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The Counterintuitive Goldmine: Why C-Store Foodservice is the Growth Engine of 2026

Wed, 25 Mar 2026 12:00:11 GMT

For years, “gas station food” was code for compromise —something you grabbed because you were out of time, not because you actually wanted it.

But in the past year the category crossed a line that’s hard to walk back.

In a clear sign that c-stores are being reclassified as meal destinations, dunnhumby’s 2025 Retailer Preference Index (RPI) – QSR Channel Edition ranked Buc-ee’s #1 and Kwik Trip #2—ahead of In-N-Out Burger (#3), Raising Cane’s (#4), and Chick-fil-A (#5).

And the framing is the point: dunnhumby includes convenience chains in the QSR set when a clear majority of their shoppers use them as meal destinations—not “snack stops.”

Consumer sentiment is catching up, too. Datassential describes a “reputation revolution” in c-store foodservice: 40% of consumers say offerings are improving (up from 38% in 2023), with perceived gains in quality (35%) and freshness (33%)—even as 31% say prices are getting worse, keeping value perception a live pressure point.

So, the 2026 story isn’t “c-stores are adding food.”

It’s that foodservice is becoming the growth and profit engine of the box —and the winners are building stores that behave like neighborhood kitchens that happen to sell fuel.

Actionable bridge: If you’re leading growth in 2026—as an operator or supplier—the move isn’t to “expand the menu.” It’s to engineer four decisions that turn food from an add-on into an engine: (1) shift profit mix toward prepared food + beverage attach, (2) convert default trips into meal occasions with speed certainty, (3) monetize dwell time with food + comfort (especially as EV expands), and (4) systemize execution so quality holds at peak.

Now, here’s what’s driving that shift.

1) Superior margin dynamics — the moment the math flips, the business flips

Fuel still looks like the business: the canopy dominates the site, the price sign is the loudest message, and the forecourt sets the traffic rhythm. But profit doesn’t care what looks big—it cares what’s controllable.

NACS reports the gross margin (markup) on gasoline in 2024 was 39.7 cents per gallon (11.9%), and notes credit card fees were 8.4 cents per gallon. That’s the reality check: a meaningful share of “margin” is already spoken for before you touch labor, utilities, shrink, maintenance, and the competitive pricing moves that show up the second the street gets aggressive.

Foodservice is different because it’s the part of the store you can design.

In 2024, NACS reported foodservice accounted for 27.7% of in-store sales and delivered 38.6% of in-store gross margin dollars in c-stores—and most of that foodservice volume came from prepared food (72.6% of foodservice sales).

Then the flywheel tightens: the best programs don’t just sell food—they create profitable baskets. NACS reports that 37.4% of customers who bought packaged beverages also purchased prepared food in the same trip, and that foodservice plus packaged beverages drove 60.8% of in-store profit dollars in 2024.

And when you zoom into prepared food specifically, the picture gets even clearer: preliminary NACS data shows prepared food averaged a 56.41% margin in 2024 and brought in $54,961 per store, per month.

What it means in 2026 : the strategic goal isn’t “more food items.” It’s more profitable trips—built on a prepared-food platform that reliably pulls beverage attach and repeat behavior.

2) Capturing the “time-poor” consumer — proximity gets you the chance; speed certainty gets you the habit

The consumer isn’t just price-aware right now—they’re schedule-compressed. The winning proposition is shifting from “best food” to best food journey.

C-stores have a structural advantage here: you’re already on the route. NACS notes 93% of Americans say they’re within 10 minutes of a convenience store (including 86% of rural Americans). That convenience earns the visit—but the food program determines whether the visit becomes a meal mission.

And the broader traffic context supports why this matters now. Placer.ai reported QSR visits declined 1.6% year-over-year in Q1 2025. Meanwhile, Placer.ai highlights c-store visits running above pre-pandemic baselines, including November 2024 traffic 15.5% higher than November 2018.

What it means in 2026: proximity is the entry ticket. The differentiator is speed certainty—a predictable decision → pay → pickup path that holds up at peak without sacrificing food trust.

3) Resilience against the EV transition — EV didn’t kill the stop; it created a new occasion

EV is often framed as a long-term threat to “pump-and-go.” But it also creates something the internal combustion era rarely delivered at scale: dwell time.

The U.S. DOT notes DC fast charging can charge a BEV to 80% in about 20 minutes to 1 hour. EIA describes a similar range for reaching 80% in 20 minutes to an hour using a DC fast charger. EPA adds that many plug-in vehicles can regain hundreds of miles of range in as little as 20–30 minutes on fast charging (vehicle/charger dependent), and that charging slows as the battery fills.

A 3–5-minute fuel stop is built for turnover.

A 20–60-minute charge stop demands comfort.

What it means in 2026: the win isn’t “having chargers.” The win is monetizing time—with craveable food, premium beverages, clean restrooms, and an environment that makes waiting feel like a choice (not a penalty).

4) Supply chain and labor efficiencies — why c-stores can out-execute restaurants when they stop improvising

Restaurants are built for food; c-stores are built for repeatability under constraint. That’s why the operators who scale don’t “add a kitchen.” They build a system: platform menu architecture, equipment that supports throughput, packaging that protects quality, and production planning that keeps the offer fresh and visible.

Datassential points to a key behavioral truth: over one-third of consumers buy prepared food they hadn’t intended to purchase, and the triggers are operationally engineerable—discovery while walking the store (33%), register adjacency (22%), eye-catching packaging (26%), and new items or flavors (25%).

What it means in 2026: the winners won’t be the ones with the biggest menus. They’ll be the ones with the best platform—craveable, fast, merchandised to trigger impulse, and operationally tight enough to hold quality at peak.

The path forward — “food added” vs. “food scaled”

Once foodservice becomes your engine, your competitors change. You’re not competing with the store across the street; you’re competing with the brands that own habits: morning ritual, lunch comfort, speed certainty, and trust.

In 2026, the question isn’t whether to invest in foodservice. It’s how fast you can scale a proprietary food identity that turns a routine stop into a preferred destination—because the market is already voting that the best c-stores belong in the QSR conversation.

Join us: Collaborative Innovation Convenience Foodservice Forum

If 2026 is the year foodservice becomes the engine, then the real advantage won’t come from more ideas—it will come from faster, better execution. The operators who win will be the ones who can pressure-test platforms, redesign flow, and build a scalable menu architecture before the next wave of competition sets the new baseline.

That’s exactly why we built the Kinetic12 Collaborative Innovation: Convenience Foodservice Forum—a working session designed to help leaders move from “food added” to “food scaled.” It’s where forward-thinking c-store operators and supplier partners get in the same room to:

isolate the highest-value foodservice opportunities for 2026,
stress-test concepts against operational constraints (labor, equipment, throughput, merchandising), and
leave with practical, pilot-ready pathways that can be executed quickly and measured clearly.

If you’re ready to turn foodservice into a repeatable growth engine—not just a department, contact us to learn more about how you can get involved with the Kinetic12 Collaborative Innovation: Convenience Foodservice Forum.

Kinetic12 is a strategy and innovation consultancy that helps operators and suppliers build growth by aligning commercial strategy, customer insights, culinary innovation, and execution. We bring together data, on-the-ground operator realities, and collaborative working sessions to turn trends into scalable programs—so teams can move faster, reduce risk, and win in-market.

Resources / Link Index

Contact us to learn more about how we can help your organization through customized consulting, sales benchmarking, culinary & marketing, or through participating in our Collaborative Innovation and Emerging & Growth Chains programs.

info@kinetic12.com

Winning in Self-Operated, On-Site Foodservice

Wed, 25 Feb 2026 13:00:21 GMT

How operators and manufacturers can scale execution, build customer satisfaction, and drive growth

It starts before sunrise—and it doesn’t let up.

On a college campus, the dining team is already recalibrating stations, staffing, and service flow around a day that will swing with class schedules, events, and demand spikes. In a corporate café, “lunch rush” is now a forecast problem—hybrid attendance makes traffic unpredictable, but expectations are not. And in healthcare, a trayline is moving because nutrition orders are part of care delivery, while a K–12 director builds menus inside a tightening compliance timeline.

This is self-operated, on-site foodservice: mission-driven, high volume, and operationally unforgiving. And the “why now” is measurable:

Colleges & Universities (C&U) are raising the bar on dining as a driver of student experience, belonging, and retention —which means programs must deliver variety , flexibility, and consistent execution across concepts, dayparts, and dietary needs without adding labor complexity. In this environment, manufacturers must understand campus scale, student diversity, and sustainability culture—and win by co-creating with operators through menu R&D collaborations, test kitchens, LTO trials, and student engagement that advance global flavor discovery, clean-label expectations, waste reduction, and brand impression.
K–12 is at an inflection point: the scale is massive (in FY2024 National School Lunch Program provided more than 4.8 billion lunches at a total cost of $17.7 billion), while standards and reformulation pressure are accelerating. USDA updates phase in starting SY 2025–26 through SY 2027–28, with product-based added sugars limits beginning July 1, 2025—raising the stakes: if reformulated items lose flavor appeal and satisfaction dips, participation can fall, squeezing the reimbursement-driven economics behind the program.
In healthcare , food is tied to outcomes and cost. Agency of Healthcare Research and Quality, Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (AHRQ HCUP) shows malnutrition-related stays have longer lengths of stay and higher costs—so foodservice consistency moves closer to clinical and financial accountability, where variation starts reading like risk.
Senior living is under compounding pressure. NIC highlights reimbursement changes, workforce shortages, and regulatory complexity—creating a hard filter: “extra steps” get eliminated first. Demand is also climbing; senior housing occupancy increased in 2025 while construction stalled, intensifying throughput expectations with constrained labor.
Workplace dining is being redesigned around hybrid reality . Return-to-office culture is pushing more customization and pop-ups , but attendance patterns are less predictable; “microshifting” signals fragmented schedules. Meanwhile, more workers bringing lunch from home raises the penalty for weak execution and undifferentiated offers—operators have to earn the occasion. In a cautious planning environment, ROI, simplicity, and adaptability matter more than ever.

For operators, this pressure narrows the margin for error—every added step, every compliance miss, and every “just-okay” item risks participation, satisfaction, and cost. For manufacturers, it creates a clear opening: show up with compliant, execution-ready solutions and the support to make them work in real kitchens. When operators and suppliers align on measurable outcomes and validate through pilots, change becomes scalable—and the channel becomes a durable growth engine.

Here’s the hard truth: traditional foodservice selling breaks in self-op environments. Features don’t scale. Confidence does.

Below are six strategies that consistently separate manufacturers who trial from manufacturers-who-expand —and help operators and suppliers build programs that are compelling, compliant, executable, and built to scale.

Now, here’s what’s driving that shift.

1) Sell to Operational Outcomes Operators Are Measured On — Not the Attributes You’re Proud Of

Self-operated leaders don’t get rewarded for “interesting.” They get judged on: experience outcomes (patient/resident satisfaction, student participation, employee engagement); labor efficiency (touchpoints, speed, training time); consistency (across sites, shifts, staffing variability); and compliance (nutrition standards, allergen controls, infection protocols).

In healthcare, this isn’t abstract—nutrition is a cost and outcome lever. AHRQ HCUP connects malnutrition-related stays with longer length of stay and higher costs—and AHRQ/NCBI discussion links malnutrition to post-hospital vulnerability and readmission risk.

What winning manufacturers do: translate product value into an operator scorecard.

“Cuts trayline touches by X.”
“Improves portion accuracy to protect cost + compliance.”
“Reduces allergen handling risk through format + labeling.”
“Helps meet added sugars product limits for SY 2025–26.”

If you can’t quantify the operational variable you’re improving, the operator has to guess—and self-op teams don’t have time to guess.

2) Make the Value Proposition So Clear it Survives a 90-second Hallway Conversation

Self-op leaders are making decisions between meetings, between crises, between staffing gaps.

Your story needs to be simple and defensible:

The 3-part “self-op” message
Outcome (what improves)
Mechanism (why it improves)
Proof (how you’ll measure it)

This matters even more when you sell sustainability-related solutions. Buyers may be pushed to “choose greener,” but execution depends on practical realities (certifications, end-of-life pathways, local infrastructure). EPA guidance reinforces using recognized standards/ecolabels and aligning choices to real disposal/recovery conditions.

Clarity wins: “This reduces dish room labor by X and fits your waste stream as operated.”

3) Build Flexibility Into the Solution — Because Cross-Utilization Is the Currency

Self-operated kitchens are constantly solving for: limited staff, limited storage, multiple dayparts/venues, and diverse dietary needs. So, the operator’s favorite word is “usable.” Not “innovative.” Not “premium.” Usable.

At colleges and universities, “usable” also means solutions that scale across global flavors, clean-label expectations, and waste-reduction priorities while meeting diverse student needs—and protecting brand impression on campus.

In workplace dining, that flexibility shows up as rotating concepts, pop-ups, customization, and formats that can scale up/down with hybrid attendance [8]. And with “microshifting” behavior gaining traction, variability becomes the default—making flexible, low-labor execution more valuable.

What manufacturers should design for:

multi-application (one component → many menu uses)
SKU rationalization (fewer SKUs, not fewer options)
format flexibility (bulk + portioned; multiple pack sizes; easy conversion)
“menu agility” systems (sauces, bases, seasonings that travel across venues)

Translation: help operators reduce complexity while increasing perceived variety.

4) Bring the Support Self-Op Teams Don’t Have — Then You Stop Being a Vendor

Self-op teams often lack centralized culinary R&D, marketing, and training infrastructure—yet they’re still expected to evolve (especially with K–12 standards phasing in through SY 2027–28 ).

The manufacturers who win act like the missing department:

menu ideation tied to labor reality
ready-to-run promotion kits (B&I and campus programs especially)
micro-training tools for frontline staff
In C&U, that support often includes menu R&D collaboration (including test-kitchen validation), LTO pilots with clear success metrics, and student-facing engagement toolkits that help operators build participation and loyalty without adding complexity
implementation guides: holding, portioning visuals, allergen handling, signage

This is where loyalty forms: not when a product gets approved, but when a manufacturer makes execution reliably repeatable. And in senior living, where operators are navigating labor and reimbursement pressure , “extra steps” get eliminated first—so support that reduces training burden and variability is adoption insurance.

5) Map the Real Decision Ecosystem — Because “the Buyer” Is Actually a Committee

Self-operated decisions are rarely linear.

Healthcare can involve clinical teams, procurement, admin, infection control, and frontline operations—each with legitimate veto power. And with over 95% of hospitals using Group Purchasing Organizations (GPOs) , purchasing behavior is influenced by broader contracting structures, making the sell, even more complicated.

K–12 adds USDA compliance constraints and stakeholder scrutiny, especially as added sugars product-based limits go into effect.

What winning manufacturers do: build stakeholder-specific support and alignment.

Clinical/Nutrition: standards alignment, outcomes, consistency
Procurement : specs, availability, timeline to market, contracting simplicity
Operations : labor minutes, speed, training time, waste reduction
Leadership : risk reduction + measurable experience lift

If you only sell to one stakeholder, you force internal translation—and internal translation is where initiatives die.

And according to The Wall Street Journal , in workplace dining, the occasion is under pressure (more people bringing lunch from home), which means programs have to fight harder to win the “why buy” moment—so weak execution gets cut faster.

6) Scale Through Pilots—because trust is earned in the field

Self-operated operators implement change carefully for a reason: failure is expensive, resulting in retraining, execution inconsistency, dissatisfaction + wasted product, and compliance risk.

A strong pilot removes the fear:

Pilot blueprint that converts
1 site (or small cluster) with a clear baseline
3–5 shared success metrics (labor minutes, waste, satisfaction, participation, compliance)
30–60 days with check-ins
rollout playbook if it wins

When you do this, you stop asking for a leap of faith—and start offering a controlled, data-driven decision.

The Kinetic12 Perspective:

Self-operated operators don’t need more options—they need fewer variables.

If your solution reduces labor friction, simplifies compliance, and protects the experience, you’re not a vendor. You’re an operational advantage.

Manufacturers seeking deeper insight and direct operator engagement are invited to the Kinetic12 On-Site Foodservice Collaborative Innovation event July 8–9, 2026, bringing together self-operated leaders across Healthcare, Business & Industry, and Education with manufacturers focused on collaborative problem solving and pilot-ready strategies.

For more information, contact Helen Heilich at helen@kinetic12.com.

info@kinetic12.com

The Making of a Memorable Customer Experience

Wed, 28 Jan 2026 12:00:35 GMT

Reinvention wins attention in 2026. Experience wins belief.

It’s 5:47 p.m. A guest sits in the car, phone in hand, scrolling.

They’re probably not asking, “Where should we eat?”
They’re likely considering, “What will feel worth it tonight?”

That question is the new reality—and it’s why experience has become one of the most strategic levers in foodservice. Even as some indicators show stabilization, confidence is still fragile. In the University of Michigan’s January 2026 final results, consumer sentiment moved up to 56.4 —yet remained 21.3% below January 2025. ( SCA ISR ) People aren’t done being cautious. They’re just getting more selective.

Restaurants feel it in the day-to-day grind. The National Restaurant Association reported that after adjusting for menu-price inflation, eating and drinking place sales increased 1.2% between November 2024 and November 2025 —positive, but not a demand wave that lifts all boats. ( NRA ) Meanwhile, wholesale food costs remain structurally elevated: as of November 2025 , the Producer Price Index for All Foods stood 37% above its February 2020 reading. ( NRA )

So, operators are building in a narrow corridor:

guests are value-sensitive and intentional
traffic is inconsistent
costs remain elevated
and loyalty is increasingly fragile

Our EMERGENCE® Q4 2025 data puts a bold underline on what leaders are living: 71% of operators say driving and maintaining customer traffic remains their top business challenge—remaining the top challenge for the past 10 quarters. And 60% indicate their traffic was flat or down in October 2025, virtually unchanged versus a year ago.

That’s the tension. And it’s exactly why reinvention matters.

Reinvention is required. But experience is what makes it work.

In our 2026 Predictions , we were clear: many brands won’t reach the next level by optimizing the old model. Breakthrough growth will require reinvention—new daypart roles, new channel economics, new operating systems, new value architecture, and in some cases, a new definition of what the brand is .

But reinvention has a truth test: Do guests feel it—and trust it—every time? Because reinvention without trust becomes expensive experimentation. And trust is earned in the everyday moments guests experience faster than they can explain.

The proof: experience is now a profitability strategy

Operators aren’t treating customer experience like a “brand nice-to-have.” They’re treating it like a business lever. In our EMERGENCE Q4 Report, 57% of operators say enhancing the overall customer experience is their top strategy for maximizing profitability. That single number tells a bigger story: when demand is inconsistent, and discounting is a dangerous crutch, the most resilient brands don’t just win visits—they win return visits. Experience is how you earn the next choice.

What “memorable” really means in 2026

Here’s what’s striking: when operators define a memorable guest experience, they don’t lead with novelty. They lead with belief. A memorable guest experience isn’t accidental—it’s engineered through consistent, repeatable behaviors that build trust and drive loyalty. That’s why the “memorable” conversation is so powerful right now. It’s not fluff. It’s a blueprint.

The 6 drivers of a memorable customer experience

(and how to turn them into action—fast) Source: Based on our EMERGENCE Q4 Report, Operators identified these top 6 drivers of what makes a memorable guest experience.

Consistent Quality — 72%
Consistency is the guest’s exhale. It’s the moment they stop evaluating you and start enjoying you.
How to win at it: reduce variability (steps, handoffs, low-volume complexity). Train to outcomes (taste/temp/portion), not just procedures.
Warm, Genuine Hospitality — 69%
Hospitality is the human differentiator—especially as automation grows and teams are stretched.
Where to start: operationalize “micro-hospitality” (greeting, handoff language, recovery moment). Make warmth a system, not a personality trait.
Speed & Efficiency — 62%
Speed signals respect. When time is protected, satisfaction rises—and throughput becomes revenue.
The fix: map bottlenecks by daypart; redesign flow; measure speed with accuracy and recovery time.
Clean, Well-Kept Environment — 59%
Cleanliness communicates care. It tells guests your standards apply everywhere—not just the food.
How to systemize: build visible cleanliness into the shift rhythm (ownership + checkpoints), not the “if we have time” list.
Welcoming First Impression — 49%
The first 10 seconds set the tone—friendly greetings build psychological safety and trust.
Assign ownership: assign greeting ownership every shift. Script it: acknowledge → welcome → guide.
Consistency Across Locations — 47%
Consistency builds brand trust, reduces variability, and allows systems and scale to work as intended.
Memorialize moments: standardize the moments, not just the menu—then coach to those moments relentlessly in checks and balances across the system.

The line I’d anchor on in 2026 planning: “Memorable experiences aren’t created by chance—they’re created by design.”

The emotional truth underneath the data

When the experience is consistent, guests relax.
When hospitality feels genuine, they feel seen.
When the environment is clean, they feel safe.
When speed is reliable, they feel respected.
When every location delivers the same promise, they feel confident choosing you again.

That’s not soft. That’s brand equity. And in 2026—when the guest is selective, and the market is noisy— belief is the advantage.

This is why consistency is rising as a competitive moat. In our EMERGENCE Q4 2025 takeaways, 73% of operators say consistent execution is now the most powerful way to differentiate a brand. Reinvention opens the next chapter. Experience is what convinces guests to keep reading.

Make it actionable: a 30–60–90 Experience-to-Growth sprint

Days 0–30: Define belief

Pick 3 “experience non-negotiables” that support your reinvention priorities
Identify the top two experience leaks by daypart
Build a one-page scorecard that field leaders can run weekly

Days 31–60: Engineer consistency

Reduce steps where quality and speed break (prep/build/hold/handoff)
Bake micro-hospitality into SOPs so it scales through turnover
Make cleanliness + first impression visible and owned

Days 61–90: Prove the ROI

Track throughput, remakes/refunds, review themes, repeat-visit signals
Double down where the guest feels the lift
Lock the new standard so reinvention doesn’t create chaos

How Kinetic12 can help

EMERGENCE® is designed to move leaders from insight to action—combining senior-level operator surveys and interviews with live operator-supplier roundtables that spark collaboration and build solutions that actually scale. If you’re leading reinvention in 2026, the goal isn’t only designing the next model. It’s building the experience system that makes customers believe in it—across teams, dayparts, channels, and locations.

If you want, let’s run a fast Experience-to-Growth diagnostic : where belief is leaking (by daypart/channel/location), what to fix first, and which moves will lift return visits without adding complexity.

Kim Letizia is a strategic innovator and transformational leader with Kinetic12, specializing in accelerating growth through powerful, collaborative partnerships within the foodservice industry. Kim inspires restaurant chains and suppliers to achieve exceptional results by challenging conventional thinking and embracing strategic innovation.

Kinetic12, is a Chicago-based foodservice and general management consulting firm. The firm works with leading foodservice suppliers, operators, and organizations on customized strategic initiatives, marketing communications, and culinary sales and innovation, as well as guiding multiple collaborative forums and best practice projects. They also engage as keynote speakers at operator franchise conferences and supplier sales meetings. Their previous leadership roles in restaurant chain operations and at foodservice manufacturers provide a balanced industry perspective.

Kinetic12 2026 Predictions

Tue, 06 Jan 2026 13:00:23 GMT

Kinetic12 Predictions:
The 6 Forces Reshaping Food & Hospitality in 2026

The food and hospitality industry is entering a defining period—one shaped not by a single disruption, but by multiple macro forces converging at once. Elevated interest rates, shifting household structures, labor volatility, AI restructuring, climate uncertainty, quiet inflation, and a fragile consumer confidence landscape are rewriting expectations of value, experience, and trust.

