SmartBlogs » Food & Beverage

Q-and-A: How adopting GS1 US Standards can improve relationships between operators and customers

Tricia Smith — Thu, 24 May 2012 12:00:26 +0000

The Foodservice GS1 US Standards Initiative was launched in 2009 as an industrywide effort to streamline the supply chain, enhance product information and build a foundation for food safety and traceability. I interviewed Ann Oka, senior vice president of supply management for Sodexo and a member of the Executive Leadership Committee for the Foodservice GS1 US Standards Initiative, about the benefits and challenges of adopting the GS1 Standards and how they can improve relationships between operators and customers.

How did Sodexo get involved in the Foodservice GS1 US Standards Initiative?

We were one of the founding companies when the industry launched the initiative in October 2009. We were asked to join by our supply chain partners because of the work we were already doing on a project to synchronize data between trading partners. Where possible, we did rely on [Global Trade Item Numbers] as the key product identifier, but found that their application in the industry was spotty at best.

While our project required collaboration between our partners to synchronize their data for our use, we knew that if each operator had similar requirements, it would become onerous for our partners. We also knew that in the long term, the industry needed to move to standards, which would require collaboration between manufacturers, distributors and other operators to yield the workable standards that would bring efficiencies to the entire industry. … Before companies began adopting GS1 Standards, there were many different numbers assigned to the same product, depending on who you bought it from. Something as simple as determining how many packs of chicken breast we were ordering each week took a lot of time and effort to decipher. This foodservice initiative, therefore, is an attempt to create some standardization or agreement around product identifiers and attributes.

What has been the most beneficial part of adopting GS1 Standards?

The greatest benefit for the industry as a whole is it will remove wasted steps around deciphering product information between trading partners. Most important, we will have a better ability to trace products in a timely manner.

How does implementing GS1 Standards help improve food safety?

Again, traceability is paramount. The nature of our food supply is such that we will always have recalls, unfortunately; but with GS1 Standards, when we do have them, we will be able to identify where the products came from, where they went and get them under control faster. Perhaps in some cases, we will be able to prevent a greater number of recalls from happening in the first place, or limit the scope of them when they do occur. Better traceability in our supply chain will go a long way to improve the public’s opinion about food safety.

How does traceability relate to the increased consumer demand to know where the food comes from?

Another piece of the transparency puzzle people are not as cognizant of is that manufacturers need to own their product data, and only they should be responsible for updating that data. Current processes require multiple entities to manage and update changes in legacy systems. If a manufacturer changes their formulation, and for example, adds a potential allergen to a product, the operator needs to know in real time so that they can make the necessary changes in their menus or recipes and inform their consumers. By subscribing to the GDSN [Global Data Synchronization Network], trading partners will have access to this accurate product information, updated 24/7. GS1 Standards adoption is not just about establishing traceability and transparency; it’s also about the speed of that transparency for the whole supply chain.

What aspect was the most difficult to adopt?

We’re still working through GLN adoption, which is the GS1 Standard for product location identifiers. It’s challenging because there are many different “locations” a product travels through in the supply chain before it gets to the end consumer: from the manufacturer’s plants and warehouses, to the distributors systems, to the restaurant back door and other points in between.

For example, a distributor GLN is more complex because it indicates where a product was shipped from and which distributor it went to, but the product could have gone to a redistribution center, where other distributors handled it. For both Sodexo and entegra Procurement Services, we have deliveries that go to our clients’ sites. In some cases, those clients have GLNs associated with their core business, and “our” receiving location may be at the same address — however, from a chain of custody perspective, the products must be associated with us. You can imagine how the definition of a GLN as a physical location attached to a company can be challenging. These are the important details initiative members are currently working on.

What cost benefits have you seen, or foresee, associated with the GS1 Standards initiative?

We’ve already seen the cost benefits of data synchronization, and we anticipate these benefits will increase as more foodservice companies adopt GS1 Standards. The time spent “shagging” or mapping improper data will continue to decrease if this is the case. Less time spent in administrative tasks grinding through data means more time available to spend understanding our customers and their needs.

How will adoption of GS1 Standards improve relationships between operators and customers?

