John Chater’s Post

Stop in to say hi! 👋🏼👋🏼👋🏼 I’ll be with our incredibly dedicated & passionate clients Mary Macks, as they feature the world’s leading innovation in frozen snacks this week at the 2024 Summer Fancy Food show at the Javits Center, New York City 🍎 SCOOT Frozen Lemonade 🎉launched at this show last summer to raved 🥳 reviews. SCOOT was the talk at the Show by attendees & other vendors too!! This year, with distribution in North America well underway, they intend to make just as big of an impact in 2024. With over 90° temperatures projected for this weekend in NYC, I couldn’t think of a more perfect treat to be passing out for trial of the incredibly tasty 👅 & frozen 🥶 treat. You pick - Peach 🍑 Strawberry 🍓 or Lemonade 🍋… If you’re in the city or will be at the Fancy Food Show this weekend, please stop in and say hi to experience this award winning frozen delight. Booth #5608 Excited and honored to attend another important event focused on reconnecting with industry friends, identifying new distribution partners, expanding brand exposure, and seeking lead generation to elevate visibility and market share growth. This is the awesome road from ‘product brilliance and innovation’ to ‘delivering new fun to your freezer’. Named by Amazon’s frozen buyer as “the most innovative product to hit the frozen isle in decades”, SCOOT is changing how consumers experience life to the fullest! Whether as a kids treat, or adult mocktail or cocktail - once you try it, SCOOT will fast become your new favorite time frozen treat. #scootfrozenlemonade #consumerbrands #expanders #dedicatedtogrowth #deliverymarketnewness #usamade #manufacturingbrilliance #entreprenership #leadingindustrytrends #fancyfoodshow2024 #fancyfood #innovating #rockyourproduct

The spirits industry has shifted in recent years, and consumers are interacting differently with bars and restaurants, embracing at-home bartending, prioritizing health, and adjusting spending habits. Park Street Insider host Emmett Strack sat down with three prominent figures in the New York City on-premise scene at Bar Convent Brooklyn. Together, they discussed strategies for fostering meaningful relationships between brands and bars in this evolving landscape. Featured Guests: ➝ GN Chan, Co-Founder, Double Chicken Please ➝ Sebastien Derbomez, Manager of Brand Advocacy, William Grant & Sons ➝ Jason Hedges, Director of Beverage, Laurent Tourondel & Founder, BAR IQ Key Topics: ➝ The changing dynamics of on-premise spirits consumption ➝ Innovative approaches to brand-bar relationships ➝ Strategies for consumer education and product sampling This episode offers insights into the future of on-premise engagement. 🎧 Listen now: https://lnkd.in/eRYegZuF #ParkStreetInsider #SpiritsIndustry #BrandStrategy #BarScene #OnPremiseMarketing #IndustryInsights

It was great to see the hospitality industry coming together at Machine Hall for the inaugural Good Food Symposium. Guests heard from Callan Boys Alessandro Pavoni Huss Rachin, Palisa Anderson Rebecca Fanning and Patrick Ryan-Parker sharing their ideas and expertise on how to juggle the complexities of the current economic situation, staffing, pricing, social media and communication. As a newcomer into hospitality (Machine Hall Cafe) there were so many takeaways (pardon the pun 😩): Value creation is more about experience than price with familiar and more personal service driving loyalty - no more 'good evening Madam' A strong team culture can keep highly transient staff engaged. Giving them a shared vision of the future provides them with an opportunity to grow both personally and professionally. Staff are an extension of your brand so time invested in them is always time well spent. Google reviews are vital - so ask happy customers to post or only negatives prevail. Answer all negative reviews personally as this will enable brand messaging.  Businesses need to be multi platform business, comms are crucial and EDM’s sitting in the shadow of socials are the key to drive immediate sales.  Cheers! Nine #hospitality

Catherine Tabor, Founder & CEO of high-growth Sparkfly shares some great insights on dynamic offers in the QSR & Fast Casual space in Restaurant Dive. Here's an excerpt: "Made mainstream by the rideshare industry, surge pricing is a simple equation based on supply and demand. Dynamic pricing, however, is a much more complex model that adjusts the cost of an item or service based on market conditions, weather, season, time of day or supply changes. The critical distinction lies in the nuanced and data-driven nature of dynamic pricing. While surge pricing can feel punitive for the consumer during peak periods, dynamic pricing is more of a two-way street between brand and consumer that seeks to maintain customer trust and satisfaction while optimizing efficiencies for the company." 

