10 ways to steal market share
With restaurant-traffic growth predictions at less than 1 percent each year through 2019, the industry is forced to find sales volume from within — meaning competition is as fierce as ever.
Restaurant brands that expect increased customer counts and rising sales will in fact be taking customers from competitors, whether through the introduction of new dayparts, craveable menu items or value-driven pricing. It is a zero-sum game.
“The market share battle is won one unit at a time, one market at a time and one daypart at a time,” said Wally Doolin, founder of restaurant industry market research firm Black Box Intelligence, and former restaurant chief executive. “You really have to get that granular to have an impact.”
Nation’s Restaurant News collected ten strategies restaurants are successfully using to steal market share and drive sales.
1. Building a more relevant menu: Taco Bell has cited its Doritos Locos tacos as successfully driving sales, and may be counting on its celebrity-chef driven Cantina Bell menu to entice customers of competitors, like Chipotle or Qdoba.
2. Making new marketing moves: Perhaps one of the most important tools used to defend or drive market share, marketing efforts have helped restaurant brands like Wendy’s, Smashburger, and first-time national advertisers like Panera and Chipotle maintain or build customer bases.
3. Upselling current customers: Pricing menu items at value levels to drive guest traffic is one way to get people through the door, but upselling items is the needed step to drive sales. At the casual-dining Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, the restaurant chain’s new Big Tavern burgers and Tavern Double line are priced close to fast-casual burger prices, but include an option to “style” the burger with add-ons for $1.
4. Driving sales from the curb: Once just an option at quick-service restaurant brands, the drive thru is gaining ground among new players as a way to attract on-the-go consumers. Fast-casual brands like Panera and Einstein Bros. Bagels, as well as family-dining chain Shoney’s On The Go are testing drive thru locations.
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[ Reposted with permission from Nation's Restaurant News ]
Monin Gourmet Flavorings Celebrates 100 Years With Drink Of The Century Contest
Monin Gourmet Flavorings, the world’s leading provider of premium syrups and flavoring products, has been celebrating its centennial anniversary with special events and promotions throughout 2012.
To celebrate with the barista and bartender community worldwide, Monin has launched the Drink of the Century competition. The search is on for the best drink recipe!
Visit www.drinkofthecentury.com to submit your recipe or browse the creations for new ideas and vote on your favorite. The 20 recipes with the highest number of public votes will be tasted and judged by a 5-star jury comprised of the best baristas and bartenders from around the world. The ultimate winner will receive an iPad and runners up are eligible for other prizes.
With over 200 flavoring products including premium Syrups, Sauces, Purees and Smoothie Mixes, Monin Gourmet Flavorings offers an exceptional variety of flavors for any type of beverage. Let your imagination run wild with the recipes you can create with all these options!
Founded in 1912 in Bourges, France by entrepreneur Georges Monin and family-owned for three generations, Monin has built an international company renowned for its quality products, innovative marketing and exceptional customer service.
With a 100-year foundation of offering quality products and service, Monin is well-positioned to launch more new and innovative products for the beverage industry throughout the next century. For more information on any Monin product or their special centennial events and promotions, call 800-966-5225 or visit www.monin.com or www.facebook.com/monin.official.
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What restaurants have food that consumers crave the most and where are they most likely to return? The survey results are in.
Nation’s Restaurant News and WD Partners’ second annual Consumer Picks survey reveals how diners really feel about restaurant brands
Restaurants with the best “craveability” scores:
- Cracker Barrel – midscale/family restaurant
- Cheesecake Factory – casual dining restaurant
- Marble Slab Creamery – snack brands
- In-N-Out Burger – limited service restaurant
Highest rated in “likelihood to return”:
- Cracker Barrel – midscale/family restaurant
- Mellow Mushroom – casual dining restaurant
- Rita’s Italian Ice – snack brands
- Papa Murphy’s Take & Bake – limited service restaurant
“Because of the success of last year’s survey, we were encouraged to make this year’s review bigger and better,” said Dennis Lombardi, Executive Vice President of Foodservice Strategies at WD Partners. In its second year, the 2012 Consumer Picks survey has added 13 new restaurants and a new fine-dining category to give the restaurant industry more well-rounded insight into customer perspectives.
The survey canvassed more than 6,800 customers, to evaluate 152 restaurants in the limited-service, casual-, fine- and family-dining restaurant segments. Consumers were asked to evaluate brands they had visited at least once in the past six months to determine brand strengths and weaknesses relative to industry competitors.
Major findings point to the importance of differentiation, staying true to a core philosophy and delivering on the reputation for an exceptional experience.
