convenience Is a Moving Target

What was convenient in 1995 isn't necessarily convenient in 2026.

First it was:

"We'll cook it for you."

Then:

"We'll have it ready when you arrive."

Then:

"Order it online."

Then:

"We'll deliver it."

And increasingly:

"We'll make the entire meal solution available wherever and whenever you want it."

Convenience doesn't stand still.

Companies that stop improving convenience eventually become inconvenient.

Insight #4: Stay Focused on the Consumer, Not the Company

The ultimate Boston Market lesson is not about rotisserie chicken.

It is about consumer focus.

Companies can become obsessed with:

· Debt

· Real estate

· Expansion

· Restructuring

· Ownership

· Cost cutting

· Financial engineering

· Internal politics

· Quarterly results

Meanwhile, the consumer is asking four simple questions:

Is it worth the price?

Is it good?

Is it convenient?

Does it fit my life?

That is why I believe the most important discipline for every restaurant, grocery store, convenience store and foodservice operator is to continually return to the consumer.

The Grocerant Guru® Rule:

Follow the consumer.

Follow the meal occasion.

Follow the money.

And most importantly, follow where the consumer's definition of convenience is going—not where it used to be.

Boston Market was an early pioneer of the meal-replacement revolution.

Its tragedy is that the company helped create a consumer behavior that eventually became much bigger than the company itself.

The future didn't kill Boston Market.

The future simply gave consumers more ways to solve the same problem Boston Market once solved so well:

"What's for dinner?"

Campbell's Frozen Meal Expansion Aligns with the Future of Food Retail

2026-08-08T00:08:00.000-07:00

For more than 155 years, Campbell's has demonstrated an extraordinary ability to evolve alongside the American consumer according to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®. Founded in 1869 as the Joseph A. Campbell Preserve Company, the company transformed the grocery industry with condensed soup, built one of the world's most recognizable food brands, and created an advertising icon with the timeless slogan, "M'm! M'm! Good!"

Today, Campbell's is once again adapting to changing consumer behavior—this time by expanding its presence in frozen meals. From the perspective of the Grocerant Guru®, this is not simply a line extension; it is a strategic move that reflects where the food retail industry is headed. It strengthens the Campbell's brand, creates new growth opportunities for retailers, and addresses the evolving expectations of today's consumer.

Consumers Have Moved Beyond Categories

One of the most significant shifts in food retail over the past decade is that consumers no longer shop by grocery department—they shop by meal occasion.

The traditional distinction between canned goods, frozen foods, deli, prepared foods, restaurants, convenience stores, and meal kits has blurred. Today's shopper is looking for solutions that answer one question: "What's for dinner?"

Consumers increasingly prioritize convenience, quality, value, and flexibility over where a product is merchandised in the store.

This consumer evolution has fueled the growth of what the Grocerant Guru® has long identified as the Fresh Food Fast movement. Shoppers are seeking meals that are easy to prepare, deliver restaurant-quality experiences, and fit seamlessly into busy lifestyles.

Frozen meals have become one of the strongest vehicles for meeting those expectations.

"M'm! M'm! Good!" Is Ready for Its Next Chapter

Campbell's legendary slogan remains one of the most recognized in food marketing. While it has historically represented comfort through soup, today's consumer defines comfort differently.

Comfort now means saving time without sacrificing quality. It means reducing the stress of meal planning, minimizing cleanup, and offering choices that satisfy every member of the household.

Rather than relying solely on nostalgia, Campbell's has the opportunity to redefine "M'm! M'm! Good!" for a new generation. The promise is no longer limited to soup—it becomes shorthand for flavorful, dependable meal solutions that fit modern lifestyles.

That evolution preserves the brand's heritage while expanding its relevance.

Frozen Foods Have Become a Strategic Growth Platform

The frozen food category has undergone a remarkable transformation.

Advances in freezing technology have improved taste, texture, and nutritional quality, while consumers have become more accepting of frozen products as premium meal options rather than last-minute alternatives.

For Campbell's, expanding into frozen meals creates opportunities to compete not only within grocery stores but also against restaurants, meal kits, convenience stores, and food delivery services.

In today's marketplace, the frozen aisle is increasingly competing for the same meal occasions once dominated by takeout.

That represents a significant opportunity.

Mix-and-Match Meal Bundling Drives Larger Baskets

Retailers are discovering that consumers rarely purchase a single item for dinner. Instead, they assemble meals by combining products across multiple departments.

A frozen entrée may be paired with Campbell's soup, fresh salad, frozen vegetables, bakery bread, beverages, or dessert.

This mix-and-match meal bundling approach encourages incremental purchases while simplifying meal planning for shoppers.

For retailers, these merchandising strategies can increase basket size, encourage cross-category shopping, and strengthen customer loyalty.

For Campbell's, frozen meals become another component within a broader meal solutions portfolio rather than a standalone product.

That distinction matters.

Family Meal Customization Has Become the New Dinner Table

Today's households look very different from those of previous generations.

Families often eat at different times, children and adults have distinct preferences, and dietary needs vary widely within the same household.

Consumers increasingly prefer customizable meal components over a single meal prepared for everyone.

Frozen meals support this trend exceptionally well. One family member may select chicken, another pasta, another a vegetarian option—while everyone still shares the same dining experience.

This flexibility aligns with one of the strongest behavioral shifts in food retail: personalization.

Brands that enable customization are increasingly becoming preferred choices.

Campbell's Competitive Advantage Is Consumer Trust

Brand equity remains one of Campbell's greatest assets.

Consumers are far more willing to experiment with new products when they come from brands they already know and trust.

For Campbell's, expanding into frozen meals allows the company to leverage more than a century and a half of consumer confidence while entering one of grocery's most dynamic categories.

Few companies possess both the heritage and household recognition necessary to make this transition as effectively.

Retailers Should Think Beyond the Frozen Aisle

Campbell's frozen meal strategy also presents retailers with opportunities to rethink merchandising.

Rather than merchandising products solely within departments, retailers should merchandise complete meal occasions.

Cross-merchandising frozen entrées with soups, side dishes, fresh produce, bakery items, beverages, and desserts creates a more intuitive shopping experience while increasing overall sales.

Consumers purchase meals—not departments.

Retail merchandising should reflect that reality.

The Bottom Line

Campbell's expansion into frozen meals is more than portfolio diversification. It reflects a broader transformation in consumer behavior and food retail strategy.

As shoppers increasingly demand Fresh Food Fast, embrace mix-and-match meal bundling, and expect family meal customization, brands that deliver complete meal solutions will outperform those that remain focused on traditional product categories.

Campbell's has spent more than 155 years earning the trust of American consumers. By extending that trust into frozen meal solutions, the company is positioning itself to remain relevant for the next generation of shoppers.

The iconic "M'm! M'm! Good!" message still resonates—but its meaning has evolved. Today, it represents convenience, quality, flexibility, and confidence at the intersection of modern food retail and contemporary consumer lifestyles.

Grocerant Guru® Insights

Insight #1: The winners in food retail will compete around meal occasions, not grocery categories. Consumers want solutions that simplify daily decision-making while delivering quality and value.

Insight #2: Frozen foods have become a cornerstone of the Fresh Food Fast movement. As technology and product quality continue to improve, frozen meals will capture an even larger share of at-home dining occasions.

Insight #3: Campbell's is uniquely positioned to bridge its rich heritage with the future of food retail. By combining trusted branding with innovation in frozen meal solutions, the company can strengthen consumer loyalty, help retailers grow basket size, and redefine what "M'm! M'm! Good!" means for a new generation of shoppers.

The New Revenue Playbook: What Hilton's ResortPass Strategy Teaches Every Hotel, Restaurant, and Food Retailer About Growth

2026-08-07T00:07:00.000-07:00

Business leaders often search for the next disruptive innovation, but sometimes the most profitable opportunity is hiding in plain sight according to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

Hilton's partnership with ResortPass isn't simply about giving local consumers access to hotel pools and resort amenities. It represents a fundamental shift in how successful companies monetize existing assets, deepen customer engagement, and create recurring revenue without building new facilities.

For executives across hospitality, foodservice, grocery retail, and convenience retail, this is more than an interesting partnership—it's a blueprint for the next generation of profitable growth.

From the Grocerant Guru® perspective, consumers are no longer purchasing products or services as standalone transactions. They are investing in convenience, flexibility, accessibility, and experiences that improve their daily lives. That behavioral shift is redefining competitive advantage across every segment of foodservice and hospitality.

The food industry has been moving in this direction for years.

Prepared foods have evolved from a supporting department into one of grocery retail's most strategic growth engines because they address today's biggest consumer challenge: time. Restaurant-quality meals that eliminate planning, shopping, cooking, and cleanup have become an essential value proposition for millions of households. Fresh grab-and-go meals, premium coffee programs, meal bundles, and ready-to-heat offerings continue to outperform many traditional grocery categories because they solve real-world problems while delivering convenience consumers willingly pay for.

Convenience stores have undergone a similar transformation. Once defined primarily by fuel and packaged snacks, many of today's leading operators generate significant traffic and profitability through fresh foodservice, handcrafted beverages, and expanded prepared meal programs. Foodservice not only delivers stronger margins, but it also increases shopping frequency, basket size, and customer loyalty.

Restaurants have responded by extending their brands beyond their dining rooms through take-home meals, meal subscriptions, catering, retail packaged products, and digital ordering. The objective is no longer to compete for a single dining occasion but to become part of the consumer's everyday routine.

Hilton's ResortPass initiative follows the same strategic logic.

Every hotel contains valuable assets that often operate below full capacity outside peak demand periods. Pools, restaurants, fitness centers, spas, lounges, rooftop venues, and meeting spaces represent fixed investments with untapped revenue potential. Opening those experiences to local consumers transforms idle capacity into incremental income while introducing entirely new audiences to the hotel's broader ecosystem.

That creates something far more valuable than a one-time transaction.

A family purchasing a day pass may later reserve a staycation. A local resident visiting the rooftop bar may book a corporate event. A pool guest may become a restaurant regular or recommend the property to visiting friends and relatives. Each interaction expands the customer relationship while increasing lifetime value.

This represents a broader shift occurring across multiple industries.

The most successful companies are no longer asking how to sell more products. They are asking how to create more reasons for customers to engage with their brand.

That distinction matters.

Whether the offering is chef-prepared meals inside a supermarket, a premium coffee experience in a convenience store, restaurant-quality take-home dinners, or resort amenities available by the day, the business model is increasingly built around maximizing asset productivity while delivering experiences consumers actively choose rather than services they simply need.

The competitive landscape over the next decade will favor organizations that view every square foot, every operating hour, and every customer interaction as an opportunity to create additional value. Those companies will measure success not only by occupancy rates, food sales, or average transaction size, but by customer lifetime value, visit frequency, cross-category engagement, and the ability to transform occasional visitors into loyal advocates.

The organizations that outperform their competitors won't necessarily build more locations or add more products. They will extract greater value from the assets they already own by continuously creating compelling reasons for consumers to return.

That is the emerging playbook for profitable growth—and it is equally relevant for hotel owners, restaurant operators, grocery retailers, convenience stores, and every business competing for consumers' limited time, attention, and discretionary spending.

The Grocerant Guru® Insights

1. Capacity Is the Next Competitive Advantage.
The highest-performing operators will monetize underutilized assets—whether hotel amenities, prepared food departments, coffee bars, patios, or event spaces—by creating new occasions for customers to engage beyond traditional business hours and usage patterns.

2. Foodservice Is Becoming the Universal Traffic Builder.
Across hotels, supermarkets, restaurants, and convenience stores, fresh food and beverage programs consistently generate higher visit frequency, stronger margins, and deeper customer loyalty than traditional retail categories. Consumers increasingly choose destinations that combine convenience with quality.

3. The Winners Will Compete on Experiences, Not Transactions.
Products can be replicated and pricing can be matched. Memorable experiences that save time, create enjoyment, and fit seamlessly into consumers' lifestyles generate repeat visits, stronger brand affinity, and sustainable long-term growth. In today's marketplace, the experience itself has become the product.

Success Leaves Clues—Are You Ready to Find Yours?

Want to strengthen your brand’s connection with today’s consumers? Let’s talk. Call 253-759-7869 for more information.

Stay Ahead of the Competition with Fresh Ideas

Is your food marketing keeping up with tomorrow’s trends—or stuck in yesterday’s playbook? If you're ready for fresh ideations that set your brand apart, we’re here to help.

At Foodservice Solutions®, we specialize in consumer-driven retail food strategies that enhance convenience, differentiation, and individualization—key factors in driving growth.

Email us at Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us Connect with us on social media: Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter

Amazon Has Finally Cracked the Food Retail Code—Fresh Food, Fast Service, Price Value, and Personalized Convenience

2026-08-06T00:06:00.000-07:00

For more than two decades, the Grocerant Guru® has maintained that the retailers who would ultimately dominate food retail would not necessarily have the most stores—they would have the most relevant customer experience.

That winning formula has always been remarkably simple:

Price + Quality + Service + Convenience + Portability = Customer Value.

Today, Amazon is demonstrating that this Price-Value-Service Equilibrium is no longer theory—it is becoming one of the company's greatest competitive advantages.

Amazon's second-quarter performance demonstrates that consumers increasingly want retailers that solve today's meal occasion rather than simply sell tomorrow's groceries.

CEO Andrew Jassy's comments reveal a company rapidly evolving from an online marketplace into one of America's most formidable fresh-food retailers.

The numbers are impressive:

· Net sales climbed 20% year-over-year to $200.6 billion.

· North American sales increased 16%.

· Monthly active perishables customers surged more than 50% since the beginning of the year.

· Same-day grocery customers purchase more than three times as many items per order.

· Grocery now represents six of Amazon's top twenty selling categories.

· Amazon expanded 30-minute Amazon Now service into 80 additional U.S. communities.

These aren't simply growth statistics.

They represent changing consumer behavior.

Consumers Are Buying Meals—Not Grocery Departments

The grocery industry has historically been organized around departments:

Produce.

Deli.

Bakery.

Frozen.

Meat.

Consumers don't shop that way anymore.

Today's shopper asks one question:

"What's for dinner tonight?"

That is exactly where Amazon is gaining momentum.

The Grocerant Guru® has long maintained that the future belongs to retailers that merchandise meal solutions rather than grocery categories.

Fresh prepared meals...

Ready-2-Eat foods...

Heat-N-Eat entrees...

Fresh bakery...

Produce...

Beverages...

Healthy snacks...

Desserts...

Consumers increasingly assemble meals the same way they build playlists—mixing, matching, and personalizing every purchase.

Amazon understands this consumer better than many traditional supermarket operators.

Fresh Food Fast Is Becoming Amazon's Secret Weapon

Amazon is no longer competing solely on price.

It competes on time.

Thirty-minute delivery.

