From Grocery Store to Grocerant

By: Margaret Core, Vice President, Industry Events, Food Marketing Institute

Grocery stores are under increasing competitive pressures to add restaurant-style and take-out options, creating a new hybrid, the “grocerant” with its focus on day parts – breakfast, lunch and dinner. At the same time, store managers are searching for the right mix of fresh foods, hot bars and sit-down restaurants as they expand their perimeters.

While managers may think they have come up with the right combination of products to please their customers at the moment, it’s difficult to know when and how quickly their tastes and culinary interests will change.

To prepare today for what shoppers will want in the future takes strategic flexibility in everything from merchandising to packaging to store design. Food retailers can develop this flexibility through strong relationships with your design and equipment partners. And the best place to do that? FMI Connect, where representatives of nearly 300 companies will be able to guide you through the latest innovations with in-store food preparation, in-store equipment and supplies, furnishings and fresh-food displays.

You could easily start with Hill PHOENIX (Booth 2422), a leading manufacturer of display cases, refrigeration systems and design solutions. The Hill PHOENIX Design Center is a working laboratory where its professionals will help you find everything from the right lighting to the most efficient space design, all intended to take advantage of the latest merchandising trends and technologies to boost your bottom line.

If your challenge is making sure your refrigerated products – either on the perimeter or in the center aisles – are displayed in the most appealing way possible, Hussman’s (Booth 1408, Pulse 17) innovations in energy efficiency and sustainability, food quality, design and engineering can help you make the decisions you need to about satisfying your shoppers of the future.

And what about your produce section? Corrigan (Booth 3116) has been the go-to company in fresh produce preservation ever since the late 1970s when company founder Jack Corrigan applied his own civil engineering background to the preservation challenges in his “Carrot Top” produce market. Today, the family-owned company continues to find new ways to help groceries with practical ways to efficiently preserve fresh foods in an effort to boost profits.

And as you steadily turn your grocery store into a grocerant, you’ll want to visit with the professionals at Structural Concepts (Booth 2415), who can help with customizable, albeit minimalist, design that puts the spotlight on your food offerings, be they deli salads, signature pizza, charcuterie, soups or ethnic cuisines.

Freshly prepared, un-packaged “real-meal solutions” in grocery stores now account for more than $20 billion in sales. Do not miss out on one cent of that fast-growing segment!

Make the connections you need with the innovators in store design and equipment at FMI Connect. And not just at the Expo either: Arrange ahead of time to meet with them in the Connect Business Exchange (CBX).

See also the upcoming relevant sessions at FMI Connect on Creating Fresh Destinations Throughout the Perimeter; Riding the Wave of Food Trends; Five Top Trends in Fresh Foods You Can Use to Accelerate Growth; Prepared Foods Innovation… Relevant Trends for Every Segment  and more.