inStorebuyer - April 2012 - (Page 12)

foodserviceretail APPETIZING IDEAS FOR PREPARED FOODS Think Outside the Cube Most Americans have come to terms with the fact that the 40-hour work week is quickly becoming a thing of the past. And for many, the first to go is the lunch hour. That 60-minute reprieve from the daily grind has given way to lunch meetings and sandwiches consumed within the confines of a cubicle. supermarket, as 24% “always” and 64% “occasionally” use this service. In other words, the food might not necessarily change, but the way consumers purchase, prepare and eat it is experiencing a drastic shift. “A sandwich is still one of the most often-eaten foods, but today, they’re more likely to be ready-to-eat, frozen, or prepared out of the home, than made by a member of the household,” according to What’s in Store 2012 from the International Dairy-Deli-Bakery Association. Offer a time guarantee for your lunch orders. Customers will be more likely to grab a lunch item from you if they trust you can get them back to the office in a timely fashion. Consider dedicating an express checkout for carryout lunches. Tech savvy Hurried lunchtime consumers who are looking for convenience are also tech-savvy shoppers. Use this to your advantage with tools such as QR codes. Grab the dinner shoppers by giving them a chance to scan a QR code for a discounted lunch. Or have customers sign up for text alerts for can’t-miss lunch specials. “E-convenience,” a term coined in What’s in Store, refers to shoppers using technology and mobile devices to enhance convenience. Chipotle Mexican Grill has utilized online ordering to give customers the ultimate grab-and-go experience. Users can customize — and pay for — an order online for pickup at the location of their choice. Then when picking up, they can bypass the line (and registers) completely. As carryout for foodservice and retailers begin to blur the lines between the two, it’s time to take a cue from the online ordering / instore pickup playbook. And for mobile devices, What’s in Store reports that tech companies such The c-factor Sacrificing a lunch break doesn’t necessarily mean that workers are sacrificing the “lunch” — they’re only sacrificing the “break.” Employees are still going to eat a meal, be it in a conference room, a cubicle or the car. So convenience is of the utmost importance. In fact, according to the Food Marketing Institute’s Grocery Shopper Trends 2011, heat-and-eat or ready-to-eat foods were among the most important services in the Phantom lunch crowd So how can you cater to a lunch crowd who isn’t actually taking a lunch? For starters, make your grab-and-go the centerpiece to your foodservice operation. Remember, these are the hurried consumers who are also looking for meal solutions to dinner, which is a meal occasion that most families don’t have the option of skipping. Use this daypart to let your customers know their options for tomorrow’s — or the next day’s — lunch. In the grab-and-go section, utilize signage to indicate that you offer meal solutions not only for dinner, but also for lunch. Make grab-and-go a focal point in your instore deli. Have a carryout menu that shoppers can take with them; many offices keep a file of lunch menus in each department. | 12 | inStorebuyer | April 2012 |

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of inStorebuyer - April 2012

inStorebuyer - April 2012
The Fresh Factor
Contents
Front Line News
Dairy-Deli-Bake 2012 Preview
Food Service Retail
Baking & Decorating
Bakery Development
Deli Development
Ahead of the Digital Curve
Cornhusker Proud
Sprout Safety
Grains & Fibers - Health & Nutrition
Know Your Cheese - Cheese Corner
Product Trends
Product Trends
Product Showcase / Marketplace Network
Marketplace Network / Ad Index

inStorebuyer - April 2012