Same-day fulfillment.

Overnight replenishment.

Integrated pharmacy.

Whole Foods Market.

Amazon Fresh.

Amazon Daily Shops.

Amazon Now.

Each service reinforces another while reducing consumer friction.

The result is a shopping ecosystem where purchasing tonight's dinner can take less time than deciding where to eat.

Mix-and-Match Bundling Drives Larger Baskets

One of Amazon's most underappreciated competitive advantages is its ability to merchandise complete meal occasions.

Consumers increasingly purchase:

· Fresh entrée + salad + dessert

· Rotisserie chicken + vegetables + bakery

· Soup + sandwich + beverage

· Sushi + fruit + sparkling water

· Breakfast sandwich + coffee + yogurt

The Grocerant Guru® has promoted mix-and-match merchandising for years because consumers prefer customization over predetermined family meals.

Bundled meal solutions simultaneously increase convenience, average ticket size, and perceived value.

Everyone wins.

Industry Data Confirms Amazon Is Following Consumer Demand

Amazon's strategy aligns almost perfectly with where the food industry is heading.

According to Circana, foodservice spending across the U.S. and Europe is projected to grow another 3% during 2026 as consumers increasingly shift spending among restaurants, retailers, and convenience-oriented formats based on value and convenience rather than traditional channels.

Research from FMI – The Food Industry Association shows that retail foodservice has grown into a more than $52 billion business, with consumers increasingly viewing grocery prepared foods as direct alternatives to restaurant meals because they offer convenience, quality, and affordability.

Meanwhile, Technomic's 2026 Foodservice Trend Forecast highlights that consumers increasingly seek snackable meals, smaller portions, convenience, AI-enabled personalization, and technology that improves the customer experience rather than complicates it. Those trends closely mirror Amazon's current strategy.

The National Restaurant Association projects the restaurant industry will generate approximately $1.55 trillion in sales during 2026, but operators continue facing soft customer traffic and increasing pressure to provide greater value. Amazon is taking advantage of those same consumer expectations by bringing restaurant-like convenience into grocery retail.

Taken together, these trends reinforce a simple conclusion:

Consumers no longer distinguish between grocery stores, convenience stores, restaurants, or delivery companies.

They simply choose whoever makes dinner easiest.

Amazon Has Become Customer-Centric Instead of Store-Centric

Traditional grocers still measure success by:

Departments.

Square footage.

Weekly ads.

Center-store sales.

Amazon measures success differently.

Consumer occasions.

Shopping frequency.

Delivery speed.

Basket expansion.

Repeat purchases.

Personalization.

That customer-first mindset increasingly separates Amazon from legacy competitors.

Three Legacy Grocers Stuck in the Middle

Unless they dramatically accelerate innovation over the next three years, these legacy supermarket operators risk losing additional market share to Amazon, warehouse clubs, hard discounters, and convenience retailers.

Albertsons

Albertsons has outstanding regional banners, but many locations continue struggling to differentiate their prepared foods while competing against aggressive pricing from Walmart, Costco, Aldi, Lidl, and Amazon.

Kroger

Kroger remains operationally strong, yet incremental improvements may not be enough. Consumers increasingly reward retailers that combine digital convenience, restaurant-quality fresh foods, and frictionless shopping experiences.

Ahold Delhaize

Several U.S. banners remain highly respected operators, but regional competition continues intensifying. Future growth will depend less on promotions and more on becoming destination retailers for fresh meal solutions.

The Battle Has Shifted to Share of Stomach

The Grocerant Guru® has said for years that grocery stores are no longer competing only against supermarkets.

Today's competitors include:

· Quick-service restaurants

· Fast-casual chains

· Convenience stores

· Warehouse clubs

· Dollar stores

· Meal-kit providers

· Delivery platforms

· Club stores

Every food dollar is now contested.

Amazon increasingly competes across every one of those occasions.

Three Grocerant Guru® Insights

1. Continue Expanding Fresh Food Fast Meal Solutions

Amazon should aggressively build customizable breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack, and family meal bundles that combine fresh prepared foods, beverages, bakery, produce, and desserts. Consumers increasingly purchase complete meal occasions—not isolated products.

2. Leverage Artificial Intelligence to Merchandise Meals

Amazon possesses more consumer purchasing data than almost any retailer. AI should recommend complete meal bundles based on household preferences, weather, daypart, family size, dietary goals, and previous purchases. The future belongs to predictive meal merchandising.

3. Build Neighborhood Food Ecosystems

Amazon should continue expanding Daily Shops, Amazon Fresh, Whole Foods Market, and rapid fulfillment locations into tightly connected neighborhood ecosystems where fresh food, pharmacy, healthcare, and everyday essentials become one seamless consumer experience. The retailer that owns the daily routine will ultimately own a larger share of consumers' food spending.

The Grocerant Guru® believes Amazon has crossed an important strategic threshold. It is no longer simply selling groceries online—it is redefining how consumers purchase food. By combining fresh prepared foods, rapid fulfillment, personalized recommendations, competitive pricing, and unmatched convenience, Amazon has become one of the strongest examples of customer-first food retailing in America. Retailers that continue merchandising departments instead of meal occasions will increasingly find themselves losing relevance in the battle for share of stomach.

Europe's Next Fresh Food Battle Has Begun: Why Couche-Tard's Acquisition of Żabka Signals the Future of Handheld Food Retail

2026-08-05T00:05:00.000-07:00

For decades, convenience retailing in Europe has been defined by location. Today, it is increasingly being defined by food, particularly fresh, portable, ready-to-eat food designed for immediate consumption. The proposed $8.6 billion acquisition of Poland's Żabka Group by Alimentation Couche-Tard is far more than the largest acquisition in the Canadian retailer's history—it is a strategic investment in the future of European food retail.

From the perspective of the Grocerant Guru®, this transaction is not fundamentally about acquiring 13,000 stores. It is about acquiring one of Europe's most advanced platforms for fresh prepared food, digital engagement, and convenience-driven meal occasions.

The companies that ultimately win the next decade will not simply sell groceries or fuel. They will become the preferred destination for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, and impulse food purchases consumed immediately or within the next few hours.

Żabka has already demonstrated that model.

Serving approximately 4.3 million customers every day through more than 13,000 locations across Poland and Romania, Żabka has evolved well beyond traditional convenience retailing. Its combination of digital ordering, loyalty integration, franchise entrepreneurship, private label development, foodservice, and rapid urban expansion has created one of Europe's most dynamic convenience ecosystems.

Couche-Tard recognizes this.

The acquisition immediately strengthens Circle K's position in Central and Eastern Europe while giving the company a proven operating model that can be leveraged across multiple European markets.

Fresh Food Is Becoming the New Competitive Currency

Across Europe, consumers are increasingly replacing traditional scheduled meals with multiple eating occasions throughout the day.

The National Restaurant Association, Circana, Technomic and numerous European market studies continue to document consumers' growing preference for:

· Fresh Ready-2-Eat meals

· Handheld foods

· Grab-and-go breakfast

· Premium sandwiches and wraps

· Fresh bakery items

· Portable protein snacks

· Heat-N-Eat meal solutions

· Mobile ordering and digital loyalty

This trend extends well beyond convenience stores.

Supermarkets, quick-service restaurants, bakeries, petrol forecourts and even discount grocers are all competing for what the Grocerant Guru® calls "share of stomach."

Increasingly, consumers are asking one question:

"What can I eat right now?"

Retailers capable of answering that question with high-quality fresh food will continue taking market share from traditional grocery formats.

Handheld Food Is No Longer a Category—It Is a Retail Strategy

One of the biggest opportunities emerging throughout Europe is handheld food for immediate consumption.

Consumers increasingly value meals that are:

· portable

· affordable

· freshly prepared

· easy to eat while commuting

· digitally ordered

· available throughout the day

That explains why premium sandwiches, wraps, breakfast rolls, hot bakery items, sushi, salads, pizza slices, fresh coffee and prepared snacks continue driving higher traffic than many traditional grocery categories.

The future belongs to retailers that blur the distinction between restaurant and supermarket.

Żabka has embraced this model exceptionally well.

Couche-Tard clearly intends to learn from it rather than replace it.

Maintaining the existing management team, franchise model and local operating expertise suggests the company understands that local execution—not corporate standardization—is one of Żabka's greatest competitive advantages.

The Generational Divide Is Reshaping European Food Retail

One of the most overlooked drivers behind this acquisition is generational purchasing behavior.

Baby Boomers generally continue shopping with planned grocery lists and weekly household replenishment.

Generation X increasingly combines grocery shopping with restaurant purchases.

Millennials have normalized multiple meal occasions purchased away from traditional supermarkets.

Generation Z often shops based on convenience, mobile engagement, social discovery and immediate consumption rather than weekly meal planning.

These younger consumers are less loyal to traditional grocery formats and significantly more willing to purchase fresh prepared foods several times each week.

For them, convenience stores are becoming neighborhood restaurants.

This shift is accelerating throughout Europe as urbanization, hybrid work, single-person households and changing lifestyles continue reshaping food purchasing behavior.

Digital Loyalty Is Becoming a Food Business

Żabka's digital ecosystem—with approximately 11.7 million users—may ultimately become as valuable as its physical stores.

Digital engagement allows retailers to personalize promotions, influence meal decisions throughout the day, encourage repeat visits and build stronger customer relationships.

The combination of fresh prepared food, mobile ordering, personalized offers and loyalty programs creates a competitive advantage that traditional supermarkets often struggle to match.

Food is becoming increasingly digital before it ever becomes physical.

Europe Is Entering a New Era of Fresh Food Competition

Couche-Tard expects approximately $250 million in annual cost and revenue synergies within three years following the acquisition.

Yet the largest opportunity may not be operational efficiencies.

The bigger opportunity is exporting Żabka's foodservice expertise, digital innovation, franchise discipline and customer engagement strategies across Circle K's broader European network.

As fuel margins continue facing long-term pressure and electric vehicle adoption expands across Europe, fresh food becomes an increasingly important growth engine.

Retailers that successfully transform forecourts into fresh food destinations will generate higher visit frequency, larger baskets and stronger customer loyalty.

The future of convenience retailing will be measured less by litres of fuel sold and more by fresh meals served.

For European retailers, this acquisition should be viewed as a signal—not simply a transaction.

The race to become Europe's preferred destination for fresh, handheld, immediate-consumption food has entered a new phase.

Three Insights from the Grocerant Guru®

1. Handheld Fresh Food Will Outperform Traditional Grocery Growth.
Consumers increasingly purchase meals based on convenience, portability and immediacy rather than weekly grocery planning. Retailers investing in fresh handheld foods—including premium sandwiches, wraps, bakery products, sushi and ready-to-eat meals—will capture more meal occasions and larger shares of consumer food spending.

2. Digital Engagement Is Becoming as Important as Store Location.
The retailers that combine loyalty, mobile ordering, personalized promotions and frictionless payment with compelling fresh food offers will build stronger customer frequency than competitors relying primarily on price promotions.

3. The Future Belongs to Grocerants, Not Traditional Retail Formats.
The lines separating grocery stores, convenience stores, cafés and quick-service restaurants continue to disappear. Europe's most successful retailers will increasingly compete on fresh food quality, speed, portability and immediate consumption, creating hybrid "grocerant" destinations that satisfy consumers whenever and wherever hunger strikes.

KFC's Country Fried Steak Is More Than a Value Meal—It's a Blueprint for Winning More Meal Occasions

2026-08-04T00:04:00.000-07:00

KFC's decision to spotlight its $4.99 Country Fried Steak Meal may appear to be another limited-time value promotion, but from the Grocerant Guru® perspective, it represents something much bigger. It demonstrates how a legacy quick-service restaurant can elevate its brand by borrowing credibility from casual dining while delivering exceptional value at a time when consumers continue to redefine what "worth the money" really means.

The meal—crispy Country Fried Steak covered with white pepper gravy, mashed potatoes with gravy, creamy coleslaw, and a warm biscuit—is available on Wednesdays for a limited time. While simple on the surface, it strategically positions KFC against family dining restaurants, grocery prepared foods, convenience stores, and even the dinner table at home.

Comfort Food Is One of the Hottest Trends in Foodservice

The National Restaurant Association's 2026 "What's Hot Culinary Forecast" ranks comfort food among the strongest menu trends heading into the year. That shouldn't surprise anyone paying attention to consumer behavior.

Over the past five years, consumers have consistently gravitated toward foods that provide familiarity, nostalgia, and emotional satisfaction. While global flavors and premium ingredients continue to grow, inflation and economic uncertainty have increased demand for meals that simply make people feel good.

Consumers today don't just purchase food.

They purchase reassurance.

That explains why fried chicken, meatloaf, pot roast, chicken-fried steak, macaroni and cheese, biscuits, mashed potatoes, and gravy continue outperforming many limited-time culinary experiments.

KFC Quietly Moves Into Casual Dining Territory

For decades, Country Fried Steak has been a cornerstone menu item at casual dining restaurants, particularly at breakfast.

Chains such as Cracker Barrel, Bob Evans, Black Bear Diner, Village Inn, and numerous regional family restaurants have built loyal followings around Country Fried Steak served with eggs, hash browns, biscuits, or traditional dinner sides. Depending on the market, those meals typically sell for $12–$20 or more, with premium breakfast versions often exceeding that when beverages and add-ons are included.

KFC is offering a similar Southern comfort experience for $4.99.

Consumers notice that comparison.

They're not comparing the meal to another chicken sandwich.

They're comparing it to the meal they'd order while sitting in a full-service restaurant for three to four times the price.

That dramatically elevates KFC's value proposition.

Why This Promotion Will Drive Traffic

Several long-term food marketing trends align perfectly with this promotion.

1. Consumers Want Complete Meals

One of the strongest findings from Technomic, Circana, and National Restaurant Association research is that consumers increasingly judge value by whether a meal feels complete.

Today's customer wants proteins, sides, and satisfaction.

A bundled meal reduces decision fatigue while increasing perceived abundance.

Melissa Cash, KFC's Chief Marketing Officer, captured this idea perfectly earlier this year when discussing the company's Value Feast platform, emphasizing that consumers expect meals to feel "complete, satisfying, and abundant."

Country Fried Steak delivers exactly that.

2. Nostalgia Is Becoming a Competitive Advantage

Restaurant brands often chase the newest flavor trends while overlooking foods consumers already love.

Country Fried Steak carries decades of emotional equity.

It reminds customers of family dinners, roadside diners, neighborhood cafés, and Sunday meals.

Consumers don't need to learn what it is.

They already know.

That dramatically lowers the barrier to trial.

3. Wednesday Creates a New Traffic Day

The restaurant industry has long struggled with midweek traffic.

Making the promotion Wednesday-only creates urgency while encouraging consumers to establish a new dining habit.

