Why Foodservice Retailers Must Embrace the Grocerant Era The latest NielsenIQ report confirms what   Steven Johnson the Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® has been signa...

Why Foodservice Retailers Must Embrace the Grocerant Era #Food #Beverage #Snacks #Restaurants #ConvenienceStores #Grocery #Grocerant #Foodservice #Deli #GrocerantGuru #FoodserviceSolutions #Coffee #Pizza #Burgers #FreshFoods grocerants.blogspot.com/2026/04/why-...

Easter 2026: A $25 Billion “Grocerant” Moment — What Restaurants, C-Stores, and Grocery Must Do To Win Easter is no longer just a holiday—it’s a high-velocity, cross-channel food commerce event. With consumers projected to spend nearly $25 b...

Easter 2026: A $25 Billion “Grocerant” Moment — What Restaurants, C-Stores, and Grocery Must Do Now #Grocery #Grocerant #Foodservice #CStores #GrocerantGuru #FoodserviceSolutions #Restaurants grocerants.blogspot.com/2026/03/east...

Darden Restaurants: From Dining Rooms to Doorsteps—The Strategic Evolution of Takeout, Delivery, and Bundled Meals Few companies illustrate the transformation of American dining habits better than Darden Restaurants. Known for powerhouse brands like Oli...

Darden Restaurants: From Dining Rooms to Doorsteps—The Strategic Evolution of Takeout, Delivery, and Bundled Meals #Darden #Beef #Pasta #Steak #Restaurants #Grocerant #FoodDelivery #Takeout #GrocerantGuru #Foodservice grocerants.blogspot.com/2026/03/dard...

From Slurpee’s to Slam Dunks: How 7-Eleven Became a Grocerant Power Player on Game Day When it comes to feeding America during high-energy sports moments, 7‑Eleven is no longer just a pit stop—it’s a strategic foodservice co...

From Slurpee’s to Slam Dunks: How 7-Eleven Became a Grocerant Power Player on Game Day #CStores #Restaurants #Deli #Foodservice #Beer #wine #Snacks #Coffee #Pizza #7Eleven #GrocerantGuru grocerants.blogspot.com/2026/03/from...

How the Grocerant Niche Is Reshaping the $1.5 Trillion U.S. Foodservice Industry Portability, Fresh Prepared Foods, and the Power of the 5 P’s Fresh prepared foods, Ready-2-Eat meals, and Heat-N-Eat solutions have quiet...

How the Grocerant Niche Is Reshaping the $1.5 Trillion U.S. Foodservice Industry #Restaurants #Deli #CStores #Grocery #Grocerant #Foodservice #CPG #Takeout #Food #Beverage #GrocerantGuru grocerants.blogspot.com/2026/03/how-...

Flavor Forward: Why Beef Is Back on the Menu Flavor is not a trend. Flavor is the foundation. And today, across every restaurant segment — from QSR to polished casual — beef is reclai...

Beef Flavor Forward: Why Beef Is Back on the Menu #Food #Beef #Chicken #Pork #Lamb #Foodservice #Takeout #meals #menu #dinner #Grocerant #FoodserviceSolutions #GrocerantGuru #Beer #Wine grocerants.blogspot.com/2026/03/flav...

7-Eleven’s Big Bite in the Age of Time-Starved Consumers: Legacy Icon or Launchpad for Fresh Fast? No brand in the convenience ecosystem has historically leveraged a proprietary food item like the 7-Eleven with its Big Bite . The roller...

7-Eleven’s Big Bite in the Age of Time-Starved Consumers: Legacy Icon or Launchpad for Fresh Fast? #CStores #Food #Beverage #Foodservice #Restaurants #Grocerant #GrocerantGuru #FastFood grocerants.blogspot.com/2026/03/7-el...

A $1 Morning Time Machine: McDonald's Brings Back the Egg McMuffin Magic On March 2, the Golden Arches are doing more than discounting breakfast — they’re dialing up nostalgia, traffic, and app engagement with ...

A $1 Morning Time Machine: McDonald's Brings Back the Egg McMuffin Magic #McDonalds #EggMcMuffin #FastFood #Grocerant #Coffee #Breakfast #Foodservice #GrocerantGuru grocerants.blogspot.com/2026/03/a-1-...

The Share-of-Stomach Reset: Who Wins When Food Consumers Rewrite the Rules? The North American food marketplace is in the middle of a structural demand reallocation. Call it consumer discontinuity, call it channel ...

Food The Share-of-Stomach Reset: Who Wins When Food Consumers Rewrite the Rules? #Restaurants #CStore #FoodSales #Deli #Grocerant #Foodservice #GrocerantGuru #FastFood #FreshFoods #PreapredMeals grocerants.blogspot.com/2026/02/the-...

Fiber Takes Center Stage Across Food Channels in 2026 In 2026, “fiber-focused innovation” has emerged as one of the most consequential food trends shaping consumer choices and product developm...

Fiber Takes Center Stage Across Food Channels in 2026 #Restaurants #CStores #ServiceDeli #FreshFoods #FastFood #Takeout #DriveThru #CPG #Pizza #Coffee #Donuts #Food #Grocerant #GrocerantGuru grocerants.blogspot.com/2026/02/fibe...

