Innovative Operators Promote Snacking, Grab-and-Go Trends for Menu SuccessInnovative Operators Promote Snacking, Grab-and-Go Trends for Menu Success

Right now there is great opportunity in snacking, already on the rise before the pandemic and even more ingrained in consumer behavior since. A Hartman Group report last year notes that “the idealized notion of three ‘square,’ structured meals a day is now, in practice, an eating culture characterized by frequent snacking throughout the day.” In fact, 48% of food and beverage occasions are snacking occasions, Hartman says.

One-stop shop

A key step to building a strong snack business is partnering with a food manufacturer that offers a portfolio of snacks broad enough to satisfy the varied demands of snack lovers and the corporate resources to support operators.

That describes J&J Snack Foods Corp., the one-stop snacking solution found everywhere the fun is. A publicly traded company with more than $1 billion in revenues, the J&J Snack Foods portfolio encompasses more than 30 brands, ranging from soft pretzels to churros, funnel cakes, baked goods, frozen novelties and frozen beverages. This product range offers solutions for appetizers, entrees, desserts and side dishes as well as snacks.

Prominent J&J Snack Foods brands include SUPERPRETZEL®, the number-one selling soft pretzel brand, and the versatile new SUPERPRETZEL® Soft Pretzel Fries, plus a variety of other classic soft pretzel specialties ranging from our traditional to upscale Bavarian style. In sweet snacks, its brands include Tio Pepe’s® Churros and California Churros®, The Funnel Cake Factory® and New Day® Mini Bundt Cakes. Add to that an array of frozen novelties and frozen beverages ranging from LUIGI’S® Real Italian Ice to ICEE® Freeze to Minute Maid® Soft Frozen Lemonade.

With its corporate reach and market presence, J&J Snack Foods can provide benefits to its partner operators such as equipment and service support, insights on industry trends and advice on getting the most out of culinary concepts, promotions, and social media.

Familiar and comfortable

Another reason to work with a snack food provider with market-leading brands is the comfort and reassurance that consumers take in names that they know and respect, especially in these uncertain and unsettling times. “With many consumers returning again and again to their go-to, favorite snacks, brand iconicity and familiarity are attributes of rising importance,” says Hartman Group.

“Turning to a favorite brand, or a small set of favorites, is another way consumers seek some familiarity in an unfamiliar world,” is how Hartman Group sums it up.

Operational pluses

The minimal labor requirements for serving snack foods can help restaurant operators cope with the staffing challenges that are common in today’s industry. In fact, 7 in 10 restaurant operators say their restaurants lack enough employees to support customer demand, according to the National Restaurant Association 2022 State of the Restaurant Industry Report.

Thus it is advantageous for operators to add snacks that are prepared, prepackaged and ready to serve with minimal labor. For example, fully baked, individually wrapped soft pretzels are easy to heat and display in a soft pretzel warmer for grab-and-go sales. Another example, The Funnel Cake Factory® Traditional Funnel Cakes, need only to be refried and served with powdered sugar or a flavorful sauce. And nothing tops the ease of serving ready-to-enjoy frozen novelties in convenient pre-portioned formats, such as tubes and cups.

Creative flair

The inherent operational advantages of snack foods provide operators with ideal platforms to make creative appetizers, main courses, side dishes and desserts. With a little imagination and products already on hand in the kitchen, an operator can add exciting sweet and savory items like the following to the menu:

Tio Pepe's® Sticky Spicy Asian Churros: Fry a 10-inch churro, cut it into pieces, and toss with sweet and spicy sauce, orange blossom honey, allspice, chopped candied orange and sliced roasted almonds.

The Funnel Cake Factory® Key Lime Funnel Cake Parfait: Bake a funnel cake, cut into pieces, layer them in a mason jar with key lime curd, whipped cream, and powdered sugar.

SUPERPRETZEL® Soft Pretzel Fries with Warm Crab Dip: Bake Soft Pretzel Fries until warm, blend with a mixture of lump crabmeat, cream cheese, butter, mayonnaise, and spices. Bake to create a novel entrée or shareable appetizer that takes just a few minutes to heat and serve.

A well-conceived snack offering can help operators attract more guests and boost sales while holding the line on labor. Teaming up with the snack experts at J&J Snack Foods will give operators an advantage in this major business opportunity.

