by Kristin Avery
Get into office by 7:30 a.m. Attend Team Meeting Update from 8-9 a.m. Check emails. Attend product meeting. Brainstorm on new ways to enhance product features. Grab quick lunch. Conduct conference call with potential client. Deal with new issues affecting start-up timetables. Finally leave office at 6:30 p.m. Battle rush-hour traffic. Dinner? Aaah, now that is the question.
Options:
a. Have a nice leisurely dinner at a white-cloth restaurant--call spouse and give him/her directions.
b. Make a quick stop at Applebee’s--have kids head over after their baseball game.
c. Pick up Taco Bell--eat in the car or at home.
d. Prepare a complete dinner at home from scratch--clean up, do dishes and take out the trash.
It is not surprising that statistics on the foodservice industry reveal that consumers are selecting a, b and c more frequently. Despite what you may have heard about the current recession and that families are now choosing to prepare meals at home, statistics still show increased growth for restaurants and fast food establishments.
According to the ERS , spending on food away from home in 2009 was 48.6 percent or $574.5 billion. Restaurants, both full service and fast food, account for about 78 percent of all food-away-from-home sales. According to the National Restaurant Association, U.S. adults purchase a restaurant snack or meal 5.8 times per week. The United States has 945,000 restaurants and foodservice outlets. The National Restaurant Association projects 2010 sales at $580 billion, up from $379 billion in 2000.
To further emphasize increased growth on food prepared away from home, Business Wire highlights establishments such as P.F. Changs that for the third quarter of 2010 compared to the prior year quarter include: Consolidated revenues increased 6.2% to $308.4 million. Comparable store sales increased 2.3% at the Bistro and 0.8% at Pei Wei. Income from continuing operations increased 68.1% to $10.5 million.
Market Wire also reported that Panera Bread Reports Q3 2010 Diluted EPS of $0.75, up 23% Over Q3 2009, on 6.9% Growth in System-Wide Comparable Bakery-Cafe Sales
In the third quarter of fiscal 2010, system-wide comparable bakery-cafe sales increased 6.9%, Company-owned comparable bakery-cafe sales increased 5.5%, and franchise-operated comparable bakery-cafe sales increased 7.9% versus the comparable period in fiscal 2009. Two year system-wide comparable bakery-cafe sales increased 9.6%, two year Company-owned comparable bakery-cafe sales increased 8.7% and two year franchise-operated comparable bakery-cafe sales increased 10.3%.
How does all this relate to trade promotion management? Well as the demand for food prepared away from home increases, so will the need to manage the whole "trade spending" process from distributors to the operators. That’s where Answers Systems comes in and takes that burden off your hands. Answers Systems provides data management and technical expertise to support foodservice trade promotion management from contract creation to claim/rebate settlement to complex analyses and reporting. Contact us if you would like to discuss your trade promotion management (ContractPro solution for manufacturers) or contract compliance initiatives (ValuTrak solution for operators).
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