Limited-time availability also generates fear of missing out without requiring extensive advertising.

Scarcity remains one of the industry's most effective marketing tools.

4. It Fits KFC's Operational Strengths

Unlike many limited-time menu items requiring new equipment or extensive employee training, Country Fried Steak fits naturally within KFC's existing operational capabilities.

The brand already excels at:

· Breading

· Frying

· Gravy production

· Biscuits

· Mashed potatoes

· Southern side dishes

That means operational complexity remains relatively low while perceived consumer value remains exceptionally high.

Consumers Are Buying More Than Price

According to Circana, approximately 81% of evening meals are sourced from home, meaning every restaurant competes first with consumers' kitchens before competing against another restaurant.

That means KFC's true competitors aren't limited to Popeyes, Church's Texas Chicken, or Bojangles.

They include:

· Grocery store prepared meal departments

· Club store meal kits

· Convenience store hot food programs

· Frozen entrées

· Home cooking

Consumers increasingly ask one simple question:

"Is this meal worth leaving home for?"

The combination of comfort, convenience, familiarity, and affordability helps KFC answer "yes."

Value Has Been Redefined

During the past decade, value often meant offering the lowest possible price.

Today's consumers define value differently.

Value now equals:

Price + Quality + Convenience + Portion Size + Emotional Satisfaction + Portability

That's one reason the Grocerant Guru® has consistently maintained that:

Price + Quality + Social Discovery + Portability = Consumer Value.

Consumers willingly spend more when they believe they're receiving more.

Conversely, even inexpensive meals fail when customers leave hungry or disappointed.

KFC's Country Fried Steak Meal delivers what many consumers perceive as restaurant-quality comfort food at fast-food pricing.

Legacy Restaurant Leaders Continue Missing the Bigger Picture

Too many legacy restaurant executives and industry commentators remain focused on category competition.

Consumers no longer think that way.

The battle isn't chicken versus burgers.

It isn't quick service versus casual dining.

It isn't grocery versus restaurants.

It's a battle for share of stomach and share of meal occasions.

Consumers move seamlessly between grocery stores, convenience stores, restaurants, meal kits, warehouse clubs, food delivery, and home cooking depending upon the occasion.

Brands that understand this reality design menus around eating occasions—not categories.

KFC's Country Fried Steak does exactly that.

It creates another reason to visit.

Historical Perspective Supports the Strategy

Restaurant history repeatedly demonstrates that comfort food creates sustainable demand.

During economic slowdowns:

· Meatloaf sales rise.

· Chicken pot pie returns.

· Pot roast gains popularity.

· Biscuits and gravy perform well.

· Fried chicken remains resilient.

· Macaroni and cheese expands across menus.

Consumers consistently return to foods they trust.

Country Fried Steak belongs in that same category.

Rather than introducing another spicy flavor extension or premium sandwich, KFC is leveraging a proven favorite with decades of recognition.

Grocery Stores and Convenience Stores Should Be Paying Attention

This promotion also sends an important message to grocery retailers and convenience stores.

Consumers are increasingly willing to purchase restaurant-quality comfort foods throughout the day—not just at dinner.

Retailers should consider expanding:

· Country Fried Steak breakfast bowls

· Grab-and-go Country Fried Steak sandwiches

· Family meal bundles

· Heat-N-Eat Southern comfort meals

· Fresh prepared comfort-food meal kits

Comfort food remains underdeveloped across many supermarket prepared food departments despite strong consumer demand.

Grocerant Guru® Says...

KFC isn't simply selling another value meal.

It's expanding the occasions when consumers think about visiting KFC.

That's exactly how brands grow traffic in today's marketplace.

The most successful food retailers no longer defend categories.

They create new reasons to purchase.

Country Fried Steak gives KFC another occasion to win.

Three Grocerant Guru® Insights

1. Comfort food has become affordable indulgence.
Consumers continue rewarding brands that deliver emotional satisfaction without premium pricing. Country Fried Steak bridges the gap between nostalgic family dining and quick-service convenience, making it one of the strongest value propositions in the market today.

2. The future belongs to meal-occasion marketing—not category marketing.
Consumers no longer distinguish between restaurants, grocery stores, convenience stores, or meal delivery. They simply ask who can best solve today's breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack, or comfort-food craving. Winning brands will build menus around occasions rather than legacy categories.

3. Legacy food retailers should stop chasing trends and start leveraging trusted favorites.
Innovation doesn't always require new flavors or expensive ingredients. Sometimes the greatest opportunity is reintroducing proven comfort foods at compelling price points, supported by operational excellence and a complete meal experience. That's exactly what KFC has done with Country Fried Steak.

Clean Restrooms Are No Longer a Convenience—They're a Competitive Advantage

2026-08-03T00:03:00.000-07:00

For decades, food retailers have spent billions of dollars improving menus, remodeling stores, and investing in technology. Yet one of the most influential drivers of customer loyalty remains one of the least glamorous: the restroom.

Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® say’s just look at the latest Bradley Co. Healthy Handwashing Survey reinforces what successful food retailers have known for years: customers judge your entire operation by the cleanliness of your restrooms. In today's marketplace, where consumers have countless dining and shopping options, restroom cleanliness has evolved from a maintenance issue into a powerful brand-building tool.

According to the survey:

· 86% of consumers believe a business's restroom reflects the overall quality of its products and services.

· 68% say they are more likely to return to a business with clean, well-maintained restrooms.

· 93% believe handwashing is important, yet only 76% always wash their hands after using a public restroom.

· 77% have seen someone leave a restroom without washing their hands, reinforcing the importance of providing fully stocked, well-maintained facilities.

These findings should not surprise anyone following consumer behavior. Today's consumer doesn't separate food quality from facility quality—they view the entire experience as one brand promise.

McDonald's: The Industry Benchmark

For decades, McDonald's has quietly become one of the food industry's most consistent operators when it comes to restroom cleanliness. While menu innovation often captures headlines, operational excellence has been one of McDonald's greatest competitive advantages.

The company has long emphasized standardized operating procedures, frequent dining room inspections, and restroom cleaning schedules that are integrated into restaurant operations throughout the day. These practices have helped make McDonald's a preferred stop for travelers, families, and commuters who often associate the brand with dependable, clean facilities.

The lesson is simple:

Customers remember clean restrooms almost as much as they remember good food.

Operational consistency has become one of McDonald's strongest competitive assets and remains one of the reasons many consumers continue choosing the brand during road trips and daily routines.

Restaurants Have Improved—But Not Everyone Has

Across the restaurant industry, many national chains have invested heavily in cleanliness since the pandemic. Guests now expect visibly clean dining rooms, sanitized tables, stocked restrooms, and employees actively maintaining public spaces.

Consumers increasingly view cleanliness as part of food safety.

That expectation has permanently changed.

Convenience Stores Have Raised the Bar

Convenience stores have made enormous progress over the past decade.

Companies such as Buc-ee's, Wawa, QuikTrip, and Kwik Trip have demonstrated that exceptionally clean restrooms create customer loyalty that extends well beyond fuel purchases.

Many travelers now intentionally plan stops around stores known for clean restrooms.

That translates into higher inside sales, additional prepared food purchases, greater beverage sales, and increased customer frequency.

Clean restrooms have become profit centers—not cost centers.

Grocery Stores Still Have Significant Opportunity

Ironically, grocery stores remain one of the weakest performers when it comes to public restroom quality.

While many retailers have invested millions in prepared foods, fresh meal solutions, and upgraded décor, public restrooms are often overlooked.

Consumers frequently must search to find a grocery store with consistently clean, well-maintained, easy-to-access public restrooms.

That's a missed opportunity.

As grocery retailers compete directly against restaurants and convenience stores for Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat meal occasions, every customer touchpoint matters.

If shoppers are willing to stay longer because they know the facilities are clean, basket size often increases.

If they leave because the restroom is dirty—or unavailable—they may not return.

The Business Case Is Growing Stronger

Circana continues to report that consumers increasingly consolidate shopping trips while seeking convenience, value, and quality. Meanwhile, the National Restaurant Association has noted that off-premise dining, takeout, and grab-and-go occasions continue to reshape where consumers spend their food dollars.

That means restroom cleanliness influences not only customer satisfaction but also trip duration, impulse purchases, meal attachment rates, and long-term loyalty.

Retailers that ignore this reality risk losing customers before they even evaluate the food.

Four Grocerant Guru® Insights

1. Every Restroom Is a Marketing Department

Customers view restroom cleanliness as a direct reflection of food safety, operational discipline, and management quality. A spotless restroom silently communicates trust.

2. Cleanliness Builds Retail Customer Relevance

As grocery stores, restaurants, and convenience stores continue battling for share of stomach, clean restrooms become another competitive differentiator that encourages longer visits, additional purchases, and repeat traffic.

3. The ROI Is Measured in Repeat Visits

The Bradley survey found that nearly seven out of ten customers are more likely to return after experiencing a clean restroom. Few operational investments can influence customer retention that directly.

4. The Winners Will Sweat the Small Stuff

Consumers notice everything—from stocked soap dispensers and paper towels to touchless fixtures and odor control. The brands that consistently execute these fundamentals will continue winning loyalty while competitors wonder why traffic continues to decline.

For food retailers competing in today's experience-driven marketplace, clean restrooms are no longer simply about sanitation—they are an essential component of customer relevance, brand equity, and long-term profitable growth.

Stay Ahead of the Competition with Fresh Ideas

Is your food marketing keeping up with tomorrow’s trends—or stuck in yesterday’s playbook? If you're ready for fresh ideations that set your brand apart, we’re here to help.

At Foodservice Solutions®, we specialize in consumer-driven retail food strategies that enhance convenience, differentiation, and individualization—key factors in driving growth.

Email us at Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us Connect with us on social media: Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter

Cracker Barrel's Leadership Reset: Can David Deno Restore Customer Relevance, or Will History Repeat Itself?

2026-08-02T00:02:00.000-07:00

Leadership changes alone do not fix restaurant brands. They only create an opportunity to fix the strategy according to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

Cracker Barrel's appointment of David Deno as CEO signals that the Board believes operational discipline can accelerate the company's recovery after one of the most disruptive brand positioning mistakes in family dining during the past decade. The challenge is much larger than replacing one executive with another. The real challenge is restoring customer relevance in a marketplace where consumers increasingly decide what is for dinner based on convenience, portability, value, digital engagement, and meal flexibility—not nostalgia.

The U.S. restaurant industry now exceeds $1.5 trillion in annual sales, yet traffic growth continues to lag sales growth because inflation—not increased visits—has driven much of the industry's revenue gains. Circana data consistently shows that restaurant visit growth remains pressured while consumers increasingly shift meals between grocery stores, convenience stores, warehouse clubs, and restaurants based on value and convenience. More than 80% of evening meals are still sourced from home, creating fierce competition for every dinner occasion.

Against that backdrop, Cracker Barrel cannot afford another strategic misstep.

Julie Masino's Three Biggest Strategic Missteps

Julie Masino inherited challenges, but several strategic decisions accelerated customer confusion rather than strengthening the brand.

1. Rebranding Before Fixing the Core Business

The biggest mistake was attempting to modernize the image before restoring operational excellence.

The redesign initiative generated significant consumer backlash because loyal guests perceived the company was abandoning the rustic authenticity that differentiated Cracker Barrel from every other family dining chain. Social media criticism exploded, and instead of attracting younger customers, the company risked alienating its core multi-generational customer base.

Food marketing reality:

· Consumers rarely abandon brands because they look old.

· Consumers leave because food quality declines.

· Consumers leave because value erodes.

· Consumers leave because the experience becomes inconsistent.

Restaurant history repeatedly demonstrates that successful modernization begins with improving execution—not changing the décor.

2. Underestimating Emotional Brand Equity

Cracker Barrel has always sold memories as much as meals.

Families stopped during vacations.

Grandparents introduced grandchildren.

Travelers trusted consistency.

Those emotional connections represent decades of accumulated brand equity that cannot simply be redesigned.

Research from Deloitte, Technomic, and YouGov consistently shows that emotional attachment significantly increases repeat visitation, recommendation intent, and customer lifetime value. When companies change too much, too quickly, they often create uncertainty among their most profitable guests.

3. Focusing Too Little on Off-Premise Growth

While competitors expanded takeout, family meal bundles, digital ordering, curbside convenience, and delivery, Cracker Barrel remained heavily dependent upon dine-in traffic.

Meanwhile:

· Convenience stores dramatically expanded fresh prepared meals.

· Grocery retailers invested billions in Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat foods.

· Fast casual brands perfected digital ordering.

· Casual dining chains aggressively expanded off-premise occasions.

Consumers increasingly expect restaurant-quality food wherever they choose to eat—not simply inside restaurants.

David Deno's Three Largest Historical Leadership Challenges

David Deno brings extensive restaurant experience. However, his record also highlights several important lessons.

1. Bloomin' Brands Lost Traffic Despite Menu Innovation

During Deno's tenure at Bloomin' Brands, Outback Steakhouse, Carrabba's, Bonefish Grill, and Fleming's struggled with declining guest traffic despite numerous menu promotions and operational improvements.

Industry data consistently showed that promotional activity could temporarily improve sales, but sustainable traffic remained elusive as consumers increasingly migrated toward convenience-oriented competitors.

Lesson:

Operational excellence alone does not create customer demand.

Customer relevance does.

2. Heavy Dependence on Traditional Casual Dining

Bloomin' Brands remained largely committed to traditional sit-down dining while consumers increasingly embraced:

· Pickup

· Delivery

· Meal bundles

· Family meals

· Digital ordering

· Subscription loyalty

Restaurant demand shifted faster than many legacy operators adapted.

The competitive battlefield expanded beyond restaurants into grocery prepared foods and convenience store meal programs.

3. Value Messaging Often Lacked Differentiation

Consumers increasingly evaluate value using four measurements:

· Quality

· Convenience

· Time savings

· Total experience

Discounting alone rarely creates sustainable competitive advantage.

Technomic research continues to show that consumers willingly pay premium prices when they perceive superior convenience, food quality, and overall experience.

Simply lowering prices rarely creates long-term loyalty.

The Three Most Likely Mistakes Ahead

Mistake #1: Focusing Too Much on Cost Reduction

Many incoming CEOs immediately pursue labor reductions and cost controls.

While important, customers never become more loyal because payroll was reduced.

They return because experiences improve.

Mistake #2: Chasing Younger Consumers at the Expense of Loyal Guests

Every legacy restaurant brand faces this temptation.

The objective should never be replacing existing customers.

The objective should be making the brand relevant across multiple generations simultaneously.

Cracker Barrel's strongest competitive advantage remains multi-generational dining.

Protect it.

Expand it.

Do not dilute it.

Mistake #3: Treating Cracker Barrel as a Restaurant Instead of a Food Lifestyle Brand

This may become the biggest missed opportunity.

