Understanding what is driving market changes for your CPG, foodservice and restaurant brand — from macro to micro data — informs everything we do. Please read these thoughtful perspectives from our insightful team.
The new year always ushers in fresh predictions for what foodservice trends are gaining momentum. With myriad industry sources weighing in, it can be cumbersome to navigate between trends that look promising and those that seem improbable. However, some macro themes have emerged that seem to indicate which forecasts will actually come to fruition in 2020.
Personas provide critical marketing insights that can prove invaluable to the efficacy of campaigns, content, customer affinity and conversion of sales leads. That said, successfully leveraging personas for foodservice requires additional steps to ensure they are accurate and useful.
As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept over the globe, individuals and industries alike have been challenged with rapidly adopting new technology to enable effective distance communication. For foodservice sales reps, video can play an important role in building meaningful interactions with their operator customers when face-to-face communication is not possible.
Many foodservice manufacturers utilize public relations efforts primarily to support new product launches — and often these efforts do not extend beyond writing and distributing press releases. However, without a sustained public relations strategy, today’s leading foodservice brands forfeit opportunities to promote their brand story meaningfully outside of paid or owned spaces.
While trending flavors or exceptional value will drive sales, the profitability of those sales is determined by commodity pricing, forecasting and supply chain data. When manufacturers pair this data with consumer trends to guide LTO ideation, they offer their operator customers a clear path forward.
It’s no secret that broadline distributors hold an influential place in the foodservice industry. However, due to wealth of product knowledge and ability to place orders provided by distributor online portals, the role of the DSR has dramatically changed.
As digital capabilities continue to permeate our industry, today’s foodservice manufacturer has more tools through which to reach, inform and attract customers. An often-overlooked manufacturer resource that informs the operator path to purchase is comprehensive and compelling GS1 data.
Millennials surpassed Boomers as the largest living generation in 2016, and they have dominated news cycles and influenced operator purchases ever since. As Gen Z diners mature and continue to realize their spending power, their habits will influence the foodservice landscape more and more.
It's no secret that a capable staff is at the core of building a positive experience for visitors — from serving high quality food to timely service to an efficient back-of-house. This presents an opportunity for foodservice manufacturers to help operators both in terms of increasing profitability and by helping to meet customer needs despite high turnover rates.
While the rise of off-premise dining sounds the alarm bells in some operators’ minds — for fear of decreased quality and lower margins to name a couple concerns — consumer demand shows it isn’t going away, and a handful of restaurants are at the forefront of embracing this change.
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