Olive Garden launched a line of salad dressings at SAM's club, IHOP launched a new line of syrup in supermarkets. I remembered a conversation with Julie Hall our new product launch expert.  These are major foodservice restaurant brands looking to garner shelf space at the supermarket.

So we had a conversation about this trend and why this is a harbinger of a larger food trend for the future. It is called Migration Marketing, where marketers move into new market segments... in this case Olive Garden and IHOP are making a big move from the restaurant segment over to supermarket shelves. They may be in for a period of adjustment because these brands control their own space in their locations... but that is not the case with grocery shelf space.

In the article Foodservice Brands & Migration Marketing - Launching products at the supermarket we take a deeper dive into this phenomena and try to answer the question if dual retail and food positioning is sort of walking a tight rope. Can these brands have a retail and foodservice positioning under one brand umbrella?

The Hotels.com® Club Sandwich Index (CSI) Examines the Cost of a Club Sandwich in the 10 Most Popular U.S. Cities

Paris, often thought of as the world's most romantic city, has just been deemed the most expensive city in the world to order a club sandwich by Hotels.com®. But if $33 seems like too much to shell out for lunch, stick to the 10 most popular United States destinations - according to the 2011 Hotels.com Hotel Price Index™ (HPI®) - where the most expensive club sandwich can be found in New York City, for an average price of nearly $17.

Why choose the club sandwich? The classic chicken, bacon, egg, lettuce and mayo sandwich, a standard lunch available in hotels worldwide, was used as a universal measure of affordability in the Hotels.com Club Sandwich Index (CSI). The CSI average price has been calculated by taking the real prices paid by guests for a club sandwich within 1,000 five, four and three-star hotels located in popular travel destinations across 26 countries, with 10 U.S. cities measured.

The Club Sandwich Index around the World infographic is a great way to illustrate the worldwide price variations.

Club Sandwich History

This standard lunch fare is known for its popularity among hotel restaurants worldwide where it has been a staple since the 1800s. Although the exact origin of the club sandwich has not been proven, popular myths point it to an exclusive - wait for it - gambling club - in Saratoga Springs, New York, where it became popular before spreading to the rest of the world.

To help hotel guests and hotels.com users learn how to prepare the perfect club sandwich on their own, John Torode, chef, restaurateur and TV presenter reveals in this video how kitchen skills can result in lunch that tastes just right ( great example of Content Marketing). Read More...

While many a grocery list has been scribbled during a train commute, now, for Chicago's more than one million weekly train passengers, groceries can be scanned, ordered and scheduled for home or office delivery, all via smartphones, faster than you can say "All aboard!"

Peapod, the nation's leading Internet grocer, has placed a virtual grocery store in Chicago's highly traveled State and Lake Station Tunnel.   Not only is Peapod the first in the nation to pilot this on-the-go, virtual store concept, but it's also the first company to mount a "tunnel takeover" ad campaign of this magnitude in Chicago.  The campaign features wrapped tunnel walls with larger-than-life ads of grocery shelves.  The shelves are stocked with popular products and household staples from brands like Coca-Cola®, Barilla®, Proctor & Gamble®, Kimberly Clark® and Reckitt Benckiser®.

iPhone/iPad and Android users simply scan a QR code to download a free PeapodMobile app  on the spot and start shopping by scanning the bar codes of the products featured in the ads.  Commuters can get orders started on the platform, manage shopping lists and schedule deliveries - for next day or even several days or weeks in advance--during their train rides to or from the office.

"Chicagoans spend, on average, more than an Read More...

Webinar - How to Sell Your Product in the Food & Beverage Sector

Just a reminder that you can hear me talk about the food entrepreneurs journey... Getting out of the Kitchen... Getting on the Shelf.... And Getting on the Consumers Plate  this Friday.

Seminar Topics of Interest to Food Entrepreneurs and Small Food Brands

• Know Your Product
• Know Your Customer
• Areas of Opportunities when launching New Products
• Facts from the Experts & Researchers
• Food Industry Terms to Know
• Know the Retailer
• Know the Distributor
• Know the Broker

Webinar on Selling Your Products to Food Buyers

I am participating in a Webinar hosted Read More...