Cracker Barrel possesses unique assets:

· Restaurant

· Country store

· Packaged foods

· Gift business

· Seasonal merchandise

· Breakfast leadership

· Family heritage

Few restaurant companies possess this ecosystem.

Leveraging all of it together could significantly increase customer lifetime value.

Four Insights from the Grocerant Guru®

1. Build America's Best Road Trip Meal Platform

Cracker Barrel should own the traveling consumer.

Develop exclusive Road Trip Meal Bundles featuring breakfast, lunch, snacks, beverages, desserts, and retail merchandise designed specifically for travelers.

Few national brands are better positioned to dominate highway meal occasions.

2. Create Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat Country Comfort Meals

Consumers increasingly want restaurant-quality meals at home.

Launch refrigerated meal solutions featuring Cracker Barrel favorites for pickup, grab-and-go, and regional retail distribution.

This extends the brand beyond restaurant visits into everyday meal occasions.

3. Integrate Retail and Restaurant Purchases

The country store remains an underutilized strategic asset.

Imagine guests earning loyalty rewards across:

· Restaurant dining

· Holiday foods

· Retail merchandise

· Seasonal gifts

· Online purchases

One customer relationship.

Multiple revenue streams.

4. Become America's Family Gathering Brand

Consumers are looking for connection as much as convenience.

Rather than competing solely on price, Cracker Barrel should own occasions:

· Sunday family dinner

· Holiday entertaining

· Multi-generational celebrations

· Travel traditions

· Weekend breakfast gatherings

Winning brands today do not merely serve food—they become part of consumers' routines and memories.

Final Thought

David Deno has inherited one of America's most recognizable restaurant brands, but recognition alone does not guarantee relevance. The next chapter for Cracker Barrel should not be defined by another redesign or a new marketing campaign. It should be defined by a relentless focus on food quality, operational consistency, off-premise innovation, and creating compelling reasons for consumers to choose Cracker Barrel over grocery prepared foods, convenience store meal programs, and competing restaurants.

The future belongs to brands that understand they are no longer competing only against other restaurants—they are competing for every meal occasion. Cracker Barrel's greatest opportunity is to evolve from a nostalgic destination into a modern, multi-channel food and retail brand without sacrificing the authenticity that made generations of Americans stop at its front porch in the first place.

Weigel's Delivery Growth Proves the Regional C-Store Is Winning the Battle for Share of Stomach

2026-08-01T00:01:00.000-07:00

For years, Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® said that the future of food retail would not be determined by who has the biggest stores, the largest assortment, or even the lowest prices. The winners would be the companies that own more food occasions throughout the day. Weigel's latest delivery success is another example that the battle for "share of stomach" has shifted away from simply competing for customers who walk through the front door. Today, consumers expect food to come to them whenever, wherever, and however they choose.

Weigel's has more than tripled its annualized delivery business in just seven months by integrating first-party ordering, loyalty, digital commerce, and third-party delivery into one seamless ecosystem. That is not simply a technology story—it is a food marketing success story.

Across the United States, consumers continue shifting spending toward prepared foods, snacks, beverages, and immediate-consumption meals. According to Circana, convenience foodservice continues to outperform many traditional retail food categories as consumers seek speed, portability, and value. Technomic research consistently shows that convenience stores are capturing more meal occasions traditionally owned by quick-service restaurants, while FMI research confirms that grocery shoppers increasingly purchase prepared meals instead of cooking from scratch several nights each week.

The customer no longer thinks in terms of grocery store, restaurant, or convenience store. They simply ask one question:

"What is the easiest way to solve my next meal?"

That is exactly where Weigel's is positioning itself.

Winning Regionally Instead of Nationally

One of the greatest advantages regional convenience chains possess is something national chains cannot easily duplicate—local trust.

Regional retailers understand local food preferences, seasonal buying habits, sporting events, schools, weather patterns, and neighborhood demographics better than almost anyone.

Weigel's has built that regional advantage through:

• Fresh commissary production

• Local bakery operations

• Regional dairy production

• Fresh doughnuts delivered nightly

• Local brand recognition

• Integrated loyalty

• Omnichannel ordering

That combination creates an emotional connection that national competitors struggle to replicate.

Consumers increasingly reward familiarity.

A customer in East Tennessee knows Weigel's products. They grew up with them. When those same products become available through DoorDash, Uber Eats, or a first-party app, trust transfers directly into digital purchasing.

Regional chains should never attempt to become mini-national chains.

Instead, they should become digitally connected local food companies.

Food Marketing Data Says Convenience Is Becoming a Meal Destination

Several long-term consumer trends continue favor convenience stores.

• More than 80% of evening meals now originate from home, but "home" increasingly means delivered or carried in—not home cooked.

• Convenience store prepared food sales continue growing faster than many packaged grocery categories.

• Younger consumers increasingly purchase multiple snack occasions instead of three traditional meals each day.

• Delivery is expanding well beyond pizza and Chinese food into breakfast, late-night snacks, beverages, desserts, bakery products, sandwiches, chicken, and complete meal bundles.

• Digital loyalty members consistently visit more often, spend more annually, and are significantly more responsive to personalized promotions than non-members.

These trends reinforce one conclusion:

Consumers are buying occasions—not categories.

That is why Weigel's midnight doughnut story matters.

Fresh doughnuts arriving shortly before midnight create an entirely new demand window between 11 p.m. and 1 a.m.—an occasion that most grocery stores and many restaurants simply cannot serve.

That is food marketing at its best.

Why Delivery Strengthens Regional Market Leadership

Many retailers mistakenly view delivery as merely another sales channel.

The best operators recognize it as a market expansion strategy.

Delivery allows regional retailers to:

• Expand trade areas without building additional stores.

• Capture incremental evening and late-night sales.

• Increase average transaction values through bundled offers.

• Introduce new customers to their private brands.

• Generate richer customer data for future promotions.

Every digital order becomes another opportunity to strengthen customer relationships through loyalty, personalized offers, and future meal recommendations.

That creates a competitive moat.

Five Ways Independent Convenience Stores Can Follow This Model

Independent operators often assume delivery is only for large chains. Nothing could be further from reality.

1. Build Around Signature Food

Own one menu item that customers cannot easily find elsewhere.

Whether it is breakfast biscuits, fried chicken, pizza, smoked barbecue, tacos, fresh sandwiches, bakery products, or homemade desserts, signature food creates destination demand.

Commodity products rarely build delivery businesses.

2. Bundle Meals Instead of Selling Individual Items

Consumers increasingly purchase complete meal solutions.

Instead of selling a sandwich alone, bundle:

• Sandwich

• Chips

• Fresh fruit

• Fountain beverage

• Dessert

Bundles increase average tickets while simplifying purchasing decisions.

3. Use Delivery to Fill Slow Dayparts

Every store has slower hours.

Create digital-only offers during those periods.

Late-night bakery.

Afternoon snack bundles.

Game-day family meals.

Breakfast delivery.

Happy-hour beverage combinations.

Delivery fills unused production capacity.

4. Make Loyalty the Center of Every Order

Every delivery customer should become a loyalty customer.

Offer exclusive pricing.

Birthday rewards.

Personalized coupons.

Visit milestones.

Digital punch cards.

The objective is not one delivery order.

The objective is lifetime customer value.

5. Promote Freshness, Not Just Convenience

Consumers increasingly associate quality with freshness.

Tell customers:

Fresh coffee brewed every hour.

Fresh bakery delivered nightly.

Fresh chicken prepared throughout the day.

Fresh sandwiches assembled daily.

Freshness creates differentiation.

Convenience gets the first purchase.

Freshness earns the second.

The Battle Is No Longer Grocery Versus Restaurants

The real competition today is for food occasions.

Restaurants compete against grocery prepared foods.

Grocery prepared foods compete against convenience stores.

Convenience stores compete against meal kits.

Meal kits compete against delivery platforms.

Every operator is chasing the same consumer eating occasions.

The companies winning are those making food available whenever consumers decide to eat.

That is why regional convenience stores are becoming some of America's fastest-growing prepared food retailers.

They combine speed, convenience, value, portability, digital ordering, and trusted local brands into one integrated customer experience.

That combination is difficult to beat.

Four Grocerant Guru® Insights

Insight No. 1: Think Like a Food Company, Not a Fuel Company

Fuel brings customers to the property. Fresh prepared food builds profits. Independent convenience stores should organize around meal occasions rather than gasoline transactions, because foodservice consistently delivers stronger gross margins and greater customer loyalty.

Insight No. 2: Every Digital Order Is a Marketing Opportunity

Each online transaction generates valuable customer data. Retailers that analyze purchase frequency, favorite products, dayparts, and basket composition can create highly personalized promotions that increase repeat visits and larger average tickets while reducing promotional waste.

Insight No. 3: Own More Eating Occasions

Breakfast, lunch, afternoon snacks, dinner, late-night meals, desserts, beverages, and family bundles should all be part of the merchandising strategy. The objective is no longer selling products—it is solving multiple eating occasions throughout the day and week.

Insight No. 4: Regional Authenticity Is Becoming a Competitive Advantage

Independent and regional convenience retailers should not try to imitate national chains. Instead, they should celebrate local recipes, regional suppliers, hometown partnerships, community involvement, and fresh local food. Consumers increasingly reward businesses that reflect their communities, and that authenticity creates loyalty that national competitors often cannot duplicate.

The Grocerant Guru® believes Weigel's has demonstrated that the future of convenience retailing is not simply faster transactions—it is creating an omnichannel food ecosystem where customers can discover, order, earn rewards, and enjoy fresh food wherever they happen to be. Regional convenience stores that combine fresh prepared food, digital ordering, loyalty, and local authenticity will continue capturing market share from both traditional grocery stores and restaurants as the competition for America's share of stomach intensifies.

The Middle-Class Grocery Shopper Has Changed the Rules: Legacy Grocery Chains Must Reinvent or Risk Irrelevance

2026-07-31T00:31:00.000-07:00

For years the grocery industry assumed that value shoppers were concentrated in lower-income households while middle-income consumers remained relatively loyal to their favorite supermarket. That assumption is now proving dangerously outdated you know that’s what Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® has been documenting for years.

Well here is the latest Big Chalk Trade-Off Consumer Report confirms what I have been discussing with food industry leaders for several years: the next competitive battle is no longer simply about price—it is about earning a larger share of the consumer's weekly food budget through convenience, meal solutions, portability, personalization, and trust.

The grocery industry has entered a new era where middle-income consumers are behaving much like budget-conscious shoppers once did. They are deliberately spreading purchases across multiple retailers, selectively buying promotions, and becoming increasingly willing to leave a traditional supermarket if another retailer better fulfills a specific food mission.

That is not simply changing grocery shopping.

It is changing the economics of grocery retailing.

ording to Big Chalk, 34.5% of U.S. households now qualify as "Trade-Off Consumers," households reducing spending across at least four major budget categories. That percentage has climbed steadily from 27.8% in 2024 and now includes significantly more families earning between $60,000 and $150,000 annually.

These are not struggling consumers.

These are America's core grocery customers.

That should concern every supermarket executive.

Grocery Loyalty Is Being Replaced by Food Mission Loyalty

Today's consumer no longer shops one grocery store.

Instead, they shop food missions.

One retailer becomes the destination for fresh meat.

Another for produce.

Another for prepared meals.

Another for frozen foods.

Another for center-store groceries.

Warehouse clubs handle bulk purchases.

Dollar stores handle fill-in trips.

Convenience stores satisfy immediate consumption.

Restaurants increasingly own dinner.

The result?

The average consumer now shops multiple food retailers each week while relying heavily on digital promotions, personalized offers, loyalty rewards, curbside pickup, delivery, and meal-specific shopping trips.

Circana continues to show that most evening meals are sourced from home, yet consumers increasingly assemble those meals using multiple retail channels rather than a single supermarket. Meanwhile, restaurant off-premise dining, takeout, drive-thru, and delivery continue capturing meal occasions once dominated by grocery stores.

Consumers have not stopped eating.

They have simply diversified where they buy food.

Inflation Changed Behavior—Technology Made It Permanent

While inflation and fuel costs accelerated these shopping behaviors, technology has made them permanent.

Consumers compare prices instantly.

Digital coupons are expected—not appreciated.

Retail media personalizes offers.

Apps guide shopping trips.

Meal inspiration increasingly begins on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest, and retailer apps instead of weekly newspaper inserts.

The result is a consumer who expects retailers to compete for every individual shopping mission rather than every weekly grocery basket.

The retailers that understand this are winning.

Those that continue operating under a traditional supermarket model are steadily losing relevance.

The New Consumer Doesn't Want More Choices

The consumer wants fewer decisions.

That sounds contradictory.

It isn't.

Consumers increasingly value retailers that simplify dinner planning through fresh prepared foods, meal bundles, ready-to-eat options, heat-and-eat meals, grab-and-go lunches, family packs, snack solutions, and portable meal occasions.

The Grocerant movement continues reshaping food retail because consumers purchase solutions—not ingredients.

Prepared foods now represent one of grocery's fastest-growing profit opportunities because they save consumers something increasingly valuable:

Time.

Consumers willingly pay for convenience when the experience delivers restaurant-quality food at grocery pricing.

That competitive advantage remains underdeveloped at many traditional supermarkets.

Three Legacy Grocery Chains Facing the Greatest Competitive Pressure

Kroger

Kroger possesses tremendous scale, sophisticated loyalty data, and one of the industry's strongest retail media networks.

Yet much of its store base continues emphasizing traditional grocery merchandising rather than becoming destination food experience centers.

Consumers increasingly compare Kroger not only against supermarkets but also against Walmart, Costco, Aldi, Amazon Fresh, specialty grocers, convenience retailers, and restaurants offering superior meal solutions.

Without accelerating fresh prepared foods, meal bundling, and differentiated food experiences, Kroger risks losing additional dinner occasions despite maintaining respectable grocery sales.

Albertsons

Albertsons has invested heavily in digital capabilities, yet many banners still operate with inconsistent merchandising, prepared-food execution, and customer experience across markets.

Consumers increasingly reward consistency.

When shoppers visit multiple retailers each week, inconsistency becomes expensive.

Albertsons must dramatically strengthen fresh meal solutions, simplify store navigation, and create stronger reasons for consumers to consolidate more food spending within its ecosystem.

Ahold Delhaize USA

Brands including Stop & Shop, Giant Food, Giant/Martin's, Hannaford, and Food Lion face increasing pressure from value retailers, club stores, limited-assortment chains, dollar stores, and expanding convenience food programs.

Several banners continue relying heavily on promotional pricing while underinvesting in becoming true food destinations.

Price promotions may create traffic.

Meal solutions create loyalty.

That distinction becomes increasingly important as middle-income shoppers become more intentional with every dollar they spend.