Aldi’s Invitation to Customers — What Today’s Food Retail Data Shows Cultivating a brand is a full-time commitment. Dynamic brands evolve with consumers—and consumers are dynamic, not static. Aldi is dynamic...

Aldi’s Invitation to Customers — What Today’s Food Retail Data Shows #Grocery #CStore #Restaurants #GrocerantGuru #FoodserviceSolutions grocerants.blogspot.com/2026/01/aldi...

The End of the Penny: A Ripple Through Restaurants, C-Stores, and Grocery Stores When the United States officially retired from minting the penny in early 2025, few consumers initially adjusted their behavior; most saw ...

The End of the Penny: A Ripple Through Restaurants, C-Stores, and Grocery Stores #Grocery #Restaurants #ConveneinceStores #Food #Beverage #FoodserviceSolutions #GrocerantGuru grocerants.blogspot.com/2026/01/the-...

Mobile Marketing, Virtual Retail, and the Reinvention of Foodservice Brick-and-Mortar For more than a decade, Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant Guru®, Steven Johnson has documented a structural shift in how consumers discov...

Mobile Marketing, Virtual Retail, and the Reinvention of Foodservice Brick-and-Mortar #FoodMarketing #UW #WSU #UCLA #USF #UCF #UG #USC #UTD #Food #Beverage #Restaurants #CStores #Grocery #GrocerantGuru grocerants.blogspot.com/2026/01/mobi...

Millennials Don’t Hate Foodservice—They Hate Friction: Pricing, Authenticity, and Digital Discovery Are the New Table Stakes The foodservice industry is dynamic, not static—and Millennials have proven to be the clearest signal of where the market is headed, not a...

Millennials Don’t Hate Foodservice—They Hate Friction: Pricing, Authenticity, and Digital Discovery Are the New Table Stakes #Food #Restaurants #Grocerant #Foodservice #GrocerantGuru #Beef #Beer #Wine grocerants.blogspot.com/2025/12/mill...

From the Grocerant Guru® Stage, Why 2025 Was the Tipping Point: Convenience Stores Became True Meal Destinations When I stood on stage at the Convenience Store News Exchange in Denver last May, I told this audience something that felt provocative to...

Why 2025 Was the Tipping Point: Convenience Stores Became True Meal Destinations #CStores #food #Coffee #Pizza #ConvenienceStores #Restaurant #ServiceDeli #Grocerant #GrocerantGuru #Foodservice #SJU grocerants.blogspot.com/2025/12/from...

Sheetz Levels Up: Why Relevant Gamification Is a Long-Term Loyalty Engine For decades, Sheetz has understood something many brands still struggle to grasp: relevance is not declared — it is earned through partici...

Sheetz Levels Up: Why Relevant Gamification Is a Long-Term Loyalty Engine #CStores #Sheetz #Wawa #7Eleven #Food #FoodMarketing #Gamification #Grocerant #Restaurant #foodservice #GrocerantGuru grocerants.blogspot.com/2025/12/shee...

Yum Brands’ 2026 Trend Report Validates the Grocerant Growth Curve How Taco Bell, KFC, Pizza Hut, and Habit Burger Are Winning With Food Discovery, Price Value, and Mix-and-Match Bundling For more than a...

Yum Brands’ 2026 Trend Report Validates the Grocerant Growth Curve #Restaurants #CStores #Deli #Foodservice #Food #beverage #pizza #coffee #GrocerantGuru #YumBrands #TacoBell #PizzaHut #KFC grocerants.blogspot.com/2025/12/yum-...

Back to the Future: McDonald’s Rediscovers Its Low-Cost, Fast-Service DNA Why McDonald’s Return to Value Matters More in 2025 Than Ever Before In the earliest days of American quick-service dining, McDonald’s w...

Back to the Future: McDonald’s Rediscovers Its Low-Cost, Fast-Service DNA #FastFood #Meals #Dinner #McDonalds #ChainRestaurants #Grocerants #Snacks #Beverage #Foodservice #GrocerantGuru #Speaker grocerants.blogspot.com/2025/12/back...

Meal Kits 2025: Fresh, Frozen, and Shelf-Stable Fuel the Next Foodservice Frontier Why Restaurants, C-Stores, and Hotels Must Treat Meal Kits as a Core Growth Channel — Not a Side Project The meal-kit sector that once l...

Meal Kits 2025: Fresh, Frozen, and Shelf-Stable Fuel the Next Foodservice Frontier #Food #Dinner #MealKits #Restaurants #CStores #Grocerants #Foodservice #GrocerantGuru grocerants.blogspot.com/2025/12/meal...

LIDL: The Price Warrior’s Holiday Masterstroke — A Historic First and a New Battle for U.S. Grocery Loyalty For more than 50 years, LIDL has reshaped global grocery through a blend of German efficiency, limited-assortment merchandising, and rele...