GS1 Standards allow us to be more flexible in addressing very specific needs, particularly around things like allergen-free products and others with a specific nutritional focus. We will be able to provide better visibility of what our customers are eating. More and more, we’re getting the question, “Where did my food come from?” As more companies adopt GS1 Standards, we will be able to know not only exactly where our products came from and where they went in the supply chain, but also where they were made and what attributes they have — direct from the source.

Q-and-A: How adopting GS1 US Standards can improve relationships between operators and customers originally published by SmartBlogs

Q-and-A: Crystal FitzSimons of the Food Research and Action Center on the Summer Food Service Program

Ellen Beck — Wed, 23 May 2012 12:00:28 +0000

School will soon be out for the summer, leaving many children without free or reduced-price meals they depend on for adequate nutrition. Families often turn to summer food programs for help. I interviewed Crystal FitzSimons, director of school and out-of-school time programs for the nonprofit Food Research and Action Center, about the success of the Agriculture Department’s Summer Food Service Program and challenges it faces during uncertain economic times.

How widespread are summer nutrition programs?

Nationally, 2.8 million low-income children participated in the summer nutrition programs in July 2010, [according to the] most recent published data. FRAC looks at the number of low-income children who receive free or reduced-price lunch during the regular school year as an indicator of the need for summer meals. Only 15 children for every 100 low-income children who relied on school lunch during the school year had access to meals through the summer nutrition programs.

The summer nutrition programs are present in every state, but there is tremendous variation in state participation. The District of Columbia serves the most needy children, feeding 80 children for every 100 low-income children who participate in school lunch during the school year; Oklahoma serves the fewest, feeding only four low-income children for every 100 who participate in school lunch during the school year.

Is demand and participation increasing or decreasing?

Demand certainly is increasing for these programs. The number of low-income children who participated in school lunch during the school year grew by 2.6 million from school year 2005-2006 to school year 2009-2010, because of the increase in need caused by the recession. At the same time, budget cuts in many states caused school districts to eliminate or reduce their summer programs. The decrease in programs where food can be served makes it more difficult for the summer nutrition programs to respond to the increased need. As a result, even though summer nutrition participation dropped by about 40,000 children from the summer of 2006 to 2011, the program went from serving 1 in 6 low-income children who participated in school lunch in 2006 to 1 in 7 in 2010, because of the increase in need.

With tight state and school-district budgets, how can participation be increased in 2012?

Efforts at the federal, state and local levels and within the public and private sectors must be redoubled in order to rebuild the summer nutrition programs so that nutritious summer meals are getting to the children who need them. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is helping to lead the charge by organizing the National Summer Food Service Program Awareness Week. It also is important for nonprofits and schools to embrace new provisions included in the 2010 child-nutrition reauthorization law — the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act — that support summer food expansion and outreach efforts.

At the state level, some state agencies, such as the Arizona Department of Education, have taken aggressive steps to grow the program, recruiting more sponsors and sites and conducting outreach to families. And, finally, even if they scale back summer school, schools must recommit to meeting the nutritional needs of their students during the summer.

Is there research on the impact of these types of programs?

Despite the popular image that summer is a time when children play and stay active, recent studies show that this often is not the case. Many children are less active and eat lower-quality meals than they would if they had access to safe, recreational programs and the summer nutrition programs. Also, hunger becomes more acute during the summer months. USDA research shows food-insecurity rates increase for households with children in the summer, and the increase is even greater for states with low summer nutrition participation.

Q-and-A: Crystal FitzSimons of the Food Research and Action Center on the Summer Food Service Program originally published by SmartBlogs

Is local growing less important?

Janet Forgrieve — Tue, 22 May 2012 12:00:00 +0000

When I lived in Tampa, Fla., in the 1980s and ’90s, Bern’s Steak House was the place everyone mentioned when talking about high-end steakhouses, and that apparently hasn’t changed since I moved away. But something else has, as the Tampa Bay Times reported. Founder Bern Laxer got into organic farming during the 1970s, and much of what he grew on his 7-acre farm wound up on the restaurant’s menu. But that’s been changing under the leadership of Laxer’s son David, who wants to turn the now-fallow farm into a soccer complex and begin farming a smaller piece of land. Meanwhile, the eatery’s marketing still emphasizes local and organic, despite the fact that these days, the lion’s share of produce is sourced through large distributors and only about 20% is organic. David Laxer told the Times that the eatery will shift its message once the new farm is established.