For the first time in years, operators and suppliers face both a deeply pragmatic consumer and one searching for meaning, comfort, and connection. Taken together, these forces will accelerate a new era of experience-led differentiation, value redefinition, operational discipline, and partnership-centered growth.

Below are the six predictions we believe will meaningfully reshape the food industry over the next 12–24 months — each distinct, standalone, and driven by macroeconomic realities, evolving consumer behaviors, and the changing DNA of foodservice business models.

1. Hospitality Evolves into Experiential Connection

Consumers are living in a period of emotional fatigue , financial pressure, and attention fragmentation. With elevated mortgage costs, rising unemployment sentiment, shifting household structures, and a general sense of “ambient stress,” people are craving moments that feel purposeful, comforting, or special . At the same time, routine dining has become more expensive, pushing consumers to reserve their spending for experiences that feel genuinely worth it.

Prediction

Hospitality moves beyond service excellence into experience as strategy . Brands that win will deliver:

Bold, consistent, memorable moments (e.g.: Popup Bagels’ anti-customization model that prizes speed, ritual, and quality)
Affordable indulgences that feel elevated without inflating the check
Comfort + meaning , not just convenience
Clear brand identity : what you stand for becomes more important than what you offer

“Good food” is not a competitive differentiator anymore; a distinctive experience is . When experiences are memorable, repeat visits increase—even if budgets are tight.

In a world where discretionary dollars are scarce and traffic is flat, consumers reward brands that create joy, ritual, and emotional value . Experience becomes the new moat, and anything generic becomes invisible.

2. Value Is Rewritten:
A New Definition Built on Need States, Not Price Points

After years of inflation, shrinkflation fatigue, and fee overload, consumers have become hyper-rational evaluators of value—but not in the traditional sense. Elevated cost of living, stagnant wage growth, and lifestyle fragmentation have shifted decision-making from “How much does it cost?” to “Does this meet the need I have right now?”

Value is no longer linear. It is contextual, emotional, and purpose-driven .

Prediction

A new value matrix emerges across foodservice:

QSR : Value = price accessibility, speed, predictability
Fast Casual : Value = uniqueness, customization (or intentional lack thereof), high-low menu play
Casual Dining : Value = comfort, execution, hospitality, craveability

Across all sectors, flavor supremacy wins. Consumers will trade up for powerful taste, even when budgets are tight.

The brands that thrive will map offerings to functional need states : everyday fuel, emotional comfort, social experience, convenience fix, budget stretch, solo-eating, family management.

As need-state value becomes the dominant consumer lens, the pricing game ends, and the relevance game begins . Value is no longer “cheap.” It’s precision-fit relevance, matched to the moment, the diner, and the mission of the channel.

3. Traffic Stagnation Becomes Structural—Not Cyclical

For ten consecutive quarters, Kinetic12’s EMERGENCE data shows flat or declining traffic for over 60% of operators—regardless of pricing, promotions, or innovation, in addition to traffic being the top business issue for the past 10 quarters. This indicates a paradigm shift, not a temporary slump.

Despite the industry’s relentless focus on traffic, consumer behavior has fundamentally shifted. Housing pressures, new work routines, hybrid schedules, rising cost sensitivity, and the rise of multi-function homes have changed how—and how often—people go out. Home has become the office, the entertainment hub, the school, the gym, and the restaurant substitute.

Prediction

Traffic challenges are structural , not cyclical. Expect:

Fewer habitual dining patterns
More consolidated restaurant occasions
A rise in at-home “restaurant replacements” (prepared meals, elevated frozen, and meal kits)
Increased fragmentation of dayparts

Restaurants can still grow—but not through traffic alone . Growth will come from:

Mix improvements
Off-premise optimization
Strong loyalty incentives
New-daypart innovation
Bundles that convert uncertain spend

Traffic isn’t broken—the model is. The next era of foodservice belongs to brands that create relevance, not reliance on past patterns. The brands that succeed will shift from “how do we get them back?” to “how do we meet them where they are?”

4. Efficiency & Profitability Become the Operating System, Not an Initiative

After the pandemic-era volatility, inflation waves, labor shortages, supply chain resets, and interest-rate pressure on financing, operators can no longer rely on top-line revenue to “hide the sins” of operational gaps. Higher debt costs and tighter capital access have made operational rigor a survival requirement .

Prediction

Efficiency and profitability aren’t temporary responses—they are now hardwired into business model design. Expect:

Tighter menus with high cross-utilization
Labor-light production models
Investment in automation and AI for speed, forecasting, training, and consistency
Better SKU rationalization
A renewed focus on throughput and quality execution
Operations having a permanent seat at the table, early in the innovation process
Redundancy in supply chain as a measure of sustainability

The industry will innovate with a constraint mindset , where excellence is achieved through simplicity, not expansion. Efficiency unlocks experiential value by freeing labor for hospitality.

Efficiency is no longer a lever. It is the foundation of viability, determining which brands scale and which stagnate. The operators who win will align creativity with discipline, proving that experience and efficiency are not competing priorities—they are co-dependencies in the next era of foodservice.

5. Tech-Driven, Off-Premises, and ‘Smart Dining’ Becomes the New Operating System of Foodservice

The industry has crossed the point where digitization is optional.

Operators, suppliers, and consumers are now living in an environment defined by automation, digital ordering, data intelligence, and off-premises demand. This shift is structural—not a pandemic artifact—and is accelerating due to rising labor pressure, shifting traffic patterns, and the consumer expectation for convenience “built in.”

Experience. Value. Trust.

Prediction

The foodservice industry enters a new era where AI, automation, digital ordering, dynamic pricing, and off-premises infrastructure become foundational—not optional. This shift is defined by:

AI-enhanced operations
Forecasting, scheduling, inventory, and demand modeling move from manual management to predictive systems—reducing waste, stabilizing labor, and improving accuracy.
Off-premises as a primary channel
Takeout, delivery, drive-thru, and satellite/ghost operations become structural revenue engines, not supplemental ones. Designs optimize for portability, speed, and execution simplicity.
Digital-first guest experiences
Kiosks, apps, voice ordering, and loyalty ecosystems become the front door of the brand; the physical restaurant becomes one of many touchpoints, not the center of the experience.
Menus engineered for digital consumption
Smaller builds, optimized packaging, items built to travel, and nutrition/functionality-forward offerings aligned to new daypart patterns.

This shift rewrites the competitive landscape: brands that embrace digital infrastructure, predictive tech, and off-premises optimization will operate more efficiently, scale more confidently, and meet guests where they already live — online and on-the-go. Those that resist modernization risk falling behind as consumer expectations outpace legacy operating models.

6. Trust Becomes the Nexus for Collaboration, Loyalty, and Growth

The industry is experiencing collaboration fatigue, data fragmentation, and supplier skepticism. Operators overwhelmingly say the difference between a vendor and a partner is:

Responsiveness + Transparency + Reliability

Consumers and operators alike are navigating uncertainty: economic, political, technological, and operational. Rising skepticism around consistency, cost-benefit, sustainability, and aligned values has weakened trust in brands. Simultaneously, suppliers and operators face compressed margins and rising complexity that require tighter alignment.

In this environment, trust becomes currency .

Prediction

Trust becomes the foundation for:

Stronger supplier-operator collaboration
More open data sharing
Predictable forecasting and planning cycles
Transparent communication around pricing, quality, sourcing, and strategy
Loyalty programs that deliver real value, and memorable experiences, not “gamified chores”

Consumers reward brands that demonstrate fairness, transparency, and consistency —and punish those that erode trust through hidden fees, confusing loyalty models, lowered quality, and inconsistent execution.

Trust is no longer a soft metric; it is a competitive advantage that drives loyalty, frequency, and partnership success. The brands and suppliers that lean into honesty, transparency, and aligned values will accelerate the next generation of growth, building lasting relationships.

Looking Forward

The year ahead won’t be defined by volatility, but by those who rise to ride the waves of change with intentional, courageous reinvention. Operators and suppliers who embrace these shifts with clarity and conviction can create more resilient business models and more resonant consumer experiences.

This is the year to build smarter, differentiating deeper, and collaborating with purpose. To turn insight into impact, and lead the change that redefines the future.

At Kinetic12, we believe the organizations that will thrive aren’t the ones waiting for stability—they’re the ones creating it. Through EMERGENCE, our Collaborative Innovation platforms, and our work across the supply chain, we will continue helping the industry transform complexity into opportunity and ambition into action.

info@kinetic12.com

2025 Year in Review: A Retrospective on Progress, Pressure & Possibility

Wed, 03 Dec 2025 12:00:09 GMT

As 2025 comes to a close, the foodservice industry finds itself at a pivotal intersection—one shaped not only by economic pressures and shifting consumer expectations, but by the choices operators and suppliers made this year to adapt, accelerate, or stand still. When we released our 2025 Predictions: Elevating Foodservice in a New Era , we challenged the industry to rethink what it means to lead: to build for resilience, innovate with purpose, and strengthen the connections that matter most.

A year later, the question isn’t whether the landscape changed. It’s whether we changed with it.

And if we did—did we change in the right ways?

This Year in Review examines where our predictions proved prescient, where progress stalled, and where new momentum is taking shape—supported by the most recent Emergence® Q3 & Q4 operator data . More importantly, it reveals the throughline that defines the brands winning today: clarity of purpose, disciplined execution, and the courage to challenge what “good enough” looks like.

1. Guest Centricity as the North Star

The year’s biggest prediction was also its clearest reality: guest centricity has moved from a concept to a non-negotiable operating model. In practice, operators increasingly recognize that loyalty is not won through transactions or promotions—it’s earned through emotional resonance, reliability, and the feeling of being known. But while the vision is strong, the execution varies widely, especially among growth chains juggling limited bandwidth.

Current State:

Operators expanded loyalty programs, personalization engines, and omni-channel engagement. Yet, the biggest challenge isn’t introducing new tools—it’s delivering consistent, frictionless experiences across dine-in, on-the-go, and digital touchpoints.

Emergence Highlights:

71% of operators say maintaining customer traffic is their #1 challenge.
73% of operators say consistent execution is now the most powerful brand differentiator.

Aha!: Guest centricity only matters when it shows up consistently—where the guest is, not just where the brand wants them to be.

2. Integrated Experiences Take Shape—Slowly but Deliberately

At 2025's onset, we envisioned that restaurants would blur the lines between dining, retail, and entertainment. And while creativity was high, the realities of cost, labor, and operational stretch required brands to innovate in layers rather than leaps.

Current State:

Experiential LTOs, brand collabs, retail extensions, and pop-up events grew meaningfully. Yet large-scale experiential redesigns remained rare due to real estate pressure and tight labor markets. Innovation happened—but in measured, modular steps that fit operational capacity.

Aha!: The experience revolution won’t hit all at once—it will unfold in scalable layers that operators can actually execute.

3. The Virtual Customer Relationship Becomes the First Relationship

We noted that digital interactions would rival in-person touchpoints in influence and impact. What unfolded was even more telling: the virtual relationship became a primary brand narrative—shaping perception before the first visit and reinforcing loyalty afterward. Brands discovered that digital presence isn’t just a convenience layer; it’s the new front door.

Current State:

Digital loyalty, creator-driven content, email journeys, and mobile-first menu design all expanded. But speed, accuracy, and tone across digital channels still vary, leaving a gap between the promise of the brand and the reality of the experience.

Aha!: A digital experience is only powerful when it feels unmistakably like your brand—and performs like it too.

4. The Traffic Battle Intensifies—and Evolves

We forecasted that operators would need to rethink how they drive demand, shifting from traditional tactics toward value articulation, relevance, and presence. Over 2025, it became clear that the brands making headway weren’t simply trying to “win traffic”—they were trying to earn attention. This reframed traffic not as a metric to chase, but as a reflection of connection.

Current State:

Operators doubled down on creator partnerships, localized social campaigns, digital bundles, and convenience-driven access points. Yet tactical discounting continues to dominate short-term solutions, often at the cost of long-term equity.

Aha!: Traffic turns not when brands chase visits—but when they create meaningful reasons to return.

5. Profitability Through Creativity Takes Center Stage

We anticipated that profitability would hinge on creative problem-solving, not just financial discipline, and 2025 validated that expectation. With margins still compressed, brands that looked beyond their four walls, so to speak—to new channels, new formats, new ways of delivering value—proved more resilient versus cost-cutting alone. Creativity became a form of operational strategy, not a marketing exercise.

Current State:

Catering, subscriptions, daypart expansion, retail brand extensions, smarter menu engineering, waste reduction, and operational simplification lifted margins incrementally. But the pressure remains—profitability is still a primary concern for most growth chains.

Emergence Highlights:

59% of operators say profitability pressures are the biggest barrier to growth.

Aha!: You can’t cost-cut your way to growth—creative revenue now sits at the heart of profitability.

6. Technology Shifts from Tools to Ecosystems

Going into 2025, we envisioned that technology would need to evolve from fragmented tools into unified systems that make decision-making faster and work more intuitively. Throughout 2025, operators began embracing that shift—not by adding more technology, but by challenging the role it plays. The conversation moved from “What can tech do?” to “What should tech enable?”

Current State:

Technology and automation rose to the top of investment priorities. But legacy systems, siloed data, and training fatigue continue to slow the shift from “tech stack” to connected ecosystem. The next phase will favor fewer platforms that do more, by streamlining training, reducing labor strain, stabilizing execution, and improving decision-making—not just automating tasks.

Aha!: Technology becomes transformative only when it disappears into operations and elevates the guest experience.

7. Collaboration Becomes the New Competitive Advantage

We believed that partnership dynamics would deepen meaningfully, as operators sought smarter, more strategic collaboration from suppliers. 2025 accelerated a major shift in supplier-operator relationships. The year proved that right. Brands facing volatility needed partners who could provide stability, visibility, innovation, and speed. Collaboration became not just a competitive advantage, but a resilience strategy. The most forward-thinking brands redefined partnership as co-ownership of outcomes.

Current State:

Joint business planning, co-created menu platforms, and multi-tier sourcing strategies grew significantly. Operators sought suppliers who brought market insight, operational simplicity, and resilience—not just product.

Emergence Highlights:

66% of operators are creating backup specs.
60% of operators are adding secondary suppliers.

Aha!: Today’s winning suppliers don’t just deliver ingredients—they help future-proof and design for a lasting tomorrow.

8. Sustainability Turns Operational

In 2025, we foresaw sustainability advancing beyond messaging into a practical operational priority. What happened is that sustainability matured from storytelling to system design, with operators seeing waste reduction, simpler ingredient sets, and smarter packaging as direct contributors to stabilizing costs and consistency—not just a mechanism for brand image.

Current State:

Menus became more disciplined, ingredient sets more streamlined, and decision-making more aligned to brand identity and operational efficiency. Sustainability that protects people, the planet, and performance, gained the most traction.

Emergence Highlights:

57% of operators say brand alignment—not novelty—now guides innovation decisions.

Aha!: Sustainability succeeds when it strengthens the P&L—not just the positioning.

9. Labor Transformation Becomes a Cultural Imperative

We predicted that labor pressures would force a true redesign of the employee experience. By year’s end, it was clear the prediction understated the scale of change required. Operators discovered that retention, capability, and culture were no longer HR considerations—they were operational imperatives, shaping performance as much as any simplified system or menu choice.

Current State:

Automation helped reduce repetitive tasks, giving teams more space to focus on hospitality. Manager development and training investment rose, but wage pressures and turnover remain the biggest threats to consistency and customer loyalty.

Emergence Highlights:

64% of operators say wage pressure and staffing challenges threaten execution.

Aha!: Labor strategy isn’t about filling shifts—it’s about enabling a better employee and guest experience that translates into loyalty.

10. Consumer-Led Innovation Accelerates

We anticipated that innovation in 2025 would shift toward platforms grounded in consumer relevance rather than novelty. This year, innovation sharpened dramatically. The winning brands were those that focused on craveability, comfort, high-protein platforms, affordable indulgence, and cultural relevance—without overcomplicating operations.

Current State:

Operators prioritized innovation that fits the system, delivers an ROI, and earns repeat visits. Platform thinking replaced novelty chasing. The future now belongs to fast, focused, consumer-first pipelines.

Emergence Highlights:

45% of operators say LTO strategies will have a lasting industry impact.

Aha!: The best innovation doesn’t surprise the guest—it satisfies them while leaving a memorable impression.

Closing Reflection: Building What Comes Next

As we look back on 2025, the most striking takeaway is not how much changed—but how much clarity the industry gained about what truly matters. The past year challenged operators and suppliers to move beyond surface-level fixes and instead commit to deeper alignment, sharper execution, and more intentional innovation. It reminded us that complexity doesn’t have to define foodservice; purpose and partnership can.

If 2025 was about recognizing the gaps, then 2026 will be about closing them—boldly, quickly, and with conviction.

The mindset ahead isn’t about disruption for disruption’s sake. It’s about elevating the questions we ask, the assumptions we challenge, and the experiences we choose to design.

info@kinetic12.com

The Clock Is Ticking: Why Foodservice Manufacturers Must Act Now

Wed, 29 Oct 2025 12:00:14 GMT

The Foodservice Landscape Has Changed—Permanently

The U.S. foodservice industry is entering a period of structural transformation. While foodservice continues to outperform retail in recent months, total channel growth in 2025 is projected at only +0.9% and +1.1% for 2026, according to IFMA Scope.

This slow growth environment masks deeper turbulence. Economic uncertainty continues to weigh on the consumer, restaurant traffic is uneven, on-site dining is showing limited gains, and rising costs put pressure on everyone’s bottom line.

For manufacturers, the conclusion is unavoidable: the growth playbooks of the last decade no longer work . Success now depends on strategic focus, sharper execution and disciplined investment.

Sustained Revenue Growth Is Harder to Find

Market realities are shifting for foodservice manufacturers. Despite solid execution, many sales leaders are facing flat or declining sales as restaurant traffic continues to soften across much of the industry. Yet expectations for growth remain high, forcing teams to be more deliberate about where and how they compete.

In established segments, growth is now a share game. Winning requires a precise understanding of operators’ evolving needs and a clear view of how your brand stacks up against competitors. Sales organizations that leverage their strengths, close capability gaps, and align their value proposition to customer priorities are best positioned to outperform.

At the same time, a number of segments offer pathways to growth. Convenience stores, for example, are projected to grow more than twice as fast as restaurants in 2025 (+1.5% vs. +0.7%, IFMA Scope). Office feeding, travel & leisure and healthcare segments are also projected to grow at above-market levels. Targeting these faster-growing segments can unlock meaningful whitespace opportunities for manufacturers ready to diversify their focus.

The path forward requires focus and agility. Sales leaders must:

Focus resources on the highest-return segments and customers.
Refine positioning continuously to capture share in mature markets.
Invest strategically in emerging channels with sustained growth potential.

Long-term success will favor manufacturers that balance share capture in mature markets with bold expansion into emerging ones.

Margins Are Shrinking Under Structural Pressure

Public filings from leading food and beverage companies show a clear pattern – profitability is eroding. The costs related to getting product to the operator have continued to increase as we have seen an increase in fees and fines while group purchasing organizations continue to expand.

Meanwhile, operator and consumer tolerance for price increases has declined, forcing manufacturers to absorb more costs. A 2025 Kinetic 12 SalesLAB™ survey found that 0perator and distributor investment, in the form of trade spending and discounting, has rising to more than 20%, yet volume growth has not kept pace. The path forward requires discipline and transparency. Manufacturers must:

Reestablish ROI visibility by quantifying the financial impact of all customer investments
Rationalize partnerships to eliminate relationships that do not drive strategic or financial value
Shift pricing strategy from pass-through increases to differentiated, data-driven value creation

In short, it’s time to take back control of your P&L.

Technology Adoption Is Now a Competitive Imperative

The pace of digital transformation in foodservice has reached an inflection point. Operators’ top investment priority, according to the Kinetic12 Q2 2025 Emergence™ Survey, is now technology and automation.

Manufacturers cannot remain on the sidelines. Digital systems are now the backbone of modern sales, marketing, and supply chain execution. Yet many manufacturers still rely on fragmented legacy tools, lack centralized data visibility and struggle to turn insights into decisions. Sales leaders should no longer think of technology as a tool to report sales and marketing activity but as a key driver of incremental sales and margin.

To remain competitive, manufacturers should:

Modernize core systems and invest in data integration to enable real-time sales, margin, and supply chain visibility
Use data analytics to identify channel inefficiencies and incremental sales opportunities
Build internal technology and data fluency , ensuring teams can interpret and act on digital intelligence, not just collect it
Test AI to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of your sales and marketing efforts

In a market where speed and precision define advantage, those who fail to evolve technologically risk being outpaced .

The year 2024 is set to be a landmark year in the foodservice industry, one that will set the tone for years to come. It's a year that challenges us to think beyond the conventional, to be bold in our aspirations, and visionary in our strategies. This is an invitation to embark on a journey that reimagines the very essence of dining, leveraging technology, embracing sustainability, and prioritizing human connections. Let's seize this opportunity to craft a future that's not just profitable but also enriching and inspiring.

The future is not just about adapting to change; it's about leading it. Together, let's challenge the status quo, adapt the business model to address the market's evolving needs, and be the architects of change that make 2024 a year to remember.

Leadership Must Reorient Around Agility and Reinvention

Traditional management skills focused on steady-state operations are being replaced by a demand for turnaround and transformation leadership. Executives must lead through uncertainty, not avoid it.

Manufacturers should take immediate steps to:

Re-evaluate strategy and structure for alignment with new market realities
Diversify growth avenues , including new segments such as convenience, retail/grocerants, micro-markets/new-age vending and emerging commercial chains
Reinvest in people and skills along with technology , emphasizing digital, analytical and cross-functional expertise
Foster a culture of continuous experimentation , rewarding adaptation and speed over legacy process

The industry’s evolution is no longer cyclical—it’s structural. Manufacturers that treat this moment as a pause will be overtaken by those that treat it as a pivot.

Manufacturers that treat this moment as a pause will be overtaken by those that treat it as a pivot.

The Window for Action Is Narrow and Right Now

The next year will define the next decade for food manufacturers. Those who act decisively – by restoring control over cost structures, building data intelligence, and retooling operations for agility – will emerge stronger. Those who hesitate risk watching their sales and margins continue to erode.

Now is the time to reset, reinvest, and reimagine.

Kinetic12’s SalesLAB™ helps foodservice manufacturers regain control of their business by helping them optimize go-to-market strategy and accelerate sales performance. SalesLAB™ members participate in the industry’s only sales benchmarking survey built to measure and optimize customer investment, and can also participate in the SalesLAB™ Performance Group, a peer group of foodservice leaders collaborating to turn insights into action – solving industry issues, improving decisions and advancing new thinking.

Visit https://www.kinetic12.com/sales-lab for more information.

Art Bell, Jennifer Brizzolara and Rob Veidenheimer are with Kinetic12, specializing in combining business strategy, sales optimization, and marketing communications that accelerate growth through powerful, collaborative partnerships within the foodservice industry.

info@kinetic12.com

Why Value, Not Price, Wins Customers: Rethinking Value in Convenience-Store Foodservice

Wed, 24 Sep 2025 12:00:15 GMT

The 7:45 a.m. Test

You’re in line at a c-store. The $2 muffin will get you out the door cheaply, but that $5 made-to-order breakfast sandwich looks (and smells) delicious. In that moment you’re weighing price vs. value – cost on one side and perceived quality and overall satisfaction on the other.

