New Opportunities in Catering and Prepared Meals
By Amelia Levin, Sr. Associate Editor -- Foodservice Equipment & Supplies, 11/1/2008 12:00:00 AM
The volatile and challenging economic climate is forcing consumers to evaluate the way they spend their food dollars. Regardless of how they spend their money, though, it seems as if a growing number of consumers are showing a greater interest to consume their meals in the home, where they can save on beverages and gratuities.
One study shows consumers, especially families, these days are turning toward prepared meals at supermarkets and other retail outlets. And they are opting to employ these resources to prepare food for their in-home parties and other social events. Another study shows a growing interest in cooking more meals at home rather than dining out, published reports have said.
A study conducted by Chicago-based research firm Technomic found that more than one in three respondents report that they have ordered full meals or platters for meetings, parties and social occasions, and 79 percent said these purchases were made frequently. In fact, 33 percent said they place these orders at least once a month.
The findings indicate enormous potential for restaurants to capture this growing market as a way to boost sales when in-store dining sales seem to have decreased across the board. “Our initial findings show that chain restaurants have a viable opportunity to capture a larger share of this market and improve same-store sales without cannibalizing their dine-in traffic,” said Melissa Wilson, a Technomic principal.
Chains such as Applebee's, those that comprise the Brinker family, BJ's Restaurants, and more quick-serve ones like Jimmy John's, are among the many restaurant operators to have jumped on this catering-focused bandwagon with curbside takeout with designated parking spots where restaurant staff drop off orders, including with party platters, to customers' cars. In fact, Outback Steakhouse, which also offers curbside takeout, has said, in published reports, this service accounts for about 10 percent of companywide sales. And, just last month, California Pizza Kitchen introduced online ordering on www.cpk.com for both curbside and traditional carry-out meals.
By the same token, supermarkets continue to capitalize on prepared meals-to-go as a way of boosting sales during rough times. In fact, 62 percent of the consumers surveyed by Technomic purchased more supermarket-prepared meals than a year ago.
This places supermarkets in more direct competition with fast-food restaurants, who once dominated the meals-to-go sector, the Technomic study said. Convenience was cited as the reason for buying more retail meal solutions by 86 percent of the total 1,500 consumers surveyed.
“Retail food chains have been actively developing retailer meal solutions with strong customer appeal … to reposition themselves as competitors to restaurants,” said Darren Tristano, executive vice president of Technomic. “Consumers face increasingly difficult economic choices, like balancing the higher cost of gasoline with the decision to dine out. To stay in the game, retailers and restaurant operators will have to continue to adapt to meet the market's changing needs.”
To add to this research, more than half of consumers surveyed believe that retailer-prepared foods have greatly improved during the last three years. And, taste and freshness of food are the most important factors in choosing to purchase such a meal, Technomic reported. One-fifth of consumers said they would purchase more of these meals-to-go if there were a greater variety of menu items offered, particularly in convenience stores.
In fact, total shopping trips have decreased 3 percent, likely due to rising gas costs, according to a report from Information Resources Inc.
As a result, this again shows that supermarkets, operators and retailers alike can continue to maximize their revenues by investing in catering options for their customers, and especially if they offer a variety of menu choices.
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