Restaurants Look For Growth in Grocery Stores
Restaurants are invading the supermarket.
Every day it seems as though a new coffee (see Dunkin' Donuts, Starbucks, McDonald’s, etc.) is either being placed on store shelves or announcing a deal that will lead to that. And it's not just coffee, according to Burger Business, as Red Robin Gourmet Burgers rolls out fries while Arby's and others sell sauces and various condiments. White Castle burgers are a frequent sight in freezer cases.
Consumer packaged goods, according to restaurantbriefing.com, "can help promote and extend a restaurant's brand, and be a source of incremental revenue."
The trend is certainly catching on as "59 percent of fine dining, 54 percent family dining, 41 percent fast casual, 37 percent quick service, and 35 percent casual dining operators" now market packaged products bearing their names, according to 2012's National Restaurant Association Forecast.
The need to find new revenue streams may become more important in light of the latest North American Restaurant Consumer Sentiment Review by AlixPartners which predicts consumers will be dining out less often in 2014 and spending fewer dollars when they do.