Price can be door-opener, but value is what decides the size of the basket and determines repeat visits.

The Value Equation Has Shifted:

Price is a growing concern to consumers looking for food-away-from home options - and helping inspire convenience store foodservice visits:

Consumers are searching for less expensive dining options. The July 2025 U.S. CPI shows food-away-from-home up +3.9% year-over-year, with limited-service meals up +3.3% - fueling dining out trade-offs toward lower-ticket, high-utility occasions that convenience stores can capture
C-store foodservice growth is currently outpacing QSR: According to Technomic, c-store foodservice growth is projected to outpace QSR fast food growth in 2025 by 5.7% vs 4.7% as shoppers seek better bang-for-their-buck without sacrificing speed.

However, value is more than just price. True value is the intersection of product cost and perceived quality, which takes into consideration things like freshness, eating satisfaction, speed of service and uniqueness of experience.

"Convenience stores that are able to successfully convey value will win in foodservice. "

Subtle Cues that Signal Value

Small, intentional details can transform a quick stop into a memorable foodservice experience, making customers feel they’re getting more than they paid for.

Menus that make choices easy. “Good/Better/Best” options and simple bundle pricing remove mental math and make value feel obvious.
Freshness on full display. Stocked hot cases, visible prep areas and clear hold-time labels instantly communicate quality worth paying for.
Items that feel special. Bold LTOs and exclusive offerings add a sense of indulgence and variety without a premium price tag.
Personalized promotions. Loyalty programs can be leveraged to deliver promotions and bundles that satisfy a customers’ unique needs.
Fast service that feels effortless. Grab-and-go packaging and self-serve kiosks cut wait times - showing customers you value their time
One-stop solutions that save trips. Pairing meals with fuel, drinks, snacks, and essentials adds utility QSRs can’t match.

Five Ways to Win in Both Value and Convenience

1) Build a menu value ladder

Anchor: one compelling $4–$6 hero (e.g., breakfast burrito)
Bundle: coffee + hero at a round number; lunch trio (entrée + side + beverage)
Trade-up: $0.99 add-ons that don’t slow service
Bonus: Display price cards that compare “you vs. QSR” (e.g., “Our chicken sandwich ≈ half the price of QSR average”)

2) Make quality visible in 3 seconds

Add front-facing labels to packaging: identify protein grams, include “made-today” time stamps and “made with” language (e.g., “made with Wisconsin Cheddar")
Include transparent food display cases and open-kitchen lines to show freshness in motion
Think about the customer experience from the moment they arrive on property: consumers want to buy food in clean, well-organized, brightly lit stores

3) Create signature items customers can’t get elsewhere

Create a hero item that defines your foodservice identity
Incorporate local flavors or seasonal twists for exclusivity
Mine loyalty program data for unique new product and meal bundling ideas based on purchase behavior and customer demographic data

4) Reward loyalty that shapes baskets and purchase timing

Drive traffic during key dayparts or slower times of the day with rewards (e.g., earn 2x points before 7 a.m. or after 7 p.m.)
Recognize visit streaks and recent sales with targeted, personalized promotions that include foodservice and convenience item bundles

5) Kill friction everywhere

Create self-serve/contactless payment lanes
Promote timely order-ahead via app (early a.m. or just before commute home)
Deliver orders to the pump for ultimate in & out convenience

The Bottom Line

Convenience stores may earn the first visit on price, but it’s consistent, visible value that keeps customers coming back. By pairing competitive prices with quality, freshness, and a unique, frictionless experience, convenience stores can transform foodservice from a quick stop into a preferred dining destination that wins not just the 7:45 a.m. decision, but the whole week.

Jennifer Brizzolara is a partner at Kinetic12 Consulting, a Chicago-based Foodservice and general management consulting firm. The firm guides multiple best practice projects and forums, and consults with leading Foodservice suppliers, operators, PE firms and associations on strategic initiatives. Her previous leadership roles at Foodservice manufacturers provides a valuable perspective and insight into how the industry is evolving and what must be done to stay relevant.

info@kinetic12.com

Kinetic12 AWARDED Top Foodservice Management Consulting Firm 2025

Tue, 19 Aug 2025 21:10:05 GMT

Kinetic12 Named the Top Foodservice Management Consulting Firm by Food Business Review

We’re honored to be recognized by Food Business Review as the Top 10 Foodservice Management Consulting Firm for 2025 . It’s a proud moment—but more importantly, it’s a reflection of the measurable impact we strive to create for the clients we serve. This recognition speaks to the growing need for strategic partners who understand the complexity of foodservice—and can help companies turn challenges into growth opportunities.

"This recognition is more than an accolade—it's a validation of the belief we built Kinetic12 on: that collaboration drives transformation. We’re honored to be named a top foodservice consulting firm, but even more excited about what’s next. The pace of change in this industry demands new thinking, and we’re proud to be helping our partners not only navigate the complexity—but thrive within it."

~Tim Hand, Partner at Kinetic12

"We’re in the business of unlocking momentum. Strategy doesn’t stop at the whiteboard—it moves through marketing, sales, and execution. This award reflects the trust our clients place in us to turn insight into action, and vision into growth. We’re grateful, and we’re just getting started."

~Art Bell, Partner at Kinetic12

Ready to Rethink the Future of Your Business?

At Kinetic12, we don’t just consult—we co-create solutions that move the market. This recognition as a Top Foodservice Management Consulting Firm is not the finish line; it’s fuel for what’s next. As the industry continues to shift at speed, our mission remains clear: to help brands find clarity, accelerate execution, and build strategies that drive measurable growth across the entire foodservice value chain.

If you're ready to think differently, move faster, and win smarter—let’s talk.

Explore how Kinetic12 can help you unlock momentum and turn complexity into opportunity.

Contact us to schedule a call today.

info@kinetic12.com

What It Really Takes to Break Through to Operators in 2025

Wed, 30 Jul 2025 12:00:05 GMT

The playbook is changing—and the old rules aren’t working.

In today’s foodservice market, innovation isn’t the only thing accelerating—so is the complexity of getting a "yes."

With tighter labor models, shrinking back-of-house space, rising costs, and constant turnover impacting skill and execution, chain operators are more selective than ever. Getting on the menu requires more than a great-tasting product. It takes relevance, timing, and a deep understanding of operator realities.

Yet many food and beverage brands are still approaching the operator like it’s 2012. They’re leading with product specs instead of problem-solving, marketing from the inside-out instead of the outside-in, and missing opportunities to resonate when it counts.

It’s time to reset. Based on real conversations with hundreds of commercial and noncommercial operators through Kinetic12’s Emergence community, here are six things every brand needs to know to break through in 2025.

1. Operators aren’t short on options. They’re short on time.

"Don’t waste my time with things that aren’t ready," one operator bluntly put it in our last forum. It’s not that operators aren’t looking for innovation—they just don’t have the capacity to weed through half-baked pitches.

They want ready-now solutions, not concepts in development. If your pitch isn’t immediately relevant and operationally sound, it’s not getting airtime. Think speed-to-value, not speed-to-market.

One operator shared, "When someone shows up with something that just works—fits our footprint, needs no training, and delivers value day one—we listen."

If your value prop isn’t instantly clear and grounded in their reality, it gets passed over. Respecting their time means doing the work upfront – anticipating their questions, mapping to their priorities, and showing exactly how your solution fits in their world.

2. Menu relevance beats novelty.

Innovation doesn’t mean reinventing the wheel – it means solving what’s already broken. Operators are asking:

"Can I execute this with the labor I have?"
"Does it solve something I’m already trying to fix?"
"Can it scale across locations with consistency and ease?"

This is the new lens for innovation: relevant, executable, and smartly simple.

In our Q2 Emergence Forum, one participant shared, "If I can’t plug it into my kitchen today, it’s a waste of my chef’s time. I’m not looking for flash—I’m looking for fit."

Relevance now means:

Fitting within existing build structures
Working with minimal training and prep
Driving margin or check growth without requiring new equipment or tech

As one chain leader said: "Stop showing me what you can do. Show me what I should do."

When brands meet these criteria, they stop selling and start enabling – giving operators confidence to say yes because they see your solution as theirs.

3. You’re not in the room – your materials are. Make them count.

Decks, one-pagers, videos, sell sheets – these are your silent salespeople. Yet too many marketing teams are building them for internal use, not external impact.

Only 27% of operators say the sales materials they receive are directly relevant to their current needs. They’re not looking for another sell sheet—they’re looking for:

Simplified training guides and labor-tier prep instructions
Back-of-house visuals showing before/after execution
Peer proof points or mini case studies
Real-world use cases tailored to their constraints
Transparent data: cost, sourcing, and performance

As one operator put it: "Don’t talk to me like a consumer. Talk to me like a business."

4. Transactional relationships won’t move the needle. Trust will.

A product sample and a follow-up call aren’t a relationship – they’re transactions. The brands making the biggest strides are the ones investing in long-term strategic collaboration.

That means showing up with ideas, sharing data, and solving problems together. One participant summed it up: "We don’t need another supplier. We need more partners."

Kinetic12PLUS+ General Manager Kevin Gross expands on this:

"Foodservice is built on relationships – but relationships that do something. At Kinetic12PLUS+ , we help brands shift from selling to serving: showing up with insights, tools, and ideas that create real operator value. This isn’t about volume – it’s about velocity through trust."

5. Your culinary voice matters more than ever.

Operators crave inspiration – but not if it’s disconnected from reality. Culinary content that bridges the aspirational and the executable is a powerful unlock. Think videos that show the "how," ideation decks rooted in constraints, and demos that speak the operator’s language.

One operator put it clearly: "It’s not about the idea. It’s about showing me how to bring the idea to life with my team."

Strategy needs to breathe. The most effective culinary storytelling lives at the intersection of inspiration and execution. At Kinetic12PLUS+, we help brands build not just ideas, but momentum – by aligning insight with action, and possibility with practicality.

6. Insights don’t matter unless they drive action.

Most suppliers say they’re insight led. Far fewer actually translate those insights into tailored strategy, messaging, and sales tools. Your ability to take what operators are saying and turn it into action – quickly and meaningfully – is what sets great brands apart.

Matt Luaders, Vice President, Culinary, at Kinetic12PLUS+, brings both a culinary and commercial lens to this shift:

"Great culinary ideas don’t live in a vacuum – they live in kitchens. I’ve spent my career translating insights into scalable recipes, sell-in stories, and operator-ready tools. When insights drive execution, everything changes: you earn the meeting, you prove relevance, and you build belief."

The Bottom Line:

The pathway to foodservice growth isn’t about louder marketing or more touchpoints. It’s about relevance, clarity, and trust.

It starts by deeply listening to operators. It continues by crafting smarter, sharper, operator-facing stories. And it accelerates when you connect insights to execution.

The brands that win in 2025 will be the ones who don’t just pitch better – they partner better.

Ready to Rethink How You Engage Operators?

If your brand is ready to stop guessing and start growing, Kinetic12PLUS+ helps foodservice brands bridge the gap between strategy and sales. We combine marketing, culinary, and operator insights to help you:

Craft messaging that resonates
Tell food-first stories that drive action
Build practical tools like sales presentations, training guides, and video demos
Connect with the right operators, in the right way

Rooted in Kinetic12’s deep relationships with 250+ commercial and noncommercial operators through our Collaborative Innovation and Emergence Forums, Kinetic12PLUS+ is built for the foodservice channel. We speak operator, and we design for impact.

Let’s turn your operator insight into your competitive edge. Contact us to schedule a call today.

Carrie Sabourin and Kim Letizia are with Kinetic12, specializing in combining business strategy, culinary innovation, and marketing communications that accelerate growth through powerful, collaborative partnerships within the foodservice industry.

info@kinetic12.com

Breaking Barriers: The Power of Collaborative Innovation in Restaurant Industry Transformation

Thu, 26 Jun 2025 19:10:07 GMT

Why Relationships Matter in Business

In a world where hospitality and execution matter more than ever, innovation can’t be just a product launch. It has to be a system , something that works behind the scenes to align teams, solve real problems, and make great service easier to deliver every day.

Yet, we are in a time where transformation isn’t a luxury — it’s a necessity. But, in this environment of labor scarcity, rising costs, and shifting consumer expectations, operators are expected to reinvent themselves...while maintaining margins and consistency. The fact of the matter is, no one, not even the most resourceful operator, can do it alone.

Today’s Reality for Operators: The industry was built for stability, not constant change. Today, agility trumps size, and it's not those with the most resources that are best positioned to survive—it's those with an agile mindset that embrace change and collaboration as a way of life, who will thrive.

The th ing is, nowadays, the internal sell, and navigating all key stakeholders, with different priorities, is often the hardest part of the job. In fact, a 2018 study by Challenger, found that the average business decision involves approximately 6.8 stakeholders ( Challenger Inc .). The takeaway? Complexity demands collaboration. Solo innovation, especially in an industry known for its rel entless pace and shifting demands, isn't just outdated—it's dangerously inadequate.

What's needed is a better way to align teams, speed up idea generation, and iterate quickly to success or failure, so that winning ideas can reach the market more quickly. But what does it take to truly embrace agility, with speed, accuracy, and measurable impact all working in harmony, pumping on all cylinders? The answer lies in collaboration. Today, collaboration isn't just a buzzword; it's the only way of working that's designed to cut down barriers and accelerate growth, if implemented correctly.

But collaboration isn't just a work thing; it's about building the skills, tools, and culture that are going to help you succeed inside and outside of work...helping not just ensure the longevity of the business, but also the health and longevity of the people running it. In fact, a landmark Harvard Study of Adult Development revealed something extraordinary: meaningful relationships aren't just nice to have—they’re essential. They fuel happiness, longevity, and resilience, qualities equally critical to thriving businesses. In today's fast-paced restaurant landscape, fostering robust relationships isn't optional—it's foundational. And at Kinetic12, we've been the pioneers of what it takes to foster deep, meaningful collaboration between operators and suppliers for the past +7 years, tapping into some of the highest-growth chains and suppliers in the industry.

Let's explore the major markers of shifts in the market, and how operators and suppliers can adopt a collaboration framework and mindset to effectively navigate the shifting tides ahead

In a world of outdated systems and structures, collaboration is the gateway to growth as we adapt to this dynamic market as the new norm.

Key Takeaway: Collaboration is the modern competitive advantage.

Here we talk about the four dimensions of change, and how to activate great collaboration in the restaurant industry

1. Innovation Under Pressure: Navigating Market Chaos

Today’s restaurant operators are dealing with unprecedented pressures. The recent Emergence reports from Kinetic12 highlight persistent challenges:

Outdated legacy systems stifle agility.
Fragile supply chains threaten consistent execution.
Overwhelmed internal resources fail to match the pace of evolving customer demands.

But here's the inspiring truth: challenges are opportunities in disguise. Restaurant operators who embrace innovation collaboratively turn constraints into competitive advantages. Collaborative innovation transforms risk into growth, propelling businesses ahead of their rivals who remain stuck in the past.

Key Takeaway: Embracing collaborative innovation transforms industry challenges into growth opportunities.

2. The Collaborative Imperative: Breaking Internal and External Barriers

The most successful restaurant brands understand the power of collaboration, as shown consistently in Kinetic12’s quarterly Emergence reports. Breakthroughs happen not in isolation but when internal silos crumble and external partnerships flourish. Successful examples include:

Co-created menu innovations.
Jointly developed supply chain solutions.
Cross-functional marketing strategies.

We must challenge ourselves: Are partnerships transactional or transformational? Real growth demands intentional, strategic collaboration.

Key Takeaway: Moving beyond transactional partnerships, and embracing strategic collaboration is key to transformation.

3. Reframing The Supplier Role: Suppliers aren't just vendors...The're Capability Partners

Suppliers who bring execution-ready ideas, tested insights, and operational thinking unlock growth. It’s no longer about pitching — it’s about plugging into the operator's core strategy.

Leading restaurant chains are now seeking suppliers who can be indispensable strategic partners. Reflecting this shift, a Collaborative Innovation Chain Operator captured it succinctly:

“I don’t need more samples—I need solutions.”

To rewrite the script, operators and suppliers need to work their entire ecosystem into alignment, with key stakeholders aligned between each discipline early and often to ensure all players have a seat at the table and a hand in shaping the ideas in inception and beyond. Forward-thinking chains leverage their suppliers' insights, capabilities, and innovations, creating solutions far beyond what traditional vendor relationships can deliver. This strategic approach has proven repeatedly in Kinetic12 Emergence reports to result in substantial competitive advantages.

Key Takeaway: Rethink supplier relationships—see suppliers as strategic partners essential for innovation.

The Foodservice Sales Ecosystem: The 7 decision makers often span across the organization with somtimes conflicting goals and priorities. For those looking to truly enbrace Collaborative Innovation, early alignment to a higher purpose and goal is imperative, so everyone has a joint vision as you navigate the innovation process.

Kinetic12's SalesLAB and Accelerator programs reveal that the most effective innovations happen when supplier and operator teams align early — not just around ideas, but around the problem they’re solving together.

4. The Five Hallmarks of Exceptional Collaboration: What Sets High-Performing Teams Apart

Drawing from best practices highlighted consistently by Kinetic12, exceptional collaborative partnerships share these defining characteristics:

Early Strategic Alignment: Clear agreement on shared goals and challenges - not just around ideas, but around the problem they’re solving together
Cross-Functional Collaboration: Integrative sessions involving culinary, operations, and marketing teams.
Rapid Testing and Feedback: Agile innovation cycles with constant feedback loops.
Transparency: Full openness about feasibility, timelines, costs, and potential risks.
Shared Success Metrics: Clearly articulated and jointly owned metrics of success.

Key Takeaway: Exceptional collaboration follows clear, intentional practices that consistently deliver superior results.

Connected Collaboration: Your Competitive Edge

The future isn't just faster—it's more connected. Restaurant operators and Suppliers who embrace collaborative innovation don't just survive—they thrive. They lead the market by intentionally fostering robust partnerships that continually accelerate growth and innovation.

Here's your call to action: Break the barriers that hold back collaborative innovation. Embrace strategic partnerships today and become the transformative leader your restaurant chain deserves.

Final Thought: The time to build powerful, strategic partnerships is now. Your future success depends on it.

Ready to Put Collaboration into Action?

We connect you directly with the right people, with the right message, and the right environment to accelerate growth and activate collaboration for your organization.

info@kinetic12.com

SPICE WORLD: Why Heat is the Hottest Menu Strategy of 2025

Wed, 28 May 2025 15:13:52 GMT

In 2025, spice is no longer a fringe flavor—it’s a frontline strategy.

From high-volume chains to chef-driven independents, operators are embracing heat as a way to drive traffic, build emotional connection, and deliver memorable experiences. Spice excites. It entertains. It lingers. And most importantly - it sells.

According to Kinetic12’s Emergence Q2 Report, 71% of operators have introduced or are developing seasonal LTOs to drive incremental revenue, and Spicy options are among the top 5 menu additions operators are contemplating on adding to their menu in 2025.

So how is "spicy" showing up on menus?

Here we explore the top five powerful trends fueling the spice surge and reshaping how menus deliver heat in 2025.

1. Craveability Through Flavor Journey: The Dopamine Factor

Spice doesn’t just deliver flavor—it delivers a feeling. Capsaicin, the compound behind the burn, triggers a release of dopamine that leaves diners with a mild euphoric kick. And that’s the hook. It's a fast-track way to delivering an emotional charge to your customer's experience.

Menu Moves:

Chili Crisp Avocado Toast – Grateful Grazer
Hot Honey Fried Chicken Sandwich – Keiken Co.
Tajin-Dusted Mango Sorbete – Bon Appétit
Hot Honey – MOD Pizza and Blaze Pizza

But today’s spice is more sophisticated. Think of the Flaming Hot Cheetos effect: a flavor arc that starts with savory comfort or a hit of sweetness, slowly building to a tongue-tingling crescendo, and leaves just enough of a buzz to crave the next bite. This cyclical loop is engineered to trigger pleasure, build anticipation, and encourage repeat consumption.

Forward-thinking brands are now crafting items that take guests on this intentional ride—layering textures, temperatures, and global flavors to create a craveable, sensory-rich journey that keeps people coming back for more.

2. Low-Cost, High-Impact Innovation: Spice as an Experience

East-meets-West flavor fusion is moving from niche to mainstream.

Spice is one of the few tools that allows operators to reinvent a menu without reengineering the kitchen. It’s a flavor strategy, a marketing hook, and a margin opportunity all in one.

Menu Moves:

Popeyes x Tequila Don Julio Reposado Chicken Sandwich – A tequila-marinated chicken breast with tequila lime slaw and spicy spread on a Mexican concha roll.
Chili Crisp and Hot Aiolis – Found at Sweetgreen, CAVA, and Shake Shack

Spice doesn’t just refresh the menu—it turns up the energy. Think “Fiery Fridays,” heat-level contests, or Instagrammable red sauces that scream flavor. This is low-cost innovation with high emotional impact.

It also fits the classic "high-low" innovation model: low-cost ingredients like spice blends and sauces enhance existing SKUs with minimal prep changes—boosting both perceived value and profitability. When a $0.40 drizzle adds $2 of menu value, you’ve found a formula worth repeating.

3. Bold, Global Flavors: Cultural Relevance is Craving Currency

Gen Z and Millennials aren’t just food-curious—they’re globally fluent. As the most culturally diverse generations to date, their idea of comfort food spans continents. A birria taco, Thai green curry, or Korean fried chicken feels as familiar to them as pizza or grilled cheese.

This redefinition of “comfort” is accelerating global flavor integration. Consumers want spice that tells a story—rooted in tradition, layered with authenticity, and served in formats that feel accessible.

*Bulgogi Steak Mac & Cheese: Elbow noodles in creamy cheddar & jack cheese sauce with seared steak, topped with sweet and spicy Korean-style BBQ gochujang sauce, green onions, crispy onions and Asian seasonings.

Menu Moves:

Nigerian Suya – West African-inspired pop-ups
Haitian Pikliz – Caribbean fast-casuals
Yemeni Zhoug – Offered at CAVA
Bulgogi Steak Mac & Cheese – Noodles & Company

Operators are succeeding by pairing bold profiles with approachable platforms—bowls, sandwiches, and shareables—that lower the barrier to global discovery. In 2025, global heat isn’t just adventurous—it’s deeply personal.

4. Heat Personalization: Choose Your Adventure

The rise of customizable heat isn’t just a nod to diverse palates—it’s a powerful engagement tool. Diners love choice. And when it comes to spice, control is part of the thrill.

Menu Moves:

DIY Ramen Bars – Customizable spice levels
Hot Sauce Flight Boards – From smoky to searing
Spice Challenge Desserts – Like chili-laced chocolate cake
Dave's Hot Chicken Heat Scale – From No Spice to Reaper

Some brands are taking personalization even further—gamifying spice levels, unlocking loyalty points with hotter selections, or letting customers vote on upcoming spicy features.

A standout example is Nando’s, which offers a gradient of Peri-Peri heat levels—Plain-ish, Lemon & Herb, Medium, Hot, and Extra Hot—helping diners dial in their perfect burn. This kind of scalable personalization creates a sense of ownership and repeatability while reinforcing brand identity.