Restaurants Are Winning More Than Dinner

One of the most overlooked findings in the Big Chalk research is that Trade-Off Consumers continue dining out while simultaneously reducing grocery spending.

That surprises many grocery executives.

It shouldn't.

Consumers increasingly justify restaurant purchases because they deliver convenience, experience, consistency, and emotional value.

Meanwhile, grocery shopping often still requires planning, preparation, cooking, cleanup, and food waste management.

Consumers are willing to spend slightly more when someone else eliminates those friction points.

Restaurants have become convenience companies.

Too many grocery retailers still operate like inventory companies.

The Future Belongs to Food Solution Companies

Retailers should stop measuring success solely by grocery baskets.

They should measure meal occasions captured.

Consumers increasingly build breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, celebrations, catering, and workplace meals from multiple retail channels.

Winning those food occasions requires dramatically different merchandising strategies.

Prepared foods.

Cross-merchandised meal bundles.

Digital meal planning.

Subscription meal programs.

Family dinner solutions.

Personalized promotions.

Restaurant-quality execution.

Those are no longer optional investments.

They are competitive necessities.

Food Marketing Data Reinforces the Trend

Recent food industry research continues pointing in the same direction:

• Consumers increasingly make dinner decisions after 4:00 p.m., creating significant opportunities for retailers that can influence last-minute meal purchases.

• Off-premise restaurant dining continues representing the overwhelming majority of restaurant occasions, conditioning consumers to expect speed, portability, and convenience everywhere they purchase food.

• Fresh prepared foods remain among the fastest-growing departments in grocery because consumers increasingly value labor-saving meal solutions over ingredient purchasing.

• Digital loyalty engagement, personalized promotions, mobile ordering, and retail media networks increasingly determine where consumers begin—and finish—their weekly shopping journeys.

• Consumers are making more shopping trips while purchasing fewer items per visit, making traffic generation and basket-building more critical than ever before.

None of these trends favor retailers operating under yesterday's supermarket model.

Every one of them favors retailers becoming comprehensive food solution providers.

Three Insights from the Grocerant Guru®

1. Stop Managing Departments—Start Managing Meal Occasions

Consumers do not think in grocery departments. They think about breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, celebrations, and convenience. Retailers must reorganize merchandising, marketing, and operations around complete meal solutions instead of isolated product categories.

2. Compete for Share of Stomach, Not Share of Grocery

The competition is no longer the supermarket across town. Every restaurant, convenience store, warehouse club, dollar store, meal kit, and food delivery service is competing for the same eating occasions. Winning requires integrating fresh prepared foods, digital engagement, catering, delivery, and grab-and-go solutions into one seamless consumer experience.

3. Cultural Change Must Come Before Operational Change

Technology alone will not solve this problem. Success requires a fundamental shift in corporate thinking—from operating grocery stores to operating food solution companies. That means empowering merchants, chefs, marketers, data analysts, and operations teams to work together around the customer rather than around internal departments. Retailers willing to embrace that cultural transformation will capture more meal occasions, higher-margin prepared food sales, stronger customer loyalty, and sustainable long-term growth. Those unwilling to change will continue watching consumers fragment their food spending across an ever-expanding competitive landscape.

The $1 Enchirito Won't Solve Taco Bell's Biggest Problem: Franchisees Need More Than Discounts

2026-07-30T00:30:00.000-07:00

A one-dollar Enchirito is a clever headline. It is not, however, a long-term recovery strategy according to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

Following the Cyclospora outbreak that has sickened more than 11,500 people across 41 states, Taco Bell is attempting to thank loyal customers with a $1 Enchirito promotion. While the offer may generate traffic, it does little to address the larger question every franchisee is asking:

How do we rebuild consumer trust while protecting restaurant-level profitability?

Discounting after a crisis is nothing new. The restaurant industry has relied on value offers for decades to stimulate traffic. But today's consumer is different. They are looking for reassurance, transparency, consistency, and value—not simply a lower price.

The Real Story Isn't Just Food Safety

Much of the public conversation has centered on Taylor Farms and the ongoing FDA investigation surrounding contaminated shredded lettuce. As additional information has emerged, social media conversations have shifted much of the blame away from Taco Bell and toward the supplier and regulators.

That may ultimately prove beneficial for the brand.

But there is another question that deserves attention.

Why was Taco Bell so vulnerable to losing customer confidence so quickly?

Food safety incidents happen across every segment of foodservice. The strongest brands recover fastest because consumers have deep confidence in operational consistency, menu quality, and communication.

Recovery isn't simply about who caused the problem.

Recovery is about whether customers believe the brand consistently puts them first.

A Discount Is a Short-Term Tool

The Enchirito has nostalgic appeal. Originally introduced in 1970, it remains one of Taco Bell's better-known menu items.

Selling it for $1 may temporarily boost transactions.

Unfortunately, transactions are not the same as profitable customers.

Every discounted menu item places additional pressure on franchise operators already facing:

· Higher labor costs

· Elevated food costs

· Increasing insurance expenses

· Technology investments

· Delivery commissions

· Lower average restaurant margins

Corporate promotions often generate headlines.

Franchisees generate profits.

Those two objectives are not always perfectly aligned.

Consumer Trust Is Built Before a Crisis

Consumers today expect more visibility into where their food comes from than ever before.

They also expect companies to communicate quickly, accurately, and transparently.

Taco Bell deserves credit for removing affected ingredients rapidly and communicating throughout the investigation.

Yet this crisis also demonstrates how dependent large restaurant chains have become on highly centralized supply systems. When one supplier experiences a problem, thousands of restaurants may be affected simultaneously.

That concentration creates operational efficiency.

It also creates operational risk.

Recovery Should Focus on Franchisees

The restaurant industry's greatest asset is not corporate headquarters.

It is the thousands of local franchise operators who interact with customers every single day.

Instead of relying primarily on limited-time discounts, Taco Bell has an opportunity to strengthen its franchise system by helping operators rebuild confidence within their own communities.

That means giving franchisees additional tools—not simply lower-priced menu items.

Consumers Are Buying Confidence

Research consistently shows that consumers continue to spend on prepared food when they believe it delivers convenience, quality, and value.

Value is no longer defined solely by price.

Today's value equation includes:

· Food safety

· Freshness

· Convenience

· Trust

· Consistency

· Speed of service

A one-dollar Enchirito may encourage trial.

Only trust creates repeat visits.

Three Grocerant Guru® Insights for Taco Bell Franchisees

1. Become the Most Trusted Restaurant in Your Neighborhood

Give franchisees local communication tools they can use on social media to explain food safety procedures, ingredient sourcing, and daily quality standards. Customers trust the people serving them more than they trust corporate press releases.

2. Focus on Meal Solutions, Not Just Discounts

Rather than relying on deep discounting, create profitable meal bundles that include beverages, sides, and add-on items. Consumers increasingly want complete meal solutions that save time and simplify dinner decisions while improving average check and franchise profitability.

3. Reward Loyal Customers Without Eroding Margins

Instead of broad system-wide discounts, expand digital loyalty rewards, personalized offers, and visit-based incentives that encourage repeat business while protecting franchise economics. Loyalty should create profitable frequency—not simply lower prices.

The Grocerant Guru® Bottom Line

The Cyclospora outbreak will eventually fade from the headlines.

What will remain is how Taco Bell chooses to support the entrepreneurs who invested millions of dollars building restaurants in communities across America.

The brand's future success will not be determined solely by how many one-dollar Enchiritos it sells.

It will be determined by whether franchisees emerge from this event with stronger customer relationships, healthier restaurant economics, and renewed consumer confidence.

Because in today's prepared food marketplace, the most successful restaurant brands don't simply recover from a crisis—they use it as an opportunity to build deeper trust with consumers and create greater long-term value for their franchise partners.

Success Leaves Clues—Are You Ready to Find Yours?

Want to strengthen your brand’s connection with today’s consumers? Let’s talk. Call 253-759-7869 for more information.

Stay Ahead of the Competition with Fresh Ideas

Is your food marketing keeping up with tomorrow’s trends—or stuck in yesterday’s playbook? If you're ready for fresh ideations that set your brand apart, we’re here to help.

At Foodservice Solutions®, we specialize in consumer-driven retail food strategies that enhance convenience, differentiation, and individualization—key factors in driving growth.

Email us at Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us Connect with us on social media: Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter

Why 7-Eleven's Next Chapter Should Be a Wake-Up Call for Every Food Industry Leader

2026-07-29T00:29:00.000-07:00

Every successful company eventually reaches a crossroads according to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

One path leads to protecting yesterday's success. The other leads to creating tomorrow's relevance.

The appointment of Mauricio Leyva as CEO of 7-Eleven Inc. is more than an executive leadership change. It is another clear signal that Seven & i Holdings understands something many food industry companies still struggle to accept: customers never stop evolving, and neither can your company.

The company's North Star transformation strategy isn't simply about new leadership. It is about redefining convenience for today's consumer while preparing for tomorrow's customer. That willingness to evolve may prove to be one of 7-Eleven's greatest competitive advantages.

The real question isn't whether 7-Eleven has found its North Star.

The real question is whether your company has.

The Consumer Has Already Moved

Too many retailers continue operating as though consumers shop the same way they did five years ago.

They don't.

Consumers now purchase meals wherever value, convenience, quality, and speed intersect.

Dinner increasingly comes from grocery prepared foods.

Lunch comes from convenience stores.

Snacks come from restaurants.

Breakfast comes from wherever consumers happen to be.

Today's consumer no longer thinks in channels.

They think in solutions.

According to Circana, approximately 81% of evening meals are sourced from home, yet a growing percentage of those meals are purchased as fresh prepared foods rather than cooked entirely from scratch. That shift has fueled sustained growth in grocery deli departments, convenience foodservice, meal bundles, grab-and-go merchandising, curbside pickup, and home delivery.

Consumers are no longer asking:

Where should I shop?

They are asking:

Who can solve tonight's meal the fastest?

That simple change in mindset is reshaping every segment of the food industry.

Convenience Has Been Redefined

For decades, convenience meant location.

Today, convenience means saving time.

Consumers willingly drive farther for a better experience.

They willingly pay more for meals that eliminate preparation and cleanup.

They willingly purchase breakfast from one retailer, lunch from another, and dinner from a third—all in the same day.

Restaurants understand it.

Grocery stores understand it.

Dollar stores understand it.

Convenience stores certainly understand it.

That is precisely why 7-Eleven continues investing aggressively in fresh prepared foods, proprietary brands, digital ordering, delivery, loyalty, store modernization, and operational excellence.

Those investments aren't random.

They're aligned around a single customer promise.

That is exactly what a True North Star should accomplish.

Agility Is Becoming the Ultimate Competitive Advantage

One reason I continue praising 7-Eleven is simple.

The company rarely stands still.

Following years of acquisition discussions, leadership transitions, and changing market dynamics, many organizations would have slowed down.

Instead, 7-Eleven accelerated.

The company doubled down on fresh food innovation, proprietary products, digital ordering, delivery expansion, customer loyalty, store modernization, operational excellence, and network optimization.

Those priorities aren't simply operational initiatives.

They're customer initiatives.

That distinction matters.

The companies growing today aren't waiting for consumers to change again.

They're changing before consumers ask them to.

Has Your Company Become Comfortable?

Every executive team should periodically ask itself a few difficult questions.

Has your company become complacent?

Has your organization become bloated?

Has decision-making become so layered that innovation now takes months instead of weeks?

Are your meetings focused on protecting existing revenue instead of creating new meal occasions?

Are you still measuring success using yesterday's scorecard?

Are you trying to become better at what customers used to want instead of discovering what they actually want today?

Far too many legacy organizations continue refining business models consumers have already left behind.

Meanwhile, more agile competitors quietly capture market share one meal occasion at a time.

Success rarely disappears overnight.

It slowly erodes through organizational comfort.

The Battle Has Shifted

The competition today is no longer restaurant versus restaurant.

Nor is it grocery versus grocery.

Nor convenience versus convenience.

Today's battle is for share of stomach.

Convenience stores compete with supermarkets.

Supermarkets compete with quick-service restaurants.

Quick-service restaurants compete with warehouse clubs.

Dollar stores compete with everyone.

Consumers move effortlessly between channels depending on value, quality, portability, convenience, and speed.

That is why meal bundling has become one of the industry's most powerful growth strategies.

Ready-2-Eat.

Heat-N-Eat.

Mix-and-match meals.

Family meal bundles.

Portable meal solutions.

Fresh prepared foods.

These are no longer trends.

They represent permanent changes in consumer behavior.

Leadership Shapes the Future

Mauricio Leyva arrives with extensive experience leading business transformation at Keurig Dr Pepper, where he helped strengthen operations and execute a long-term growth strategy following one of the industry's largest mergers.

That experience aligns remarkably well with where 7-Eleven finds itself today.

Leadership is no longer simply about operating stores efficiently.

It is about challenging assumptions before consumers do.

The companies that win over the next decade won't necessarily have the largest footprints.

They will have the clearest strategic direction.

Every Company Needs a True North Star

The best organizations know exactly who they serve.

They know what problem they solve.

They know where they are headed.

Most importantly, they possess the courage to change before they have to.

Too many companies continue chasing quarterly promotions, limited-time offers, and discount pricing while lacking a larger strategic vision.

Without a True North Star, every initiative begins looking equally important.

Without strategic clarity, organizations become reactive rather than proactive.

Customers notice.

Employees notice.

Investors notice.

Eventually, competitors capitalize.

The Future Belongs to Companies That Keep Moving

7-Eleven deserves credit for recognizing that transformation is never finished.

Customer expectations continue evolving.

Technology continues advancing.

Meal occasions continue shifting.

Retail channels continue blurring.

The companies that embrace change before it becomes mandatory will continue growing.

Those waiting for things to return to normal may discover that normal has permanently changed.

Perhaps every food industry executive should pause and ask one simple question:

Has our company found its True North Star, or are we still navigating with yesterday's map?

Four Insights from the Grocerant Guru®

1. Strategy Beats Size. Large organizations rarely fail because they lack resources. They fail when they stop adapting faster than their customers change.

2. Agility Is the New Competitive Advantage. The winners in restaurants, grocery, convenience stores, and foodservice will be those that test, learn, refine, and scale faster than their competition, not necessarily those with the largest budgets.

3. Meal Solutions Will Drive Tomorrow's Growth. Consumers increasingly purchase complete meal solutions rather than individual products. Companies that master fresh prepared foods, meal bundling, portability, and digital convenience will earn a larger share of stomach.

4. Every Organization Needs Its Own True North Star. Whether you operate 10 locations or 10,000, the most important strategic question isn't where you've been. It's whether every investment, every innovation, and every customer interaction is aligned around tomorrow's consumer, not yesterday's success.