Though “local” and “organic” have been hot restaurant trends for at least the past two years, Bern’s isn’t the only eatery that seems to be putting locally sourced and organic ingredients lower on the priority list. World-renowned chefs Thomas Keller and Andoni Luis Aduriz gave a joint interview to The New York Times that set the food blogosphere abuzz. The chefs see their main mission as creating amazing meals and are content to let promoting local and organically grown ingredients take a back seat.

Bloggers including Grist’s Twilight Greenaway quickly took Keller to task, calling his comments irresponsible and destructive. Environmentalist Laurie David called the chef’s stance shocking and said, “Why check your citizenship at the kitchen door?” Others responding to posts and tweets on the story saw the issue as less black and white, including commenters at Chefs Collaborative who eat sustainably when possible but draw the line at giving up coffee, tea and favorite dishes simply because the ingredients can’t be locally sourced.

Enhancing local produce options

Some agriculture researchers see benefits in growing crops closer to where they’ll be consumed. One project is designed to grow more broccoli — typically a West Coast crop — on the East Coast, with the help of federal farm subsidies. Congress began including specialty crops in federal farm bills in 2008, and growers get about $3 billion in subsidies, McClatchy Newspapers reported.

Researchers at the University of California, Davis, are using federal funds to “show how fresh fruits and vegetables with enhanced flavor can be successfully handled, without compromising food safety, so as to improve consumer satisfaction,” McClatchy reported.

Maybe they mean “papples”?

The Guardian’s Word of Mouth Blog reported on the latest hybrid fruit: a pear disguised as an apple. The fruit, developed in New Zealand, is actually a hybrid of two pear varieties, with the taste and texture of a pear but a distinctly apple shape. It might seem weird, but some of the most common fruits are the result of cross-breeding experiments, including grapefruits, lemons and several varieties of grapes.

Is local growing less important? originally published by SmartBlogs

AriZona Beverage and the art of the can

Janet Forgrieve — Mon, 21 May 2012 12:00:00 +0000

This series is sponsored by the Can Manufacturers Institute, where gray is the new green. Want to know the reason? Download our sustainability paper to learn more about how cans stand alone as the sustainable solution for 21st-century packaging. Pass it on. CanCentral.com/sustainability.

Modern technology makes it possible for beverage companies to get pretty creative when it comes to the designs on their cans, and few companies have taken advantage of that ability as much as AriZona Beverage. Even if you’ve never tasted the teas and other soft drinks inside, it’s hard to miss the distinctive, colorful art that decorates the brand’s oversize cans and bottles.

Global Communications Director Jackie Harrigan got a chance to share some of the company’s newest flavors and designs at the recent National Restaurant Association show in Chicago. She took some time to speak to SmartBrief about the brand and its packaging.

AriZona is sold in cans and bottles. Is one type of packaging more popular than the other? Does the mix vary depending on the type of retail outlet or are there other variables that influence whether people opt for cans over bottles or vice versa?

We’re known for our big 23-ounce cans, though you’re correct in that the mix varies by retail outlet. Our 20-ounce “tall boys” or our glass bottles are also prevalent in the marketplace. Additionally, packaging availability is different from region to region. For instance, most of our products on the West coast are only available in the 23-ounce cans. By offering consumers a variety of packaging sizes, we can cater to different needs: the 23-ounce can for someone who wants bang for their (just under one) buck, the tall boys for someone who likes to cap their drink on the go.

AriZona also offers many packaging options abroad, including 500-ml, fully-wrapped PET bottles for our European market. In Mexico, AriZona products can also be found in 200-ml cartons. Our big cans and tall boys are available in different parts of the world.

We’re proud to announce a new Fountain BIB (bag-in-a-box syrup) product, which will allow consumers to enjoy AriZona drinks as a fountain beverage. The new product attracted a lot of attention at the NRA show.

