With the growth of takeout and delivery during the pandemic and now the return of in-restaurant dining patron’s the nation’s restaurant and foodservice operators are faced with a new challenge. How do they balance their assets to maximize the dining experience for both unique customer segments?
PepsiCo Foodservice came to this year edition of the National Restaurant Association Show with a full portfolio of solutions for operators looking to build a strategy to handle the needs of both. PepsiCo’s menu optimization platform has created a much-needed blueprint for the operator that is looking for a strategy to grow revenue through menu bundling that focuses on using Pepsi’s diverse beverage and snacks portfolio to maximize the value of the guest check.
PepsiCo Foodservice CMO Scott Finlow and his team were in the company’s NRA booth in Chicago to detail how the company can help the nation’s restaurant and foodservice operators embrace the potential of online and digital marketing and execution. “The consumer has pivoted to a largely digital first and off-premises eating habit,” Finlow told Total Food Service. “We’ve seen numbers forecasting that 60 percent of all restaurant growth will be digital.”
To help restaurants out, the company created a group called the PepsiCo Foodservice Digital Labs team that offers database consultancy services at no charge to its customers. One of the services it provides is Menu Pro, and it’s meant to help operators optimize their menu based on what does and doesn’t work with a typical customer’s digital experience.
“We’ve learned there are three things that you need to get right: Visibility, Variety and Value,” Finlow continued. “Visibility in that consumers are looking for beverages and often times they don’t see them, the image they’re presented is outdated or incorrect, or there isn’t even an image at all – it’s just text. Variety in how consumers are only being presented with limited options but getting the right portfolio of products is important to meet the full spectrum of consumer demand. And naturally, value is all about using combos and bundling to drive purchases.”
“The results we’ve seen are very strong,” Finlow continued “We’ve seen 40 percent growth in beverage attachment and 10 percent growth in overall AORs. We’ve done 50,000 menus so far, but we have 500,000 more to go. Once we do those 500,000, our focus will be on how we can make this menu optimization more dynamic and able to provide updates in real time.”
Finlow walked TFS through the vetting process to apply to become part of the innovative new PepsiCo program. “Operators interested in using this service will first be audited by PepsiCo’s Foodservice Digital Labs team to see how well the brand is using Visibility, Variety and Value within its digital channels. The team will come back with suggestions and the brand is given the choice to implement them,” Finlow concluded.
Among the participants in PepsiCo’s Foodservice lab program is Panera Bread. They teamed with Pepsi to announce Unlimited Sip Club program that will conclude on July 4th. Panera’s Unlimited Sip Club members have access to the entire Panera portfolio of self-serve beverages, including hot and iced coffee, hot and iced teas, Agave Lemonade, Panera Charged Lemonades, and Pepsi-Cola® fountain beverages including the new lemon lime flavored soda Starry.
The PepsiCo foodservice booth also brought the foodservice community the latest in menu offerings. This included additions to the company’s beverage and snack portfolio stalwarts, including Pepsi, Mtn Dew, Doritos and Cheetos, to create branded menu items and digital experiences. Finlow noted that new and improved Pepsi Zero Sugar and the launch of STARRY® are quickly becoming foodservice favorites.
Learn more about Pepsico Foodservice at their website