This version is clean for Microsoft Word—no Markdown asterisks, no quotation marks used for emphasis, and no formatting symbols. It should paste directly into Word as a polished article.

Are you ready for some fresh ideations? Do your food marketing ideas look more like yesterday than tomorrow? Interested in learning how our Grocerant Guru® can edify your retail food brand while creating a platform for consumer convenient meal participation, differentiation and individualization? Email us at: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us or visit: us on our social media sites by clicking one of the following links: Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter

Why Texas Roadhouse Should Test Food Delivery: The Consumer Has Already Decided

2026-07-28T00:28:00.000-07:00

For more than three decades, Texas Roadhouse has built one of the most successful brands in casual dining by doing the fundamentals better than almost anyone else. Fresh-cut steaks, made-from-scratch sides, hand-rolled yeast rolls, energetic service, and strong value have propelled the company to become America's largest casual dining chain by sales.

Yet even the best companies must recognize when consumer behavior has shifted according to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

That is why Texas Roadhouse should move beyond a limited delivery pilot and aggressively test food delivery in carefully selected markets. The goal is not to replace the dining room—it is to capture incremental occasions that consumers are already giving to someone else.

Recent reports indicate the company has quietly begun a micro-test of first-party delivery in several markets after years of resisting the category. That is an important strategic shift because Texas Roadhouse's own to-go business continues to grow faster than dine-in, reaching approximately 14.6% of weekly restaurant sales, while the company has invested in digital kitchen technology specifically designed to support off-premise business.

History Leaves Clues

Restaurant executives have historically resisted almost every major convenience innovation.

Many argued consumers would never embrace:

· Drive-thru ordering

· Online ordering

· Mobile payment

· Curbside pickup

· Third-party delivery

Consumers proved them wrong every time.

Convenience is not replacing restaurants—it is expanding occasions.

The restaurant business has never simply been about food. It has always been about solving the consumer's problem of "What's for dinner?"

Today's consumer simply expects that solution to arrive wherever they happen to be.

Olive Garden Changed Its Mind

Perhaps the best comparison is Olive Garden.

For years, Darden executives argued delivery would compromise food quality and damage the guest experience. Those concerns were legitimate.

Then they found a better operating model.

After partnering with Uber Direct while maintaining control of customer relationships, Olive Garden's off-premise business accelerated dramatically. Delivery now represents a growing portion of sales, while delivery checks average higher than curbside orders and total off-premise sales have increased nearly 20% year over year.

The lesson?

Delivery did not cannibalize the dining room.

It created incremental demand.

Chili's Rediscovered Growth

Chili's represents another important case study.

Rather than viewing delivery as merely another transaction, Chili's integrated digital ordering, value bundles, marketing, and off-premise convenience into a broader consumer strategy.

The result has been renewed sales momentum and one of the strongest growth performances in casual dining over the past year. Industry rankings show Chili's among the fastest-growing major casual dining brands in 2024.

Consumers rewarded convenience.

Outback Steakhouse Shows the Value of Off-Premise

Outback Steakhouse also demonstrates that steak travels better than many executives once believed.

The chain invested heavily in improved packaging, digital ordering, curbside pickup, and delivery partnerships years ago.

While execution has varied over time, Outback proved that premium steak dinners can successfully become an off-premise occasion when restaurants control food quality, packaging, and timing.

Consumers increasingly purchase steak dinners for family gatherings, sports viewing, celebrations, and weeknight meals at home.

Texas Roadhouse already produces food consumers want to enjoy in those same settings.

Carrabba's Demonstrates Operational Excellence

Carrabba's Italian Grill has quietly become one of the industry's strongest off-premise operators.

According to Bloomin' Brands' investor presentations, off-premise now accounts for roughly 22% of revenue, with annual off-premise sales approaching $2.7 million per restaurant. Investments in packaging, online ordering, delivery, and operational execution have helped create one of the highest off-premise sales volumes in casual dining.

Those numbers demonstrate that convenience is no longer an add-on—it is a core business channel.

Why Some Industry Leaders Are Missing the Point

Much of the legacy restaurant media continues asking the wrong question:

"Will delivery hurt the dining room?"

Consumers aren't asking that question.

They are asking:

"Can I enjoy Texas Roadhouse tonight without leaving home?"

Those are entirely different questions.

Too many restaurant executives continue managing restaurants through an operational lens instead of a consumer lens.

Consumers don't organize their lives around restaurant operating models.

They organize them around convenience.

Parents with children.

Working couples.

Busy professionals.

Older adults.

Sports fans watching the game.

Families hosting birthdays.

None of them wake up hoping to drive across town if a great dinner can arrive hot, fresh, and on time.

Texas Roadhouse Already Has the Foundation

Texas Roadhouse has already invested in many of the capabilities necessary for successful delivery.

Its Digital Kitchen initiative was specifically designed to improve off-premise execution.

Its to-go business continues to produce more than $25,000 per week per restaurant in many locations.

Its menu travels surprisingly well:

· Hand-cut steaks

· Chicken dinners

· Ribs

· Burgers

· Family meals

· Salads

· Fresh sides

Those are exactly the types of meals consumers increasingly order for family occasions.

The next logical step is measured expansion through controlled delivery testing—not a nationwide rollout, but disciplined market-by-market learning.

The Opportunity Isn't Delivery

The opportunity is additional dinner occasions.

Delivery should never replace the Texas Roadhouse dining experience.

The lively atmosphere, line dancing, fresh bread, and friendly hospitality remain powerful competitive advantages.

But there are millions of dinner occasions where consumers simply are not coming to the restaurant.

Today they often order from someone else.

Tomorrow they could order Texas Roadhouse.

That is incremental business.

Not replacement business.

History consistently rewards restaurant companies that align with changing consumer behavior rather than resist it.

The consumer has already embraced convenience.

Texas Roadhouse simply has the opportunity to meet consumers where they already are.

Three Insights from the Grocerant Guru®

1. Convenience Is a Competitive Advantage

Consumers increasingly choose restaurants based on accessibility as much as food quality. Great food that isn't available for the occasion loses to very good food that is.

2. Delivery Should Expand Occasions, Not Replace Dining Rooms

The winning strategy is not maximizing delivery volume. It is capturing incremental dinner, family meal, game-day, and celebration occasions that currently go to competitors.

3. The Future Belongs to Consumer-Centric Brands

The restaurant industry's biggest mistake is assuming consumers should adapt to restaurant operations. The most successful brands continually adapt operations to fit evolving consumer lifestyles. Texas Roadhouse has built its success by listening to guests. Testing delivery is simply the next chapter in that consumer-first strategy.

Drive Sales. Boost Profits. Stay a Step Ahead.

The Foodservice Solutions® team is dedicated to helping you grow your top-line sales and bottom-line profits.

Are you looking a customer ahead? We have the strategies to get you there.

Visit GrocerantGuru.com Contact us: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us

Halloween Has Become America's Biggest Takeout Night: Why Restaurants, Grocery Delis, and C-Stores Are Winning the Share-of-Stomach Battle

2026-07-27T00:27:00.000-07:00

Halloween is no longer just about candy according to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®, it has become one of the biggest foodservice occasions of the year. While candy captures the headlines, dinner captures the dollars.

Parents are busy dressing children in costumes. Neighborhoods fill with trick-or-treaters. Nobody wants to spend an hour preparing dinner or cleaning the kitchen. That reality has transformed Halloween into one of the strongest nights of the year for takeout, delivery, prepared foods, pizza, chicken, sandwiches, grab-and-go meals, and family meal bundles.

For restaurants, convenience stores, and grocery deli departments, Halloween has quietly evolved into a "share of stomach" holiday where convenience consistently beats cooking.

Mars' newly released 2026 Tricks, Treats & Trends Report simply reinforces what food marketers have been watching unfold for years—Halloween has become a season rather than an event.

Halloween Starts in Summer—But Dinner Owns October 31

According to Mars' 2026 research:

· 57% of Americans now view Halloween as an entire season.

· Nearly 60% of Gen Z already participates in or recognizes "Summerween."

· 76% of Gen Z wishes Halloween candy were available year-round.

· 75% believe sharing candy builds community.

· 71% believe the candy they give out reflects who they are.

· Three out of four Americans say candy is an everyday indulgence.

· 71% seek texture-driven treats.

· Nearly 60% actively seek bold or "extreme" flavors.

Those numbers explain candy sales.

They do not explain what happens between 4:30 PM and 7:30 PM on Halloween.

That's where the real foodservice opportunity begins.

Parents Don't Want to Cook

Circana's consumer meal research has consistently shown that more than 80% of evening meals originate from home, but "from home" increasingly includes food that was prepared somewhere else.

That distinction is critical.

Consumers are bringing restaurant meals home.

They're bringing grocery prepared meals home.

They're bringing convenience store pizza home.

They're bringing fried chicken home.

Halloween simply accelerates an existing consumer habit.

Instead of preparing dinner, families increasingly purchase dinner already prepared because time—not price—is today's scarcest commodity.

Halloween creates the perfect storm:

· School activities

· Costume preparation

· Neighborhood events

· Early trick-or-treating

· Community gatherings

· Parents walking children

Cooking becomes the last thing anyone wants to do.

Delivery Rules Halloween

Pizza remains one of Halloween's biggest winners for a reason.

It feeds groups.

It travels well.

Kids love it.

Parents don't need plates.

Cleanup is almost nonexistent.

But pizza is no longer alone.

Today's Halloween winners include:

Restaurants

· Family meal bundles

· Fried chicken buckets

· Wing packs

· Sandwich platters

· Taco family packs

· BBQ meal bundles

· Pasta carryout

· Kids meal combinations

· Loaded fries

· Dessert add-ons

Major chains have increasingly leaned into digital ordering, curbside pickup, loyalty rewards, and scheduled delivery—all perfectly aligned with Halloween demand.

Grocery Delis Have Become Halloween Headquarters

The grocery deli has quietly become one of Halloween's strongest competitors.

Prepared foods now compete directly with restaurants.

Winning offers include:

· Eight-piece fried chicken dinners

· Rotisserie chicken meal bundles

· Fresh deli pizzas

· Heat-and-eat lasagna

· Family-size macaroni and cheese

· Mashed potatoes

· Fresh salads

· Party trays

· Slider sandwiches

· Cookie decorating kits

· Halloween cupcakes

· Seasonal bakery desserts

Consumers can complete their entire Halloween shopping trip under one roof:

· Candy

· Decorations

· Beverages

· Prepared dinner

· Dessert

· Snacks

· Ice cream

That's operational efficiency consumers value.

C-Stores Continue Their Foodservice Evolution

Convenience stores have become legitimate prepared-food competitors.

Leading operators now offer:

· Fresh pizza

· Chicken tenders

· Breakfast-for-dinner

· Roller grill favorites

· Fresh sandwiches

· Meal deals

· Fountain drink bundles

· Frozen beverages

· Bakery treats

· Fresh cookies

· Grab-and-go snacks

Chains like 7-Eleven, Casey's, Wawa, QuikTrip, Sheetz, RaceTrac and others have spent years upgrading kitchens, improving fresh food quality, investing in digital ordering and expanding delivery partnerships.

Halloween rewards those investments.

The Data Supports the Shift

Foodservice trends throughout 2025 and 2026 continue pointing toward greater convenience consumption.

Among the biggest trends:

· Off-premise dining continues accounting for a growing share of restaurant transactions.

· Digital ordering remains elevated versus pre-pandemic levels.

· Family meal bundles continue outperforming many traditional dinner promotions.

· Consumers increasingly combine grocery shopping with prepared meal purchases.

· Convenience stores continue expanding fresh prepared food offerings to compete directly with quick-service restaurants.

· Limited-time offers tied to seasonal occasions continue outperforming generic promotions.

· Value remains important, but convenience increasingly drives purchase decisions when families face time constraints.

Halloween checks every one of those boxes.

Social Media Creates Demand—Prepared Food Captures It

Mars found that 53% of Gen Z discovers Halloween trends on TikTok, followed by YouTube and Instagram.

That's significant.

Consumers may discover candy online.

They discover decorating ideas online.

Costume ideas online.

Party ideas online.

Yet dinner decisions are often made just hours before families leave the house.

That's why operators showcasing Halloween meal bundles, spooky desserts, ghost-shaped cookies, orange-and-black bakery items, pumpkin beverages and themed snack boxes across social media often generate incremental same-day sales.

Discovery is digital.

Dinner is local.

The Next Halloween Menu Winners

Operators looking to build Halloween traffic should think beyond candy.

Winning ideas include:

Restaurants

· Monster Meal Bundles

· Family Taco Packs

· Pizza & Wing Bundles

· Trick-or-Treat Kids Meals

· Halloween Dessert Combos

· Pumpkin Cheesecake

· Caramel Apple Milkshakes

Grocery Delis

· Rotisserie Chicken Family Meals

· Harvest Mac & Cheese

· Halloween Party Platters

· Heat-and-Eat Comfort Meals

· Grab-and-Go Charcuterie Boxes

· Pumpkin Cookies

· Apple Crisp

· Seasonal Soups

· Fresh Bread Bundles

Convenience Stores

· Pizza Meal Deals

· Chicken Tender Boxes

· Walking Tacos

· Fresh Sandwich Combos

· Loaded Nachos

· Specialty Hot Chocolate

· Candy Pairing Bundles

· Energy Drink Promotions

· Fresh Bakery Treats

Consumers don't simply want dinner.

They want dinner solved.

The Grocerant Guru® Says...

Halloween has evolved into one of America's largest convenience-driven food occasions. Candy may attract shoppers, but prepared meals generate repeat visits, larger baskets, and higher profitability. The operators that win Halloween understand that they are not competing for candy dollars—they are competing for dinner dollars.

Those who combine digital marketing, seasonal menu innovation, meal bundling, delivery, and frictionless pickup will continue taking market share from operators still thinking Halloween is simply a candy holiday.

Two Insights from the Grocerant Guru®

1. Halloween Has Become a Meal Occasion, Not Just a Candy Occasion

Consumers increasingly purchase candy and dinner during the same shopping trip. Operators who merchandise fresh prepared meals alongside seasonal treats, beverages, desserts, and snacks create larger baskets while solving consumers' biggest Halloween problem—time.

2. Delivery, Meal Bundling, and Cross-Channel Retailing Will Define Halloween's Future

Restaurants, grocery delis, and convenience stores that package complete Halloween experiences—family dinners, party platters, desserts, beverages, and snacks available for pickup or delivery—will continue capturing a larger share of stomach. Halloween is no longer a one-night event; it is a seasonal merchandising opportunity that rewards operators who think beyond candy and market complete meal solutions.

Success Leaves Clues—Are You Ready to Find Yours?

Want to strengthen your brand’s connection with today’s consumers? Let’s talk. Call 253-759-7869 for more information.

