Marketing Spoonful

We’re entering territory we haven’t seen in some time, with restaurant trips down and customer satisfaction seemingly more important than ever.
So tonight, I’m watching the movie No Reservations, in which Catherine Zeta-Jones plays a neurotic chef named Kate. In one scene, a patron at the restaurant where Kate works complains that the foie gras is [...]

Tags: blog, Customer Service, economic downturn, Food, Marketing, Restaurant

This week, we discovered a new restaurant chain headquartered right in our backyard that seems to be doing a lot of things right. We also sampled some really good, authentic Indian cuisine that comes shelf-stable in packets and pans. And who doesn’t love fruity snacks that are tasty, fun for kids to eat and convenient?
Let’s [...]

Tags: Archer Farms, blog, Camille's Sidewalk Cafe, convenience foods, Food, fruit leather, fruit strips, Indian food, Marketing, Patak's, ready-to-eat, ready-to-heat, Restaurant, shelf-stable, Spangles, Strategy

We don’t pretend to know everything about marketing and markets. But we do think you need to continue harping on value (low prices for what you get) and emotion when hawking your product or service.
In an earlier post, we commented about stocks that seem to be benefiting from the down economy and what makes them [...]

Tags: blog, Business, creative thinking, Food, Marketing, Restaurant, Strategy

One of the beautiful things about enjoying food is that we don’t have to adhere to conventions that tell us how we should feel about the experience. Wine doesn’t have to be expensive to be exquisite, and a chain restaurant can be a tasty option.
We went to an amazing mom-and-pop Korean place tonight. It’s called [...]

Tags: Cold Stone Creamery, duality, food marketing blog, Hot Stone, local, national, Restaurant, retail, taste

Foodservice suppliers who treat independent operators, regardless of size, as second-class customers do so at their peril. In fact, independently-owned restaurants account for nearly half the industry’s revenues.
Janet Rine is one of those owner-operators. Her handle on Google is flygirl because she flies airplanes. But her success with her Old Town Wichita eatery is nothing [...]

Tags: buyer power, Caffe Moderne, democratization of purchasing, Food, foodservice customer, foodservice distributor, Marketing, relationship building, Restaurant, sales technique, selling to independent business owners, successful selling, supplier power

Just because we advocate appealing to people’s heightened dollar-value consciousness doesn’t mean we necessarily advocate abdicating style, fun and intellectual and emotional appeal.
What do these things have in common?
a. Burger King Whopper Jr.
b. Taco Bell bean burrito
c. McDonald’s Big N’ Tasty
d. Wendy’s Small Frosty
We’ll give you a hint: They’re all available for about a buck [...]

Tags: advertising that works, bean burrito, Big N' Tasty, Burger King, cheap, cognitive dissonance, dollar menu, emotional appeal, fast food, Food, Frosty, Marketing, McDonald's, quick, Restaurant, Taco Bell, value, Wendy's, Whopper

Now, the cynical traditionalists will scoff, but we think it behooves (love that word) food marketers to find ways to appeal to people’s desire to connect to unique and relevant brands with local flavor.
It’s pretty clear to us when something is completely contrived, like when we walk into ESPN Zone and the hostess has no [...]

Tags: ESPN, Food, garlic, hamburger, local, Restaurant, salad, steak, Stuart Scott, Supermarket