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I'm really excited to bring on our next
presenter yeah his name is Jonathan
radians he's the principal of a really
cool company merchandise food where they
specialize in hospitality resort cafe
you know those grab-and-go markets and
he's really an expert in the the
merchandising area and he's worked with
really cool companies you know the
Hilton Marriott you know he's worked
with a lot of airports he's really gonna
give a great insight into how to best
present a product on the shelf and
really how to work with these kind of
companies and you know it's a question
that I get a lot you know I think a lot
of people are really gonna get a lot of
benefit out of it so I really appreciate
your time Jonathan thank you so much for
helping us
you're very welcome thanks for having me
yeah just to get started what are the
advantages of you know merchandising and
you know bringing a product to these
hotels and grab-and-go food markets well
first starters it needs meets the needs
of the traveling guests which has
changed quite a bit over the last few
years so beyond that the operator has an
opportunity to profit in areas that
maybe they haven't previously where
hotels and resorts have often had
sit-down restaurants or in in room
service or food they're now finding that
there's other opportunities to benefit
as guests are changing what their
expectations are so a lot of the
grab-and-go foods packaged snacks and
and other candies or different things
that might be interesting to find in a
little market are now being placed off
lobby and you know some some quick types
of very diverse market places that
hotels are coming up with brand by brand
you will find with their goals now what
would you say is the most unusual thing
that kind of sells the best that you've
seen in these I and I grab-and-go
markets well what's what's interesting
is that I think a brand by brand the
hospitality groups are really trying to
custom curate a mix
that makes sense with what their guests
are looking for particularly in a lot of
the lifestyle brands so they'll be very
intentional about what they put there
and one of the I don't know if it's
really crazy or anything but one of the
the funny components are just a lot of
little local candies and things like a
lot of the local items that small
producers are making in the area and as
you have more and more foodies moving
about traveling for business or the
ledger
they're looking for fun things that
maybe they couldn't find somewhere else
and because it's unique it's giving them
a reason to make a purchase that's
that's a great point so if I had you
know a local food you know I should
really kind of consider tapping into the
hospitality sources around me to have
that as a retail source yeah I would say
if the product was well labeled if it
was an established item and it appealed
to a broad market and I think it would
make sense to call on some of the food
and beverage directors at a particular
hotel yeah obviously larger hotels would
have more throughput and volume to
purchase them that's an S that would
make a place where they could maybe gain
some business that they hadn't thought
of that's it that's a great great tip
you know one of our member questions
with you know how do I begin that
understands you know merchandising and
distribution you know in these retailers
because you know it's such a unique
angle well I think the industry is
changing quite a bit right now a
traditionally foodservice distributors
would be backing up to the loading dock
near the kitchen mister food and
beverage at a hotel and a lot of the
offerings that are currently available
through those distribution systems don't
entirely align to retail grab-and-go
products or they may not have the same
items consistently day to day on their
product mix or be out of stocks on them
so currently smaller distribute that
maybe focused on local items or that
could bring items directly into the the
space itself would be a big advantage to
food and beverage teams looking to do
something unique and keep things stocked
additionally any distributors that offer
other services like you know placement
of products or a little bit of support
merchandising yeah
are also highly regarded traditionally
it's the hospitality groups taking the
risk on to making a purchase for an item
but other things like guaranteed sales
on certain items would be very helpful
as well and I think just even meeting
with hospitality groups to help them
broaden and expand the way that they're
looking at what they're placing in these
locations could be helpful because
sometimes the individuals that are
managing these facilities don't have a
strong retail background okay and they
would hesitate to add additional
products to their mix because it becomes
more cumbersome it's more orders to
place and things like that so any
support that someone could bring to
getting items where they need to be at a
good price that they can be profitable
on is usually a good help to them okay
so come with the solution you know when
you present the opportunity yeah that's
a that's a good point you know because
that really brings me to my next
question you know what are the biggest
mistakes you know businesses make when
bringing a product and putting it into
these kind of locations and as far as
merchandising well I think some of it
has to do with just the product itself
like is it a good fit is it am i
offering products that are maybe single
serve mm-hmm
in a great looking package is the
product have a you can see label on it