Domino's Next Big Delivery: Winning More Than Pizza by Owning Dinner, Snacking, Bundling and Catering

2026-07-26T00:26:00.000-07:00

For more than 65 years, Domino's has built one of the world's most efficient restaurant delivery systems according to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®. Today, it delivers more than pizza—it delivers convenience, reliability, speed, and consistency. Yet the next stage of growth won't be driven simply by another pizza innovation. It will be driven by owning more eating occasions.

CEO Russell Weiner is absolutely right about one thing: orders matter more than almost any other metric. More orders mean more loyalty members, stronger franchise economics, better supply chain utilization, and greater advertising efficiency. Domino's has more than doubled systemwide order counts since 2008, and that momentum has translated into substantial market share gains.

However, consumers are changing faster than the pizza category.

The future isn't about selling another premium pizza. It's about selling another meal occasion.

The Battle Isn't Pizza. It's Share of Stomach.

Today's consumer doesn't think,

"I'm buying pizza tonight."

They think,

"What am I eating tonight?"

That distinction changes everything.

According to Circana, roughly 81% of evening meals are now sourced from home, whether cooked, assembled, picked up, or delivered. Meanwhile, the National Restaurant Association continues to report that convenience, value, portability and digital ordering remain among consumers' top purchasing drivers. Technomic research also shows consumers increasingly blend grocery prepared foods, restaurant takeout, convenience store meals and delivery within the same week.

That means Domino's isn't simply competing against Pizza Hut, Papa Johns or the neighborhood pizzeria.

It's competing against:

· Grocery deli meal bundles

· Costco take-home dinners

· Publix and H-E-B prepared meals

· Wawa and Sheetz dinner offerings

· Buc-ee's hot prepared foods

· Chick-fil-A Family Meals

· Panera Family Feasts

· Chipotle Lifestyle Bowls

· Every supermarket rotisserie chicken

The competitive battlefield has become much larger.

Domino's Greatest Competitive Advantage Already Exists

Domino's doesn't need another identity.

It already owns something extraordinarily valuable.

It delivers hot, freshly prepared food faster and more consistently than almost anyone in foodservice.

Consumers trust the experience.

They know the app.

They know the delivery.

They know the quality.

Few restaurant brands possess that level of operational consistency at scale.

The opportunity is expanding what consumers place into that delivery bag.

Dinner Should Become a Complete Meal Solution

Families increasingly purchase complete meals instead of individual menu items.

That changes menu architecture.

Rather than leading with pizza, Domino's should increasingly merchandise complete dinner solutions.

Imagine meal bundles that include:

· Pizza

· Fresh salad

· Bread twists

· Chicken

· Dessert

· Beverage

One click.

One delivery.

One family meal.

Consumers increasingly value simplicity over customization.

The easier dinner becomes, the more frequently they buy.

Snacking Is Becoming the Fourth Meal

One of the biggest shifts in foodservice over the past decade has been the rise of snack occasions.

Consumers now eat throughout the day rather than around three fixed meals.

That creates incremental sales opportunities.

Late-night snack bundles.

Game-day snack packs.

After-school snack boxes.

Streaming-night bundles.

Instead of asking,

"Who wants pizza?"

Domino's should increasingly ask,

"Who's hungry right now?"

Different question.

Different order occasion.

More orders.

Catering May Be Domino's Most Underdeveloped Opportunity

Pizza has always played well in group occasions.

Schools.

Offices.

Churches.

Youth sports.

Fundraisers.

Birthday parties.

Yet catering remains relatively underdeveloped compared with brands like Panera, Jason's Deli and Chick-fil-A.

Businesses increasingly want:

· Individually packaged meals

· Meeting bundles

· Lunch catering

· Training events

· Corporate celebrations

Domino's already owns the logistics.

The next step is owning the catering conversation.

Fresh salads.

Dessert trays.

Chicken platters.

Bread assortments.

Party bundles.

Office lunch solutions.

The delivery infrastructure is already built.

Now monetize it.

Meal Bundling Wins During Inflation

Consumers continue searching for value.

Value no longer means cheap.

Value means:

· Less planning

· Less driving

· Less cooking

· Less cleanup

· More convenience

Successful brands increasingly bundle products together because bundled meals reduce decision fatigue while increasing average check.

Consumers like certainty.

Families especially appreciate knowing dinner is handled.

Domino's Has Already Proven It Understands Consumer Behavior

History shows Domino's succeeds when it solves consumer problems—not when it simply launches products.

The Pizza Tracker

Customers wanted certainty.

Domino's delivered transparency.

The Tracker became an industry-changing innovation.

Digital Ordering

Long before competitors caught up, Domino's invested heavily in digital ordering, creating one of the restaurant industry's best-performing mobile ecosystems.

Today, digital orders account for the overwhelming majority of Domino's business.

Carryout Transformation

Recognizing inflation and consumer value perceptions, Domino's successfully repositioned carryout through aggressive pricing and promotions, helping grow transactions without sacrificing convenience.

Third-Party Delivery

After years of relying exclusively on its own delivery network, Domino's wisely partnered with third-party platforms to capture incremental customers while protecting its core delivery business.

That flexibility reflects consumer-first thinking.

History Also Offers Lessons

Not every innovation succeeds.

The company's executives acknowledged that the Premium Series and Slice Sauce launch failed to resonate sufficiently with consumers.

That illustrates an important truth.

Consumers rarely purchase innovation for innovation's sake.

They purchase solutions.

The highly successful Parmesan Stuffed Crust gained traction because consumers immediately understood the value proposition.

The messaging was simple.

The experience was familiar.

The benefit was obvious.

Complexity rarely outperforms clarity.

The Next Competitive Frontier Is Fresh Prepared Food

Domino's should continue elevating its position beyond pizza.

Consumers increasingly seek fresh prepared food delivered hot.

The brand already offers chicken, sandwiches, salads, desserts and pasta.

Now imagine further investments in:

· Premium seasonal salads

· Family pasta meals

· Better-for-you dinner bundles

· Rotating limited-time meal packages

· Sports viewing bundles

· Holiday entertaining packages

Each expands eating occasions without abandoning pizza leadership.

The objective isn't becoming another fast-casual restaurant.

It's becoming the easiest answer to the nightly question:

"What's for dinner?"

Scale Still Wins

CEO Russell Weiner is also correct about another point.

Scale matters.

Advertising efficiency matters.

Supply chain scale matters.

Technology matters.

Delivery density matters.

Franchise profitability matters.

Yet the greatest advantage scale creates is something often overlooked.

It allows Domino's to introduce new eating occasions faster than almost anyone in the restaurant industry.

That's where the next decade of growth may emerge.

Not from selling more pizza.

But from selling more dinner.

More snacks.

More family meals.

More celebrations.

More catering.

More reasons to order.

Because every additional eating occasion becomes another opportunity to win a larger share of the consumer's stomach.

Three Grocerant Guru® Insights

1. Think Beyond Pizza. The future belongs to brands that own eating occasions, not menu categories. Domino's should compete to become America's easiest dinner, snack and catering solution—not simply its favorite pizza delivery company.

2. Bundle for Growth. Family meal bundles, game-day packs, office catering and late-night snack combinations increase average ticket, improve perceived value and encourage repeat visits while simplifying consumers' meal decisions.

3. Fresh Prepared Food Delivered Hot Is the Competitive Advantage. Domino's has already built one of the world's best delivery ecosystems. By expanding high-quality fresh prepared meal solutions around that network, the company can capture incremental occasions, deepen customer loyalty and continue gaining share of stomach well beyond the traditional pizza category.

Stay Ahead of the Competition with Fresh Ideas

Is your food marketing keeping up with tomorrow’s trends—or stuck in yesterday’s playbook? If you're ready for fresh ideations that set your brand apart, we’re here to help.

At Foodservice Solutions®, we specialize in consumer-driven retail food strategies that enhance convenience, differentiation, and individualization—key factors in driving growth.

Email us at Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us Connect with us on social media: Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter

The $5 Escape: Why Inflation Is Fueling America's "Little Treat Economy"

2026-07-25T00:25:00.000-07:00

For years, economists have searched for ways to explain consumer behavior during periods of inflation. The food industry, however, has been watching a different trend unfold in real time. Consumers aren't giving up indulgence—they're redefining it according to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

The newest research from Method1 confirms what retailers, restaurants, c-stores, and grocers have quietly been capitalizing on: Americans are embracing the "little treat economy." Nearly half (45%) of consumers say they are more permissive about indulging than they were a year ago, despite persistent inflation. More importantly, indulgence has shifted from being an occasional luxury to becoming an everyday emotional necessity.

That should surprise no one.

When consumers can no longer justify spending $300 on a weekend getaway or $150 on a family dinner out, they substitute with affordable moments of happiness—a premium brownie from the grocery deli, a loaded breakfast burrito from a convenience store, a gourmet cookie after work, or a frozen coffee topped with whipped cream.

These aren't impulse purchases anymore.

They're emotional investments.

Inflation Has Changed What "Affordable" Means

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, food-away-from-home prices increased approximately 4.1% during 2024, while grocery prices remained comparatively moderate before accelerating again through parts of 2025 and 2026. Consumers continue to experience higher prices across proteins, dairy, prepared foods, beverages, and snacks.

Yet Circana's consumer tracking consistently shows Americans continue eating approximately 4.9 to 5.0 times per day, although where they source those eating occasions continues to evolve. Consumers are increasingly replacing expensive restaurant occasions with smaller, value-oriented food experiences purchased throughout the day.

Rather than eliminating indulgence, inflation has simply resized it.

Instead of buying a $35 steak dinner, consumers reward themselves with a $4 gourmet cookie.

Instead of ordering cocktails after work, they purchase a handcrafted cold brew or premium energy drink.

Instead of taking the family to casual dining twice a month, they mix and match prepared foods from the supermarket deli and add a premium dessert.

Consumers are still rewarding themselves.

They're simply spending differently.

The Deli Has Quietly Become America's Affordable Restaurant

Few departments have benefited more from this behavioral shift than supermarket prepared foods.

The modern grocery deli now competes directly against quick-service restaurants by offering chef-inspired sandwiches, fresh sushi, rotisserie chicken meals, premium soups, meal bundles, artisan desserts, and grab-and-go entrees.

According to FMI research, prepared foods remain among the fastest-growing perimeter departments because they satisfy consumers seeking convenience, freshness, and restaurant-quality meals at a lower price point.

Today's shopper might purchase:

· Fresh sliced prime roast beef sandwich

· Premium macaroni and cheese

· Individual cheesecake

· Specialty sparkling beverage

The entire meal often costs less than a comparable fast-casual restaurant visit while delivering a premium experience.

That's value through indulgence.

Convenience Stores Have Reinvented Comfort Food

Perhaps no channel has transformed itself more dramatically than convenience stores.

Chains like 7-Eleven, Casey's, Wawa, QuikTrip, RaceTrac, Buc-ee's, and Sheetz have invested heavily in made-to-order kitchens, specialty beverages, bakery items, pizza, roller grills, chicken programs, breakfast sandwiches, and limited-time offerings.

Foodservice now represents one of the fastest-growing profit centers inside many convenience chains.

Consumers increasingly visit c-stores not simply for gasoline but for:

· Fresh bakery treats

· Gourmet coffee beverages

· Handcrafted fountain drinks

· Breakfast burritos

· Crispy chicken sandwiches

· Fresh pizza

· Premium desserts

The average ticket grows because consumers willingly add one affordable indulgence to a practical shopping trip.

That cookie.

That milkshake.

That extra topping.

Those incremental purchases are driving profitable growth.

Fast Food Has Shifted from Cheap Meals to Smart Rewards

Quick-service restaurants understand that today's customer isn't necessarily seeking the lowest price.

They're seeking permission to indulge without guilt.

McDonald's continues expanding specialty beverages and McFlurry promotions.

Taco Bell builds excitement around limited-time innovation.

Wendy's Frosty remains one of America's most affordable desserts.

Chick-fil-A leverages seasonal milkshakes and premium lemonade offerings.

Raising Cane's has built enormous loyalty around craveable chicken fingers paired with signature sauce.

These products aren't necessities.

They're emotional rewards.

Technomic research consistently shows consumers remain highly interested in menu innovation, premium limited-time offers, and unique flavors even while carefully managing household budgets.

Consumers may skip an entrée upgrade.

They rarely skip dessert.

Fast Casual Continues Selling Affordable Premium Experiences

Fast-casual brands occupy perhaps the sweetest spot in today's inflationary economy.

Consumers willingly spend slightly more when they perceive better ingredients, customization, freshness, and quality.

Brands including Chipotle, CAVA, Sweetgreen, Jersey Mike's, and Panera continue attracting customers seeking restaurant-quality meals without traditional casual-dining prices.

Customization itself has become an indulgence.

Extra avocado.

Premium protein.

Double queso.

Special sauces.

Consumers increasingly define indulgence not by extravagance but by personalization.

If it feels special, it feels worthwhile.

"Earned Indulgence" Is Becoming Food Marketing's Most Powerful Message

Method1's research found only 4% of consumers consider guilt-free indulgence important.

However, 51% say the indulgence must feel earned.

That finding may be the most important marketing insight of 2026.

Consumers don't want permission.

They want justification.

"I worked hard today."

"I skipped breakfast."

"We saved money cooking all week."

"It's Friday."

Every one of those statements creates permission for a premium cookie, frozen beverage, bakery dessert, or specialty coffee.

The emotional narrative matters more than the calorie count.

The Grocerant Opportunity Has Never Been Greater

The Grocerant Guru® has long maintained that consumers don't simply buy food.

They buy solutions for specific eating occasions.

Today's inflationary environment has expanded those occasions.

Retailers capable of offering premium yet affordable indulgences throughout the day are winning incremental trips, larger baskets, and stronger customer loyalty.

Whether it's a fresh bakery cookie, sushi roll, loaded breakfast sandwich, gourmet brownie, premium lemonade, frozen beverage, or chef-inspired meal bundle, consumers continue rewarding themselves one affordable pleasure at a time.

Inflation hasn't eliminated indulgence.

It has democratized it.

Consumers may postpone buying a new television or taking a vacation.

But they'll almost always find room in the budget for a $5 moment of happiness.

That is the new economics of food retailing.

Three Insights from the Grocerant Guru®

1. The New Value Equation Is Emotional, Not Mathematical

Consumers no longer define value simply by price. They define value by how much emotional satisfaction they receive for every dollar spent. The brands winning today deliver affordable moments of joy—not just inexpensive meals.

2. Small Indulgences Drive Big Profits

Premium desserts, specialty beverages, bakery items, upgraded toppings, and grab-and-go treats often generate significantly higher gross margins than center-of-the-plate entrées. The smartest retailers are engineering menus around profitable add-on indulgences that consumers happily justify.