AriZona’s cans and bottles are distinctive in size, color and design. Can you talk a bit about how the look came about and what goes into designing new looks to go with new products/flavors?

When AriZona first broke into the market 20 years ago, our co-founder Don Vultaggio was inspired by the Southwestern motif of his home. His wife, Ilene, designed the first AriZona logo.

Designs are influenced by the flavors within the packaging and Don has a clear idea in his head about what the packaging should incorporate and embody. He spearheads this effort by giving creative instruction to execute beautiful packaging with unique design that draws attention globally within the marketplace. AriZona takes pride in creating quality products both inside and out.

How do consumers primarily perceive the AriZona brand? Is it seen as a healthy beverage? An indulgence? Are there other qualities that sell the brand to its fans?

Due to the large spectrum of AriZona products — teas, waters, sports drinks, coconut water and diet products — AriZona captures many market segments. Many view AriZona, which is 100% all-natural and uses no preservatives, as the perfect alternative to sugary sodas that use chemicals. Our coconut waters, organic teas and RESCUE Waters are favored by health-conscious consumers.

AriZona is seen as a high-quality and yet affordable product. AriZona does not partake in media spends — instead, the company invests its dollars directly back into its products to provide the very best to our consumers.

What are some of the latest trends in flavors and how do they fit in with the way consumers perceive/use the brand?

We have seen a huge trend in lemonade-based products as well as in more functional beverages (e.g. coconut water). AriZona has responded with a range of new products: CocoZona and CocoZona Espresso coconut water and Jack Nicklaus Golden Bear Lemonades — including Lemonade with Mango, Strawberry Lemonade, and Lemonade with Honey and Ginseng.

Consumers know that they can turn to AriZona for delicious, unique flavors that taste good and are affordable, keeping brand loyalty among the AZ consumer base.

What were some of the topics, trends, concerns, etc., that came up in conversation with attendees at the NRA show?

This was the second time in the past six to 10 years that AriZona was present at the NRA show. The new Jack Nicklaus Golden Bear Lemonades and the new AriZona Fountain drinks were very popular. The Jack Nicklaus Lemonades were a huge hit with all different walks, from businesses to the end consumers, including many hospitality and culinary students at the show. Of course, the AriZona Arnold Palmers were also a huge draw — many commented on the brand’s popularity in quality and taste.

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AriZona Beverage and the art of the can originally published by SmartBlogs

Restaurants and their place in a healthy diet

Janet Forgrieve — Fri, 18 May 2012 12:00:00 +0000

Restaurants have been moving forward with efforts to make meals healthier and provide guests with the nutritional information they need to make better food choices, despite the Food and Drug Administration’s ongoing delay in issuing final rules on exactly what nutrition information chains with 20 or more locations will need to put on their menus.

“Implementation of this portion of the Affordable Care Act of 2010 is now officially one year overdue, and may be another six months out,” wrote MenuTrinfo’s Betsy Craig in a QSRWeb blog post this week that detailed the delays, which most recently center on the debate over whether convenience stores should be held to the same standards as restaurant chains.

The post was one of several recent pieces that focused on restaurants, healthy dining and America’s obesity problem, including a Rand Corp. report that analyzed nutrition information at 245 restaurants from the top 400 U.S. chains. Researchers found that 96% of the dishes tested exceeded USDA recommendations for the amount of calories, sugar, fat and saturated fat people should consume in a single meal. The data were collected from menus and nutrition information posted on the restaurants’ websites from February to May 2010.

Those numbers probably weren’t such a big deal in the days when more of us enjoyed restaurant meals as special-occasion treats and we could balance a few indulgent meals with a more sensible diet the rest of the time. But balancing the diet became tougher as dining out evolved into an integral part of our lives.

T.J. Jacobberger, general manager of The Tavern at Lark Creek and a San Francisco Chronicle blogger, concluded that his industry bears part of the responsibility for the nation’s expanding waistlines by virtue of the role it plays in people’s daily lives.

“We have created a culture around the consumption of food and beverage,” he wrote last week. “…Whether it’s a business lunch or dinner with friends, people are dining out more than they ever have before. People are consuming more food and beverage than ever before. We have made food and beverage a social must for any type of get-together, from sporting events to book clubs.”

