100 Million Dollars, 10 Competitors and 1 Drone: Reasons Not to Open a Restaurant
Steven Johnson
Grocerant Guru?, Identifying, quantifying, qualifying foodservice sales and profit success platforms. Speaker, Mentor, Food Industry Influencer
Love to cook, create, and have a burning desire to sell fresh prepared food? There just might be a better way to make money in the restaurant industry without opening a restaurant? Have you been wondering where the money is to open a new restaurant? Are you ready to sell fresh prepared food?
100 Million Dollars
Techcrunch recently reported that Caviar a new food delivery start-up is in talks to sell it-self to square for $100 Million Dollars. Simply put restaurant / foodservice start-up cash is migrating to technology start-up’s in a big way. Food customers today are Onmi-channel shoppers today.
Foodservice Solutions? Grocerant Guru? stated “Restaurant customer counts continue flat or down overall for the restaurant sector over the past four plus years. One big reason is technology. Legacy chain restaurants once leading customers with new forms / formats of service, food, and packaging have been reluctant to invest in or leverage technologies that are evolving with consumers.”
Inside the 4 Walls
Many legacy restaurant operators seemingly have a “inside the four walls” mindset coupled with brand protectionism polices more reminiscent of the 1980’s than 2014. Steven Johnson the Grocerant Guru? says that kind of thinking traps a brand in a quagmire or a footprint malaise that is unresponsive and simply not consumer relevant today.
Customer relevance today can be found at the intersection of Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food, mobile technology, and the 65 Inch HDTV Syndrome. Brand managers must look beyond the 4 walls, they must not practice brand protectionism. Brand managers that spend too much time looking back will end up with a brand selling to yesterday’s customers today not today’s customers tomorrow.
Non-Traditional Fresh Food Retailers Leverage Technology
Differentiation means familiar not different. Restaurants are under attack not only from technology start-ups but from Non-traditional fresh prepared food retailers eager to skim customers from the QSR sector who offerings seems more a reflection of the past than the present.
Success from non-traditional retailers the ilk of Wawa who has invested over $650 Million dollars in Florida to build-out a new market focusing on its legendary fresh prepared customized Hoggies. Then there is Sheetz a fast growing chain with its focus on quality Made-to-Order fresh food. RaceTrac is opening a model with even greater emphasis fresh food targeting the fast food sector.
There is a reason that 7-Eleven is the world’s largest food chain they are selling more and more fresh food, leverage technology with consumer relevance while garner attention with free food Give-A-Way’s. 7-Eleven is a very tough competitor. 7-Eleven has found technology that is relevant is not always easy. However Foodservice Solutions? team thinks they are doing lots of things right and will garner a much larger share of stomach.
Drone Food Delivery
Entrepreneurs are seeking fame and fortune targeting anyone who eats. That my friends is all of us. It’s a huge market. Phil Romano a serial entrepreneur and food merchant extraordinaire who brought us Fuddruckers, Eatzi’s and Potato Flats to name but a few of his concepts clearly was inspiration for many.
That brings us to Amazon. Entrepreneurs ask how can we do something better, faster and cheaper. There are few merchants better at that than Amazon. Amazon wants to start flying their drones, becoming fast flying true food delivery business reducing labor cost, saving time and more attention and customers than any restaurant company to-date. The Amazon service working name has been Amazon Spotlight while Foodservice Solutions? regularly blogs about Amazon fresh food we think no company can discount Amazon’s ability to do what others dare not even dream.
New Fast Food may be Technology Driven
Is your restaurant Full Service, Fast Casual or Fast Food company prepared to compete? Are you positioned for yesterday’s customer today or are you positioned for today’s customer tomorrow? Here check out these well funded start-ups looking to eat your lunch, dinner and breakfast. You might want to call Foodservice Solutions? for ideations, positioning or brand edification.
Caviar https://www.trycaviar.com/
Eat24 https://eat24hours.com/
Kitchen Surfing https://www.KitchenSufring.com
Lish https://www.lishfood.com/
Delivery Lean https://deliverlean.com/
Peachd https://www.peachd.com/
Munchery https://munchery.com/
Bite Squad https://www.bitesquad.com/
Postmates https://postmates.com/
Spoon Rocket https://www.spoonrocket.com/
Sprig https://www.sprig.com/
Amazon Spotlight https://fresh.amazon.com
Are you trapped doing what you have always done and doing the same way. Interested in learning how Foodservice Solutions 5P’s of Food Marketing can edify your retail food brand while creating a platform for consumer convenient meal participation, differentiation and individualization? via Email us at: [email protected] or visit: www.FoodserviceSolutions.us for more information.
Chief Customer Officer
8 年Jim Hickey
Looking for a new career
10 年Good points, Steven. The food truck/alternative food industry faces a real uphill battle here, due to the brick-and-mortar mindset. I'm not dissing the "foundation" restaurants by any means, but there is room for and money to be made by everyone. Keeping the trucks and pop-ups out won't keep them away - it just drives them underground or to friendlier places where new trends are welcomed.
SM at Macy's
10 年Great article and shows the importance of going outside of the 4 walls.... stepping out of the box.
Co-Founder at Steno
10 年Interesting article and I definitely agree. Here at HAIl we are trying to lead the next revolution in your payment experience at restaurants (enabling you to get up and go when you're done eating instead of waiting for the check). Looking forward to more restaurant tech to come from others as well.
Sr. Underwriter at RLI
10 年Weird, I've been to Wawa hundreds of times and I have never had a "legendary fresh prepared customized Hoggie." In fact, I don't think anyone has. Their Hoagies are tremendous though.