Category Archives: Thinking Aloud

May 31, 2019 · 12:10 pm

Ghost Kitchens In The Sky

Our subject this Foodie Friday is kitchens, specifically kitchens that service your takeout order. Think about it for a second. You place an order for a meal to go at your favorite dining establishment. In some cases, you go there to pick it up. In many other cases, even years ago, you’d order a pizza or some Chinese food and it would arrive at your front door looking just as it did when you picked it up yourself. You probably didn’t think about if it was actually cooked in the restaurant’s kitchen since it looked and tasted the same as when you ordered at the place. In fact, it almost certainly was cooked by the same hands that were serving the dine-in customers at the same time.

Fast forward to today. With the advent of food delivery services, many more establishments are offering food for delivery. Most sit-down places have experienced a big jump in takeout, so much so that it’s become a significant percentage of their business. I think it also has to do with our general impatience these days. Who can sit still long enough to enjoy a meal cooked to order? So, many places are asking themselves why not set up a kitchen specifically to handle the delivery business rather than expand the restaurant kitchen to handle the additional orders. Ghost kitchens have arrived.

As one article described them, ghost kitchens are delivery-centric cooking spaces without the added hassle of in-person dining that a traditional restaurant brings. Think of them as cooking-focused WeWork spaces. Lower rent, no front of house, no cashiers and no customers tapping their feet waiting for their food are all part of the appeal. As long as the food tastes the same, why would the customer care?

I could write another 1,000 words about ghost kitchens and the pros and cons but the point I want to make today is that they exist because restaurants are rethinking their businesses. If they can grow at better margins and lower costs by doing that rethinking, can’t you? Some pretty big players – Google Ventures among them – are getting involved, and you know it’s just a matter of time before Amazon through Whole Foods starts delivering all those great dishes you can buy at your local store for a take-home or to work meal.

Is it inconceivable to you to share accounting, legal, and other back-office functions with another business that’s non-competitive? A ghost kitchen for your business? How about having your sales staff pick up some lines that complement yours and offer both to customers that might be interested?

If you’re not thinking out of the box, the box might just become a coffin. Instead of a ghost kitchen, it might be a ghost business!

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May 22, 2019 · 2:58 pm

You’re Missing The Target

Many of my friends are over 65. Most of them don’t act like it. Sometimes they – and I  – contemplate being younger but I’m always of the mindset that the only way I’d take back 30 or 40 years would be if I could keep the bank accounts and credit cards I have now. While it’s true it used to be a lot easier to get out of bed in the morning, it’s also a lot easier now once I’m out of it to pretty much engage in consumer behavior with a lot less care than I did all those years ago.

It’s baffling to me, then, why most marketing budgets ignore those of us over 55. In fact, according to U.S. News & World Report, we baby boomers control 70% of the country’s disposable income and spend $3.2 trillion a year. We provide over 50% of consumption and yet we are targeted by 10% of the dollars. My kids are millennials and while they’re both gainfully employed they don’t spend nearly what I do. Most millennials don’t spend like boomers yet they’re the target audience for a lot of marketers.

I don’t get it.  Not only is my generation spending more, but I think we’re also more available to be marketed to. We’re heavy digital users (got to keep up with those reunions!) and use Facebook and Instagram quite a bit. We also are still watching “traditional” tv and news. We read our email too. It’s like we’re begging to be sold.

Millennials tend to rent. That means traveling light – who wants to move a ton of stuff when the lease is up? And unfortunately, they’re also the first generation that entered adulthood in worse financial shape than their parents. They spend every dollar carefully.

Marketing has always been “square peg, square hole” to me. Unless your product can’t be used by older folks (pregnancy tests is about the only thing I can think of), the reality is that you should be targeting older folks. Yes, we’ve built up many years of brand preferences but hey, I just switched to a new toothpaste so you never know!

So why aren’t you marketing to boomers? Seems like an opportunity, no?

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May 10, 2019 · 3:31 pm

Shopping At The Farmer’s Market

It’s Foodie Friday and the local farmer’s market opened up here a couple of weeks ago. Of course, the state farmer’s market is open year-round but it’s huge and a 25-minute drive. The one here in town is more intimate, less-crowded, and only 6 minutes away.

I like farmer’s markets for a few reasons. The first is that the quality of food – mostly produce – is generally higher than what you can get from the supermarket. It’s likely it was picked either that morning or the day prior. It certainly didn’t have to travel from Mexico or South America. Most importantly, these markets are inherently seasonal. You don’t get watermelons until late summer (OK, earlier here in the South) and there aren’t red things masquerading as tomatoes in March.

As a cook, the farmer’s market presents both an opportunity and a challenge, one that actually is mirrored in most businesses. The opportunity is to find ingredients that are in peak form, and because they’re plentiful, at a lower cost (that whole supply/demand thing, you know). The challenge is that to take real advantage of the market, you have to be willing to work with what’s available and that can be limiting. You might want to make a peach cobbler for dessert this week but it’s blueberry season now so that’s dessert.

Businesses face the same challenges as cooks. There is a seasonality involved in almost every business and the opportunity in season is to maximize profits. I think there’s a real opportunity outside of your prime season as well. This is when you can experiment with new products or promotions. You can look for niche audiences (what’s available!).

There’s also the challenge that my little market faces each week. It’s 15 miles from a much bigger market. How can it attract high-quality vendors and draw from surrounding communities? Obviously, most businesses face similar issues to distinguish themselves if they’re realistic about the choices consumers have these days. When I was working in TV we worried about the other networks. Broadcasters today have to consider anything with a screen as competitive.

Mostly I like farmer’s markets because they force me to be thoughtful and creative. How can I plan out a menu that’s the best within the limitations of what’s available? You might ask yourself the same thing about your business. Every business has limitations, whether financial, supply chain, or even people. How do you get the best out of what’s available?

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