5. Functional Health Halo: Spice as Wellness Fuel

Spicy food isn’t just craveable—it’s increasingly seen as good for you. And in today’s wellness-driven climate, that’s a win.

Consumers are leaning into ingredients with benefits: from metabolism boosts and anti-inflammation to immunity support and digestive aid. Spice carries a natural “functional halo” thanks to capsaicin, turmeric, ginger, and other health-linked ingredients.

*Spicy Lamb & Avocado Bowl: This Mediterranean flavor adventure satisfies cravings and protein goals. Starring spicy lamb meatballs made with harissa for a kick, plus avocado, red pepper hummus, Crazy Feta®, cucumber, pickled onions, tomato + onion, black lentils, SuperGreens, and lemon herb tahini.

Menu Moves:

CAVA's Spicy Lamb & Avocado Bowl – Featuring harissa, lentils, SuperGreens, Crazy Feta®
Peet’s Sparkling Golden Immunity Lemonade – With turmeric, ginger, and Vitamin C & D
Lemon, Ginger, and Cayenne Shots – Juice bars and wellness cafés
Spicy Superfood Bowls – At Pressed and Juice Generation

Expect to see spicy items marketed with claims like “anti-inflammatory,” “immune-boosting,” and “natural energy” as diners seek food that fuels both body and flavor adventure. The more spice can support both indulgence and intention, the more powerful it becomes on the menu.

Strategic Takeaway: Add Heat, Build Loyalty, Fuel Growth

Spice checks all the boxes:

Low food cost
High perceived value
Visual appeal
social media engagement
wellness relevance
Global flavor exploration
Consumer control and customization

As operators look to boost traffic, differentiate offerings, and engage modern consumers, spice is proving to be one of the most versatile—and profitable—tools in the culinary toolbox.

So the question isn’t if you should turn up the heat. It’s how.

Ready to Ignite Your Menu?

Whether you're looking to attract younger diners, tap into wellness trends, or drop your next craveable LTO, spice is your competitive edge.

Start small.
Test boldly.
Tell a story.

And let your customers feel the fire—in all the right ways.

About Kinetic12: Kim Letizia is with Kinetic12 Consulting, a Chicago-based foodservice and general management consulting firm. The firm works with leading foodservice suppliers, operators, and organizations on customized strategic initiatives, as well as guiding multiple collaborative forums and best practice projects. They also engage as keynote speakers at operator franchise conferences and supplier sales meetings. Their previous leadership roles in restaurant chain operations and at foodservice manufacturers provide a balanced industry perspective.

Contact us to learn more about how we can help your organization through customized consulting, sales benchmarking, or through participating in our Collaborative Innovation and Emerging & Growth Chains programs.

info@kinetic12.com

Sips That Sell: Why Beverage Innovation Is the Strategy to Watch in 2025

Thu, 01 May 2025 12:00:40 GMT

Introduction: A Category Reimagined

The beverage category is no longer riding shotgun—it’s in the driver’s seat of foodservice innovation.

Once considered a reliable but unremarkable part of the menu, beverages have evolved into a strategic lever for growth, differentiation, and engagement. They’re portable, profitable, and endlessly customizable. But more than that, they’re emotional. Beverages are experiences served in a cup, shared online, and savored in moments that build brand connection.

In 2025, we’re seeing beverages take on new roles. They’re becoming the face of the brand, the hero of limited-time offerings, the driver of cross-functional collaboration between culinary and marketing, and the spark behind viral moments on social media. Whether it’s a protein-powered smoothie that fuels a health journey or a whimsical, nostalgic “freakshake” that fuels an Instagram post, beverages are meeting consumers exactly where they are—functionally, emotionally, and culturally.

In a climate where operators are pressured to deliver innovation without operational burden, and where consumers demand both value and novelty, beverages offer the rare trifecta: ease of execution, high margin potential, and irresistible appeal.

The message is clear: Don’t overlook what’s in the cup. It may just be the most strategic part of your menu.

The 5 Beverage Trends That Matter Most in 2025

�� 1. Nostalgia Never Dies

From comfort to craveability, yesterday’s favorites are fueling today’s innovation.

In a world that feels increasingly uncertain, nostalgia is the emotional currency that never loses value. Consumers are seeking familiarity, joy, and a touch of whimsy in their food and drink choices—and beverages are the perfect canvas.

Think: milkshakes piled high with whipped cream and cereal bits, dessert-inspired smoothies that recreate the magic of after-school snacks, and slushies with throwback flavors like blue raspberry or cotton candy.

But this isn’t about replication—it’s about reinvention. Operators are modernizing nostalgic beverages with better-for-you formats, Instagram-worthy aesthetics, and premium ingredients. These drinks hit the sweet spot between indulgence and cleverness, creating powerful consumer connections without menu disruptions.

Opportunity Zones:

Freakshake platforms for QSR or casual dessert menus
Seasonal retro menus (e.g., “Summer Camp Sips”)
Adult nostalgia (alcohol-infused versions or elevated formats)
Tapping into ‘90s/2000s flavors: Tang, Dunkaroos, birthday cake

Strategic Value:

Resonates emotionally, delivers upselling potential, and serves as highly shareable menu features that drive social buzz and occasion-based visits.

Data Spotlight:

Based on Kinetic12’s Q4 and Q1 operator research, beverages ranked among the top new revenue streams that operators plan to introduce in 2025, driven by their portability, emotional relevance, and high-margin potential.

— Kinetic12 Consulting, EMERGENCE Report Q4/Q1

�� 2. Asian Inspiration

East-meets-West flavor fusion is moving from niche to mainstream.

Asian flavors have taken center stage across foodservice menus, and beverages are no exception. Dragonfruit, lychee, Thai tea, matcha, yuzu, and ube are no longer limited to bubble tea shops—they’re popping up in smoothies, slushies, and lemonades at major chains.

This trend is driven by younger consumers who crave cultural exploration, visual excitement, and layered flavor experiences. It’s not just about the flavor—it’s about the story behind the flavor that enhances perceived value.

Offering these ingredients in Western formats (like sparkling sodas or iced teas) lowers the barrier to entry while adding adventure to the everyday experience.

Opportunity Zones:

Yuzu + mint lemonades for summer refresh
Thai tea refreshers or Thai coffee for daypart expansion
Ube + coconut milk smoothies as a vibrant vegan option
Dragonfruit fizz slushies or spritzes for eye-catching LTOs

Strategic Value:

Delivers global relevance, trend-forward flavor systems, and built-in differentiation while appealing to Gen Z’s curiosity and demand for cultural authenticity.

Source:

Datassential reports that matcha, yuzu, and lychee are among the top-performing emerging ingredients, especially among younger consumers seeking global experiences.

�� 3. Taste + Texture Mashups

Drinks that offer a sensory experience are winning hearts—and camera rolls.

We eat with our eyes—and sip with our senses. Taste is no longer enough to stand out in a competitive beverage market. Texture has become a key dimension of delight, with customers gravitating toward drinks that offer chew, crunch, cream, or surprise.

Boba pearls, popping juice balls, jelly cubes, cookie crumbles, nitro foam, and fizzy bases are giving beverages a whole new playbook. Consumers love being able to customize textures—adding an interactive, multi-sensory appeal that makes every sip feel like an experience.

Opportunity Zones:

Build-your-own texture menus: foam, boba, crunch, seeds
Dual-texture drinks (e.g., smoothies with crunchy toppings)
Texture as a premium tier (surcharge = margin boost)
Innovative drink carriers for layered textures (e.g., dome lids with toppings)

Strategic Value:

Encourages play among consumers, enhances perceived value, drives personalization, and improves profitability through optional add-ons.

Source:

QSR Magazine highlights the rise in textured beverages like boba teas, foam-topped drinks, and jelly mix-ins as key features consumers are willing to pay more for.

QSR Food & Beverage Trends 2025

�� 4. Functional Fuel

Consumers want drinks that perform—and now, they expect them to taste good, too.

Health-conscious consumption isn’t going away—it’s evolving. Functional beverages used to live in the “health food” niche. Now, they’re accessible, craveable, and designed for broad appeal.

Today’s consumers are looking for energy, immunity, hydration, gut health, stress relief, and more—all delivered in formats that are convenient, delicious, and photo-worthy. Whether it’s a protein smoothie that fuels a workout, a matcha drink that supports focus, or a collagen refresher that’s good for your skin, these beverages blur the line between food and wellness.

Opportunity Zones:

Energy + immunity LTOs in cold formats (smoothies, teas)
Sparkling prebiotic beverages or botanical-infused refreshers
Functional kits or bundles (e.g., smoothie + shot + snack)
Daypart-specific functional drinks (AM energy / PM calm)

Strategic Value:

Builds consumer trust, invites trade-ups, capitalizes on health-focused dayparts, and opens the door for collaborations with health & wellness brands.

�� 5. Brand Splash & Social Buzz

Virality isn’t luck—it’s strategy. These drinks are designed to get noticed.

The most successful beverage launches today don’t start with the drink—they start with the story. Whether it’s a movie tie-in , a limited-time influencer collab, or a “secret menu” TikTok sensation, the most buzzworthy drinks are built to be shared before they’re even sipped.

Color, drama, foam, glitter, bold naming conventions—these aren’t gimmicks, they’re growth levers. Operators are embracing co-branded beverages, social media challenges, QR-code-access-only drinks, and visual stunts as part of their beverage innovation strategy.

Opportunity Zones:

Monthly “drop” drinks with coordinated social campaigns

Influencer-created drink lines with co-branded content

Interactive beverages (e.g., color-changing teas, flavor-transforming cubes)

Geo-targeted exclusives (available only at certain locations or regions)

Strategic Value:

Drives trial, captures content creation, boosts brand visibility, and aligns marketing, culinary, and ops teams around buzz-driven innovations.

Source:

Sabrina Carpenter's Brown Sugar Shaken Espresso—a fan-fueled, content-ready beverage that exploded on TikTok and Instagram, drawing Gen Z consumers into Dunkin’ locations in droves with its playful and cheeky tagline, “Shake my ess.”

Nation's Restaurant News: Sabrina Carpenter stars in Dunkin’ drink promotion

Final Thought: Sip With Intention

The future of food and beverage is not just about what's on the plate—it’s increasingly about what’s in the cup.

Beverages have earned their place at the center of menu strategy. They're no longer simply thirst-quenchers or meal companions; they are traffic drivers, brand storytellers, social media darlings, and revenue machines. They offer a fast pass to innovation without the friction—they’re low-labor, high-margin, endlessly adaptable, and deeply resonant with today’s consumer.

Operators that lean into beverage innovation in 2025 will unlock new revenue streams, deepen customer engagement, and differentiate their offerings in a crowded and competitive market. And for suppliers, beverages represent a fertile ground for co-creation, cross-functional selling, and long-term brand partnerships.

This isn’t just a passing trend—it’s a transformation of the way we think about growth. The most forward-thinking brands won’t treat beverages as a sidekick. They’ll treat them as a serious strategy and an investment in platform thinking, trend alignment, and consumer emotion.

So, raise your glass—to creativity, profitability, and the strategic power of what’s next—in every cup.

info@kinetic12.com

Navigating the Surge: Boldly Embracing Private Equity Trends in Food Manufacturing

Wed, 26 Mar 2025 14:00:00 GMT

The food industry is filled with grit, optimism, passion, resilience, and overwhelming pride held by the people and companies that work hard to fill our plates, evoke nostalgic emotions and memories, and create new exciting experiences every day.

As one of the largest industries in the U.S., with sustainable demand and substantial infrastructure, it’s no wonder the industry has been a hot spot for mergers and acquisitions and private equity (PE) investment.

In Q4 2024 alone, the F&B sector achieved a remarkable 351 transactions totaling $24.8 billion, making it the most active quarter on record (The Food Institute). This trend is further underscored by a Baker Tilly report showing 149 deals in Q3 2024— the highest quarterly figure since 2017 —and Charter Capital Partners reporting a 26.8% year-over-year increase in transaction volume. Yet, even with that, more change is still to come.

A recent report by Eaton Square noted that recent shifts towards economic nationalism, including deregulation and lowered corporate taxes, have stimulated domestic mergers and acquisitions in the U.S., creating an increasingly favorable environment for private equity investments in the food and beverage sector. However, complexities arising from trade tensions and geopolitical factors necessitate careful strategic consideration for cross-border activities."

“Foodservice offers unique, attractive growth opportunities. Consumers have been spending more of their food dollars away from home than at home over the past [20] years with the exception of a few brief periods. Foodservice is also where much of the innovation in the food industry happens. Consumers constantly look to bring their restaurant experiences into their homes. We see food and beverage manufacturers that supply foodservice as an attractive segment to drive both scale and differentiation.”
~Erik Kahler, Partner, Entrepreneurial Partners Private Equity (e2p), Chicago, IL

With record-breaking activity in recent quarters, private equity interest is surging, demonstrating robust investor confidence in food manufacturing and foodservice segments—offering substantial opportunities for private equity firms, investment bankers, advisors, manufacturers, distributors, retailers, and operators alike.

“Food and beverage is a highly attractive sector due to its significant role in the economy, yet it has historically seen underinvestment from private equity. Agrifood represents around 5% of the U.S. GDP but attracts only about 2% of private equity capital flows, signaling substantial untapped potential for strategic investors who specialize in and understand food.”

~Craig Hanna , Founding Partner, Power Sustainable Lios (PSL), Toronto, Canada

So, what’s driving this mass acceleration in activity? And what trends do we see taking shape as companies look for business development strategies to reach above market growth, and generate value creation?

At Kinetic12, we've worked with dozens of private equity firms and hundreds of food manufacturers to define their foodservice strategy, identify white space, and help in the dynamic process of M&A, assisting in maximizing strategic plans and contributing to EBITDA growth.

Here, we explore the current trends impacting Food and Beverage Manufacturers and Private Equity Fund Companies, arming industry stakeholders with strategic intelligence to enhance business planning, competitive positioning, and growth strategies. Drawing on expert insights from PE industry leaders like Power Sustainable Lios, Graham Partners Private Equity, and Entrepreneurial Equity Partners (e2p), the following analysis illuminates key dynamics and offers actionable recommendations for navigating and capitalizing on this vibrant market environment.

Key Macro Trends Shaping the Landscape:

1. Sustainability and Ethical Sourcing – A Strategic Imperative

Consumers and investors now demand authenticity in sustainability practices. According to Hanna, at Power Sustainable Lios, “Sustainability is one of the tools to leverage in support of building attractive, resilient businesses in the food industry.”

As transparency and responsible sourcing become non-negotiable, businesses can leverage sustainability practices through operational efficiencies and waste reduction to achieve long-term resilience and higher profitability. Sustainability isn’t just about the environment; it’s about creating sustainable business models and catering to the needs of the modern consumer, who often are making choices on who they buy from, based on aligned values—sustainability being one of them.

2. Strategic Consolidation and Succession Planning – Growth Through M&A

The food industry, characterized by fragmentation, presents unique opportunities for strategic consolidation. As Kahler, at e2p, articulates, “Succession has become a major catalyst for many family-owned companies to seek private equity partners who understand their unique needs, possess in-depth industry knowledge, and have a track record of successfully completing transactions. Further, they want a partner that will build on the family’s legacy and support the company’s continued growth.” Strategic consolidation unlocks growth opportunities, accelerates scalability, and facilitates product innovation. Further to that, Hanna, at Power Sustainable Lios states, “A significant driver in the food industry right now is succession planning within family-owned manufacturing businesses. Many of these companies are at a crossroads, facing increased regulatory pressures, quality standards, innovation demands, and the need for generational transitions. This creates ample opportunities for strategic consolidation and private equity partnerships.” However, many privately owned family companies may not be ready for a full complete exit, especially as different family members' objectives and timelines to either run the business or take on additional responsibilities may vary. In those cases, a flexible minority capital partner is an attractive option.

“About two-thirds of our investments are family-owned businesses. For these companies, partnering with private equity offers flexible options—some family members can pursue a full exit while others stay involved, giving everyone the optimal outcome for their individual needs with optionality as the center.”

~Andrew Snyder, Managing Principal, Graham Partners, Newtown Square, PA

3. Consumer-Driven Investments – Aligning with Evolving Preferences

Today’s consumers increasingly seek health, wellness, convenience, and premium products, driving investment decisions. e2p’s Kahler notes, “We strategically avoid short-lived fads, focusing instead on sustainable, long-term growth areas such as better-for-you products, convenience solutions, controlled portions, and premiumization.” Manufacturers responsive to these evolving preferences are well-positioned for sustained growth. This means understanding the drivers behind some of the trends, and strategically adapting your business to align with the core consumer needs.

However, differentiation is a must. As Snyder of Graham Partners articulates, “We actively seek out food manufacturers delivering bold, innovative flavors with clear competitive advantages—whether through proprietary products, automation, or unique market positioning. These attributes create a substantial competitive moat, driving sustainable long-term growth."

4. Private Label Growth – Capturing Value in Uncertainty

Economic uncertainties have significantly amplified the demand for private-label products, presenting substantial opportunities for growth-oriented investors. The global private-label market, projected to reach $463.9 billion in 2024 and $662.8 billion by 2029, presents a substantial opportunity for PE firms. As Hanna at Power Sustainable Lios stated, “Inflationary pressures and economic uncertainty have reshaped consumer purchasing patterns, increasing the demand for private label products. Consumers are increasingly seeking value-driven solutions without compromising on taste or nutrition, leading to robust private label growth across numerous categories.” Companies positioned strategically to deliver high-quality, value-oriented products stand to capture significant market share in this expanding space. In many ways, wages have not kept up with inflation, causing additional pressures on consumers, thus, private label offerings and a move away from branded products have gained stream as they meet the needs and budget of the current consumer.

"Private label has surged as major brands struggle to innovate swiftly and economic pressures mount. This shift has created considerable opportunities for private equity to support companies capable of rapidly scaling and effectively competing in value-oriented market segments."

~Andrew Snyder, Managing Principal, Graham Partners

5. Outsourcing and Contract Manufacturing – Strategic Flexibility and Scalability

The increasing preference of brands to outsource manufacturing underscores a strategic shift toward asset-light business models. According to Kahler at e2p, “CPG companies, large and small, prefer focusing investment in their brands and having increasingly worked with reliable co-manufacturers to support their supply requirements. Contract manufacturing provides the necessary agility, scalability, and innovation support, enabling brands to rapidly respond to market demands without incurring heavy capital expenditure.” Likewise, outsourcing production enable CPG’s to trial new products, capabilities, and new streams of revenue, making them more nimble, and quicker to market, which is why PE firms are looking at these contract manufacturing companies as an opportunity area in the market.

“We are seeing a significant trend toward outsourcing manufacturing. Brand owners increasingly prefer to outsource production, creating attractive opportunities for ingredient suppliers and contract manufacturers as these brand owners seek to refocus their resources on core competencies and brand-building activities.”

~Craig Hanna, Founding Partner, Power Sustainable Lios

So, how do you connect the dots and secure the funding and expertise required to either prepare yourself for a private equity investment or find the right partners, or strategic alternatives?

It all starts with having the right support. Navigating private equity engagements involves more than financial considerations—it requires strategic clarity, industry-specific insight, and a keen understanding of investor priorities. At Kinetic12, we specialize in guiding food manufacturers through every phase of the M&A process, from strategic assessment and market positioning to due diligence and deal execution. Our expertise ensures you clearly articulate your strategic vision, optimize performance, and effectively engage investors, enhancing your company’s value and ensuring a successful partnership. Alternatively, for publicly traded companies looking to expand, we help bridge the gap to understand untapped strategies to win in an ever-changing market.

“Success in today's rapidly evolving market requires partners who not only understand your business but can strategically position you for transformative growth. Kinetic12 delivers clarity, confidence, and unmatched strategic guidance every step of the way.”

~Tim Hand, Partner, Kinetic12

Implications – How to set yourself up for success:

For manufacturers, knowing what PE is looking for well in advance of a potential sale or investment is essential. As Kahler of e2p states, “Manufacturers aiming to attract private equity investment should focus on clearly articulating their competitive advantages, demonstrating sustainable growth trajectories, and ensuring strong, aligned management teams.” Understanding and proactively addressing these value drivers can significantly enhance your strategic positioning, competitive advantage, and growth trajectory.

“We focus on investing in companies with strong, consistent long-term growth potential. A proven track record, combined with a strategic competitive edge, what we would call a ‘wind at their backs’— is essential for sustainable value creation.”

~Andrew Snyder, Managing Principal, Graham Partners

Likewise, for Private Equity investors, keeping a pulse on the latest foodservice and consumer trends, market dynamics, and leadership intel is paramount when evaluating investment direction, valuation, growth potential, and more. At Kinetic12, we help bridge the gap between manufacturers looking for investment and PE firms exploring opportunities –-helping with everything from strategic positioning, innovations, and long-range planning for manufacturers to market assessments, confidential memorandums, due diligence, valuation guidance, and post-transaction change management for PE firms.

"The difference between a good deal and a great deal often comes down to preparation. At Kinetic12, we help clients identify hidden opportunities, align organizational capabilities, and clearly communicate their unique value."

~Gary Schachter, Partner, Kinetic12

Whether you are a manufacturer, distributor, retailer, operator, PE company, or venture capitalist, embracing these macro trends is essential for securing future success. Getting in early with potential investors can make all the difference in setting yourself up for success when the time comes.

Kinetic12 invites you to begin this important conversation today. Let’s explore how we can strategically position your business for growth, effectively manage your investment opportunities, and guide you to success in this dynamic private equity landscape.

Conclusion

This remarkable surge in private equity investment signifies more than a mere opportunity—it represents a decisive moment for food industry leaders. Embracing these transformative shifts demands courage and vision; maintaining the status quo risks leaving your business behind as competitors evolve and grow. Success in today’s complex M&A landscape requires bold, forward-thinking strategies, responsiveness to emerging trends, and the agility to pivot quickly amidst changing trade dynamics and economic realities. Kinetic12 is ready to partner with you, navigating these waters together and turning challenges into clear pathways toward meaningful, sustained growth. Take action now—your business's future leadership depends on the choices you make today.

info@kinetic12.com

Four Key Collaboration Learnings to Navigate 2025

Wed, 26 Feb 2025 12:36:27 GMT

The food industry stands at a crossroads as we near the end of Q1 2025. The landscape is shifting fast, and uncertainty has become a common feeling for industry leaders. Consumers, battered by inflation, are making tough choices, reshaping dining habits, and forcing the industry to rethink its strategies.

Simultaneously, operators, manufacturers, and distributors are struggling to drive growth as sales slow due to declining foot traffic. This has led many to actively prioritize new streams of revenue to offset those challenges, underscoring the growing urgency to diversify revenue sources.

Adding to these pressures, industry leaders are facing other disruptions, including tariffs and regulatory shifts, making it more challenging to hit the sweet spot between innovation, growth, and profitability.

In this time of uncertainty and change, collaboration isn’t just a safeguard—it’s the launchpad for innovation, growth, and industry leadership. The strongest companies won’t wait for stability; they’ll create it through strategic partnerships. The data is clear: companies that fail to build strong partnerships will fall behind. By building deep, meaningful partnerships with suppliers and customers, foodservice businesses won’t just weather the storm—they’ll lead the charge into a stronger, more resilient future. Industry leaders consistently highlight strategic collaboration as a crucial driver of revenue growth, reinforcing the importance of strong partnerships.