Another recent study — that found finances were leading a significant number of consumers to dine out less often — included a list of the reasons people gave for choosing a restaurant and, while 56% of people said healthy menu items were a factor, that quality came in behind a host of other factors including convenience, variety and price, according to a story in Pizza Marketplace.

Finally, the jury’s still out on restaurant chains’ efforts to create healthier kids’ menus, Forbes contributor Carol Tice wrote this week. More than 100 chains have joined the National Restaurant Association’s Kids LiveWell program since it launched, but it’s unclear whether their efforts to promote healthier, less fattening alternatives are finding traction among young consumers. “As high-minded as they’d like to be, there’s a basic rule in the restaurant business: Menu real estate is valuable, and you don’t keep offering items customers don’t want.”

Restaurants and their place in a healthy diet originally published by SmartBlogs

When it comes to social media, what type of business owner are you?

Guest Blogger — Thu, 17 May 2012 15:16:25 +0000

It seems as though a social network emerges every week. This can leave business owners wondering which one is best for elevating their business.

Many business owners are asking whether they should stay dedicated to Facebook or focus more on Pinterest. It can get overwhelming and frustrating for business owners who don’t have time to manage even one social network — let alone eight. Based on my experience and research, business owners fall into one of the following categories.

Build it, and I’m with it. These business owners hop on every social platform that pops up — not because they want to but because they think they need to. They think their business or brand is not relevant if it’s not classified as socially enabled. This mindset could harm a brand by spreading it too thin across social networks. Without manpower, resources and time to manage it, the social media presence of a brand suffers.
I’m not touching social media with a 10-foot pole. These business owners stay as far away from social media as possible. Even with Facebook nearing a billion users and Twitter passing 500 million, they still think it’s a fad. They think they don’t need to be on any social network, or they are stuck on old-fashioned belief that engaging with customers goes only one way. Perhaps they are afraid to explore beyond their comfort zone. Personally, I see no benefit from this technique. By the time you decide to get on the social-networking bandwagon, all of your customers are already interacting with competitors, while you arrive too late to the party.
Socially savvy. These business owners pick and choose which social networks to use. They have an idea of pros and cons of each social platform. They are also aware of the time, knowledge and engagement needed to develop and maintain a successful social community and presence. Such owners’ business or brand tends to be substantially more successful than others.

Remember, to be successful in social media, one has to be ready to accept and adjust to change. Social media is a fast-paced medium that needs consistent nurturing, adjustment and change.

Sound off in the comments. Which type of business owner are you?

Andre Kay is CEO and chief marketing officer of Sociallybuzz, which provides social media management, marketing, fan-page application development and social media consultation. The company is designed to help companies, brands and businesses develop a firm foundation in social media and marketing while delivering the greatest number of options in how they define or reach their relevant audience.

When it comes to social media, what type of business owner are you? originally published by SmartBlogs

From Global Conference: The evolution of fine dining

James daSilva — Thu, 17 May 2012 12:00:45 +0000

I recently attended the 2012 Milken Institute Global Conference. On the final day, amid high finance, the next frontier in health and education and a lunch speech from former President Bill Clinton, restaurateurs and chefs gathered to discuss where their industry is headed and the changing definition of “fine dining.”

Fine dining ain’t what it used to be. That was the driving point of a lively and opinionated morning session at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles early this month. The olden days, with a maître d’ focus, dress code and table settings haven’t disappeared, but they are fading and fragmenting to the point where it’s difficult to decide upon one definition of the term “fine dining.”

That was the assessment of moderator Barbara Fairchild, long of Bon Appetit and most recently of Real Eats. Restaurateur Michael Cardenas fought to preserve the old definition despite a diminishing number of such restaurants in the Los Angeles area and public scrutiny of foods such as caviar, foie gras and bluefin tuna. To Cardenas, fine dining still retains the characteristics of “price points [more than $100 per person] and a special-occasion restaurant.”

Elizabeth Blau generally agreed with Fairchild’s assessment, but said fine dining is shifting from being a theme to being a philosophical approach, both from the customer and developer standpoints. The collapse of formal dress codes is just one sign. Even in the hotel business, traditional fine dining is fading as developers seek all-day business by creating an entertainment destination.

