Grocerant Guru

Grocerant Guru's articles

  1. CPG & FMCG

Grocer, Who’s Watching the Store When You Should Be Watching the Customer?

  The Grocery Industry Has Become Exceptionally Good at Watching Shelves, Categories and Inventory—and Surprisingly Bad at Watching Where the Customer Is Going You have all heard the old grocery adage: “Stack ’em high and let ’em fly.” For generations, that was grocery retailing in a nutshell. Keep the shelves full, keep the displays attractive, […]
9 min read
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  1. CPG: Food

Smoothie King’s Flatbread Lesson: Why Hand-Held Food Is the Next Growth Platform

  Smoothie King may have started with smoothies, but its latest sales performance demonstrates something much bigger about the American foodservice consumer: beverages are food, flatbreads are food, and hand-held foods are increasingly becoming the format for how America eats. The Dallas-based chain reported 9% same-store sales growth in July, with its new Chicken Flatbreads […]
7 min read
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  1. CPG: Beverage

The Next Restaurant Battle Is Bigger Than Food: McDonald’s, Red Bull and the Fight for Consumer Occasions

  McDonald’s is getting into the energy-drink business with Red Bull, but from my perspective as the Grocerant Guru®, the bigger story is not caffeine. The bigger story is consumer evolution. Consumers are no longer willing to define a restaurant visit by the traditional three meals a day, a limited beverage menu and a single […]
6 min read
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  1. CPG & FMCG

Bahama Buck’s Takes the Taste of Paradise Beyond Its Four Walls: Why SnoBlast Could Be a Big Growth Step After 35 Years

  After 35 years in business, the biggest challenge for any restaurant or foodservice brand is not simply staying relevant—it is finding new ways to make the brand relevant more often, in more places and for more occasions. That is why Bahama Buck’s launch of SnoBlast deserves more attention than a typical new-product announcement according […]
7 min read
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  1. Shopper & Customer

Burger King’s Comeback: 7 Food Marketing Lessons Restaurants Can Learn in 2026

  BURGER KING IS EATING ITS COMPETITORS’ LUNCH, The Whopper, Better Operations, Smarter Marketing and a Return to Consistency Are Turning Burger King Into One of Fast Food’s Most Important Comeback Stories according to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®. Burger King didn’t win the second quarter of 2026 by inventing […]
10 min read
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  1. Shopper & Customer

Campbell’s Frozen Meal Expansion Aligns with the Future of Food Retail

  For more than 155 years, Campbell’s has demonstrated an extraordinary ability to evolve alongside the American consumer according to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®. Founded in 1869 as the Joseph A. Campbell Preserve Company, the company transformed the grocery industry with condensed soup, built one of the world’s most […]
5 min read
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  1. Shopper & Customer

The New Revenue Playbook: What Hilton’s ResortPass Strategy Teaches Every Hotel, Restaurant, and Food Retailer About Growth

  Business leaders often search for the next disruptive innovation, but sometimes the most profitable opportunity is hiding in plain sight according to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®. Hilton’s partnership with ResortPass isn’t simply about giving local consumers access to hotel pools and resort amenities. It represents a fundamental shift […]
5 min read
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  1. Data & Insights

Amazon Has Finally Cracked the Food Retail Code—Fresh Food, Fast Service, Price Value, and Personalized Convenience

  For more than two decades, the Grocerant Guru® has maintained that the retailers who would ultimately dominate food retail would not necessarily have the most stores—they would have the most relevant customer experience. That winning formula has always been remarkably simple: Price + Quality + Service + Convenience + Portability = Customer Value. Today, […]
6 min read
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  1. Shopper & Customer

KFC’s Country Fried Steak Is More Than a Value Meal—It’s a Blueprint for Winning More Meal Occasions

  KFC’s decision to spotlight its $4.99 Country Fried Steak Meal may appear to be another limited-time value promotion, but from the Grocerant Guru® perspective, it represents something much bigger. It demonstrates how a legacy quick-service restaurant can elevate its brand by borrowing credibility from casual dining while delivering exceptional value at a time when […]
6 min read
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  1. Shopper & Customer

Clean Restrooms Are No Longer a Convenience—They’re a Competitive Advantage

  For decades, food retailers have spent billions of dollars improving menus, remodeling stores, and investing in technology. Yet one of the most influential drivers of customer loyalty remains one of the least glamorous: the restroom. Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® say’s just look at the latest Bradley Co. Healthy […]
4 min read
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  1. Shopper & Customer

Cracker Barrel’s Leadership Reset: Can David Deno Restore Customer Relevance, or Will History Repeat Itself?

  Leadership changes alone do not fix restaurant brands. They only create an opportunity to fix the strategy according to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®. Cracker Barrel’s appointment of David Deno as CEO signals that the Board believes operational discipline can accelerate the company’s recovery after one of the most […]
6 min read
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  1. Shopper & Customer

Weigel’s Delivery Growth Proves the Regional C-Store Is Winning the Battle for Share of Stomach

For years, Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® said that the future of food retail would not be determined by who has the biggest stores, the largest assortment, or even the lowest prices. The winners would be the companies that own more food occasions throughout the day. Weigel’s latest delivery success […]
6 min read
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