LIDL: The Price Warrior’s Holiday Masterstroke — A Historic First and a New Battle for U.S. Grocery Loyalty #Grocery #Aldi #WinCo #Publix #Kroger #Albertsons #Walmart #Grocerant #Foodservice #Food #GrocerantGuru grocerants.blogspot.com/2025/12/lidl...

7-Eleven: The Quiet Global Fresh-Food Powerhouse Reshaping Convenience Retail #Grocerant #CStore #Restaurant #Milk #Pizza #Produce #Fruit #Takeout #Meals #FastFood #FreshFoods #GrocerantGuru #Digital grocerants.blogspot.com/2025/12/7-el...

2025 Coffee-Chain Competition Through the Eyes of the Grocerant Guru® How convenience stores, QSRs, and mid-size chains are reshaping morning coffee — and why Starbucks is no longer the only powerhouse on the...

2025 Coffee-Chain Competition Through the Eyes of the Grocerant Guru® #CStores #Restaurants #Deli #Grocery #Foodservice #Schools #DriveThru #GrocerantGuru #FoodserviceSolutions #Coffee #Water grocerants.blogspot.com/2025/12/2025...

Fast Food Discontinuity and the Millennial Quest for Discovery For decades, America’s fast-food sector thrived by doing what it had always done—replicating, repeating, and rarely reinventing. But in 20...

Fast Food Discontinuity and the Millennial Quest for Discovery #Restaurants #CStores #Grocerant #Grocery #Foodservice #OnlineOrdering #Food #Beverage #GrocerantGuru #WSU #UW #SJU #USF #UCF #UNLV grocerants.blogspot.com/2025/12/fast...

The Value of Fast-Food Gift Cards as Holiday Gifts Practical, popular, and — yes — still surprisingly strategic for brands. This holiday season, fast-food gift cards are doing double duty: ...

The Value of Fast-Food Gift Cards as Holiday Gifts #Restaurants #Grocerants #CStores #Deli #ChainRestaurants #FoodSales #Dinner #DriveThru #Foodservice #Takeout #GrocerantGuru grocerants.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-...

Hand Held Power: How Finger-Ready Food Is Re-Shaping Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner At the intersection of the consumer, meal-time fragmentation, and digital engagement sits the most powerful driver of retail foodservice g...

Hand Held Power: How Finger-Ready Food Is Re-Shaping Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner #Grocerants #Food #FoodDelivery #Takeout #Restaurants #DriveThru #Pizza #Coffee #Burgers #CStores #GrocerantGuru #Foodservice grocerants.blogspot.com/2025/12/hand...

When Multi-Brand Restaurant Companies Become Their Own Roadblock This is a Grocerant Guru® Perspective on Brand Distraction, Identity Dilution & the Myth of Multi-Brand Success. For decades, multi-bran...

When Multi-Brand Restaurant Companies Become Their Own Roadblock #ChainRestaurants #Grocerant #FoodSales #Branding #Marketing #GrocerantGuru #FoodserviceSolutions #Pizza #Coffee #Burgers grocerants.blogspot.com/2025/11/when...

Stuck in the Middle: What the Grocery “Mushy Middle” Feels Like — A Grocerant Guru® Take There’s a physical sensation to being “stuck in the middle” of the grocery sector — a vibration between two magnets pulling in opposite dire...

Stuck in the Middle: What the Grocery “Mushy Middle” Feels Like — A Grocerant Guru® Take #Food #Beverage #Grocery #Grocerant #Foodservice #ServiceDeli #Restaurant #CStore #GrocerantGuru grocerants.blogspot.com/2025/11/stuc...

Casey’s & Pepsi: A Classic Restaurant Playbook Move Fueling C-Store Foodservice Growth For more than five decades, Casey’s General Stores has steadily evolved from a rural convenience outlet into a national powerhouse, one tha...

Casey’s & Pepsi: A Classic Restaurant Playbook Move Fueling C-Store Foodservice Growth #CStores #Restaurants #FoodMarketing #Grocerant #Takeout #Foodservice #GrocerantGuru #FoodserviceSolutions #Pepsi #CaseysGeneralStore grocerants.blogspot.com/2025/11/case...

From Grocery Shopping to Meal Component Shopping: How Technology Is Rewriting a Century of Food Retail For more than 110 years, American grocery shopping has evolved in step with consumer lifestyles—and today, technology is accelerating that...

From Grocery Shopping to Meal Component Shopping: How Technology Is Rewriting a Century of Food Retail #Grocery #CStores #Restaurants #Meals #Dinner #Grocerant #Foodservice #GrocerantGuru grocerants.blogspot.com/2025/11/from...

Chicken Wars 3.0: Why Every Brand Is Elevating Chicken—And How Popeyes Is Protecting Its Crown The competition inside the chicken category has never been hotter. From grocery deli counters to C-stores, from QSR drive-thru’s to app-on...

Chicken Wars 3.0: Why Every Brand Is Elevating Chicken—And How Popeyes Is Protecting Its Crown #restaurants #Grocerant #Chicken #GrocerantGuru #Takeout #Foodservice #DriveThru #KFC #Churchs grocerants.blogspot.com/2025/11/chic...