But the first signs of the broad tastes in today’s dining world came from Mark Levy, who asked if there wasn’t a difference between fine dining and high-end dining. Fine dining “is chef-driven, where you have the chef on the premises,” being creative and creating particular products. High end is something like Nobu — places with $120-per-person checks and “an entertainment component.” There is a clear split between the two types of restaurants, he said, even if the price elements may be similar.

Perhaps the most interesting take came from what Fairchild called “the definition of fine dining on this panel,” Josiah Citrin, owner of Melisse. One would expect him to be quite particular about the definitions and standards of dining. And he was — when it came to what he considered the negative effect of popups on chef development and the real aim of the war on foie gras. But with fine dining, perception is everything. Fine dining is one thing for a diner of a certain persuasion, but for Marilyn Hagerty, it was Olive Garden.

So what comes next? As Citrin alluded to, it will be the further refining of the customer experience. Reality television — the chef personalities, cooking contests and the Anthony Bourdains — has made customers more knowledgeable, confident and “willing to be more adventurous and try things.” And that experience is the key, Citirn said: “From how the staff treats you from the second you walk through the door, that every detail has been thought out. … Guests want to tell me, ‘It’s the best meal I’ve ever had, and I’ve eaten all over the world.’ That’s irrelevant. As long as you enjoyed the evening.”

Customers are demanding more diverse restaurant concepts that change more quickly, but they also want a fallback position when they are unsure about money or what to eat; that, panelists said, is where steakhouses have found a real niche.

Finally, while only a small part of the 75-minute discussion, panelists noted the positive and explosive impact of social media. Twitter and Facebook have their place, but converting them to customers is difficult, particularly at higher-end restaurants. Yelp, however, has offered more immediate benefits. Yelp “is just great word-of-mouth happening much faster,” Citrin said.

From Global Conference: The evolution of fine dining originally published by SmartBlogs

How are you marketing on Pinterest?

Janet Forgrieve — Wed, 16 May 2012 12:00:00 +0000

If you’re anything like me, you started the year never having heard of Pinterest. Then you woke up one day and it was everywhere, as consumers and brands glommed onto the visual social platform that gives users a way to display, share and comment on pretty pictures that make them happy, touch their emotions or add a chuckle to the day.

Luckily for restaurants and retailers, users also pin products and brands they plan to buy, including a favorite pair of jeans or a favorite vegetarian meal. Who are they? Nearly 5 million visitors in March were women, and moms are 61% more likely than other demographic groups to spend time on the website, ClickZ reported.

The site is young, but its popularity has grown so quickly that there are plenty of experts offering tips on how to market on Pinterest, including a Restaurant Hospitality article by TVI Marketing Manager Eugene Farber.

Because Pinterest is such a visual platform, the right photos and images are essential to any marketing effort. For restaurants, that means food pictures, but it also means snapshots of special events involving the restaurant or your chef; pictures of the restaurant space and action shots of your servers; media coverage of the restaurant; and photos of the inspiration behind your dishes, Farber writes.

Populate Digital ran a useful graphic on the same topic, with 64 tips covering issues including how to create a profile and boards, copyright concerns and what to research to ensure you’re on the right track with your Pinterest marketing.

As with any social-marketing effort, the work truly begins once you’ve created your profile and started to populate it. One of the easy first steps is linking your Pinterest account to Facebook and Twitter, to expand the reach of your pins into the social universe and boost the likelihood that prospective patrons will get to know your brand. “It is important to remember that this is a social network, and it only work if you are being social,” TVI’s Farber writes.

If you want more step-by-step advice on how to create a winning presence on Pinterest, Northwest University Marketing Vice President Jason Miles created the blog Marketing on Pinterest and offers a free, 33-page guide that starts with a glossary of terms for users and includes plenty of examples for creating eye-catching photos that will get noticed and tell a story about your brand.

How is your restaurant marketing on Pinterest, and how’s it going? Tell us in the comments.