like is it is it functional it can I
help them get the product set up and
through the system and order it easily a
lot of times coaching on where to place
the products or complementary products
can be helpful as well like like these
go really well next to the hot beverages
you know if it's a right how packaged
pastry item or something like that but
giving some coaching on that would be
useful and also help the vendor as well
to gain that uplift and sales because
it's at a place where people might you
know impulsively grab and purchase them
stuff right it's good point really
thinking about where your product best
performs in the store and kind of
delivering that information
you're making your your pitch you know
and I think a lot of people struggle
with you know when they get that how do
you expand the merchandising
opportunities you know the what are
what's the point of sale display you
know really designed for you know how
can how can I best present my product
well I think a display or a fixture or a
little impulse unit at the register
really needs to highlight the product so
many are often highlighting the brand
itself okay or having visual
distractions in the design of the
fixture or unit that limit view of the
product and a lot of times it's the the
product itself or the you know the
tantalizing food that you're presenting
is really what people are buying right
so it if it's hidden it all in that unit
because it's setting down below you know
berry or something like that it really
limits that opportunity and beyond that
one of the biggest hindrances I see is
just simply having enough I like like
oftentimes the the register area is just
void of an impulse unit or the store
itself has a disproportionate amount of
seating or just open areas compared to
actual for sale products which puts a
big limit on sales in and of itself
that's interesting so maybe bringing
them that point-of-sale display and as
you said you know with complementary
products that might be an opportunity
sure and I think in most brands you know
anything from full-service up to luxury
hotels they will require that the
fixture or unit be aligned with their
brand it's going to be very important to
then how things look and feel
hospitality groups are very intentional
about you know millwork design elements
and they're working with interior
designers to make that space look and
feel just right so they're certainly not
gonna want to corrugated you know hipper
if it's sitting next to the front lobby
but at the same time you know in some
metro settings it might be worth a
retailer or excuse me a wholesalers
investment to bring into a metro rack or
work with the group to build a fixture
that makes sense
okay dinner is one of our next members
questions was you know what is it that
makes that point of cell display most
effective you know because you mentioned
you know broadcasting and you know
showing the product but as far as you
know where you place it in the store you
know how do you how do you test that
it's so expensive when you make these
you know how you really test before you
invest uh well I think from our
perspective the the industry standard
would be simply placing them at register
areas where people are transacting and
then also in spaces in the queue I mean
so often people oh there's a long line
that may form and then wanting to
purchase a coffee you know or a bagel or
something like that and so placing them
within arm's reach in logical locations
would be a good starting point and for
most most operators I see that's
probably just a fundamental thing that
can be implemented right away okay so
just that grab-and-go impulse items
right by the register you know where the
where the line forms right yeah I mean
strategically placing products where
people are makes makes the most amount
of sense I think so okay and that what
will be the advantages you know of
having that you know on the counter as
opposed to you know maybe I like a
free-standing one in line you know what
kind of a difference in sales can that
make I think it could be substantial
we've seen average gas checks uptick
probably a four to fourteen percent
overnight with added additional products
in queues and at the registers because
people are you know they've got their
wallet out it's that last-minute
decision point before the transaction
takes place and they can just say oh
maybe I'll get this for the road so
having having the right items there make
a lot of sense I mean even if there's a
if there's not refrigeration ambient
water mints candy you know you think
about some of the major national coffee
brands and the types of things that they
put there and I think many times there's
great examples to follow whether it's a
grocery store or those examples that are
already kind of dialed into the types
of items that make the most sense there
yeah and I think sometimes copying is
the best flattery right because others
have invested the efforts and the
research so yeah yeah so they've really
kind of honed in exactly what kind of a
selection you need for that area but
yeah a big question that we see a lot is
really you know how to get in front of
the right person you know when when you
call a hotel you're gonna get the front
desk person they're not gonna know - are
there any events are you know is that
what your company does how do you get in
front of the right person to sell them a
product right to present your product
well it's interesting because generally
speaking there's a bit of autonomy at
the site level for many of the
