The Food Scout

Starbucks Coffee Company just launched www.mystarbucksidea.com, and I have to admit that when I first saw it, I said to myself, “Oh, brother.” The fact that they printed little cards that could be picked up in-store, which read “Have an idea for us?” on one side, and listed the website on the other, made me think the company must be really desperate for ideas to have to go this far.

Forget all that money that’s been spent upgrading technology and increasing efficiency at drive thru lines at QSRs. That’s so 5 minutes ago in the world of convenience. Companies that want to REALLY be a convenient sandwich solution for consumers at lunch time are resorting to delivery services in urban areas.    New Yorkers can phone fresh sandwich-maker Pret A Manger from about anywhere in Manhattan, and within minutes, one of 19 roaming delivery trucks (electric, to be eco-friendly) will pull up to the curb and delivery a sandwich to someone holed up in their office or condo and too busy to run to a nearby street vendor or restaurant. I am ...

Perhaps you’ve heard about those boutique frozen yogurt stores that have popped up in L.A., like Pinkberry (now numbering 21 stores). For those tracking the lives of fashion models and celebrities, this has been a novel trend to watch. But sometimes such chi-chi fa-fa trends can roll over to the mainstream, which is exactly what is happening to frozen yogurt -- again.

Having just written about the many announcements of brand sell-offs among major CPG companies (see “No Sacred Cows” blog on August 14), it has now come to my attention that not just one or two, but MANY restaurant companies have sold or are putting big-name chains on the block, said to be “focusing on the core” by shedding formerly successful brands that have been wilting in the past year. Darden and Wendy’s were prominent in the news this past spring, and now Brinker, Outback and Landry’s have hopped on the joined the ranks of restaurant families that are choosing to divorce underperformers (and even marry promising upcomers) as opposed to re-imaging and updating concepts that are in need of a makeover.

In the 1990s, it was nearly impossible to keep track of all the food company mergers that were blending and combining top brands in an elaborate shell game of consolidation and buy-outs designed to offset shrinking margins and increasingly modest stock growth. Now America’s most prominent food companies are cleaning house en masse. And when it comes to keeping the ship on course these days, it is clear that nothing is sacred anymore, not even flagship brands or categories. Sluggish category? Toss it out! Unhealthy image? Off with her head! Increased competition? Sell the whole company!