With years of experience leading collaborative initiatives across foodservice—ranging from working with distributors to develop truly collaborative category planning processes to leading an industry-wide initiative focused on optimizing the foodservice supply chain to launching a program on Collaborative Innovation that is now entering its seventh year—the partners of Kinetic12 have seen firsthand what drives successful partnerships. Based on these experiences, here are four essential collaboration learnings for 2025:

1. A Cross-Functional Approach Outperforms a Single Point of Contact

Historically, many industry relationships have relied on one-to-one connections, such as operator procurement dealing solely with manufacturer sales or distributor category managers engaging only with manufacturer sales teams. This siloed approach creates risks—particularly when a single gatekeeper slows progress or leaves the business due to turnover. Unfortunately, in today’s age, the one-on-one approach does not deliver the speed, efficiency, and depth of collaboration that modern foodservice demands.

Instead, adopting a “many-to-many” model can enhance the relationship dynamic. The primary point of contact should act as a relationship director , ensuring that culinary teams, supply chain teams, and marketing teams from both organizations are directly engaged with their counterparts. This approach accelerates decision-making, enhances communication, and leads to stronger, more resilient partnerships.

2. Collaboration Must Begin with Shared Insights

No single company has all the answers—true collaboration stems from sharing data and insights to develop mutually beneficial strategies.

For example, a national chain operator may possess deep insights into their customer behavior, while a manufacturer might have detailed category-specific data on a particular menu item. By combining these data sets, both parties can identify three to four actionable growth opportunities that would have been impossible to uncover in isolation. Operators increasingly recognize the importance of data-driven insights in driving menu optimization and staying competitive.

With the increasing availability of advanced analytics and AI-driven tools, strategic collaboration centered on shared insights will only become more valuable in 2025. Companies that effectively leverage shared data are seeing significant improvements in menu innovation success rates, highlighting the tangible benefits of collaboration.

3. Formalize Agreements and Follow Through

One of the biggest pitfalls in collaboration is the failure to execute on agreed-upon initiatives. Too often, trading partners leave meetings feeling accomplished, only to realize months later that no action has been taken.

To combat this, partners must do more than just talk. They must document, commit, and execute . A handshake isn’t enough—results come from clear accountability and relentless follow-through. The “relationship director” (as outlined in Learning #1) plays a crucial role in ensuring execution, but all parties need to align on key metrics, objectives, timelines, and next steps for each individual for the team to stay accountable to each other and the project at hand. Digital tools such as project management platforms (PMOs) and customer relationship management (CRM) systems make it easier to track progress, but success ultimately depends on both parties prioritizing follow-through alongside day-to-day operations. Teams that implement structured collaboration frameworks are more likely to meet their joint business objectives, demonstrating the power of a disciplined approach.

4. Shift the Focus from Problems to Opportunities

Too many trading partners waste valuable time firefighting, reacting instead of strategizing. The best companies refuse to be caught in a cycle of problem-solving—they dedicate time to proactive opportunity discussions that drive growth. However, highly collaborative companies balance problem-solving with proactive opportunity discussions.

Leading organizations dedicate time in each conversation to exploring market trends, sharing relevant research, and identifying potential growth areas. Foodservice leaders acknowledge that supplier collaboration on emerging trends is a key factor in staying competitive in an evolving market. Even small, forward-thinking discussions can strengthen relationships and unlock new revenue streams. This doesn’t mean ignoring challenges, but rather ensuring that opportunities remain a core component of collaboration.

Final Thoughts

As we continue navigating 2025, these four collaboration principles can help industry leaders strengthen their most valuable relationships. As we highlighted in our November article, Growing In A Flat Market: A Manufacturer's Dilemma , maintaining and growing existing partnerships is far more efficient than building new ones from scratch. By embracing cross-functional engagement, shared insights, structured follow-through, and an opportunity-first mindset , foodservice companies can seize the moment and make 2025 not just about surviving—but thriving.

About Kinetic12: Art Bell & Kim Letizia are with Kinetic12 Consulting, a Chicago-based Foodservice and general management consulting firm. The firm works with leading Foodservice suppliers, operators, and organizations on customized strategic initiatives, as well as guiding multiple collaborative forums and best practice projects. They also engage as keynote speakers at operator franchise conferences and supplier sales meetings. Their previous leadership roles in restaurant chain operations and at foodservice manufacturers provide a balanced industry perspective.

Contact us to learn more about how we can help your organization through customized consulting or through participating in our Emerging & Growth Chains program.

info@kinetic12.com

Navigating the Future of Foodservice Sales

Fri, 31 Jan 2025 13:00:08 GMT

The foodservice industry is evolving faster than ever. Foodservice operators are grappling with accelerated digital transformation, changing consumer behaviors due to economic challenges and demographic shifts, and ongoing supply chain challenges left over from the pandemic. All of these forces are creating unprecedented change in the industry (see last month’s Kinetic12 Network newsletter article “ 2024 Reflections: Predictions vs. Reality in the Foodservice Industry ” for a more in-depth look at the effect of these forces across the industry).

These shifting market dynamics, customer expectations, and competitive pressures mean that sales leaders must adapt –or risk falling behind. To drive profitable growth in 2025, organizations must go beyond traditional sales approaches and focus on efficiency, effectiveness, and agility.

The most successful sales leaders are implementing three powerful techniques to ensure their teams are set for success: sales benchmarking, strategic account planning, and team empowerment.

Sales Benchmarking for Success: Know Where You Stand

What is Sales Benchmarking?

Sales benchmarking allows sales leaders to compare their organization's sales trends, structure, investments, and effectiveness against industry leaders and peers. It’s not just about seeing where you rank –it’s about uncovering opportunities for improvement. If you see your organization is underspending on sales tools compared to your peers, you can now make a case for increasing spending on support tools – with the data to back up your request.

Why It Matters:

Provides a clearer understanding of your competitive positioning in the market
Highlights key competitive strengths that must be maintained and opportunity gaps that need to be addressed
Justifies investments in eCommerce, sales tools, and personnel with data-driven insights

How to Implement:

Leverage industry surveys and reports to gather comparative data.
Use benchmarking tools like the newly launched Kinetic12 SalesLAB™ Sales Benchmarking program to identify actionable insights to optimize sales effectiveness.

Thoughtful and Disciplined Account Planning: Win with Strategy

What (Really) is Account Planning?

Account planning goes beyond fulfilling customer needs – it involves tailoring strategies to help your customer succeed. These strategies are based on deep insights about your customers’ business , ensuring your sales efforts embrace activity that will make your customers most successful. Simply meeting your customers’ stated needs is table stakes; strategic account planning allows you to go a level deeper and uncover insights that will help your customers win with their customers.

Why It Matters:

Strategic account planning builds stronger, more collaborative customer relationships, and boosts sales by increasing customer retention and product penetration .
Improves sales forecasting and long-term planning
Increases internal cross-functional alignment with your customers’ marketing, R&D, and operations teams and broadens relationships beyond your customers’ category and procurement contacts

How to Execute:

Leverage research and data to identify insights relevant to your customer
Develop clear action plans with measurable objectives
Create regular touchpoints with your customers, collaboratively reviewing and adapting plans based on performance and market shifts

Empowering Your Sales Team: The Key to Sustainable Success

A great sales organization is built on a well-equipped, well-trained team . Leaders must ensure that their teams have access to the right tools, data, and a culture of continuous improvement. Imagine this: a foodservice equipment company adopted AI sales forecasting to predict demand during the holiday season. Armed with real data, its sales reps can now proactively reach out to clients without fear of stockouts, earning long-term customer loyalty.

How to Empower Your Team:

Equip your team with modern sales tools like CRM, sales analytics and intelligence platforms and AI sales forecasting models that enhance your sales team’s efficiency.
Foster a culture of collaboration across your sales team and with cross-functional partners, encouraging goal alignment and sharing of best practices.
Use your CRM system as a relationship-building tool , not just a sales tracker
Leverage data and analytics to identify trends and drive proactive sales efforts

Getting Started: Turning Insights into Action

Sales leaders who are looking to optimize performance should:
Start with a diagnostic assessment to identify their team’s strengths and weaknesses
Collaborate across departments (sales, marketing, R&D) to align strategies
Set measurable KPIs for benchmarking, account planning, and team empowerment

By combining benchmarking, disciplined account planning, and team empowerment , sales leaders can build a resilient, high-performing foodservice sales organization –one that is ready to thrive in 2025 and beyond.

About Kinetic12: Jennifer Brizzolara and Art Bell are with Kinetic12 Consulting, a Chicago-based Foodservice and general management consulting firm. The firm works with leading Foodservice suppliers, operators, and organizations on customized strategic initiatives, as well as guiding multiple collaborative forums and best practice projects. They also engage as keynote speakers at operator franchise conferences and supplier sales meetings. Their previous leadership roles in restaurant chain operations and at Foodservice manufacturers provide a balanced industry perspective.

Contact us to learn more about how we can help your organization through customized consulting or through participating in our Emerging & Growth Chains program.

info@kinetic12.com

2025 Predictions: Elevating Foodservice in a New Era

Wed, 08 Jan 2025 13:00:03 GMT

"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams," Eleanor Roosevelt once said. In 2025, the foodservice industry stands poised to make those dreams a reality, not through small steps but by daring to reimagine what’s possible. This is our moment to think bigger, act bolder, and reshape how we connect with consumers in ways that inspire loyalty and ignite imaginations.

The rules have changed. Consumers demand flexibility, authenticity, and seamless engagement across every channel. The question isn’t if we adapt –it’s how we lead.

This year, success will belong to those who transform challenges into opportunities: redefining hospitality not as a place, but as an experience, meeting consumers wherever they are, and turning every interaction –digital or physical –into a moment that matters.

Real change requires more than innovation –it demands collaboration. Operators and suppliers must unite to build solutions that address today’s realities while shaping tomorrow’s possibilities. Together, we have the chance to craft an industry that doesn’t just serve but inspires, creating a future in which foodservice transcends expectations and redefines its impact on the world.

The following 10 predictions from Kinetic12 outline the key areas where transformation will happen, offering a roadmap for how operators and suppliers can seize the opportunities ahead.

1. Guest-Centricity as the North Star

What’s Different in 2025: Consumers expect more than quality food and efficient service –they demand personalized, purpose-driven experiences that resonate emotionally.

Key Focus Areas:

Elevated Hospitality: Reinvent in-store experiences with high-touch interactions and surprise-and-delight moments that build emotional loyalty.
Omnichannel Excellence: Ensure seamless integration between digital and physical touchpoints to create a unified customer journey.
Purpose-Driven Branding: Align offerings with consumer values, such as sustainability and inclusivity, to differentiate and build trust.

2. The Next Frontier: Integrated Experiences

What’s Different in 2025: The future of foodservice lies in blurring the boundaries between dining, retail, and entertainment. Restaurants are no longer just places to eat –they are hubs of community, experiences, and even commerce. Operators must embrace a hybrid model that combines experiential dining with new revenue streams like branded products, content creation, and immersive events.

Key Focus Areas:

Restaurant as a Destination: Transform locations into spaces where customers come not just for food but for memorable experiences –live music, cooking classes, or curated retail offerings.
Brand Extensions: Leverage the brand’s identity to create new products like packaged sauces, meal kits, or co-branded retail items that can be sold in-store and online.
Immersive Dining: Experiment with sensory-driven dining experiences, from augmented reality (AR) menus to theatrical meal presentations that turn dining into entertainment.

3. Optimizing the Virtual Customer Relationship

What’s Different in 2025: With approximately 60% of dining now off-premise, the customer relationship has shifted to a digital-first dynamic. Operators must rethink how they foster meaningful connections in this virtual environment.

Key Focus Areas:

Digital Loyalty Programs: Build relationships beyond transactions with virtual rewards, exclusive online perks, and gamified engagement.
Social Connection: Leverage social media and online platforms to create two-way conversations and drive engagement.
Consistency Across Channels: Ensure that the virtual experience mirrors the quality and personalization of in-store dining.

4. Tactics to Combat Traffic Declines

What’s Different in 2025: The focus is shifting from forcing customers into physical locations to meeting them wherever they choose to engage –be it at home, on their phones, or through delivery services. Operators must prioritize organic demand creation through modern tools like social media, influencer partnerships, and frictionless digital experiences. It’s not just about pricing and LTOs anymore, it’s about thinking more holistically about the complexity of the human experience and the emotional connection to the brand beyond the four walls.

We need to think at a higher level to meet the current consumer where they’re at.

Key Focus Areas:

Social Media as a Traffic Driver: Use platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube to create viral moments around menu items, stories, or campaigns that resonate with target demographics.
Off-Premise Appeal: Offer exclusive off-premise perks, such as bundled meals, limited-time delivery-only items, or loyalty points tied to digital orders.
Community-Centric Marketing: Build brand affinity by participating in or hosting community events, partnering with local creators, or highlighting causes that matter to your audience.

5. Profitability Through Creativity

What’s Different in 2025: Operators are moving beyond traditional cost-cutting to focus on creative solutions that drive both revenue and margins.

Key Focus Areas:

Diversification: Expand into catering, retail products, and subscription models to grow beyond traditional revenue streams.
Smart Efficiency: Leverage tech-enabled solutions to optimize labor, reduce waste, and streamline operations.
Co-Creation with Suppliers: Develop menu items and operational strategies that align with profitability goals while enhancing guest experiences.

6. Technology as a Seamless Ecosystem

What’s Different in 2025: Technology adoption has evolved from isolated solutions to fully integrated ecosystems that enhance every aspect of the business.

Key Focus Areas:

Integrated Systems: Connect front-of-house and back-of-house operations for seamless workflows and consistent execution.
Digital Guest Tools: Implement predictive ordering, automated loyalty programs, and AI-driven insights to elevate the customer experience.
Operational Agility: Use technology to rapidly adapt to shifting consumer preferences and operational challenges.

7. Collaboration as the New Currency

What’s Different in 2025: Supplier-operator relationships are evolving from transactional to transformational, with a focus on long-term partnerships.

Key Focus Areas:

Proactive Communication: Provide early visibility into supply chain challenges and collaborate on solutions.
Shared Innovation: Work together to solve systemic issues like labor shortages, sustainability, and traffic declines.
Holistic Support: Align with operator goals across culinary, marketing, and operational teams to maximize impact.

8. Sustainability as a Business Imperative

What’s Different in 2025: Sustainability is no longer a "nice-to-have." It is essential to both operational efficiency and consumer loyalty.

Key Focus Areas:

Operational Sustainability: Reduce waste, prioritize local sourcing, and adopt energy-efficient practices to improve environmental impact.
Consumer Trust: Transparently communicate sustainability initiatives to strengthen guest loyalty.
Sustainability as Profitability: Use sustainable practices to reduce costs while creating value for customers and stakeholders.

9. Labor Transformation Through Engagement

What’s Different in 2025: Labor strategies are evolving to focus on holistic employee well-being, career growth, and inclusivity.

Key Focus Areas:

Employee Empowerment: Train and recognize employees to deliver high-quality guest interactions while fostering a positive workplace culture.
Tech-Human Integration: Automate repetitive tasks to free staff for higher-value guest engagement.
Culture of Care: Create workplaces where employees feel valued, supported, and motivated to excel.

10. Innovation Led by the Consumer

What’s Different in 2025: The modern consumer wants flexibility and connection, and innovation must revolve around meeting these needs. Rather than creating innovation for innovation’s sake, operators are focusing on blending convenience with moments of delight, using digital tools and off-premise strategies to remain relevant in consumers' daily lives.

Key Focus Areas:

Digital-First Innovation: Develop app-exclusive features, such as gamified loyalty programs, augmented reality menu previews, or customizable meal options that cater to the individual.
Content-Driven Engagement: Create compelling social content that inspires action –think behind-the-scenes videos, storytelling about sourcing, or collaborations with influencers that reflect the brand’s values.
Seamless Off-Premise Experiences: Redesign packaging and delivery processes to ensure food quality, branding, and convenience stand out as differentiators.

Leading in 2025

“The best way to predict the future is to create it,” Abraham Lincoln famously said. In 2025, this industry has the tools, talent, and drive to turn that vision into action. This is our year to step beyond the status quo and lead with imagination, purpose, and courage.

The opportunities ahead are boundless. Technology gives us the power to engage like never before. Collaboration fuels solutions that transform obstacles into advantages. Innovation, driven by the needs of consumers, allows us to design experiences that are unforgettable, accessible, and authentic.

But this future won’t build itself. It demands leadership that is unafraid to break the mold and forge new paths. It requires operators and suppliers to work together not just as business partners, but as co-creators of a new reality for foodservice --one that reflects the lives, values, and aspirations of the people we serve.

2025 isn’t just another year –it’s a blank canvas, waiting for bold ideas and fearless action.

About Kinetic12: Kim Letizia, Tim Hand, and Art Bell are with Kinetic12 Consulting, a Chicago-based Foodservice and general management consulting firm. The firm works with leading Foodservice suppliers, operators, and organizations on customized strategic initiatives, as well as guiding multiple collaborative forums and best practice projects. They also engage as keynote speakers at operator franchise conferences and supplier sales meetings. Their previous leadership roles in restaurant chain operations and at Foodservice manufacturers provide a balanced industry perspective.

Contact us to learn more about how we can help your organization through customized consulting or through participating in our Emerging & Growth Chains program.

info@kinetic12.com

2024 Reflections: Predictions vs. Reality in the Foodservice Industry

Fri, 06 Dec 2024 13:00:03 GMT

As we reflect on 2024, it’s evident that the foodservice industry’s transformation has continued to redefine the way operators and suppliers navigate challenges and capitalize on opportunities. This year demanded bold strategies, visionary thinking, and an unrelenting focus on collaboration. By adapting to the insatiable consumer, prioritizing profitability, leveraging technology, and addressing supply chain volatility, the industry has proven that resilience and creativity are key to staying ahead.

Using Kinetic12’s eight key predictions for 2024 , we reflect not only on what has happened but extract actionable insights to inform the path forward.

1. The Insatiable Consumer

Prediction: Consumers in 2024 were expected to crave unparalleled experiences, demanding exceptional service and uncompromising quality while showing little patience for mistakes.

Reality: The industry faced heightened consumer expectations as predicted. Operators learned that focusing on menu consistency and guest experience were pivotal to driving traffic, with 71% identifying these as their most successful tactics. Loyalty programs were not merely "nice to have" but essential in retaining customers amid tightening discretionary spending (Emergence Report Q3 2024; Q4 2024).

Key Learning: Consumers now define value as an experience – not just price. Operators who prioritize creating memorable moments, personalizing offers, and exceeding expectations will lead the pack. Suppliers must support by enabling experiential differentiation through innovation and tailored solutions.

2. The Prioritization of Operator Profit

Prediction: Operators were expected to make profitability their number-one focus, relying on cost control, operational efficiency, and tech adoption to offset rising costs.

Reality: As inflation persisted, operators were forced to push beyond traditional methods. Many uncovered hidden profit opportunities by simplifying operations and collaborating with suppliers on pricing strategies. Technology played a critical role, especially in labor optimization and waste reduction. Suppliers who helped operators manage costs through creative solutions solidified long-term partnerships (Emergence Report Q2 2024; Q4 2024).

Key Learning: Profitability doesn’t just happen – it requires proactive planning. Operators should embrace a mindset of continual improvement, from simplifying menus to rethinking workflows. Suppliers that offer innovative, margin-friendly solutions become invaluable allies.

3. The Chain Landscape Redefined

Prediction: Mergers, acquisitions, and regional chain growth would reshape the competitive landscape, with smaller brands leveraging their agility to scale.

Reality: There has been a reset in foodservice being led by the larger chains. Bankruptcies have reset a number of businesses, and consolidations have persisted, but not all change has come from M&A, and in a surprising turn, many changes have been led more by the larger chains vs. the smaller emerging ones, including a refocus on value and investment in new revenue streams.

Key Learning: Regional chains and smaller brands, while more nimble, may lack some of the resources available at the larger chains. Still, there is an opportunity for them to remain laser-focused on operational excellence and adaptability, while fast-tracking change to keep competitive with the larger competitors. Suppliers should align with these growth-oriented operators and tailor their approach by offering scalable solutions and emphasizing speed-to-market support

"Agility isn’t just a buzzword – it’s a survival tool."

4. The Off-Premise Revolution

Prediction: Off-premise dining was expected to evolve, with investments in technology, packaging, and redesigned spaces driving growth.

Reality: Off-premise operations became a key revenue driver for many brands, with 68% of operators redesigning store layouts to optimize production for delivery and takeout. Advances in digital ordering platforms and innovative packaging elevated the off-premise experience. These changes also aligned with consumer demand for convenience without sacrificing quality (Emergence Report Q3 2024; Q4 2024).

Key Learning: Off-premise is no longer a "channel" –it’s an extension of the brand. Operators must seamlessly integrate off-premise experiences into their core strategy, ensuring that food quality, speed, and branding are uncompromised. Suppliers can enhance their value by offering turnkey packaging solutions and operational innovations

5. The New Labor-Management Mindset

Prediction: Labor retention and engagement would remain critical, with an emphasis on creating enjoyable workplaces and building career paths.

Reality: Labor challenges were pervasive, but operators who invested in employee engagement and flexible work environments reaped significant rewards. Improved morale directly contributed to consistent execution and better customer experiences. By Q2, recognition, fair compensation, and training emerged as the top drivers of workforce satisfaction (Emergence Report Q2 2024; Q3 2024).

Key Learning: Happy employees create happy customers. Operators must shift from viewing labor as a cost to treating it as an investment. Suppliers can play a role by simplifying operations and providing labor-saving solutions that ease back-of-house challenges.

6. The Instability of the Global Supply Chain

Prediction: Ongoing disruptions in the supply chain would force operators and suppliers to adopt more proactive, flexible strategies.

Reality: Supply chain unpredictability, from raw material shortages to transportation delays, required constant adjustments. Though we expected some instability, the uncertainty and severity of the issues showed things shifting in ways that were unexpected. With the new political administration, talks of tariffs impacting the global supply chain and costs have added a layer of additional strain on already tight margins, and with the Baltimore port shutdowns in global imports, we learned that even the smallest of blips can have catastrophic consequences if not addressed promptly and swiftly.

70% of operators emphasized the value of suppliers who were proactive and transparent in addressing challenges

(Emergence Report Q3 2024; Q4 2024)

Key Learning: We may see a shift to more domestically sourced goods and a re-emphasis on contingency planning to hedge off global supply chain instability and control costs. Supply chain resilience is a team sport, and operators must prioritize partnerships with suppliers who are proactive, transparent, and solutions-oriented to better prepare for the future.

7. The Evolution of the Distributor Business Model

Prediction: Distributors would invest heavily in technology, automation, and data to streamline operations and enhance customer engagement.

Reality: Distributors made significant strides in digitization, leveraging data analytics to improve forecasting and inventory management. However, though technology investments have improved transparency and information availability, the full customer value and the benefit of the improved experience has just begun to be fully realized by the operator.

Key Learning: Technology is transforming the distributor-operator relationship. With more orders happening online, the importance and role of the DSR is changing from the tactical approach of the past to operators wanting more of a consulting partner. As distributors continue to invest in technology, they must not lose sight of the customer impact, and will need to look at harnessing data to provide actionable insights and improve service levels for operators, to remain indispensable partners.

8. The Manufacturer’s Hunt for Growth

Prediction: Manufacturers would look beyond traditional markets, leveraging data and innovation to uncover new growth opportunities.