💥Exclusive for a limited time! That should increase the excitement levels but it is not what we want! Sure we celebrated our first listing in a Fuller's Brewery pub and it is a great venue in the middle of the city but there are over 400 Fullers pubs. Yet more challenges... 1️⃣ Get noticed on the back bar. Fullers are doing a great job labelling sustainable brands ✅️ 2️⃣ Get the bar staff on your side. 🤔 Need to do some work on that. 3️⃣ Engage and be creative. Create campaigns that shout about your "exclusive" partnership. 💡 ...and the reward? Not to be exclusive to one Fuller's pub and to be in all 400 and that seems far more exciting. #recycle #reuse #sustainable #hospitalityindustry #trave #retail

So, here’s what I found out about Greggs while nosing around: They don’t just open one shop and call it a day. Oh no. They go all in and pop up at every street corner like it’s a neighborhood invasion. Why? Because if you’re tripping over a Greggs every 50 feet, you’re definitely not going to anyone else. It’s genius. And sneaky. Kind of like Starbucks, where you can sip a latte while staring at another Starbucks right across the street. The point is, these guys go one locally dense. They want you to have zero excuses not to choose them. But what do some other restaurant operators do? They spread wide, like spreading butter too thin on toast—barely making a dent anywhere. They rush to plant flags all over different cities like they’re playing a game of Risk. But there’s a problem: in each city, they’re just… there. Not dominating, not owning the space, just existing. And supporting those faraway stores? That’s a headache on a whole new level. Recruitment? A nightmare. Marketing? Forget it. You’re basically running around trying to hold things together with duct tape and hope. But here’s the kicker: While you’re busy playing Whac-A-Mole with operations in six different cities, copycats swoop in. Enter the #SamwerBrothers, the German kings of copy-paste businesses. They see your scattered effort and think, “Ah, yes, perfect. We’ll take it from here.” Now, I know what you’re thinking. "Going one locally dense? Slows down expansion, doesn’t it?" Sure. But here’s the thing—what if instead of trying to be everywhere and impress no one, you became a #LocalLegend? What if you focused your marketing on the people who could literally walk to your restaurant? So, you can either be the restaurant a few have heard of — or you can go deep, dominate one block at a time, and make sure no one even considers the competition. Me? I will be Greggs-ing the heck out of every street corner I could find. #RestaurantBusiness #RestaurantOperation #RestaurantScaling

Today, As I was having a chat with a young manager of a restaurant on a lively beach street, our discussion as usual went in to the operational details and it came up - their hurdles weren't just day-to-day operations but more on the strategic side. 🚧 Some Insights which stood out: 1️⃣ Lost in the Waves with no clear direction: Staying true to your brand vibe is key. Without a clear compass, it's easy to drown in the sea of trying to be everyone's favorite. 2️⃣ Quality over Quantity: More isn't always merrier. In the food world, Showcasing your strengths and elevating guest experiences usually steals the show. 3️⃣ Menu Mix Magic: A killer menu strategy isn't just a bonus; it's a must-have. It can boost sales, slash waste, and pump up profits. 4️⃣ Craving Simplicity: Mostly, less is more. Dishing up "everything under the sun" can blur your brand's charm and confuse your fans and some owners happy :( thats an irony tho 5️⃣ Technology to win: Thinking technology is just good to have to embracing technology as your trusted side kick who enables to deliver tasks faster and consistently by which the team can focus on creating exceptional guest experiences If you find your spot is sailing in a similar boat, let's catchup for a no frill chat and chart a course back to what makes your brand sparkle. 📈 #Marktx #Hospitalityguys #SimplifyF&B #TechnologyToSucceed #SimpleWins #Brewvend

