Here it is, short and sweet. I'm now back from the FMI Show. In almost every presentation and conversation I had over the course of the past couple of days, I heard about better ways to buy, ship, display, price and sell all types of bags, bottles, boxes and cans. What I didn't hear, except in a few instances, was how much the people selling those containers loved what came inside them and the world of culinary possibilities they represent. My question is simple: where is the love?
A very long time ago, a successful restaurateur told me that the key to his business success was understanding that food was about the heart, not the head. It occurred to me that anyone I've ever spoken with at a top line restaurant started and ended their conversation talking about the food and the relationship (the personal kind) that they and their customers have with it.
Today, chefs are celebrities, and millions of people, foodies and non-foodies alike, tune into various cooking channels and shows to see what people are making and eating, even if they will never prepare or eat any of those dishes themselves.
Few topics can get people as animated, in a positive way, as talking about a great meal or the preparation of a new or favorite dish. Here's a consumer insight for you (no data crunching required): most people love food. They not only love eating it, they love thinking about eating it and talking about it. The memory of shared joys with families and friends over the years often involves food as a central element.
It's not enough to talk about freshness or quality in ads or in-store signage. That's the minimum requirement for being in the food business. It's also not personal. No, to really build an ongoing and connected relationship (some call it loyalty, but I'm not big on that word) with the people who shop in your stores, share your love of food with them.
To do that, start by hiring people who really love food. Could there be anything sadder than working in a grocery store and not being intellectually curious and emotionally open to all the possibilities that literally surround you?
Follow the hire, talk about food all the time and encourage associates to talk with each other and customers about it. Conversations at the register shouldn't just be about whether the customer prefers paper or plastic. When I was doing my research at Trader Joe's and manning the checkout at a local store, if I saw a particular sauce in a cart that I had used, I would share my recipe and preparation tricks with customers. On a regular basis, customers would come back on a return trip and tell me they tried my recommendation and that they enjoyed it. Quite often they would then tell me about something else they were going to prepare and ask if I had any recommendations. I am not a trained chef and am certainly not a gourmet of any type; just a normal person who tried something, liked it and shared it with others.
Stores such as Trader Joe's and Wegmans have prep and sample areas where customers can taste a particular dish and see how it was made. All the items required to make it, assuming they like it, are right there (or at least close by) for purchase. (I have an idea for a completely new food store format around this concept, but that's for another column.)
So, here's the recap: food retailing is a business about people and food. It's about people who like people and people who love food. Share the love.