With consumers snacking more these days to boost energy, satisfy hunger between meals or simply add fun and excitement to their day, there is an abundance of potential customers for these classic snacking favorites.

Versatility and variety are among the strong suits that soft pretzels bring to the table. America’s number-one provider of soft pretzels is J&J Snack Foods Corp., a company with 30-plus brands and more than $1 billion in revenues. Starting with the simplest ingredients in SUPERPRETZEL®, twisting into a Bavarian-style bun and roll and evolving into a more authentic take of the German style, Brauhaus Pretzel™, J&J Snack Foods has a soft pretzel to please any consumer taste and meet any operational need.

Soft pretzels are great served plain or salted, or with dips, cheeses, mustards and sauces. In addition, with a little imagination and other ingredients typically found in the kitchen, an operator can easily transform them into a variety of creative appetizers, main courses, side dishes and desserts.

Wide-ranging lineup

Here are some highlights from the J&J Snack Foods soft pretzel collection:

SUPERPRETZEL®, the number-one selling soft pretzel brand, is a traditional soft pretzel fully baked and ready to easily heat and serve. It is ideal for serving plain or salted, or with various seasonings and flavorings.

Pretzel Fillers® Stuffed Soft Pretzels come in twisted, bites and stick formats, filled, or topped with sweet or savory flavors, ready to heat and serve.

Other J&J Snack Foods soft pretzel favorites include Brauhaus Pretzel™, an authentic German-style pub pretzel, and Bavarian Bakery® gourmet soft pretzel sticks and rolls.

A key advantage of partnering with a leading food manufacturer is access to corporate resources. Those who team up with J&J Snack Foods may benefit from equipment and service support, shared insights on industry trends, merchandising knowhow, recipes and menu ideas and advice on getting the most out of culinary concepts, promotions and social media.

Familiarity and ease

Consumers see soft pretzels as familiar, approachable and inviting. This gives operators a free hand to use them as platforms for innovative menu items that consumers will be excited and eager to try.

Furthermore, the operational ease of using soft pretzels gives operators a measure of relief from the labor shortages, supply chain disruptions and rising costs that are prevalent in the industry today. And for those who operate streamlined, grab-and-go concepts, soft pretzels are perfect for appealing to impulse-driven snackers.

Getting creative

Given their affinity for seasonings, dips, sauces and fillings, soft pretzels are eminently suited for quick and easy culinary applications, both savory and sweet, that go beyond snacking.

One-of-a-kind menu items can be an important draw in a hyper-competitive marketplace. In fact, 43% of consumers consider it important that the appetizers they order are unique to the establishment, according to Technomic research.

Here are some soft pretzel menu inspirations:

Brauhaus Pretzel™ Panzanella Salad features grilled slices of Brauhaus Pretzel™, red onions, tomatoes, scallions, torn basil leaves and snow peas tossed with a tangy vinaigrette dressing.

SUPERPRETZEL® Soft Pretzel Fries are a fun and tasty base for appetizers and main courses as well as a welcome change of pace from traditional French fries. For a zesty signature item, build a zesty SUPERPRETZEL® Taco Soft Pretzel Fries Skillet by topping the popular soft pretzel fries with lean ground beef, Mexican seasonings, shredded cheddar, lettuce, tomato, sour cream and jalapeno slices.

Perfect for a sweet treat, Chocolate Turtle Soft Pretzel Bites combine SUPERPRETZEL® Soft Pretzel Bites® with caramel sauce, dark and white chocolate syrup and toasted pecans.

Operators wishing to ramp up their burger or sandwich business can leverage the flavor and novelty of Bavarian Bakery® Bavarian Sticks and Rolls. In fact, 60% of pretzel buns are menued with hot or cold sandwiches, according to Datassential research.

Year-round enjoyment

Soft pretzels are appealing and marketable year-round. However, there are special opportunities on the calendar to celebrate these classic snacks throughout April, which is National Soft Pretzel Month, and on April 26, which is National Soft Pretzel Day.

Promoting an appealing soft pretzel menu goes a long way toward capturing and holding the attention of snack fans today. Partnering with the soft pretzel experts at J&J Snack Foods gives operators an advantage in this major business opportunity.