🍽️ New Mall Dining Trends: Say Goodbye to the Old, Welcome the New! 🛍️ As US malls undergo a transformation, bidding farewell to familiar names like Ruby Tuesday and Chili's’s, they're ushering in a new era of dining experiences. From Sushein - Conveyor Belt Sushi belts to craft-beer clubs and Korean barbecue joints, malls are embracing diverse cuisines and innovative concepts to entice visitors. 🌐 Changing Landscape: Traditionally the heart of American communities, malls faced challenges from the pandemic, over-development, and shifting consumer habits towards online shopping. Departure of anchor stores and chain restaurants like Applebee's Neighborhood Grill + Bar signaled a shift in consumer preferences. Emerging Trends: Smaller regional chains like Lazy Dog Restaurant & Bar, Gen Korean BBQ House, and Postino WineCafe, alongside global cuisines, are becoming mall staples. 'Eatertainment' concepts like Puttshack and Topgolf are extending dwell time, while Kura Revolving Sushi Bar offers a unique dining experience with rolling robots and interactive tabletops. 🚗 Drive-Thru Dominance: With quick-service giants like McDonald's’s and Chick-fil-A Restaurants-fil-A shuttering mall locations in favor of drive-thrus, the landscape is evolving. Drive-thru sales surged to $133 billion in 2022, indicating a shift towards convenience and profitability. 🛒 Implications for Malls: Food and beverage now play a pivotal role in mall strategies, replacing traditional anchors and drawing foot traffic. The share of mall space dedicated to dining has grown from 5% to 15-20%, reflecting its newfound importance. Challenges Ahead: While newer dining concepts offer promise, losing anchor eateries poses challenges. Mall landlords and analysts recognize the importance of balancing innovation with established favorites. 🍕 Looking Ahead: Gen Korean BBQ House exemplifies the shift towards experiential dining, offering a departure from conventional burger and pizza joints. As malls evolve to attract diverse dining options, the success of these ventures remains to be seen. In an era of culinary exploration and experiential dining, malls are reinventing themselves as vibrant hubs of gastronomic delight. While the road ahead may be uncertain, one thing is clear: the mall dining experience will never be the same again! By Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN #MallDining #FoodTrends #RestaurantIndustry #RetailRevolution #ConsumerHabits #Innovation #DriveThru #GastronomicDelight #ExperientialDining

🫐 If Jamba Juice ruled the 00’s, Playa Bowls could run the 20’s. If you haven’t heard of Playa Bowls, you will soon. Founded in 2014, they just opened their 100th location up from 27 locations in 2022. They’ve absolutely dominated the market when it comes to Gen Z engagement, beating out chains like Smoothie King and Tropical Smoothie who have chain numbers in the thousands. What makes Playa Bowls unique is that they’re not a one-trick pony. While every other smoothie brand focuses on just smoothies, Playa Bowls has honed in on acai bowls. Rather than blending in with the crowd, they’ve carved out their own space in the health-food market, making acai the center of their menu. To compete, their rivals over at Tropical Smoothie Cafe (who are more than 10x larger) launched their first line of bowls themselves last year, and have begun to close the gap. Gen Z is speaking and Claim hears them loud and clear: Smoothies are out, and Acai is in. -- P.S. 👋 I’m Luke, Head of Marketing & Partnerships at Claim. Follow me for more breakdowns of how Gen Z shops, and how we’re putting brands in front of their future top customers, one friend at a time.

An anchor could be a park, a downtown city center, or even certain restaurants. For example, a Starbucks in a shopping center acts as an anchor for other outlets like Publix or grocers, drawing foot traffic that helps stimulate their business. This relationship benefits everyone involved by supplementing income. What’s your favorite anchor? Comment down below! 👇