The Consumer Picks results are further detailed in the August 6 issue of Nation’s Restaurant News, the restaurant industry’s most respected source of business intelligence, and at www.nrn.com/consumer-picks. Along with performance rankings, the NRN issue will include articles on the attributes that contribute to sales in each of the segments, with insights and commentary from NRN as well as WD Partners’ resident foodservice expert, Dennis Lombardi.
Note to editors: Additional information and videos of Dennis Lombardi, EVP Foodservice strategies at WD Partners, can be found at www.nrn.com/consumer-picks.
About WD Partners
WD Partners is a customer experience expert that helps global food and retail brands. Research conducted by WD Partners’ Insights group is part of the company’s integrated approach to enhancing shoppers’ experiences and brand performance. For more information, please visit www.wdpartners.com.
About Nation’s Restaurant News
For more than 40 years, Nation’s Restaurant News has been the #1 source of business intelligence for the restaurant industry. Today, offering information solutions for changing times, NRN is the media brand professionals trust to help them tackle the challenges facing the foodservice business. For operators, NRN provides a one-stop resource for the most industry coverage in whatever formats they prefer, whether print or digital, web-based or at events. For suppliers, NRN’s audience-rich portfolio of print, digital and live-event products provides the reach, access and flexibility needed to open doors and grow their businesses. For more information on NRN, visit www.nrn.com.
Available Topic Expert: For information on the listed expert, click appropriate link.
Dennis Lombardi
https://profnet.prnewswire.com/Subscriber/ExpertProfile.aspx?ei=43851
SOURCE WD Partners
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Why a Good Restaurant POS System Cannot Be Missing From Your Business: Comparing Different Software Options
Between the customers, order, servers, management, and sometimes entertainment, the fast-paced feel of a restaurant leaves little room for error. There are a few different types of restaurant software to choose from that can help you keep your company up and running swiftly and efficiently:
- Point of Sale (POS) – this software programs the money related responsibilities of your restaurant—checking out customers, sending orders from the restaurant floor to the kitchen, online ordering, tracking sales, and storing accounts and payment information.
- Inventory management software – this software helps keep records of the items you have in your restaurant. This way, you know what supplies you need to order and when you need to order them.
- Costing software – this software also deals with the finances of your restaurant by telling you how much money you have to spend on certain supplies for any length of time.
Most restaurant owners agree that if you are opening up a new restaurant or looking to improve an existing restaurant, POS software is the key to running a business with high levels of customer satisfaction. For a small coffee shop or deli, a POS system may not be necessary right at the start; however, for a medium to large sized restaurant this software is a must.
POS software is not only the register you see in the front of the building, but also consists of a controller in another part of the office that deals with all of the prices of items.
Good POS software will allow your business to run smoothly, quickly, and most importantly efficiently. A few benefits of having a good, quality POS system include:
- Simplifies Communication – A good POS system will allow your servers to work with the kitchen staff without having to walk all the way to the kitchen. This saves both parties time talking with each other; giving the servers more time to work with customers, and the cooks more time to work on preparing the food.
- Tracking – If you have a software that lets you know the most ordered items on your menu, you will be able to make an executive decision about what to offer as well as what new menu items you should include as your restaurant grows. Tracking menu items will also allow you to use usage figures when determining what food or items you need most.
- Payroll Benefits – Many restaurant POS systems will prompt an employee to “clock in” before they can use the system. This will keep track of each employee’s hours on the job, and save you a lot of time trying to figure out payroll.
- Checkout – One of the most obvious benefits to a POS system would be the fact that it can check customers out. With this feature comes an automatic sales tax equation and sometimes a profit and loss statement.
Comparing Different Restaurant POS System Software and their Features
Aldelo software is the most popular restaurant POS software, and likely will be the software you see publicized most often. According to, BankCardPOS, Aldelo “is well received in over 55,000 installations around the world due to its flexibility, ease of use and completeness.” Below lists the two types of Aldelo POS software you may want to consider based on a few of the most popular features*:
| Aldelo Lite Edition | Microsoft POS 2009 Software | Aldelo Pro Third+Station License
Edition |
Microsoft RMS: Retail Management System | |
| Hostess/Guest Paging |
|
|
X |
X |
| Reservations and Waiting list |
|
|
X |
X |
| Employee Scheduling and Payroll Preparation |
|
X |
X |
X |
| Inventory Management |
|
X |
X |
X |
| Order Splits and Combines |
X |
N/A |
X |
X |
| Price |
$395.00 |
$90.00 |
$500.00 |
$660.40 |
*Note—these are only a few of the hundreds of features POS software can offer. Create a list of things you want your software to be able to do for your restaurant, and go from there.