How are you marketing on Pinterest? originally published by SmartBlogs

Q-and-A: Paul Barron talks about “The Chipotle Effect”

Tricia Smith — Tue, 15 May 2012 12:00:17 +0000

Paul Barron is founder and CEO of DigitalCoCo as well as founder of FastCasual.com and QSRWeb.com. SmartBrief interviewed him on the future of fast casual and his new book, “The Chipotle Effect,” excerpts of which were published on SmartBlog on Food & Beverage.

“The Chipotle Effect” is touted as the first book on the fast-casual restaurant business. What inspired you to write the book?

The vision was one that started back in the mid ’90s, when nobody was really looking at the space the way I was. I saw this as a revolution in how the restaurant industry would innovate to meet the new demands of the consumer. At that time, I knew the Web would transform everything we do in the business, including connecting with our guests, but even then I still did not fully grasp the massive impact that social media would play in the future of the business. I felt this was the ultimate game changer for our business, and in 2002, I recognized I was onto something really big!

With that insight, I focused on getting FastCasual.com to the forefront of the media sphere, and the idea of the book was born. As I expected, the evolution of the Web, social media and the fast-casual segment came together in a “perfect storm,” and today, the fast-casual segment is realizing the most amazing growth the restaurant business has experienced in more than three decades.

In one of your excerpts, you discuss the “food-as-lifestyle” revolution. What advice do you have for restaurants that want to keep up with the revolution but might not have the resources to do so?

I think every great restaurant operator finds the resources to keep up with the latest trends and technology. The barrier to entry is so much lower than ever before. After all, they are all innovators, some better than others, and the reality of this or any business is that it’s about people and ideas. If you are short on either, you are toast. Traditionally, the restaurant business has been built on food, when in my opinion the shift to “food as a lifestyle” is the new mantra. This means you must create an overall experience, one that not only impacts the guest while in the restaurant but also when they are outside the four walls, in ways that will create new lifestyle expectations: better health, better taste, better quality, better lifestyle.

Innovation is the only way to stay competitive. The consumer is already two steps ahead of us now due to the mass adoption of social media and technology, which have created a whole new level of consumers who are highly adaptable, flexible, curious and armed with seemingly endless choices. This is the biggest opportunity that has hit the American business scene since the evolution of the auto industry. Tech bubble, ha! The golden age of the restaurant business is about to change in ways that will impact hundreds of millions of people in the U.S. alone and will create tens of thousands of entrepreneur millionaires over the next 20 years.

What do you see as the future for fast casual? Is Chipotle’s fresh, sustainable approach the answer for every restaurant?

I think we are faced with some pretty big issues within the industry as aging boomers and new consumers in the Generation Y segment remap how we think about developing our menus, our designs and even our operations. The health halo that Chipotle has created is one that was fueled by the consumer, not necessarily Chipotle. What they did brilliantly was capitalize on an emerging need for local, sustainable and fresh as a theme. This is the key to how we face tomorrow’s consumer — identify and capitalize on future trends before they happen.

What’s the worst mistake that you see fast-casual restaurants making, and how can they rectify it?

Falling prey to the standardization of their product or brand position. This is the kiss of death. Growing to 10,000 units, I fear, is left for only a very few in our industry. Fast casual is about power segments and power players that control certain menu categories or geographic regions. Bakery café = Panera; fresh Mex = Chipotle; sandwich = Firehouse Subs, etc. The real failure of fast casual will be when a consumer puts a fast-casual brand in the consideration set of “fast food.” If that happens, we have lost the purpose and the vision of what the consumers are pushing us toward. If anything, I see fast casual going up the line with more customization and quality to create an experience that the consumer has yet to truly taste. There are a few examples, such as Rick Bayless and XOCO, and the work of the Lettuce Entertain You group, as well as rising players such as Piada and BurgerFi.

How can fast-casual restaurants stay plugged into what consumers want, even as their preferences evolve? Is it only a matter of technological adoption, or is there more to the picture?

The picture for the whole restaurant industry is one that is pretty amazing as Big Data plays into the boardroom, and monetization of social and digital platforms becomes more of a reality. But best of all, we are serving an evolving consumer in an evolving technology and device world. We are close to the shift to a post-PC world, thanks to Apple, which means consumers will get information and act on reviews, word of mouth and social centers almost instantaneously versus traditional media, which have longer lead and lag times. Speed and mobility will have an immense impact on the future restaurant, especially fast casual. What is interesting is that consumers are evolving much faster than ever before, and we need to be supercareful or we could lose them to a whole new culture of food consumption.

