Ready. Set. Grab-And-Go!

HAVE YOU EVER GRABBED a meal at an automat? Maybe not, but it’s likely that your grandparents – or maybe your great grandparents – probably enjoyed this option at some point in time. The self-serve vending machines were all the rage a century ago; just slip a couple of coins into the slot and you would walk away with a delicious prepackaged, ready-to-eat meal, a drink, and even dessert.

Automats aren’t exactly making a comeback these days, but they likely served as inspiration for one of today’s hottest restaurant trends: Grab-and-go – pre-packaged, ready-to-eat foods that you can literally take on the run (after you pay for them, of course). Convenient foods, even meals, have been a staple at gas stations and corner stores for decades and are now proving a viable revenue stream in grocery stores and, increasingly, restaurants.

Not surprisingly, there is huge appeal among the younger generations. A 2014 study found that millennials were 50 per cent more likely to choose grab-and-go items than older customers. Today it’s even more popular among young adults, who are always looking for low-hassle meal and snack options to fit their hectic lives. Already valued north of $20 billion, the graband-grow market is only going to get bigger as new generations long for more convenience. But where there is demand, there is opportunity — revenue opportunity for your restaurant to be exact.

“More and more customers are ordering online and collecting at the restaurant,” says John Lilly, Senior Product Analyst at True Manufacturing.

People don’t always click extra items when placing an online order, which makes it critical to find ways for these extra items to be seen and purchased at the time of pick-up. These are your grab-and-go items.

Getting these extra items in the customers line of sight is the best approach. Lilly adds that having a grab-and-go fridge allows restaurants to store homemade soups, sauces, and salad dressings conveniently close to the cash register.

When customers can see these extras, and especially when they are presented well, an impulse purchase is more likely to occur. You can easily add $15 to a ticket by making grab-and-go an option at your restaurant. And when the items offered typically come with a high margin, you can find significant increases to your bottom line.

True makes a line of open-air cabinets that are ideal for a graband-go display, but, Lilly explains, they aren’t ideal for everyone. “An open-air cabinet is beautiful,” he says, “but you’re paying a premium for a piece of equipment that can only be used for grab-and-go.

If you’re going to outlay a major capital expenditure, you have to think about how to get the most bang for your buck. You want something that will work for you 365 days a year.”

Lilly recommends the Flexible Temp, a freezer that converts to a refrigerator with the flip of a switch. “The restaurant gets the flexibility to merchandise ice cream in the summertime,” he says. “They flip a switch and they can put something else there and still generate revenue in the winter.”

Or if you decide to give the grab-and-go operation a break, you can move the Flex Temp to the back of the house and use it as an extra meat freezer.

It’s all about flexibility and options.

All True Flex Temps come with a self-cleaning condenser to keep maintenance costs low, and they’re warrantied for five years for labour, six years for parts, and seven years for the compressor, which is a definite bonus for foodservice owners and operators.

When investing in equipment for your restaurant, it’s important to think about your customer and your operational goals. Find quality equipment that will afford you multipurpose uses so that you’re getting more return on your investment –and look for warranty too!

We don’t expect preference for convenience to be going away anytime soon, so if you can find a way to serve up this option for your clientele, they’ll be reaching for your ready-to-go options, and you’ll be adding to your bottom line.