Perhaps the singular most detail we all agonize over when we are having a dinner party is the menu — what we’ll serve, how it pairs with other menu items, who will enjoy it, whether there any special dietary needs or restrictions and how it will hold until the guests start to eat. Other things to consider are the equipment to produce the menu, whether we have the skill to execute and what it will all cost.

Restaurant operators stress over the same questions, with some added critical points: Why am I changing/adding to the menu? Do I need “one-off” ingredients? What existing menu items need to come off the menu, and how do I determine which items they are? Can my team replicate these items consistently?

Menu change is inevitable and foundational to the success of most restaurants. Restaurants need to be nimble and flexible and stay within their brand. This couldn’t be truer with the climate we live in today. Every restaurant is fighting for market share, and often their adaptation is additionally driven by their direct competition (think the “chicken sandwich wars”). Even the most iconic, longest lasting restaurants change their menus. When they do, the change is methodically decided by these and brand-specific questions.

One of the most often forgotten questions is this: Does this impact our ability to produce the menu in general? You see, proper menu design requires balance — specifically balance in terms of which station is tasked with producing the menu item and the stressors it puts on that station. If you add three items to the grill station, does the menu become too grill heavy to stay within desired service times? The right equipment and technology can offset the labor and skill level needed to execute.

Corporate restaurants have these answers down to a science. They build their menus on systems and structure. They know their systems are intertwined. They leave nothing to chance as they know slim margins depend on consistent execution down to the smallest detail.

Menu change for corporate restaurants is challenging. Considerations include product availability (what challenges will we have when sourcing and sustaining product, nationally and regionally?), item replication (can we replicate this item consistently regardless of location?) and guest acceptance/demand on a local, regional, national and global level.

Here are my tips on what chain restaurants can do to advance their menu innovation:

Guests are well trained on consistency, thriving on this attribute whether dining at a chain or a local, independent restaurant.

Years ago, I was speaking with an operator who was struggling despite being near a bustling army base. One of their main selling points, and the driver for their marketing strategy, was the local flair they offered. He felt that was something chains weren’t able to offer at such a granular level. I explained that they were struggling to gain market share not because of execution or what they served, but because they were fighting against familiarity more than anything. The army base residents, when not eating on base, sought out a restaurant that reminded them of home. Life choices impact people at many levels, we all find comfort in food and what reminds us of where we came from.

Menu innovation is different for independent restaurants. Independent restaurants focus on local, being unique (standing out from the crowd). They look to appeal locally. Flavor profiles are driven by tradition. Menu items may change more because the restaurant cannot purchase as well as the corporate restaurants; they do not have the volume purchases required to compete on price point.

Here are my tips on what independent restaurants can do to advance their menu innovation:

Oversimplified — OK, very oversimplified — there are two types of consumers: cost-driven and value-driven. Now one may think the latter is the less expensive option, but it isn’t. Value, when combined with price, drives perception (or price/value perception). Consumers look for their experience to match or exceed what they spend, and that goes beyond the menu. That goes directly to how the restaurant delivers on every level — décor, service, execution, attention to detail and, of course, quality and flavor of the food and drink.

Cost-driven consumers are primarily looking at what it costs to eat today. Can it really be that simple? The answer is yes. However, restaurant success is driven by complex questions and answers, focus groups (formal and informal), trial and error, data and analysis, marketing and staying on brand.

Menu evolution is needed to stay competitive, but it must be done methodically and with understanding what ripple effect that change will have on the bottom line.

Grab and go used to be the tail on the onsite dining dog—the quick alternative for customers in too much of a rush to custom order at the serving stations—but is now threatening to become the whole beast, or at least a good hunk of it. The reasons are myriad, but a lot of it has to do with COVID, as does so much else today.

As the pandemic forced operators who remained open to restrict the number of people in a dining venue at any given time, many turned to offering pre-prepared, packaged items for takeaway that required minimal customer time on the premises and little or no interaction with dining staff. As a bonus, grab and go meals allow streamlined production in onsite kitchens struggling with staffing or in offsite commissaries where economies of scale can be leveraged.

Once pandemic began to recede over the past year with the advent of vaccines, more traditional forms of foodservice started to re-emerge, but the grab and go component has still continued to thrive, prompting some operators to bulk up their pre-existing grab and go displays or even convert counter service or shuttered self-service space (e.g., traditional salad bars) to this function.