Like food trucks — not one major brand saw that coming. Local and sustainable — only a handful of chefs and even fewer brands saw that one. Next is “gourmet-level value,” which is already finding its way to the street. This is a very interesting time in the business and one that restaurant execs need to look at very closely. The reality is we have a new playing field, and we need to draft a whole new team to win.

Disclosure: Paul Barron consults on consumer science and restaurant trends in fast casual, quickservice restaurants and casual dining, including many leading and upstart fast-casual brands, some of which are included in this commentary.

Q-and-A: Paul Barron talks about “The Chipotle Effect” originally published by SmartBlogs

The value of social media customers

Guest Blogger — Fri, 11 May 2012 15:30:35 +0000

Social media are essential to promoting your restaurant. Marketing and public relations agencies swear by networks including Facebook, Twitter, Yelp and Foursquare. While it is important to promote your restaurant on all of these platforms, some interactions are worth more than others. I’ll break down the value of each user, post, tweet and check-in, which will help you prioritize your social media efforts.

Yelp

A Yelp review makes you the most money, at $9.13 each. Each Yelp user is worth $21.21. People visit Yelp to hear what others are saying about a certain restaurant, and the platform is structured so that each restaurant has its own page, with all content talking about the venue on one page.

Customers don’t have to track down tweets or posts to read reviews, and they don’t have to follow or be friends with strangers who visit your restaurant. Each positive review on Yelp brings about $10 — an excellent reason to pay attention.

Foursquare

Foursquare brings the second-most money into your restaurant. Each check-in generates 40 cents. While that seems a drastic drop from Yelp, it takes only 25 check-ins to earn an additional $10.

Yelp requires time for a customer to sit down and write a review. Checking in on Foursquare takes less than 30 seconds. A regular customer might leave only one review on Yelp but check in on Foursquare every time the person visits your restaurant. That’s the reason each Foursquare user is worth $40, more than each Yelp user. Foursquare is also similar to Yelp in that reviews for each establishment are posted on the restaurant’s page, as well as how many people have checked in.

Facebook

Facebook is easily the largest social network in the world. Each Facebook user is worth approximately $118.34.

Facebook users update their content frequently, more than they do on Yelp and Foursquare, so each post or share about your restaurant brings only 2.4 cents worth of business. Facebook is unlike Yelp and Foursquare in that you’ll see a post about a certain restaurant only if it’s from a friend, and when you’re viewing your news feed. You can see how many people are “talking about” your restaurant, but you can’t always see what they’re saying.

Twitter

Twitter is an excellent way to reach out to customers, interact and provide a different level of customer service. However, each tweet sent by an average customer is worth less than a penny. Of course, this depends on the level of influence of the tweeter. If a large name such as Michael Symon positively tweets about your restaurant, it more than likely will bring a significant amount of business.

However, if a user with fewer than 200 followers and a Klout score of less than 20 were to tweet about your restaurant, it would be worth about one-tenth of a penny. This happens because tweets are sent out even more often than Facebook updates, and they show up only in Twitter feeds and on a user’s profile. Tweets about a restaurant can be viewed on the its Twitter page only if the restaurant retweets them.

Instagram

Instagram users are worth about $20 each, but it’s unclear how much each Instagram photo is worth. It’s safe to say each Instagram photo posted on Facebook is worth 2.4 cents and each tweet one-tenth of a penny. Instagram is quickly becoming the second-largest social network, and Facebook’s recent acquisition of it will only make it grow more. It’s incredibly important to keep an eye on Instagram and how much it can affect your business’ marketing strategy.

Sara Petersen is the content and marketing manager at Punch Mobile Marketing. Punch’s mission is to produce the best mobile-marketing content and solutions for foodservice providers to succeed at the mobile level. Read the company’s blog, follow it on Twitter and “like” its Facebook page.

The value of social media customers originally published by SmartBlogs

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