NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Being in the food business these days can be as complex as a mechanic-in-training trying to assemble a sports car from scratch.
Competition. Regulation. Segmentation. Diversity. Ethnicity. Allergies.
Yes, said Donna Hood Crecca, Technomic Inc.’s senior director, everything about foodservice starts and ends with the consumer. But with a national population swelling to more than 300 million that is increasingly multi-racial and multi-sectored, Crecca asks the obvious question: “How do we know who to go after?”
And considering that there are four active generations participating in the marketplace, the question is more nuanced and the answer less easily found.
And that’s the story of FARE 2015—educating and enabling restaurateurs and non-traditional foodservice operators to grow their business. Crecca moderated a session at the event in Nashville, Tenn., called Consumer: Diversity is King. Joining her were veteran foodservice marketing expert Ira Blumenthal, president of Co-Opportunities Inc.; Pete Filiaci, vice president of strategy and insights overseeing the restaurant division at Univision Communications Inc.; and Paul Jankowski, founder and chief strategist at Midwestern brand strategists New Heartland.
Here are five key strategies and insights to chew on:
- Se habla español? Embrace Hispanics. Spanish-dominant speakers are QSRs’ best patrons, generating 20% of all fast-food dollars and averaging $6.26 per ring in the channel, Viliaco said. “Community, faith and family are very important.” For Latinos, he said, food is “much more about the social experience.”
- More Spanish. Yes, we know our country is embroiled in an immigration debate. But the numbers speak for themselves: Hispanics are growing, and growing fast. Already making up 17% of our total population, Spanish-first speakers will increase their total percentage exponentially as they are much younger than other ethnic or racial groups and are producing larger families.
- Don’t throw the baby boomer out with the bath water. These “aging infants” are rattling deep pockets, impressive educational credentials and make up nearly one-fourth of the country’s population. “They are sophisticated consumers with cash in their pocket,” said Blumenthal, a proud boomer. To cater to this group, he said, consider smaller portions and more sophisticated takeout options as boomers frequently take their meals home in doggie bags.
- More than just the Nation’s Breadbasket. Faith and family guide this region that makes up 60%. Defined by Jankowski as the Midwest, Southwest and Southeast, the Heartland demands a different retail strategy than the more independent-minded East and West Coasts. Specifically, understand that this region loves high school and college sports, the outdoors, country music and classic homemade specialties like casseroles.
- Getting to know you. It is naïve to draw conclusions based on simple data points such as age, race or income. Rather, Crecca said, Technomic has broken up the consumer pool into seven tidy buckets.
They are:
- Busy Balancer: “She is the mega multi-tasker. She wants to do it all and to have it all.”
- Functional Eater: Eats on the go, in transit, likes Dominos but also Chipotle.
- Foodservice Hobbyists: These middle-income consumers respond to deals and cross all ages.
- Affluent Socializers: Healthful, likes fresh food.
- Bargain Hunters: Eats out two or three times a month, tends to be older and focused on price point.
- Health Enthusiasts: This group gets a lot of ink for sourcing, organic and other healthy attributes. But these home cookers tend to fall on the lower end of the dining-out curve.
- Habitual Matures: This older population may be widowed or divorced, dine alone or with one other and are creatures of habit when it comes to their preferred dishes.
Watch for more insight from the FARE Conference on CSPnet.com, and follow CSP’s coverage on Twitter at #FAREconference.
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