Reality: Manufacturers increasingly used data-driven insights to expand their offerings, targeting nontraditional channels like convenience stores and prepared foods, and leveraged data analytics to determine new opportunities for growth within existing or new customers. Operators also appreciated manufacturers who actively identified and delivered tailored growth solutions (Emergence Report Q3 2024; Q4 2024).

Key Learning: Growth opportunities are everywhere – but only for those willing to look beyond the status quo. Manufacturers must combine data insights with a willingness to look beyond traditional customers, markets and segments.

Operator Reflections:

Looking back at the progress we’ve made over the past year, operators have seen the most improvement in addressing service levels, hospitality, and customer service, as well as customer engagement, efficiency, and menu innovation. So, while traffic and profitability still remain critical issues, the things we’ve been doing have made a sizable impact on improving the base business to build a more sustainable future.

Conclusion: The Resilient Path Forward in Foodservice

As we close out 2024, it’s clear that the industry has proven its resilience by navigating a year of significant challenges with a sharp focus on collaboration, innovation, and adaptability. From the outset, operators and suppliers alike committed to tackling the toughest issues: rebuilding guest traffic, optimizing profitability, simplifying operations, and redefining the customer experience.

Each quarter presented new tests but also affirmed the industry’s creativity and dedication to growth. The drive to retain loyal customers and offer consistent quality amid rising costs underscored the need for agility, while technology emerged as an indispensable tool, transforming both front- and back-of-house experiences. Likewise, operators’ focus on employee engagement led to a richer, more reliable service that resonated with customers and strengthened brand loyalty.

The results speak for themselves: suppliers who stepped up as true partners, offering stability and innovative solutions, earned loyalty, while operators who invested in streamlined, yet distinct, offerings carved out competitive advantages even in a crowded market. Together, these efforts have shaped a robust framework that will continue to deliver value in the "Next Normal."

2024 reminds us that success in foodservice is not only about responding to immediate challenges but about forging a forward-looking path where innovation, partnership, and consistency build a foundation for lasting impact. As we move beyond this year, the lessons learned will undoubtedly fuel the industry’s ability to rise above challenges, fostering growth, resilience, and a renewed commitment to exceptional service.

About Kinetic12: Kim Letizia, Tim Hand, Art Bell, and Bruce Reinstein are with Kinetic12 Consulting, a Chicago-based Foodservice and general management consulting firm. The firm works with leading Foodservice suppliers, operators, and organizations on customized strategic initiatives, as well as guiding multiple collaborative forums and best practice projects. They also engage as keynote speakers at operator franchise conferences and supplier sales meetings. Their previous leadership roles in restaurant chain operations and at Foodservice manufacturers provide a balanced industry perspective.

Contact us to learn more about how we can help your organization through customized consulting or through participating in our Emerging & Growth Chains program.

info@kinetic12.com

Growing In A Flat Market: A Manufacturer's Dilemma

Wed, 30 Oct 2024 12:00:04 GMT

So, your budget for 2025 has been set, and your final sales targets were just handed down to you. You lobbied for a +2% target increase in sales, but your management wants a +7% top-line revenue growth and 9% gross margin dollars growth! Your thoughts wander through a range of emotions: fear, disbelief, and panic set in. Don't they understand that our industry is flat? Personally, I used to call these targets "GGQs," short for "God-given quotas!”

So, after the dust settles, it's time to get to work —Identifying your best sources for growth in the new year. But what are they, and how do you go about activating that growth in a flat market?

At Kinetic 12, we're asked this question often. Below, we share with you four proven strategies to accelerate your growth in a flat market and exceed industry performance to help you meet your aggressive sales goals.

1. Sell More to Current Customers.

Leverage your best customers' love of your brand to sell more stuff to existing customers. Many companies are underpenetrated with their current customers. Why? Because they don't have the data to truly understand the business they really do have with them. Many companies do not drill into the actual data and instead settle for the "we already have their business" smoke screen. Take the time to develop a strategy to increase the penetration of your current customers, and "drill baby drill!" —into the data, that is!

2. Target Adjacent Segments for New Sales.

Many companies focus on a few select operator segments. Why? Because "that's what we know." But narrowing your scope too much can limit your opportunity for growth. Instead, look at adjacent segments to target those that may have interest in your products, and resource your team to blitz a new segment for 90 to 120 days. If the blitz is successful, keep going deeper into the segment. If not, move to the next segment. Don't just throw stuff against the wall—do your homework when building the strategy, including getting operator input and understanding the key competitors in that new segment. For example—if you don't sell to club stores, why not? Everything should be on the table—remember, you have a big target to hit in 2025, so it's time to get creative!

3. Segment Your Customers to Margin Up.

Your most popular products are likely the ones with the least production capacity available. Yet, operating in a capacity-constrained environment provides an opportunity to think more strategically about your customers— protecting your strategic customers while margining up more transactional customers is a great way to leverage existing resources and bandwidth while improving sales and margin overall. However, many companies do not develop a method to prioritize their customers; rather, they prioritize based on how aggressively a sales manager argues for each one. Instead, build a method to identify which customers are truly strategic to your company and which customers are transactional. If all your strategic customers are the lowest-margin customers, something is not working! A strategic customer is a customer that returns the most to your business when you invest in them, someone with an aligned mission and vision for mutual growth— which isn't always the largest customer. The entire organization needs to understand your customer segmentation methodology and which customers fit into each tier. After all, you will be most successful in margining up your business if your fellow leaders understand and are aligned with your strategy and priorities.

4. Acquire New.

In a flat market, many companies grow by acquisition. If you're not looking into acquisition, you can be sure your competitors are: 2025 will be a very active year for company acquisitions. But where do you start? Our suggestion is to build a target matrix of products, customers, and go-to-market segments, then overlay potential acquisition targets to see where there are synergies. Think about leveraging your co-manufacturing relationships to build the market side of the opportunity. Then, you can decide to build or buy once the volume is established. This process takes some research and time before moving to action—so being proactive is the best offense. Plus, even if your company never makes an acquisition, this exercise will help you identify growth opportunities by isolating voids in your customer segments, your product categories, and your go-to-market strategies, so either way, it's a win.

If you want to succeed in 2025, you need to take action now. In today's market, you can no longer rely on market growth to meet your goals. But the industry is large and diverse, and with a well-thought-out action plan, you can make it happen!

To learn more about how you can level up your strategic planning and set yourself up for growth, contact us to learn more about our consulting opportunities.

About Kinetic12: Larry Oberkfell is a partner with Kinetic12 Consulting, a Chicago-based Foodservice and general management consulting firm. The firm guides multiple best practice projects and forums, and consults with leading Foodservice suppliers, operators, PE firms and associations on strategic initiatives. Their previous leadership roles at Foodservice manufacturers and restaurant chain operations provides a balanced perspective and insight into how the industry is evolving and what must be done to stay relevant.

Contact us to learn more about how we can help your organization understand your market position, unleash growth, and connect with Emerging and Growth Chains defining the future of foodservice.

Larry@kinetic12.com

Reimagining Collaborative Innovation: An Ikigai Approach To Blending Passion With Profit

Wed, 25 Sep 2024 12:00:05 GMT

In a world of chaos, the opportunity for change and to think differently is born. And right now, there is no greater need than to come to the table with an open mind and fresh ideas.

In many ways, when we look at the restaurant-chain landscape, we've already made substantial changes over the past four years, which have accelerated the transformation of business as we know it. Yet, we still remain at a crossroads where traffic is not where it needs to be, inflation has outpaced the consumer's willingness to spend, and the economics of the restaurant industry remain at a critical point, teetering on what we deem as sustainable. Yet, operators are still opening new units and expanding within and outside their four walls to conceive of creative solutions that combat headwinds.

So where does that leave us? It leaves us at a point where creativity and collaboration are essential in our ability to transform the business effectively and efficiently for the future health of the company.

For more than seven years, Kinetic12 has been tracking operator sentiment, key priorities, and mindset regarding how they are tackling the biggest priorities in the fast-paced food service environment. As one of the largest industries in the United States and globally, there is no other industry that comes closer to touching the hearts, souls, and health of so many individuals. And as the leaders shaping the offerings and experiences of these consumers, we have a responsibility to both understand and build the ideas and environment in which our employees, customers, and consumers can thrive.

It all starts with asking a few questions: What's my passion? What does the world need? And: What am I good enough at to get paid for? Therein lies both your purpose and your fuel to endure the journey to greatness.

In Japanese culture, this philosophy is termed Ikigai, and it applies as much to business as it does to one's inner compass.

Let's face it. Life is hard. Business is hard. And making the right calls consistently is hard. But embracing the mentality of Ikegai gives us the grit and motivation to undertake the journey to greatness.

So, how can we apply that mentality to collaboration, and what does it mean to embrace it in the workplace?

Here we explore how you can take those guiding principles and adapt them to work for you in the modern workplace to help move you and your business forward in the spirit of collaboration.

1. Identify Core Values and Passion (What You Love)

Passion is the driving force behind creativity and innovation. In the food industry, aligning the innovation process with what team members love can lead to remarkable breakthroughs and a motivated workforce. This section explores how to tap into core values and passion to fuel the innovation engine.

Align roles based on player strengths and interests : Sometimes, this means defining the team roles more directly to their job, and other times, this means giving stretch assignments so they can work on things that fuel their interests. The point here is to learn about the team's individual talents and interests so you can assemble the team that's right for the task or goal at hand. As an individual, this requires some introspection and sharing your findings with your team so they know what's important to you. The key here is to link your passion with your inner values, as well as the organizational values and goals.

2. Leverage Expertise (What You Are Good At)

Expertise is a valuable asset in the innovation process. Leveraging the skills and knowledge of team members and partners can result in more effective and efficient solutions. This section focuses on strategies for harnessing expertise to drive collaborative innovation.

Leveraging expertise is as much about assigning roles as it is about providing clarity on where those people and expertise are activated within the innovation process. When you think through the stage gate process for a project, take the time to assign activation points for all the key team members so everyone knows when to get involved and what they are charged with accomplishing. This helps avoid overlap and also encourages people to play to their strengths without getting burnt out.

Once you have the team assembled and goals aligned, here are some ways you can work together:

Patron Councils : Utilize supplier-managed customer councils to generate ideas and leverage their expertise in understanding customer preferences.
Supplier Councils : Organize suppliers across core complementary categories to leverage their specialized knowledge and skills.

3. Address Market Needs (What the World Needs)

Successful innovation addresses real market needs and solves genuine problems. By understanding and responding to these needs, businesses can create products and services that truly resonate with consumers. Here, we examine the methods for aligning innovation with market demands.

Research and Understanding Breeds Better Ideas : one common mistake when approaching innovation is jumping too early into the idea generation without doing the due diligence to understand the market dynamics, market demand, white space opportunities, and how they overlay with core company strengths and capabilities. This takes a dual approach to looking internally and externally to connect the dots.

A few ideas on how you can help understand the market are:

Include Customers in the Innovation Process : Conduct consumer screeners and focus groups to ensure the innovations meet actual market demands.
Gap Analysis : Understand current and target customers by overlaying market and consumer trends with existing menu items and identifying gaps.
Get Curious : explore the existing business or operations with a new eye. Put yourself in the perspective of the employee or customer. How do you want your experience to be, and what can you do to make it better?

4. Ensure Economic Viability (What You Can Be Paid For)

For innovation to be sustainable, it must also be economically viable. Balancing creativity with profitability is key to long-term success. This section discusses strategies for ensuring that innovative ideas can be monetized effectively.

Gone are the days when items can make it to the market based on the whim of a few key people's decisions. While that might have been possible pre-COVID in an era where menu innovation was rampant and few things graduated off the menu in comparison to what was being added, nowadays we see a reverse pattern because of the embrace of simplicity, and in response to both continues supply chain issues, and lack of quality, consistent labor.
To succeed in today's environment takes a higher level of skill, discipline, discernment, and agility.

We have to be fast but still strategic by way of:

Establishing Clear Benchmarks : ensure the team is aligned on key metrics well in advance so the development process stays effective to the organizational goals. Clear communication is key.
Testing Early and Fast : using online surveys to screed out ideas before a lot of time is put against fully baking them out.
Multi-Sourcing : think through and develop multiple options in sourcing to keep competition strong and options open so the project stays on track even if one supplier or another has to drop out for whatever reason.
Being Careful Not to Over or Under-Develop : think about the quality and claims associated with your idea or product. Are you getting credit for it or the work you are putting into it on a regular basis? If not, you might want to rethink your approach. Likewise, be careful not to cut costs so much that it hampers market appeal. You can't cost cut to profitability if demand isn't there for the product.
Thinking Two Steps Ahead : understand that sometimes the market may change unexpectedly. Maybe a commodity cost went up unexpectedly, or a mass supply chain short on a key ingredient happens. This can put a wrench in things if you only have one plan. Whether you are developing products to manufacture or something to be served in the restaurant, it's always important to have more ideas in the pipeline than what you need or have slots for. In doing so, you insulate the business from unexpected external circumstances and are better prepared to go forward with a plan B without skipping a beat.
Being Ready to Pivot : realize that innovation isn't necessarily a linear process and that it often requires you to take a step back every now and then to adjust, redevelop, or recalibrate. If you expect this as part of the process, it becomes easier to navigate once those wrinkles come to light. Be firm on the Why and flexible on the How.

By Implementing these strategies, organizations are better positioned to navigate the market, identify the right opportunities, and engage their team to meet or even exceed their goals. For sales teams in particular, this will help keep you a step ahead of competitors by having:

Better Customer Understanding : Deepening your knowledge of a customer's business ensures that your strategies are relevant and impactful.
Improved Management : A structured plan allows for more efficient management of accounts, leading to better outcomes.
Swifter Opportunity Identification : It helps in pinpointing substantial growth opportunities that might otherwise be overlooked.
Sharpened Strategic Skills : Effective planning sharpens your team’s ability to navigate complex business landscapes and seize high-value opportunities.
Enhanced Team Alignment : A well-crafted plan aligns sales efforts with broader business goals, enhancing overall team performance.
Increased Success : Mastery of planning techniques can directly impact your effectiveness and success in your role.

By embracing the principles of Ikegai, suppliers and operators alike can better prepare their businesses for a sustainable future and engage their teams in a purposeful journey to greatness while working together towards a common goal.

To learn more, visit us at https://www.kinetic12.com/. or reach out to us to schedule a call and discuss how we can help you scale with purpose.

About Kinetic12: Kim Letizia is with Kinetic12 Consulting, a Chicago-based foodservice and general management consulting firm. The firm works with leading foodservice suppliers, operators, and organizations on customized strategic initiatives and guides multiple collaborative forums and best practice projects. They also serve as keynote speakers at operator franchise conferences and supplier sales meetings. Their previous leadership roles in restaurant chain operations and at foodservice manufacturers provide a balanced industry perspective.

Contact us to discuss or learn more about how we can help your organization understand the Restaurant of the Future and how Emerging and Growth Chains will define the future of foodservice.

Kim@kinetic12.com

Mastering Large Account Planning in Foodservice

Wed, 28 Aug 2024 13:27:18 GMT

Navigating Success Through Strategic Insight

Yogi Berra once wisely remarked, " If you don't know where you are going, you'll probably end up somewhere else. " This adage holds particularly true in the realm of large account planning, where strategic foresight and meticulous planning are essential to achieving long-term success. For organizations aiming to thrive in competitive markets, robust planning is not just an option—it's a necessity.

However, many organizations falter by deprioritizing planning efforts, resulting in either mediocre or absent formal plans. This oversight can compromise the business's long-term health, making you unprepared to navigate external risks. To overcome these challenges, a different approach is needed.

The Solution: A Structured Planning Approach.

This includes:

A Defined Process : Establish a clear methodology for planning.
A Common Approach : Utilize a standardized model for consistency.
Training : Equip teams with the fundamentals of effective planning.
Commitment and Alignment : Ensure that everyone is on board and aligned with the strategic goals.
Tracking : Monitor progress and make necessary adjustments.

Best-in-class customer planning involves articulating a clear direction with each customer, detailing the steps to achieve goals, and allocating the necessary resources. At Kinetic12, we've developed a 6-step Strategic Planning Model that provides a comprehensive framework for this process.

Effective large account planning requires that the national account sales team use a common template that simplifies training, management input, and cross-functional alignment. The template outlined below follows the 6-step strategic plan approach and guides the writer through the critical planning steps.

1. Situation Assessment :

Customer Profile : Understand the customer's business and needs.
Market Dynamics : Analyze local market conditions and dynamics.
Stakeholders : Identify key stakeholders and their influence.
Past Performance : Review historical business performance and share of business.
Competitive Landscape : Assess the competition and market position.
Current Initiatives : Examine ongoing and past initiatives for insights.

2. Situation Summary :

SWOT Analysis : Evaluate strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

3. Insights & Implications :

Draw insights and determine their implication to the plan.

4. Vision & Plan Objectives :

Outline where the business is going.

5. The Plan

Solve for the implications through strategies and initiatives.

6. Execution & Tracking :

Execution Roadmap : Develop a clear roadmap for implementation.
Plan Tracker : Use a tracking tool to monitor progress and adjust as needed.

Applying the Model.

Despite its effectiveness, this level of planning cannot be done with every account due to its high level of involvement and time commitment needed throughout the organization. Therefore, the focus of this large account planning approach should only be on high-priority strategic and growth accounts.

To identify which customer targets are best for this approach, we've developed the segmentation model below to help reveal surprising insights about which accounts are truly most valuable to the company and which hold the greatest opportunity for profitable growth.

Better Customer Understanding : Deepening your knowledge of a customer's business ensures that your strategies are relevant and impactful.
Improved Management : A structured plan allows for more efficient management of accounts, leading to better outcomes.
Swifter Opportunity Identification : It helps in pinpointing substantial growth opportunities that might otherwise be overlooked.
Sharpened Strategic Skills : Effective planning sharpens your team’s ability to navigate complex business landscapes and seize high-value opportunities.
Enhanced Team Alignment : A well-crafted plan aligns sales efforts with broader business goals, enhancing overall team performance.
Increased Success : Mastery of planning techniques can directly impact your effectiveness and success in your role.

In conclusion

large account planning is not merely about setting goals; it's about crafting a roadmap that aligns with strategic objectives and adapting to the ever-evolving business landscape. By adhering to a structured planning model, organizations can enhance the skills of their most experienced sales reps while navigating their course with confidence and enhancing their prospects for long-term success.

About Kinetic12: Tim Hand and Art Bell are partners with Kinetic12 Consulting, a Chicago-based Foodservice and general management consulting firm. The firm guides multiple best practice projects and forums, and consults with leading Foodservice suppliers, operators, PE firms and associations on strategic initiatives. Their previous leadership roles at Foodservice manufacturers and restaurant chain operations provide a balanced perspective and insight into how the industry is evolving and what must be done to stay relevant.

Contact us to discuss or learn more about how we can help your organization understand the Restaurant of the Future and how Emerging and Growth Chains will define the future of foodservice.

Tim@kinetic12.com - Art@kinetic12.com

The Power of Simplicity in Unlocking Chain Restaurant Growth

Wed, 31 Jul 2024 12:57:46 GMT

Iconic former Duke University basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski once said, “Growth creates complexity, which requires simplicity”.

Yet, simplicity is often overlooked as the first step towards achieving growth. In restaurants, that can include activities such as streamlining operations, reducing complexity and focusing on core strengths. Engaging in these simplification actions prior to pursuing a growth agenda can help restaurant operators increase efficiency, achieve better customer satisfaction and ultimately free up resources for business expansion. For suppliers, understanding where their chain account customers are streamlining and what that effort requires, is critical to providing support and to being a best-in-class partner.

Under the Kinetic12 Simplification Model, there are four levels of simplification activities: Rationalizing, Streamlining, Mechanizing and Mainstreaming. Each of these levels becomes more challenging for the operator to implement because they require additional resources, a greater time and financial commitment and seek to redefine ingrained ways of working.

Level 1: Rationalize

Stripping away the unnecessary allows you to focus on your core. To restaurant operators, this means:

Simplifying the menu by limiting the number of menu items offered to focus on the most profitable and popular items
Simplifying the preparation process by using fewer ingredients. The pantry should be evaluated with the aim of eliminating as many single-use items as possible, unless they allow you to cut short the preparation process
Using seasonal and local ingredients

Kinetic12 Simplification Model, 2024

Operators started the menu and pantry rationalization process during the pandemic to save money and cut costs – it’s the first step most operators take to simplify their operations.

Level 2: Streamline

Next, re-engineer existing processes to make them more efficient. This includes:

Investing in ready-to-use or speed scratch items rather than making them from scratch
Rewriting recipes to take out non-essential steps and standardizing prep where possible
Capitalizing on off-peak hours for food prep
Reviewing and simplifying kitchen workflows

Streamlining focuses on taking existing processes and reconceiving of them to be easier and more efficient to execute.

Level 3: Mechanize

The third level of simplification is a form of streamlining processes but employs automation to make processes more efficient and take human labor out of the process. Examples include:

Using inventory management software to track stock levels, ordering only what is needed
Investing in POS systems that help more accurately forecast demand
Implement automated order taking to reduce labor costs and errors
Adding robots to the back of house to complete repetitive tasks (stirring, mixing, cleaning, etc.)

Mechanizing your operation allows you to redeploy your valuable human capital to focus on value-added customer-facing activities and look to machines, systems or apps to handle the non-value-added activities in your operation.

Level 4: Mainstream

Once you’ve streamlined and mechanized your processes, investing in staff training and communications is essential. It is particularly important in today’s high-turnover labor market to cross-train staff to perform multiple roles. Unclear job responsibilities and processes lead to inefficiencies, lost productivity and job frustration, which translates into higher costs for the operator. According to Kinetic12’s Emergence Survey, training and development is seen by over half of operators as a high priority activity meant to improve a restaurant’s culture and ultimately improve employee satisfaction, which plays a role in reducing staff turnover rates and managing labor costs.

How Suppliers Can Help

Food and equipment manufacturers can play a crucial role in helping restaurants simplify their operations and menus by offering tailored products, support services and innovative product solutions to operators, including:

Pre-portioned ingredients to ensure consistency and reduce prep time
Ready-to-use components such as sauces, bases and marinades to simplify the cooking process
Versatile products that can be used across different dishes and across multiple menu-parts and dayparts to streamline the pantry
Collaboration on recipe development that uses their products most effectively
Detailed nutritional information to help restaurants meet dietary requirements and regulatory standards
Online tutorials and resources for staff training on new products, services and techniques
Data analytics that provide insight on product usage and sales trends, aiding decision-making
Waste reduction programs to minimize food waste, such as compostable products or food donation programs

Growth through simplification involves a relentless focus on core competencies, operational efficiencies, customer experience and streamlined processes. By simplifying - reducing complexity and focusing on what truly adds value - restaurants can achieve sustainable growth and profitability and enhance long-term customer satisfaction.

Jennifer Brizzolara is a partner at Kinetic12 Consulting, a Chicago-based Foodservice and general management consulting firm. The firm guides multiple best practice projects and forums, and consults with leading Foodservice suppliers, operators, PE firms and associations on strategic initiatives. Her previous leadership roles at Foodservice manufacturers provides a valuable perspective and insight into how the industry is evolving and what must be done to stay relevant.