Quick Tips for Choosing the Right Restaurant POS System Software
- As with all technology, a POS system is no different. Always have a backup of payroll information or other important financial matters. If the software does fail, getting orders to the kitchen will be a little bit slower, but customers will understand! Everyone knows how difficult it can be when a computer fails, so 10 computers failing is an understandable problem.
- You do have the option of buying your own computer and POS software separately. If you do not have a lot of money right at the start, this may be an option to consider.
- Usually software and hardware are a package deal. The hardware that makes up a POS system is very straightforward. Below lists the features that you want to make sure your POS system to include:
- Monitor
- Keyboards (if not a touch screen monitor)
- Magnetic stripe readers (for processing credit cards)
- A printer for receipts
- Cash drawer
- A display that shows the customer their total (optional)
- POS software for retail is very different than POS software for a restaurant, so do not get confused!
What POS software does your restaurant use? Do you find it to be adequate for your needs, or do you wish you had certain features? Let us know in the comments!
Amanda DiSilvestro is a professional blogger that writes on a variety of topics including Chicago restaurants. She writes for Restaurants.com, a leading directory of restaurants.
Read MoreConsumers Want Fast and Easy Meals for Dinner Fresh Prepared food with portability is driving retail food success
Do you have time to eat, time for dinner or even time for cooking at home today?
By Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®
If you are “ready-2-eat” there is a very good chance you are looking for fresh prepared multi-flavor, multi-ethnic Grocerant meal components. Heat-N-eat and ready-2eat fresh prepared food with portability is driving retail food success in 2012. Where are you shopping for you food today is not the same place your mother was nor is the meal prepared the same way.
As long as multi-generational family’s gather for meals together, the demand for more divergent flavors continues to permeate. Grocerant mix and match bundled meal component offerings allow for increased family integration, understanding and acceptance in less time without a required cook from scratch skill set.
In the 1940′s cooking from scratch was the normal. The average home cooked meal took 150 minutes to prepare. Everyone sat down at the table and enjoyed it or not but they all ate the same thing. Today’s “home cooked meal” takes on average less than 30 minutes to prepared.
In most cases at least two different entrées are served.
The average time spent inside a McDonalds in the 2,000 was 11 minutes.
Today 65+ percent of all McDonald’s food is sold via the drive-thru.
U.S. fast-food chains are increasingly remodeling restaurants in an effort to garner additional drive-thru customers inside and increase sales, simple because the drive-thru can’t hold all the cars.
According to the New York Times Magazine – McDonalds Came Back Bigger Than Ever McDonald’s Corp. saw a 50% increase in sales during the first quarter of 2012 after opening a remodeled restaurant in Riverside, California, that features a new décor, solar panels on the carport, and ceiling panels that contain L.E.D. lights. During the first 12 months, sales at this restaurant increased 20% overall.
Walgreens is creating and bundling distinctive differentiated food consumable’s as an entity with identity by day part in a mix and match meal component format in select urban setting targeted at both the office worker for lunch and meal components for them to take home for the family dinner. It is a successful program. With over 7,550 units operating in the United States Walgreens has the potential to become the most disruptive force in food retailing in 50 years. Walgreens with its modular mid-sized foot-print is garnering customers from both restaurants and grocery stores.
Consumers Want Easy to Prepare Meals
The grocerant niche continues to grow with companies like Central Market, Whole Foods, Wegmans and 7 Eleven entering the fresh prepared better for you space. Meal time is now becoming a time of convenient meal participation, with differentiation and individualization for the entire family. Safeway with its lifestyle stores are heading in the right direction however the stores are so large consumers are forced to spend more time in them than they want.
More often than not the multi-generational family today is multi-ethnic as well. Creating a demand for more varied flavors and additional cooking skill set that is simply not there. Grocery stores, Convenience Stores, Restaurants and Chain Drug Stores are all selling ready-2-eat and heat-N-eat fresh prepared food. Is your focus family dinning? Are you selling meals or meal components for Take-Out, delivery or Take-Away?
Lacking the skill set to prepared fresh prepared multi-ethnic meal components at home coupled with the time it takes to prepared a home cooked meal it is clear the buying habits of consumers will continue to evolve. Bundling mix and match meal components into a meal is one key driver within the grocerant niche. Given that most American family are comprised of multi-cultural background. The fight for share of stomach will only intensify.