hospitality groups and the beverage
director is often able to make site
level decisions there's often a brand
standard or national mix that might be a
baseline that's that's expected but for
for things outside of that the food and
beverage director or manager of the site
is typically a strong starting point
okay they may possibly delegate down to
an assistant manager but generally
speaking that terms are very similar
that you would search for for the title
and they would have decision-making
authority for that type of thing well so
you just go to that person to present
the opportunity you can really you can
really hustle on foot that way sure I do
think that they'd be apt to in the midst
of catering operations and day to day
food and beverage challenges and it
would make sense to schedule an
appointment if at all possible I think
dialing in on the opportunity how they
could explain an opportunity within a
certain product mix or offering that you
have that can meet guests needs and
speaking to those points could help you
obtain an appointment that's that's a
great point you know what kind of
mistakes do you see on your end you know
that a lot of people make when
presenting this kind of an opportunity
or bringing a product to these
grab-and-go
you know markets
well I think as I mentioned before the
the mix that you're presenting our
solution you're presenting really needs
to be able to meet the needs of the
space and the guest is looking to have
you know quick fix solutions for
on-the-go food a convenience personal
care or health and beauty products that
they maybe have forgotten electronic
emergencies or I forgot my charger
things like that and a lot of the groups
don't actually think about some of those
secondary items that are you know there
there are some companies that do but
others they wouldn't even know where to
go about getting them so if you can
present them to a food and beverage
director a slight level employee that's
able to make decisions dialing into
those items that solve the guests needs
that are packaged in a usable size I
mean clearly really large beverages or
liquids or things can't be taken with a
gas to topping on an airplane or it's
impractical to carry around all day so
it's really just making sure that that
the person has done some preliminary
work and thinking through what would
make sense for the clientele okay that
makes sense and you hit on a really good
point before where you're talking about
the brand you know if you're if you're
selling into a ritz-carlton right you
want to make sure that it fits their
brand's personality right exactly so
sweets or crackers or snacks that are
really more of national brand maybe or a
generic product or something that's not
unique or upper scale usually the reason
hotels have so many different brands is
that they're appealing to particular
lifestyles and fluency levels and guest
demographics and those often come
hand-in-hand with expectations for the
healthfulness the ingredients inside of
a product and the the level of luxury in
a food or snack and so making sure that
whatever you're presenting aligns with
the brand and and clearly you can do
research online to see what the brand
represents are just a scouting trip to
the speech prior to
it helped you understand the types of
things that they might be looking to and
be receptive that I think that's a big
mistake that a lot of people make is
that they just don't walk into the store
before they start selling to them you
know check out what's there already yes
I one other quick topic would be the
sometimes there's odd items offered
around behind the counter or in a drawer
or a cabinet that maybe aren't presented
in a straightforward way they're
available but they're they're not the
items that a guess might want to see
when they enter the space but they might
want them available so if the items
working against the look and feel of the
space on the shelf or what the with the
stores trying to communicate at the
brand or you know brand level there may
still be opportunities to sell products
that aren't visible understood all right
to wrap up what is the best thing that
you could share with you know a business
owner or retail buyer you know to
prepare their business for a success you
know moving forward this year well I
think examining the the product mix in
general and determining whether it's a
bit stale if it's infused with some of
the new trends and products that people
are looking for these days even food
items are changing what people are
looking for our fads come in and now and
so beyond that one thing I found that
often very much limits groups is the
amount of products they offer okay
making assumptions that a small product
mix is going to meet the needs of
everyone really often is tied to the
complexity of just adding some
additional items which may seem
overwhelming but I found there's a good
incremental return by expanding the mix
a bit which can be done even
incrementally so that it's something you
can wrap your brain around and get in a
rhythm with but just adding more items
can often increase a lot of opportunity
okay I mean that's that's a great piece
of advice I think that really really
this is such a crazy market where
there's a huge opportunity and
it's it's got the ability where you you
know a small business can really enter
in at a reasonable level so you know I
appreciate you shedding some light on
the entire industry for us thanks you're
very welcome
pleasure thank you for joining us have a
great day
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