3. The Future Belongs to "Everyday Premium"

Consumers aren't abandoning premium food experiences—they're shrinking them into affordable daily rituals. Grocery delis, convenience stores, fast-food chains, and fast-casual restaurants that consistently deliver restaurant-quality products at accessible prices will continue capturing a larger share of America's eating occasions and, ultimately, a larger share of stomach.

Stay Ahead of the Competition with Fresh Ideas

Is your food marketing keeping up with tomorrow’s trends—or stuck in yesterday’s playbook? If you're ready for fresh ideations that set your brand apart, we’re here to help.

At Foodservice Solutions®, we specialize in consumer-driven retail food strategies that enhance convenience, differentiation, and individualization—key factors in driving growth.

Email us at Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us Connect with us on social media: Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter

Why 7-Eleven Understands Summer Marketing Better Than Many Restaurant Chains

2026-07-24T00:24:00.000-07:00

While many restaurant brands continue to chase customers with another limited-time sandwich or discounted combo meal, 7-Eleven is reminding the food industry that successful marketing isn't always about the food—it's about creating reasons to visit.

Its latest partnership with Mattel's iconic Hot Wheels brand is another example of experiential retailing done right.

For the second consecutive year, 7-Eleven has introduced an exclusive Hot Wheels collectible, this time featuring the legendary 2017 Nissan GT-R (R35) wrapped in the company's unmistakable green, orange, and red branding. Available while supplies last at participating 7-Eleven, Speedway, and Stripes locations—as well as through the retailer's online merchandise store—the promotion is much more than a toy launch.

It's a master class in traffic generation.

Summer Has Always Been About Cars…and Convenience

Americans have long associated summer with road trips, family vacations, weekend cruising, and filling up both the gas tank and the cooler.

That behavioral pattern hasn't changed.

What has changed is how retailers capitalize on it.

Rather than simply promoting cold beverages and hot roller-grill foods, 7-Eleven has layered nostalgia, collectability, social media, and impulse purchasing into one integrated marketing event.

That's smart retailing.

Parents stop for fuel.

Kids want a Slurpee®.

Collectors want the limited-edition Hot Wheels car.

Everyone walks into the store.

The result is incremental traffic without discounting core food offerings.

Hot Wheels Continues to Be One of America's Hottest Brands

Mattel's Hot Wheels franchise remains one of the strongest toy properties in the world.

The brand sells well over 500 million die-cast vehicles annually, making it one of the best-selling toys of all time. Industry analysts also note that adult collectors now represent one of the fastest-growing segments of the collectibles market, fueled by nostalgia, online communities, resale activity, and social media content.

That means this promotion isn't just targeting children.

It appeals simultaneously to:

· Parents looking for an inexpensive reward

· Kids who love toy cars

· Adult collectors searching for exclusive releases

· Automotive enthusiasts who recognize the legendary Nissan GT-R

· Social media users eager to share limited-edition finds

Very few restaurant promotions create that many emotional entry points.

Success Leaves Clues

One of the oldest lessons in marketing is simple:

Success leaves clues.

The smartest marketers don't invent consumer behavior.

They recognize it early and amplify it.

7-Eleven understands that consumers increasingly purchase experiences—not simply products.

The exclusive Hot Wheels collaboration creates urgency because supplies are limited.

It creates excitement because it cannot be purchased everywhere.

It creates conversation because collectors share discoveries online.

Most importantly...

It creates another reason to stop at 7-Eleven today instead of tomorrow.

That's marketing leverage.

Merchandising Supports Food Sales

Every additional customer entering a convenience store dramatically increases the opportunity for incremental purchases.

A customer arriving for a collectible frequently leaves with:

· Fresh coffee

· Cold beverages

· Pizza slices

· Roller grill favorites

· Packaged snacks

· Candy

· Ice cream

· Fresh prepared foods

Convenience retail has evolved far beyond gasoline.

Today's leading convenience operators increasingly compete directly against quick-service restaurants, grocery stores, and even dollar stores for immediate meal occasions.

Impulse traffic fuels impulse food purchases.

The Hot Wheels promotion helps generate exactly that.

Parents See Value Beyond the Toy

At roughly the cost of a fast-food dessert, a collectible Hot Wheels vehicle creates an affordable family moment.

Parents receive an inexpensive reward item.

Children receive something tangible they can play with.

Collectors receive an exclusive piece unavailable through traditional retail channels.

Everyone associates the experience with the 7-Eleven brand.

That emotional connection is difficult to replicate with another value meal advertisement.

The Food Industry Should Be Paying Attention

Many legacy restaurant chains continue to rely on coupons, limited-time menu items, celebrity endorsements, and price promotions to drive traffic.

Meanwhile, 7-Eleven is creating destination retail experiences that blend merchandising, nostalgia, entertainment, and foodservice.

The company understands that consumers don't always need another reason to eat.

Sometimes they simply need another reason to stop.

Once inside...

Food does the rest.

Four Insights from the Grocerant Guru®

1. Marketing That Creates Traffic Beats Marketing That Discounts Food

Limited-edition collectibles generate excitement without eroding margins. Every store visit becomes an opportunity to sell beverages, prepared foods, snacks, and meal bundles at full price rather than relying on coupons or deep discounts.

2. The Best Food Marketing Often Isn't About Food

Parents, children, collectors, and automotive enthusiasts all enter the same store for different reasons. That's audience expansion—a strategy many legacy restaurant chains continue to overlook by marketing almost exclusively around menu items.

3. Seasonality Matters—And 7-Eleven Understands It

Summer has always been synonymous with cars, road trips, gasoline, cold drinks, and convenience. Pairing one of America's most recognizable convenience brands with one of the world's most recognizable toy car brands isn't coincidence—it's strategically aligned with seasonal consumer behavior.

4. Legacy Restaurant Chains Should Study This Playbook

While many restaurant brands continue competing on price, 7-Eleven is competing on excitement, scarcity, collectability, and experience. That's why the company increasingly punches above its weight in foodservice. The lesson is clear: retailers that combine merchandising, entertainment, and fresh food create more reasons to visit—and more opportunities to win a greater share of stomach.

Are you trapped doing what you have always done and doing it the same way? Interested in learning how www.FoodserviceSolutions.us can edify your retail food brand while creating a platform for consumer convenient meal participation, differentiation and individualization? Email us at: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us or visit: www.FoodserviceSolutions.us for more information.

McDonald's Bets on Salads Again—But History Says It Won't Move the Needle

2026-07-23T00:23:00.000-07:00

Why Bringing Back Salads Won't Reverse Slowing Sales, Lower Food Costs, or Win New Customers

By Steven Johnson, The Grocerant Guru® | Foodservice Solutions® | Tacoma, Washington

When a company's stock price comes under pressure, investors begin looking for signals that management has a strategy to reignite growth. Unfortunately, bringing back a discontinued menu item rarely qualifies as a transformational growth strategy.

That is precisely why McDonald's renewed interest in salads deserves a closer look.

History tells us that salads have never been a meaningful traffic driver for McDonald's. More importantly, today's consumer is making food purchasing decisions very differently than when McDonald's first entered the salad business more than four decades ago.

From the perspective of the Grocerant Guru®, the return of salads is unlikely to materially improve top-line sales, lower food costs, increase restaurant profitability, or drive meaningful customer migration from competing restaurants.

The challenge isn't the product.

The challenge is the consumer.

The Numbers Behind Today's Consumer

Today's food consumer has fundamentally changed how dinner is sourced.

According to Circana's Future of Dinner research, 81% of all evening meals are sourced from home, whether cooked from scratch or assembled using Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat foods purchased from grocery stores, warehouse clubs, convenience stores, or restaurants. Even more revealing, approximately one-half of all dinners are prepared in 15 minutes or less, demonstrating that convenience—not cooking—is driving meal decisions.

The National Restaurant Association reports that consumers continue to rank value, convenience, speed, portability, and digital ordering among the primary reasons for selecting where to purchase meals. At the same time, USDA data continues to show that food-away-from-home prices have generally increased faster than food-at-home prices over the past several years, encouraging consumers to stretch food budgets by combining restaurant purchases with grocery store meal components.

The result is a dramatically expanded competitive landscape.

McDonald's is no longer competing simply against Burger King or Wendy's.

Today's competitors include:

· Grocery store prepared foods departments

· Costco's ready-to-eat meal offerings

· Convenience stores such as Circle K, Casey's, QuikTrip, and Wawa

· Dollar stores expanding refrigerated and frozen foods

· Club stores

· Meal-kit providers

· Fast-casual restaurant concepts

Consumers now build meals from multiple retail channels based on value, convenience, portability, and time—not brand loyalty alone.

That is the modern battle for share of stomach.

A Look Back: Fast Food's Long Love Affair with Salads

McDonald's has been trying to make salads a meaningful business category since the mid-1980s.

Over the years consumers have seen:

· Garden Salads

· Chef Salads

· Premium Salads

· McSalad Shakers

· Premium Southwest Salads

· Bacon Ranch Salads

· Caesar-inspired offerings

Each launch generated significant media attention.

None fundamentally changed the business.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, McDonald's simplified its menu, eliminating salads because they complicated operations while generating relatively modest sales. Even after operational conditions normalized, salads remained absent because customer demand never justified bringing them back as a core business platform.

McDonald's isn't alone.

Nearly every major quick-service chain has attempted to position salads as a growth category.

Burger King promoted Fresh Salads.

Jack in the Box expanded premium salads.

Carl's Jr. and Hardee's invested in healthier menu platforms.

Arby's experimented with Market Fresh offerings.

Dairy Queen tested entrée salads.

Even Chick-fil-A, whose Market Salad is among the most respected in quick service, derives the overwhelming majority of its sales from chicken sandwiches, nuggets, waffle fries, beverages, and meal bundles—not salads.

Wendy's arguably built the strongest salad reputation in traditional quick service. Yet despite award-winning salads, hamburgers, chicken sandwiches, breakfast, fries, Frostys, and combo meals continue to generate the vast majority of restaurant traffic.

History is remarkably consistent.

Consumers may appreciate salads.

They simply don't choose burger chains because of them.

The Economics Simply Don't Work

Salads also present one of the most operationally challenging menu categories in foodservice.

Unlike frozen French fries, beef patties, or chicken products that deliver long shelf life and predictable yields, salads depend on highly perishable ingredients.

Fresh lettuce.

Tomatoes.

Cucumbers.

Fresh vegetables.

Cheeses.

Grilled chicken.

Multiple dressings.

Every ingredient increases inventory complexity.

Every day unsold salads become waste.

Fresh produce requires strict temperature controls, shorter inventory cycles, additional labor, and greater food-safety monitoring.

Those factors increase:

· Food waste

· Labor expense

· Refrigeration requirements

· Inventory management complexity

· Supply chain variability

· Overall food cost volatility

Unless salad sales achieve exceptionally high volumes—which history suggests is unlikely—profit margins become increasingly difficult to maintain.

Simply stated, salads generally create more operational complexity than financial leverage.

Consumers Visit McDonald's for Permission to Indulge

Brands matter.

Consumers don't visit McDonald's because they suddenly want to become healthier.

They visit because McDonald's owns decades of emotional equity built around:

· World-famous French Fries

· Big Macs

· Quarter Pounders

· Chicken McNuggets

· Egg McMuffins

· Drive-thru convenience

· Affordable family meals

These products define the brand.

Consumers rarely wake up craving a McDonald's salad.

They crave fries.

Brand positioning shapes consumer expectations far more than menu expansion.

Adding salads doesn't redefine the brand.

It simply expands the menu.

The Battle Has Shifted from Restaurants to Retail Food

The competitive battlefield has fundamentally changed.

Today's consumer may purchase:

· Rotisserie chicken from Costco

· Salad kits from Aldi

· Dessert from Dairy Queen

· Fresh fruit from Walmart

· Beverages from Dollar General

—all for the same family dinner.

Restaurant loyalty has become meal loyalty.

Consumers increasingly optimize every food purchase based upon convenience, price, quality, portability, and time.

That means McDonald's isn't competing against salads.

It's competing against complete meal solutions.

Bundles Beat Bowls

Consumers increasingly purchase bundled meal solutions instead of individual menu items.

The industry's fastest-growing opportunities include:

· Family meal bundles

· Ready-2-Eat meals

· Heat-N-Eat meals

· Mix-and-match meal components

· Value meals

· Digital loyalty offers

· Drive-thru meal occasions

Those categories solve dinner.

A salad usually does not.

Salads frequently become an add-on purchase rather than the reason someone visits a restaurant.

Add-ons generate incremental revenue.

They rarely create incremental customer traffic.

That distinction matters.

What McDonald's Really Needs

The future isn't about becoming healthier.

The future is about becoming more relevant.

Winning brands will continue investing in:

· Digital personalization

· Faster drive-thru operations

· AI-enhanced ordering

· Value meal bundles

· Limited-time craveable products

· Portable meal solutions

· Menu innovation consumers can't easily duplicate at home

Those initiatives create customer migration.

History suggests salads do not.

Final Thought

McDonald's has earned one of the strongest brands in restaurant history by understanding exactly why consumers visit.

Bringing salads back may satisfy a small segment of existing customers, generate positive headlines, and create a temporary marketing story.

However, history strongly suggests it will not materially increase guest counts, improve food costs, redefine the brand, or reverse slowing sales momentum.

In today's marketplace, consumers are not searching for another fast-food salad.

They are searching for the easiest, fastest, highest-value solution for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

That battle is being fought every day across restaurants, grocery stores, convenience stores, warehouse clubs, and dollar stores.

And increasingly, the winners are those solving the entire meal occasion—not simply adding another menu item.

Three Insights from the Grocerant Guru®

1. Salads Don't Drive Customer Migration—Complete Meal Solutions Do.

Consumers don't switch restaurants because one chain introduces another salad. They migrate toward operators that consistently deliver superior value, convenience, speed, portability, and bundled meal solutions. The future belongs to brands that solve meal occasions rather than simply expanding menu categories.

2. Fresh Produce Adds Operational Complexity Faster Than Revenue.

Salads increase labor, inventory management, food safety requirements, refrigeration needs, and spoilage risk. Unless sales volumes become exceptionally high, the economics seldom outperform core menu categories like burgers, chicken, fries, and breakfast, which benefit from decades of operational optimization.

3. The Real Battle Is No Longer Restaurant vs. Restaurant.

The battle is for share of stomach. Grocery stores, convenience stores, warehouse clubs, dollar stores, and restaurants are all competing for the same meal occasions. The brands that will win over the next decade will be those offering compelling Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat meal bundles, frictionless digital ordering, portability, and exceptional value—not simply healthier menu additions.

Let’s Build a Partnership for Growth

Looking for the right partner to drive sales and amplify your marketing impact? Success leaves clues—and we may have the exact insight you need to propel your business forward.

Explore innovative food marketing and business development strategies with Foodservice Solutions®.