Tim@kinetic12.com - Gary@kinetic12.com - Art@kinetic12.com - Bruce@kinetic12.com

The Foodservice Manufacturer of the Future

Wed, 26 Jun 2024 13:00:04 GMT

There is no better time to re-examine your business model to ensure it's designed for success. Here, we examine how foodservice manufacturers should plan, structure, engage with customers, and go to market to be successful in this quickly evolving environment. To do that, Kinetic12 has outlined eight business success factors that define best-in-class. This framework provides a lens through which firms can examine their business models and identify areas of change needed to set their organization up for continued relevance, growth, and profitability.

As forward-thinking leaders, we must guard against complacency and continuously evaluate our business models in light of the ever-changing market. Never has that been truer than it is today.

So, what is best in class?

Here, we look at eight business success factors that Kinetic12 believes define the Foodservice Manufacturer of the Future.

Integrated Planning for Growth
Differentiated Innovation
Customer-First Sales & Marketing
Targeted Solution Selling
Smart Outsourcing
Omnichannel Integrated Org-Design
Technology-Driven Transparent Supply-Chain
Digital-Forward Mindset

1. Integrated Planning for Growth

In many organizations, strategic planning—and planning in general—can sometimes take a back seat to transactional business. Planning often doesn't involve the full cross-functional team and relies too much on opinion versus a robust situation assessment informed by data, research, and insight. As a result, it doesn't get the commitment it requires to drive change and impact results.

For the best-in-class manufacturer of the future, planning is managed with intent and commitment . This includes a mandate from the top, a planning lead that manages the process and timeline, a shared template, and full involvement from all critical functions and managers.

"Strategy is about making choices and trade-offs.

It's about deliberately choosing to be different."

Michael Porter

When it comes to customer planning, top accounts should have a dedicated plan written by the lead salesperson that follows a similarly disciplined template and process to the category plans and includes a situation assessment, account profile, competitive review, and top growth initiatives. These plans should also have certain elements that are built collaboratively with the customer. When it comes to business reviews, the status of the plan's execution should drive the agenda. Best-in-class customer planning involves proactively engaging the customer in a strategic discussion centered around where their needs and your capabilities intersect . Anything short of this is simply reacting.

2. Differentiated Innovation

There's a saying in the world of innovation that goes, "Different is better than better." This means that incremental improvements often fail to move the needle when compared to true differentiation. For the manufacturer of the future, innovation involves a dedicated team with an insight/implication-based innovation strategy. Such innovation revolves around a robust pipeline of ideas and initiatives balanced between line extensions, adjacencies, customer innovation, and big-bet "white-space" exploration.

Often, innovation is dominated by either small, highly cannibalistic line extensions or internally driven productivity projects. In the absence of game-changing, truly differentiated ideas, the pipeline gets filled with small, low-impact ideas that monopolize a lot of the team's time while resulting in a marginal impact on the business.

56.9% of corporate innovation leaders face the challenge of encouraging an internal culture of experimentation and innovation.

- Crowd Companies

When it comes to innovation with chains, collaborative innovation is now being embraced as a best-in-class strategy for building strategic relationships. This high level of engagement cannot be done for all customers. However, when an account represents high value or high opportunity, collaborative engagement can lead to better access, bigger ideas, and win-win business success.

3. Customer-First Sales & Marketing

Putting the customer first is not a novel idea, but the idea of marketing and sales functions being strategically integrated has become an integral part of the process. Typically, the larger an organization is, the more challenging this integration becomes. For the manufacturer of the future, both sales and marketing functions point in the same direction. Customer-focused alignment is achieved against priority customers and targets through solution-selling messaging, innovation strategy based on customer and consumer needs, and innovation execution aligns with the promotion calendar.

Best-in-class manufacturers achieve a high level of marketing-sales partnership with a common set of goals, transparency of ideas and data, and a shared vision of success. This alignment is crucial to success and can be a major stumbling block to prioritization and execution if not optimized.

4. Targeted Solution Selling

Targeted Solution Selling – Over the past four decades, we've seen selling philosophies evolve from transactional buy-sell to feature-benefit selling, to collaborative, solution-based customer engagement. The fact is, all these approaches are valid, but for different customers and situations. In the manufacturer of the future's organization, customers and prospects are segmented based on an equation of value and opportunity, compared with the cost to serve that account. Organizations simply don't have the resources to treat all customers like "strategic" accounts. Resources are not limitless. Choices must be made.

Best-in-class customer targeting involves identifying the highest opportunity "best-match" prospects using characteristics, including behavioral criteria, that have the greatest correlation to previous success. It is not left up to the individual salespeople to scroll down a spreadsheet of operators and choose who to go after.

An effective go-to-market strategy utilizes a matrixed approach to solution selling that's been customized based on a sophisticated segmentation model of existing customers and a next-gen, data-driven targeting model for prospects.

The Operator Collaboration Model, developed by Kinetic12 and IFMA, is an example of a customer segmentation tool that uses a quantitative scorecard approach to assess existing relationships based on the value the business creates versus the resources required to service it. The scorecard output places each account into one of four segments or relationship types: transactional, preferred, collaborative, or strategic. This allows an organization to understand their current mix of customers, assess the ROI for each, and re-allocate resources to drive greater customer value and growth.

5. Smart Outsourcing

Over the past twenty years, outsourcing has become increasingly popular. Outsourcing is less expensive than hiring an employee, allows for a greater degree of specialization, avoids large capital investments needed to build internal capabilities, provides greater P&L flexibility, and can drive greater organizational focus.

More than 94% of organizations use some form of IT outsourcing (Orient)
Leaders can no longer afford to view outsourcing as a mere business tactic; it is now essential to remaining competitive on the world stage. (getAbstract)

Smart outsourcing involves a broad strategic assessment to build external value networks that leverage third-party resources, expertise, systems, services, technology, and people to optimize and extend your solutions.

The Foodservice Manufacturer of the Future must examine its organization to determine where it can build internal expertise versus having a third-party manage it and determine which delivers greater value and the best ROI.

In foodservice, sales have traditionally been a function that is either fully or partially outsourced to brokers. The challenge is in finding the right sales mix of internal and external resources.

Foodservice divisions are responsible for an increasingly complex customer base, including independent operators, restaurant chains, hospitals, schools, entertainment venues, hotels, commissaries, C-stores and grocery prepared foods. This multichannel landscape can only be fully served through a multi-faceted sales/marketing and support organization. Thus, smart outsourcing will likely be part of the solution for many companies for years to come.

6. Omnichannel Integrated Org Design

Omnichannel commerce is a multichannel approach to customer engagement that focuses on providing a seamless customer experience. For organizations that go to market through legacy division structures, the blurring of channels is causing both customer confusion and internal misalignment. Needless to say, it's not good for business! This, however, is not a unique problem.

55% of companies have no cross-channel strategy in place. (CMO Council)

The Foodservice Manufacturer of the Future understands this and has aligned internally across divisions to clarify customer ownership and shared sales responsibilities so that for the customer, their supplier contacts are clearly understood. Portfolio expertise still resides within each division, but there is a collaborative and transparent approach to sales and marketing that allows the manufacturer to present an integrated story.

The results have been proven. Companies with extremely strong omnichannel customer engagement retain, on average, 89% of their customers, compared to 33% for companies with weak omnichannel customer engagement. (Aberdeen Group)

7. Technology-Driven Transparent Supply Chain

Over the last four years, supply-chain issues have been significant and highly disruptive. This has underscored the need to improve supply-chain visibility, transparency, trust, and data reliability. The technology that is driving these improvement efforts is both emerging and mature, from warehouse and transportation management to robotics and blockchain-backed transaction recording.

Consumers are also driving supply-chain optimization efforts. Their desire to know where their food comes from, how it was processed, what's in it, and the route it took to their table is growing exponentially. Food safety and food hygiene are terms that have now been stamped into our landscape. The savvy Foodservice Manufacturer of the Future is fully versed in the supply-chain terrain and how it is evolving. They have a supply-chain optimization strategy and a network of technology and service providers building towards a future of full-value chain transparency, leveraging that available insight to their operator customers and through them to the foodservice patron.

The importance of these efforts moving forward cannot be overstated. The domestic and global supply-chain issues of the past four years have required each manufacturer's full attention to solve. Success will be defined by more than just supply-chain transparency. Success now requires crisis management expertise and risk mitigation strategies, which now have a direct impact on customer choice and brand trust. Additionally, new FDA regulations around supply chain transparency and traceability will make this a legal requirement.

8. Digital-Forward Mindset

Business success now demands a digital-forward mindset, however – "nine out of 10 business leaders are either puzzled, hesitant, or investing too much on a piecemeal basis to realize success in the digital realm." (Forbes)

A best-in-class foodservice manufacturer understands this. They have a comprehensive digital strategy and invest in bringing their food-away-from-home organization up to par with their retail counterparts and other industries regarding the technological sophistication of e-commerce, data gathering, analytics, and social media.

According to a recent Accenture study, the best habits among 8,300 top business leaders who are achieving results from their digital transformation effort include the following mindset:

"Leaders understand the need for blurred lines in the technology stack – data, infrastructure and applications."
"They see how unraveling tightly integrated systems makes them more flexible."
"They understand that by minimizing the difference among processes, their company will be better able to leverage all of its data."
"And they believe that these elements add up to strategic agility."

Culture is the final component of attaining a digital transformation. Many organizations invest in technology and train their people to use it, but they fail to understand the value of creating a "digitally savvy culture." Building a broader, company-wide understanding and alignment to the adoption and value of new technologies is also crucial to success.

Looking forward

The Manufacturer of the Future can be defined by the eight business success factors outlined above and is taking action today to plan and invest both thoughtfully and aggressively to build best-in-class capabilities.

"In today's era of volatility, there is no other way but to re-invent. The only sustainable advantage you can have over others is agility."

- Jeff Bezos

About Kinetic12: Tim Hand, Gary Schachter, Art Bell, and Bruce Reinstein are partners with Kinetic12 Consulting, a Chicago-based Foodservice and general management consulting firm. The firm guides multiple best practice projects and forums, and consults with leading Foodservice suppliers, operators, PE firms and associations on strategic initiatives. Their previous leadership roles at Foodservice manufacturers and restaurant chain operations provide a balanced perspective and insight into how the industry is evolving and what must be done to stay relevant.

Contact us to discuss or learn more about how we can help your organization understand the Restaurant of the Future and how Emerging and Growth Chains will define the future of foodservice.

Tim@kinetic12.com - Gary@kinetic12.com - Art@kinetic12.com - Bruce@kinetic12.com

The Evolution of Selling

Thu, 30 May 2024 22:31:39 GMT

"Foodservice is about relationships" is a common phrase we hear from those who work in the industry, and it's as true today as ever. However, what's changed is how to build those effective relationships. For sales professionals in foodservice, the key to success lies in building the right relationships with best-fit customers to enable you to maximize mutual growth and profit.

When it comes to buyer-seller relationships with national accounts, the bar has been raised, and what worked in the past isn't necessarily what's working for operators today. That's why Kinetic12 has developed the following model, which provides sales leaders with a strategic perspective of how the selling model has changed over time and how to best meet the needs of operators today to accelerate sales growth.

1. Transactional Selling :

The most basic foodservice sales approach is transactional selling, which focuses on closing as many deals as possible from a variety of different customers. The foundation of this approach is getting your product on the price list or order guide at an attractive price. The sales team then works to push the product to the maximum number of customers. We often see this approach when there is limited differentiation between competitive products and the buyer is already aware of the functionality of the product.

When using this approach, the key decision factors for the buyer often come down to product availability and price. While it benefits from shorter sales cycles, it lacks deeper relationship development, which limits buyer loyalty and runs the risk of increasing churn, leading you to work harder to maintain your results. This lack of stickiness and real differentiation and can often result in "race to the bottom" pricing, which further destroys profitability.

2. Feature-Benefit Selling :

One step up from transactional selling is feature-benefit selling. This approach focuses on helping potential customers understand the key attributes or characteristics of the product ("feature") and the positive outcomes that the features will provide the customer when they use it ("benefit"). Compared to transactional selling, there is more focus on storytelling, explaining why the product differs from competitors and why it's ultimately a better fit for your prospect's business.

This approach can be very effective, especially when communicating the value of a product to larger audiences such as a particular operator segment.

While this can address common issues that a segment of operators may have, it doesn't address any unique challenges a national account operator may have and can lack a personalized approach.

3. Consultative Selling:

Consultative selling takes it a step further. It focuses on understanding a customer or prospect's specific challenges and priorities and helping them solve those problems. The supplier is no longer selling just a product but establishing a long-term relationship with the operator by becoming a trusted advisor. Suppliers using this approach provide insights and guidance that support their customer's strategic priorities beyond the products they sell.

The foundation of consultative selling is to gain a deeper understanding of your customers' businesses and guide them toward solutions that address issues or opportunities. Sales professionals who utilize this approach often spend a good amount of time researching their customers ("doing their homework") to better understand their business strategies, innovative ideas they are launching, and how the business operates. They also tend to ask their customers a lot of questions to validate their assumptions about their customer's business and uncover other information that cannot be easily found. The popular Challenger model is a variation of this approach where the seller identifies potential issues and challenges in the customer's way of thinking to influence them to take action to address those issues [leveraging their products or services] rather than assuming the risk of staying the status quo.

This can effectively build stronger relationships, but it tends to lean towards a one-sided story, where the supplier is doing more of the thinking and solution-solving, and the operator is more or less a receiver of information.

5. Collaborative Business Development:

Lastly, Kinetic12 has identified a further evolution of solution selling, which we are calling "Collaborative Business Development." This focuses on being even more intentional in developing a collaborative, long-term relationship with customers, with more balanced feedback loops where both the seller and the buyer are engaged more equally in the development process. Sales professionals using this approach are not only looking to solve their customer's problems but are also purposely looking for ways to work together to create solutions that benefit both organizations. And the buyer, or operator in this case, is more involved in the co-creation and co-facilitation of the idea-generation process, sharing more equally in the business case, validation, and selling in the ideas internally alongside the supplier.

The need to understand your customer's business is the same as in Consultative Selling, but Collaborative Business Development seeks to build an ongoing mutually beneficial partnership, often involving various stakeholders across each organization. To effectively execute this approach, suppliers need to engage greater cross-functional resources, develop actionable insights relevant to the customer's situation, and establish a process that encourages ongoing customer communication and feedback loops for a more engaged and agile approach. It can be time-consuming, which is why this should only be used with the most strategic customers, with clearly aligned values and goals, and that meet the growth potential to maximize the return on the time invested. Due to this, account segmentation and targeting are critical when deploying this approach.

While Collaborative Business Development involves a heavy resource commitment, the supplier has tremendous financial upside when applied correctly. Benefits of implementing this approach include:

Improved opportunity to retain a strategic customer
Opportunity to penetrate existing customers with more products
Leveraging the strategic relationship to innovate and test new products
Growing expertise and experience that can be leveraged elsewhere

"What Approach Should I Use?"

When we train national sales organizations, we tend to focus on approaches 3 (Consultative Selling) and 4 (Collaborative Business Development), both of which tend to be more effective in establishing long-term relationships. Yet most large foodservice suppliers use all four approaches across their business. To determine which method may be most effective, we suggest that sales leaders first assess the following:

Financial Goals including Time Horizon (e.g., Are you able to take a longer-term approach?)
Segment Fit for Product Portfolio
Customer Segmentation, including Potential Targets
Customer Value Proposition as Compared to Competition
Internal Capabilities & Resources

After you've explored these considerations, you can then use what you've learned to develop an approach that makes the most sense for your organization, and ultimately, enable you to grow your sales with national account operators by deploying your team with rigor and focus.

To learn more about selling best practices and national account operator insights, visit us at https://www.kinetic12.com/ . We've also developed an on-demand training program with IFMA, which can be found at https://www.pathlms.com/ifma/courses/33862# .

About Kinetic12: Art Bell, Tim Hand, and Kim Letizia are with Kinetic12 Consulting, a Chicago-based foodservice and general management consulting firm. The firm works with leading foodservice suppliers, operators, and organizations on customized strategic initiatives and guides multiple collaborative forums and best practice projects. They also serve as keynote speakers at operator franchise conferences and supplier sales meetings. Their previous leadership roles in restaurant chain operations and at foodservice manufacturers provide a balanced industry perspective.

Contact us to discuss or learn more about how we can help your organization understand the Restaurant of the Future and how Emerging and Growth Chains will define the future of foodservice.

Art@kinetic12.com - Tim@kinetic12.com - Kim@kinetic12.com

Six Secrets To Successful C-Store Foodservice Growth

Thu, 25 Apr 2024 13:00:01 GMT

In the rapidly evolving landscape of convenience store (C-store) operations, foodservice has emerged as a pivotal area for growth. In fact, based on research from Kinetic12's Q1, 2024 C-Store Emergence Report, 94% of operators believe foodservice is very important to their company's long-term success.

So, how do you unlock the potential and apply a strategic approach tailored to the unique dynamics of the C-store sector? Drawing on industry insights and expert advice, this article reveals six secrets to successfully growing C-store foodservice.

1. Understanding Your Audience:

Key to Success: Demographic Insight and Consumer Feedback

To truly cater to your customers, you must first understand their needs and preferences. But this isn't a cookie-cutter approach. Operators and suppliers need to start by analyzing demographic data specific to their brand to tailor food offerings—whether it's healthier options for health-conscious communities or comfort foods that appeal to local tastes. But for suppliers, understanding your audience is both about the consumer, and the operator capabilities and needs.

Getting a good understanding of the back-of-house capabilities is a must, including their labor capability, and prep model. Are they cook to serve, or more of a cook to hold model? Where does speed scratch play a role versus fully prepared? All these are important for manufacturers to understand so they can tailor their offerings to the C-store operator. Additionally, leveraging customer feedback through surveys or direct interactions can provide invaluable insights, allowing you to adjust your offerings to better meet consumer demands.

2. Leveraging Technology:

Streamlining Operations and Enhancing Customer Experiences

Technology is transforming the C-store industry, from digital menus and mobile ordering to self-service kiosks. Implementing these technologies can not only streamline operations but also significantly enhance the customer experience by reducing wait times and offering more personalized service options. Furthermore, utilizing data analytics helps optimize your menu and pricing strategy, ensuring you stay ahead of market trends and consumer preferences. However, it doesn't stop at the customer level.

Operators are leveraging technology back-of-house to help streamline operations, improve ticket time, and reduce the labor burden. Many C-store operators are now investing in new equipment to help simplify prep, so it’s important for manufacturers to make sure that they understand the operators equipment landscape (as different franchises may have different equipment) and provide the right prep instructions to meet the operator needs.

3. Menu Innovation:

Embracing Regional Favorites and Seasonal Variations

A dynamic menu that introduces regional favorites and seasonal items can significantly attract more customers. For instance, incorporating locally sourced ingredients/flavors or offering seasonal specialties can create a buzz, making your C-store a culinary destination. Limited Time Offers (LTOs) are also an effective strategy for testing new concepts with minimal risk, keeping your menu fresh and exciting. The key is to develop the framework, benchmarks, internal and external processes, and stage-gate to enable innovation to come to life. Managing the flow of information internally and aligning your stakeholders early often helps reduce friction and keep the process going.

4. Operational Excellence:

Achieving Efficiency and Consistency in Service

Operational efficiency and consistency are crucial for the success of any foodservice operation, but for C-stores, they present obstacles for growth. In Kinetic12's Q1 2024 Convenience Store Emergence Report, 63% of operators said problems with inconsistent execution and lack of skilled labor were the top two obstacles to growing foodservice revenue. So, how are they solving this? It's a multifaceted approach that includes making the kitchen/prep process more efficient, improving staff training, and introducing products and recipes that simplify production. Consistency in food quality and safety is non-negotiable, as it builds customer trust and satisfaction, encouraging repeat business, and operators are keenly aware that consistency is a significant contributing factor to guest satisfaction and loyalty.

5. Marketing and Promotions:

Engaging Customers with Targeted Marketing Strategies

To effectively promote your C-store foodservice, marketing is crucial. One way to reach a broader audience and engage customers is by using digital marketing tools. However, keep in mind that differentiation is key. If the product doesn't stand out, the best promotions may not make a difference.

To create an omnichannel approach and collaborate on traffic-driving ideas, operators and suppliers are leveraging social media marketing, apps, and co-branding opportunities -- with the primary goal of attracting guests and building loyalty. This focus on app functionality and loyalty programs allows operators to promote direct, tailored communication with their customers. By using effective marketing strategies and ensuring that the product stands out, it's possible to promote your C-store foodservice and build a loyal customer base, while tailoring your promotions to each individual guest’s experience.

6. Building a Sustainable Model:

Focusing on Sustainability and Staff Engagement

Sustainability is vital, but it goes beyond the food and sourcing into areas of managing your people and the business model itself. We are at a pivotal point where operators are reinvesting in their food programs, looking at how they manage staff differently, leaning into how to offer a better quality of life to staff to solve for retention, and becoming more stringent on the benchmarks of success and the quality of their menu introductions. At the end of the day, it's that balanced people, planet, and performance mindset that keeps the wheels running smoothly and that'll help maintain the business for years to come.

Integrating sustainable practices into your foodservice operation can attract a segment of eco-conscious consumers and reduce operational costs. Operators are introducing practices such as reducing waste, recycling, and using eco-friendly packaging to address consumer needs. Additionally, engaging employees in the development and execution of foodservice strategies can lead to a more committed and motivated staff, which is essential for delivering exceptional service.

Conclusion:

The growth of foodservice in C-stores presents an exciting opportunity to drive revenue and diversify offerings. By focusing on these six strategic areas—understanding your audience, leveraging technology, innovating the menu, ensuring operational excellence, crafting effective marketing, and building a sustainable model—operators and suppliers working together can make the C-store foodservice operation a preferred destination for quick and quality dining options.

To learn more about what some of today's most successful C-stores are working on and how you can help, visit https://www.kinetic12.com/emergence-convenience-foodservice or contact us at https://www.kinetic12.com/ .

Contact us to discuss or learn more about how we can help your organization understand the Restaurant of the Future and how Emerging & Growth Chains will define the future of foodservice.

Art@kinetic12.com - Jennifer@Kinetic12.com

Delivering Change: The New Dynamics of Foodservice Distribution

Wed, 27 Mar 2024 13:00:01 GMT

The foodservice industry is experiencing unprecedented change across the entire value chain. A challenging labor situation, evolving consumer preferences, changing menus, and rising costs are forcing all players to rethink their business strategies, management tools, and go-to-market approaches to adapt to the current environment.

As distributors are the key physical link in getting products to operators, it is essential for senior leaders to continually assess and adapt their distribution strategy.

In the time period since we partnered with the DMA to publish The Distributor of the Future whitepaper , we've observed the following additional changes to distributor business models:

Accelerating E-Commerce Adoption

The adoption of e-commerce by the distribution community has been swift: while larger broadline distributors have been investing in e-commerce for years, many smaller distributors are now implementing e-commerce solutions. E-commerce has quickly become a key pillar of the foodservice distributor's commercial strategy. This is driven primarily by operators' increasing use of technology to learn about new menu trends, find product information, order supplies, and better communicate with trading partners.

Distributors are also recognizing the power of algorithm-driven suggestive selling and digital marketing capabilities inherent in e-commerce.

Growing Value-Added Services

As distributors seek to differentiate themselves from competitors, many have focused on creating value for the operator beyond the products they sell.

Today's chain operators are interested in more efficient service offerings, such as more frequent deliveries with smaller drops to facilitate their shrinking kitchen footprint and reduce potential waste, while street operators are looking for more support in creating business efficiencies, driving traffic, and managing resources. As a result, distributors are offering new operator support services such as website design, social media support, food cost control/item profitability analysis, menu planning tools and services, culinary support, POS systems/data analytics, and labor management tools.