Restaurants menu’s at one time were very narrow in focus and have moved more upscale with offerings such as Oriental; Chicken Salad, Southwest Chicken Salad, along with a chef salads. Grocery stores on the other hand are expected to sell complete lines of reay-2-eat multi-ethnic food. That places higher expectations on grocers than restaurants or a company like Walgreens. Walgreens might just be in the perfect spot to expand fresh prepared food offerings capturing customers from both restaurants and supermarkets.
Since 1991 Foodservice Solutions® a Tacoma, WA based retail foodservice consultancy has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche. For product or brand positioning assistance contact Steven A. Johnson or the Grocerant LinkedIn page or on Facebook at Steven Johnson, BING / GOOGLE: Steven Johnson Grocerants or Grocerant on Twitter
Read MoreBe A Kitchen Rock Star In The Texas Pete Chipotle Challenge Recipe Contest
$5,000 And Instant Stardom Awaits One Kitchen Hero
(Winston-Salem, NC) – TW Garner Food Company is in search of the next generation of kitchen rock stars with the announcement of the company’s Texas Pete® Chipotle Challenge recipe contest. The competition offers both veteran and upstart menu developers a chance to earn nationwide recognition and a $5,000 grand prize to their operation’s favorite charity.
“This is a battle among the best chefs at rising regional and emerging chains, big national chains, non-commercial contract feeders… any foodservice professional who is ready for a challenge and a chance at significant national recognition,” said TW Garner’s General Sales Manager, Steve DeCorte. The recipe contest challenges chefs to use Texas Pete® Chipotle Hot Sauce as an ingredient in a magnificent menu creation.
“Chipotle isn’t just for Mexican or Tex-Mex menus any more,” explained TW Garner’s Executive Chef and National Accounts Sales Manager Michael O’Donnell. “We are looking for great menu creations from any chef or operator and from any cuisine”.
Texas Pete® Chipotle Hot Sauce is superior to any other chipotle sauce because of its authentic smoke jalapeno flavor that is so bold, yet balanced, that it does not overpower a chef’s own creation. TW Garner offers its chipotle hot sauce in ½ gallon plastic jugs and 6-ounce glass bottles.
The contest offers the grand prize winner a spotlight for his or her prowess in the kitchen and recognition for his or her operation. The top chef will be honored in a full-page ad in a national foodservice trade publication, featuring his or her recipe, and information on his or her organization. “Because we did not want to exclude multi-unit operations that may have prohibitions against their employees earning cash prizes while on the job, we’ll contribute $5,000 to the charity of the organization’s choice,” DeCorte said. The chef and his or her operation will also be featured in a Texas Pete® TV webisode that will be shared globally via YouTube and the Texas Pete® foodservice website (www.TexasPeteFoodservice.com).
Chefs or operators who are interested in submitting an entry in the Texas Pete® Chipotle Challenge can review contest rules and submit their recipe entries through midnight, December 31, 2012 online via www.TexasPeteFoodservice.com or via mail at Texas Pete® Chipotle Challenge, P.O. Box 5609, Johnson City, TN, 37602.
Read MoreNRN names 2012 Hot Concepts winners
Nation’s Restaurant News has awarded four foodservice brands with its annual Hot Concepts awards, which celebrate innovation, vitality and growth within the restaurant industry.
The 2012 Hot Concepts winners have earned recognition with their bold moves in areas like technology and social media, as well as menu development, outstanding creativity and strong sales results in a persistently sluggish economy.
The class of 2012 includes CoolHaus, a food truck fleet focused on ice cream sandwiches; Del Frisco’s Grille, the smaller, more casual offshoot of Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse; Pie Five Pizza Co., a fast-casual, make-your-own pizza chain; and STACKED, a full-service brand that focuses on healthful, customized food and infuses technology into the customer experience.
“This year’s winners are moving foodservice forward by embracing today’s changing consumer landscape, from their use of technology and social media to their customer-friendly service styles and menu choices,” Randall Friedman, publisher of Nation’s Restaurant News, said. “I look forward to celebrating these Hot Concepts award winners as great examples of the restaurant industry’s innovation and strength.”
The winners will be feted at the Hot Concepts award celebration — sponsored by e*Restaurant from Altametrics, an enterprise management solution — during the 53nd annual MUFSO conference. MUFSO, the preeminent education and networking event for foodservice executives, will be held Sept. 30-Oct. 2 in Dallas. Learn more at MUFSO.com.
NRN’s Hot Concepts program, now in its 18th year, recognizes forward-thinking companies positioned at the leading edge of the foodservice industry. Winners are selected by the editorial team of Nation’s Restaurant News.
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[ Reposted with permission from Nation's Restaurant News ]
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