Share of Stomach

Mary Boltz Chapman, editor of Chain Leader, is very smart.

But I was amazed that in an article about driving traffic back to restaurants she made no mention about how retail versions of restaurant products do just that.

It's one of the truly impactful ways of driving business back to the core brand because it both reinforces the brand with existing customers AND introduces it to consumers who either haven't tried the chain or haven't been in some time.

Brands like Burger King, Boston Market, California Pizza Kitchen and TGI Friday's have all had significant success at retail. Now, in the interest of full disclosure, we are the architects of client Burger King's program, so we're prejudiced. But the phone rings every week from chains who are thinking about how retail can help them.

Too many, sadly, end up doing it on-the-cheap, in-house, or else tentatively with some exploratory efforts in limited distribution. But all those who undertake retail for their brands realize that you miss significant numbers of meal occasions by focusing your business entirely on foodservice.

Consumers no longer segment their meal solutions, they eat whenever and wherever they want. That might be sushi from a supermarket's fresh section, frozen dinners from the freezer case, or take-out from the local eatery. It's called "share of stomach" and is more important for the New Economy than "market share."

Too few restaurant marketers are thinking along these lines, which is evidenced by their focusing on money-losing prospects like so-called "value menus" and money-off promotions. All these seem to do is lower profits and enrage franchisees. But until companies start bringing in marketers from outside the restaurant business, this isn't going to change, at least not short of bankruptcy court.

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