Increasing Investment in Technology

As one senior foodservice leader asserted, "the ROI for investment in technology looks very different today when you factor in the (increased) cost of labor." It's true, the cost of labor has had a major impact on the profitability of distributors, causing them to look for efficiencies and solutions on how to do more with less.

While robotics in warehouses and autonomous trucks are still a few years away from becoming ubiquitous, distributors are leveraging closer-in technology to achieve operational efficiencies and drive down costs. Subscription-based SaaS programs like Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and next-generation inventory management tools are being implemented to automate repetitive tasks, streamline processes, and improve data accuracy. Ultimately, distributors recognize that additional investments in their technology foundation will better prepare them for the future and help them create a more sustainable business model.

Expanding into New Segments & Channels

With the learnings from the pandemic and its aftermath still fresh, foodservice distributors are increasingly looking to expand and diversify their businesses. For example, over the last several years, broadline distributors have acquired specialty distributors to make them more relevant within specific cuisine segments, acquired channel-specific distributors to expand their presence beyond traditional foodservice operators, and made additional investments in cash & carry stores.

Embracing Data as the Next Currency

Many distributors are investing in data analytics, dashboards, and reporting tools to make the data they collect more actionable within their own organization. They are also leveraging this data with the operators they service and selling data to supplier partners. As manufacturers and operators continue to develop tools to analyze and utilize data, the value of this distributor data will only continue to grow. Also, we expect the adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in foodservice to further increase the value of data as a currency.

The foodservice value chain continues to evolve at a rapid pace. The recent announcement of the consolidation of two of the major sales brokers in the industry is the latest proof that the foodservice industry is at the tipping point of change. As a result, it’s more important than ever for manufacturers and operators to take a step back and evaluate their distribution strategy.

Some key questions to consider include:

How am I currently partnering with my distributor partners?
Are my current partnerships still aligned with my changing business needs?
Am I getting the support I need from my distributor partners? If not, what does the right level of support look like?
Am I utilizing technology in a way that complements my distribution approach?
How can I better partner with my distributor and share data to create better outcomes (increased accuracy, better fill rates, optimized distribution, better LTO planning and execution)?
Are there new partners I should consider as my business model evolves?

Once these questions have been answered, Kinetic12 recommends engaging with your current and potential distributor partners to plan your business collaboratively. Collaborative planning tools such as Joint Business Planning and the Operator Collaboration Model developed by Kinetic12 with IFMA can provide a starting point for developing a framework to adjust your business models and achieve better results both today and in the future.

To learn more about the changing foodservice environment and adapting your business strategies, please explore our website at https://www.kinetic12.com/ .

About Kinetic12: Art Bell and Jennifer Brizzolara are with Kinetic12 Consulting, a Chicago-based foodservice and general management consulting firm. The firm works with leading foodservice suppliers, operators, and organizations on customized strategic initiatives, as well as guiding multiple collaborative forums and best practice projects. They also engage as keynote speakers at operator franchise conferences and supplier sales meetings. Their previous leadership roles in restaurant chain operations and at foodservice manufacturers provide a holistic and well-rounded industry perspective.

Contact us to discuss or learn more about how we can help your organization understand the Restaurant of the Future and how Emerging & Growth Chains will define the future of foodservice.

Art@kinetic12.com - Jennifer@Kinetic12.com

7 Pitfalls to Strategic Planning

Wed, 28 Feb 2024 14:00:01 GMT

As Lee Bolman, renowned leadership expert, educator, and author, once said, "A vision without a strategy remains an illusion."

Indeed, a well-written and executed strategy remains one of the greatest tools for turning one's vision into reality and activating one's team toward delivering superior results and long-term success.

The truth is that while many businesses engage in strategic planning, a significant number fail to execute them effectively. At Kinetic12, we've worked with many companies -- from Fortune 500 organizations to high-growth start-ups – to help them develop strategic plans designed to accelerate their business growth and capitalize on their key strengths.

What we've found is that seven common pitfalls can hinder execution, leading to a poor planning process and ineffective collaboration within an organization. Conducting an honest self-assessment can help identify areas in need of improvement. By addressing these issues, businesses can build a more efficient planning process and cultivate a more engaged and collaborative team to deliver highly effective strategic plans.

The Top Planning Pitfalls & What to Do About Them:

1. Lack of strategic planning training

Most marketing and sales managers are highly knowledgeable about their business. Still, many have not been fully or adequately trained in how to write a simple and compelling plan. When training is lacking, the time it takes to write gets longer, and the quality remains low. Training can also energize the team as to the value of stopping to think through the business situation, evaluate the forces of change at work, and determine what should be done to advance the business forward.

Instead, do this: Take the time to align with your team on an outline for your strategic plan approach, the steps and resources needed, what data to pull, how you will identify key issues, and what's required from each critical stakeholder. Creating a plan on how to execute the plan, and socializing the how to key stakeholders is step 1.

2. Too much opinion, not enough fact

While opinions are good, and we encourage managers to express opinions, opinions should be an input to the plans, not a crutch to lean on to make up for an ineffective planning process. Plans that rely too heavily on opinion lack grounded facts and can lead to ineffective tactics that chase bad ideas.

Instead, do this: Insights based on facts, however, anchor your ideas in the challenges and opportunities of today and lead to better strategies, stronger credibility, and a higher likelihood of success.

3. Building overly lengthy and complex plans

All too often, organizations write strategic plans that are excessively long and dense and, as a result, never get read or implemented. The plan should be a focused roadmap that guides the organization to successfully achieve its objectives, not a play-by-play of the entire organization's tactics and activities for the year. The problem is that long plans aren't easily understood or articulated, and it's hard to find the "elevator speech" across 100+ pages.

Instead, do this: Choose your story structure and cut out the fluff… that's what the appendix is for. Supporting facts and research are important in the development phase, but when it comes time to present, these can leave your plan long and exhausting to read. Keep the high points for presentation purposes, and leave the rest to the appendix. The leadership team can always review that in its entirety in a pre-read and come prepared with questions when it's time to present.

4. Insufficient cross-functional leadership support

Some senior leaders believe planning is not a good use of their time, relying too heavily on previous experience or intuition. The challenge is that sometimes, we are blinded by our perceptions and live in a reactive state more than a proactive one. There is also a missed opportunity of leaving good ideas undiscovered, as the cross-functional collaboration process between various disciplines can actually result in higher quality ideas and highlight blind spots that help with contingency planning, capital investments, and groundbreaking innovation. If you don't put effort into facilitating the communication between various key functional parties to develop these strategic and long-range plans, those ideas don't have a way to come to the surface.

Instead, do this: Align your senior leadership team from the top down on the sequence of planning steps and when each function is involved. It'll be worth the time spent – as the saying goes: no involvement, no commitment!

5. Lack of consistent planning template

Many organizations have the right intent when it comes to having different business functions lead the development of their strategic plan but falter when it comes to presenting the information in a consistent template and story structure, leading to disjointed planning decks and clunky delivery of the plans.

Instead, do this: Develop a template, including the story structure, PowerPoint template, chart types, and outline of content. Why? First, it informs the organization about what areas they want their managers to focus on (ex: situation assessment, competitive assessment, roadmap, etc. Plus, it’s much easier for the leaders to manage (read, absorb, share, and give feedback on progress) if they are all using the same template.

6. The "one and done" mentality

Exceptionally dense plans take a long time to create and often get presented to management and promptly filed away. If you don't revisit your plan, at least annually, you risk aging out of the effectiveness and relevance of your plan and working on things that don't matter in the current market. Meaning you're burning your time for diminished return.

Instead, do this: To ensure results are delivered, plans should be evergreen: reviewed regularly and course-corrected to respond to changing marketplace dynamics. Boiling a plan down to three or four clear strategies makes them easier to explain, easier to understand, and easier to keep fresh as market demands change.

7. Inability to "Tell the story"

Disjointed plans lack the ability to be understood and leave the audience confused about where you are going and why. If a plan is too tactical and detailed, it often misses alignment with the vision and mission of the organization. And, if it's too high level, it leaves the audience in question about how you're going to get there.

Instead, do this: The key is to start with the vision and mission of the organization, overlay external insights, and internal capabilities, and link the market demand to the initiatives you plan to put in place. Great plans should tell a story – in a concise, linear, and compelling way. Plan owners must be able to articulate their vision, and tell their story, which includes 1. what's happening in the business and in the market in which they compete – i.e., the key takeaways from the situation assessment, and 2 what they are doing about it. i.e., their three to four strategies that will deliver on their growth plans and KPIs. This should be a base expectation for all business leaders, from product managers to national account sales managers to directors and VPs.

In conclusion, an effective strategic plan should be straightforward enough that anyone on your team can quickly understand it. A logical, compelling, easy-to-understand strategy, backed up by accurate data, is vital to keeping everyone on your team focused on reaching the company's targets.

By steering clear of these 7 pitfalls, you'll be on your way to building a solid strategic plan that everyone can get behind.

About Kinetic12: Tim Hand, Jennifer Brizzolara, and Kim Letizia are with Kinetic12 Consulting, a Chicago-based foodservice and general management consulting firm. The firm works with leading foodservice suppliers, operators, and organizations on customized strategic initiatives, as well as guiding multiple collaborative forums and best practice projects. They also engage as keynote speakers at operator franchise conferences and supplier sales meetings. Their previous leadership roles in restaurant chain operations and at foodservice manufacturers provide a holistic and well-rounded industry perspective.

Contact us to discuss or learn more about how we can help your organization understand the Restaurant of the Future and how Emerging & Growth Chains will define the future of foodservice.

Tim@kinetic12.com - Jennifer@kinetic12.com - Kim@kinetic12.com

2024 Predictions: Looking Forward

Wed, 31 Jan 2024 00:57:34 GMT

As we look towards 2024, the foodservice industry's dramatic post-pandemic transformation will continue. It's both an exciting and challenging time for the industry. And it's a time to keep asking the bold questions: How should we improve our go-to-market strategy to accelerate our growth? How can we reshape the dining experience to meet the evolving demands of the 21st-century consumer? What role will technology play in bridging the gap between tradition and innovation? As we navigate the year ahead -- for both operators and manufacturers -- we must balance our focus against the critical issues and opportunities the industry continues to wrestle with, including a renewed focus on the basics of great customer service, maintaining a sharp eye on the value-equation, adopting the right technology, ensuring profitability, and building unparalleled customer experiences.

Here, we explore eight predictions Kinetic12 has for the ongoing transformation of our industry.

1. THE INSATIABLE CONSUMER

Consumers in 2024 will become insatiable, craving experience and demanding quality without compromise. With discretionary spending down and post-COVID tolerance for sub-par service waning, consumers' expectations will be relentless, and their patience for mistakes, late delivery, and poor service will be unforgiving. In 2024, both operators and suppliers must invest in understanding how consumers' expectations are evolving and how their definition of value is changing. While price is important, it's not the only factor bringing consumers in. We expect an accelerated focus on the basics of great hospitality and an emphasis on creating unique customer experiences as operators fight for share in an increasingly competitive space.

2. THE PRIORITIZATION OF OPERATOR PROFIT

Profitability and creating a sustainable business model will be the #1 priority for operators in 2024. We expect this profit-centric mentality to proliferate and affect every aspect of the restaurant business model. Costs have increased so rapidly that many operators have struggled to keep up, and many have pushed price increases to the limit in an attempt to recapture lost margins. As we look forward to 2024, we expect a more significant embrace of technology and automation in an effort to reduce reliance on labor, smaller operator store designs that minimize overhead, and increased scrutiny around innovation to ensure new items truly drive traffic.

3. THE CHAIN LANDSCAPE RE-DEFINED

In 2024, we expect to see increased mergers and acquisitions activity and a surge in regional chain growth, reshaping the chain landscape. The current real-estate glut, much of which is already built out for restaurant operations, will undergo a major reshuffle as underperforming units close, trendy concepts consolidate and close due to oversaturation, and regional chains gobble up available spaces with their aggressive growth as the look to become the next national player. Additionally, we expect to see more multi-branded concepts leveraging corporate buying programs to help scale smaller brands more efficiently and effectively as companies look for new avenues of growth while leveraging the brain power and resources only available through scale.

4. THE OFF-PREMISE REVOLUTION

The off-premise revolution continues in 2024. We expect an elevated investment by operators in the sophistication of off-premise capabilities. Every operation, from fine dining to fast casual, has made some sort of improvement in its off-premise capabilities over the past few years. In 2024, we expect things to go from quick fixes like catering and curbside to expanded digital investments as operators embrace social media to drive traffic. Operators will continue to reconfigure their spaces and prototypes for off-premise and introduce new technology and equipment to bring these programs to the next level. Packaging is also a central off-premise opportunity area, and we expect operators will be investing more in custom and logo packaging to help elevate their brand experience outside of the restaurant.

5. THE NEW LABOR-MANAGEMENT MINDSET

Labor availability, quality, and retention have been a significant struggle over the past few years. A critical part of solving this has been to build employee engagement and work-life balance and focus on making work a fun place to be. This will be an important area of advancement for the industry in 2024. Operators clearly understand the importance of an engaged workforce in achieving their sales goals and increasing guest loyalty. Accepting the costs of this new labor-management mindset has been a tough pill to swallow. Still, the results are in, and we've learned that by focusing on staff experience, making it an enjoyable place to work, and providing growth opportunities, operators can provide a more consistently positive guest experience that translates into repeat business. In 2024, we expect hospitality to have a come-back, fueled directly by an improved employee experience.

6. THE INSTABILITY OF THE GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAIN

2024 will likely be a year of global supply chain instability. Wars, a presidential election, and the continued unpredictability of inflation, recession, and the stock markets will impact supply reliability. The past 3 years have been a painful time for supply chain professionals, resulting in a broad array of tactics to combat the unpredictable supply – from dramatically cutting SKUs to simplifying menus to changing suppliers. Unfortunately, there's still work to be done. The good news is that the industry has learned from the hardship, and the resulting new processes, new relationships, and expanded contingency plans put us in a better place to handle whatever 2024 brings.

7. THE EVOLUTION OF THE DISTRIBUTOR BUSINESS MODEL

Foodservice distributors are still working on optimizing their business models to meet the new realities post-pandemic, even with the improvement in service levels witnessed in 2023. We anticipate that the focus on assortment and value chain efficiencies will persist as the stocked SKU counts increase. Distributors, like operators, will adopt more labor retention strategies to deal with the high employee turnover rate. However, technology will have the most significant impact on distributors in 2024. An e-commerce platform is now a basic requirement for broadline distributors, and new tech firms have enabled even the smallest distributor to provide an e-commerce experience to their customers. Distributors will continue to experiment and invest in technologies that can help them provide better customer engagement and expanded services. We will see more testing of process automation and robotics at warehouses, and having robust data and analytic capabilities will become even more critical in 2024 as the industry responds to increased regulations and consumer demand for transparency in the food supply chain.

8. THE MANUFACTURERS HUNT FOR GROWTH

With operator purchases expected to be flat in 2024 (per IFMA Scope), manufacturers will be looking for more creative ways to grow their business. With the pandemic disrupting many operator-supplier relationships, we expect manufacturers to leverage new data tools to conduct more detailed analyses of their existing customers' business to uncover opportunities to sell them a broader array of categories and products. Manufacturers are also expected to invest more to train their teams in a customer planning approach that ensures they are consistently assessing opportunities for growth as well as maximizing retention efforts for key customers. Manufacturers seeking to grow are looking beyond traditional foodservice segments to capture consumers who are expanding where they source food away-from-home. Convenience stores and supermarket deli-prepared food offerings will continue to grow, and they'll be looking for suppliers who can help them further develop their food service offerings.

About Kinetic12: Kim Letizia, Tim Hand, Bruce Reinstein and Art Bell are with Kinetic12 Consulting, a Chicago-based Foodservice and general management consulting firm. The firm works with leading Foodservice suppliers, operators, and organizations on customized strategic initiatives as well as guiding multiple collaborative forums and best practice projects. They also engage as keynote speakers at operator franchise conferences and supplier sales meetings. Their previous leadership roles in restaurant chain operations and at Foodservice manufacturers provide a balanced industry perspective.

Contact us to talk or learn more about how we can help your organization through customized consulting or through participating in our Emerging & Growth Chains program.

Kim@kinetic12.com - Tim@kinetic12.com - Bruce@kinetic12.com - Art@kinetic12.com

Full-Service Restaurants: Get Ready for 2023

Mon, 19 Dec 2022 17:26:18 GMT

7 Strategies for Successful Restaurant Evolution

Most full-service operators have come to the realization that operating a full-service restaurant will never be the same. Fortunately, operators have made significant pivots to their business models to address this new post-pandemic world.

Where business used to revolve around in-house dining, there is now a greater balance with off-premises business, including catering. Where labor was plentiful it is now difficult to find and equally difficult to keep. Where expanding the menu and adding SKUs was easy, it is now almost taboo. And where cost increases were predictable and manageable it is now a challenge to make money at all. Change is indeed upon us.

With change comes understanding and perspective. This can be incredibly useful as we move forward, especially given the business environment still in flux.

Let’s now look forward to what 2023 means for FSRs, and at the seven strategies for successful restaurant evolution.

Seven Strategies for Successful Restaurant Evolution

1. Being Open-Minded & Flexible - Step one is to take emotion out of decision making. Great leaders listen to their teams, customers, and partners and make decisions based on fact, perspective, and experience. The road ahead is clearer than it has been the last few years but will still require flexibility. It shouldn’t require a pandemic to make change. Operators must be willing to let go, to try a new way that allows for sales growth, cost reduction, and most importantly, greater profitability.

2. Keep the Menu Simple & LTO Strategy Tight - Many full-service restaurants historically operated based upon a “more is better” mentality and trying to be everything for everybody. This mindset changed over the last three years due to shortages of labor and supply. “More”, as it turned out, was not better -- it was inefficient and costly. Operators learned that consumers did not need all these menu items and in fact embraced simplicity and appreciated that a restaurant was focused on doing fewer things really well.

In 2023, we see menus continuing to be condensed, easy to execute and more profitable, yet still every bit as satisfying for the consumer. We also see the pace of LTOs increasing but requiring fewer new SKUs. In general, SKU reduction will continue, and news SKUs will be challenged to carry their weight, either through use on multiple recipes or by being truly differentiated and value-added.

3. Mold Your Model: Become a Hybrid - The history of most full-service restaurants involves large dining areas with even larger menus. Take-out business was an after-thought, packaging was cheap, and the quality of the experience was average at best. COVID changed that. Being better at take-out was required to survive. Post-pandemic we’ve seen the share of off-premise settle in significantly higher than it was. Big dining rooms are not as important. A restaurant’s digital platform has become crucial to customer engagement, driving traffic and business viability. Menus have become smaller. How staff is deployed has changed. All of these forces of changes have caused full-service operators to rethink their business model, and rightly so.

2023 will bring us more examples of FSR hybrid models. These will take on some of the successful characteristics of Fast Casual and QSRs, but maintain full-service, but in a more compact system.

4. Be Great at Off-Premise – For many consumers the pandemic was a giant forced-trial experience in off-premise Foodservice. And as it turned out, they liked it! What started with social distancing has become about convenience. Restaurant take-out as a result has improved. It’s gotten easier to order and easier to get. Off-premise menus and promotions now offer more choice and delivery packaging has improved. The whole experience is better – and we predict this up-scaling will continue to be a major focus of investment in 2023.

From a menu perspective, menu items that are consumed off-premise must now meet the quality standards of the products that are consumed at the restaurant. That is what the consumer wants. Their expectations have increased. They now expect to have a great experience whether dining in-house or off-premise. The game has changed. We predict this new evolution to better off-premise Foodservice may be the biggest impact from COVID on our industry.

5. Create a Culture of Labor Productivity & Efficiency – “Doing more with less” will become the industry standard in 2023. After 2 years of experience in the new labor shortage market, operators understand that staff engagement and building the right culture is essential to survival. It will start with team members who are well trained, who are listened to and feel appreciated, have a quality way of life, are competitively compensated, see opportunities to grow, and have fun at work.

A second critical element to engagement is to have managers who manage not “firefight”. This will be a major challenge and focus in 2023. Managers who work in an engagement-culture are likely to stay and grow with a company. On the other hand, firefighters tend to move on which leads to further staffing problems.

6. Embrace Technology – Clearly operators must prioritize where they invest in technology but it’s tricky to determine what is the best system for their operation. Over the last few years full-service operators have accelerated their investments in tabletop ordering, delivery tech, apps, websites, inventory management software, KDS, online training, and more. We can expect the pace of innovation in Foodservice technology to continue in 2023 and full-service operators will need to embrace this tech to stay competitive. We are now in a new environment where operations management, training and customer connectivity must have a foundation in technology. Investing smartly will drive traffic, create loyalty, lead to more effective training, improve team engagement, improve their manager’s productivity, and drive greater revenue.

7. Re-Invent Your Supply Chain - Many brands are using the same products as before the pandemic but paying more for them and still living with sporadic supply chain issues. Is there a better way? In the year ahead we expect more brands to further re-invent their supply chains. To do so full-service operators must work closely with their preferred supplier partners to build a supply model they can rely on. This requires approved alternative products, elimination of some proprietary products in favor of branded SKUs that are more readily available and being open to protein alternatives that provide more consistent availability and cost. It also demands a higher level of transparency and communication. Suppliers that cannot step up will be cut. Product supply is critical to a restaurant’s success and operators have run out of patience. 2023 will see a new era of supply chain management as a result.

TELLING A NEW STORY – a bonus thought

2023 is the year to re-invent your brand. Every restaurant brand can be improved. Be forward-thinking determine out how to appeal to today’s consumer or how to be even more compelling to your existing core customers. Become an innovative growth brand with real areas of differentiation. Re-invent who you are, if needed. These seven strategies are critical to running a great operation, but they don’t tell the whole story. Create your own story. Tell your story!

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Bruce Reinstein and Tim Hand are partners with Kinetic12 Consulting, a Chicago-based Foodservice and general management consulting firm. The firm guides multiple best practice projects and forums, and works with leading Foodservice suppliers, operators, and associations. Their previous leadership roles in restaurant chain operations and at Foodservice manufacturers provide a balanced industry perspective.

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Join us: Collaborative Innovation Convenience Foodservice Forum

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The Kinetic12 Perspective:

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Kinetic12 2026 Predictions

Kinetic12 Predictions: The 6 Forces Reshaping Food & Hospitality in 2026

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Prediction

2. Value Is Rewritten: A New Definition Built on Need States, Not Price Points

Prediction

3. Traffic Stagnation Becomes Structural—Not Cyclical

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6. Trust Becomes the Nexus for Collaboration, Loyalty, and Growth

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1. Guest Centricity as the North Star

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Ready to Rethink the Future of Your Business?

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The playbook is changing—and the old rules aren’t working.

1. Operators aren’t short on options. They’re short on time.

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The Bottom Line:

Ready to Rethink How You Engage Operators?

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Why Relationships Matter in Business

In a world where hospitality and execution matter more than ever, innovation can’t be just a product launch. It has to be a system , something that works behind the scenes to align teams, solve real problems, and make great service easier to deliver every day.

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Kinetic12 Predictions:
The 6 Forces Reshaping Food & Hospitality in 2026

2. Value Is Rewritten:
A New Definition Built on Need States, Not Price Points