With the recent surge in infections brought on by COVID’s Omicron variant, some operations have been forced to once again close their serveries and go all grab and go or pre-order/takeout. The Omicron-driven restrictions are supposed to be short-term, but then so were the “two weeks to flatten the curve” shutdowns implemented in spring 2020, so who knows?

(For the purposes of this discussion, “grab and go” is defined as food that was pre-prepared and packaged in a production kitchen and sold “as is” in contrast to pre-ordered meals that can be customized and prepared to individual preferences).

Between them, grab and go and pre-ordered takeout constitute a growing market share of total number of meals served by onsite dining programs across most segments, and there’s little doubt that they will continue to do so even if COVID was shot dead tomorrow. This is driven on both the demand and supply side by factors ranging from cultural demands for more convenience and safety concerns to production efficiencies and technological innovations.

Here are six areas to consider when looking to boost grab and go sales…

Explore new customer niches in additional outlets

Grab and go displays traditionally were placed in existing venues like cafeterias and retail outlets such as c-stores and cafes, where they could easily be replenished as part of the regular schedules restocking those venues. However, given the falloff in customers at traditional locations, operators looking for additional sales may want to explore installing units in previously un- or under-served areas where they can intercept customers who may not be willing or able to go to the traditional locations. These include outbuildings, emergency rooms and waiting areas in healthcare facilities, dorms on college campuses and break or recreation areas in workplaces. Some of these locations were traditionally served by old-school vending machines but might represent opportunities for upsells to the more sophisticated kind of fare grab and go packaged items represent.

Give home meal replacement another look

Most traditional grab and go focused on serving customers who remain onsite but require something they can take away and eat while at workstations or between classes. However, the pandemic uncovered and expanded another market, which is for grab and go meant to be taken offsite—in other words, what used to be referred to as “home meal replacement.” As operations look for new market niches to replace lost revenues from reduced onsite customer counts, adding grab and go items specifically meant—and conveniently accessed—to be taken away by customers leaving for home could represent such an added revenue stream, especially if the in-house dining operation already enjoys a reputation for quality food.

Leverage technology

Equipment costs and space/labor allocation are major factors in deciding whether added outlets for offering grab and go are worth pursuing, but advances in automated service are helping mitigate some of that. Unmanned retail has been around for a long time, as simple vending machines and later as micro-markets, but recent innovations have reduced the kind of space traditional micro-markets required while enhancing security and expanding the kinds of products offered. “Smart” fridge units and AI-enabled retail spaces have made service outlets offering grab and go items and other products feasible in areas where it would not have made fiscal or operational sense before. Encouragingly, as these tech solutions proliferate, they can also expect to become more affordable for more operators as vendors leverage economies of scale and look to expand their markets beyond big-budget early adopters.

Use mix and match to add some customization

Earlier, we defined grab and go as an “as is” product category, but that doesn’t mean some customization can’t be offered, for instance by having various salad components—greens, toppings, dressings, etc.—packaged separately so that customers can then mix and match for themselves. K-12 schools can have mix-and-match components that students can put together based on individual preference to assemble a reimbursable meal combo. While not quite as flexible as pre-order meals, this compromise solution does provide grab and go programs with some customization features.

Expand menu selections

Sandwiches, wraps and salads have formed the core of most traditional grab and go menus but as customers gravitate toward more takeaway, expansion into more sophisticated selections has gained importance. The challenge is to develop items that can be efficiently prepared, especially in bulk, can maintain integrity while sitting in grab and go packaging and can appeal to customers looking for something they can take away and consume in a convenient way. This is why cold options have dominated grab and go but re-heatable selections may become more prevalent as grab and go takeout continues to find favor with customers.

Don't forget the packaging

No discussion of strategies to increase grab and go sales can be complete without an allusion to packaging, which affects both visual appeal and product integrity. While this is a product category that has been especially hard hit by recent supply shortages, securing attractive and secure containers for grab and go should be a priority for operators looking to enhance their programs, with transparent covers highly preferable as customers are more likely to select something if they can see it through the packaging. Containers that look high-end also helps boost the perception that the food inside is also high end, helping justify an increased price point that can also help offset the increased cost of the packaging.