Food-to-go steps up a gear(PDF) - Supermarket.co.za

HOME MEAL REPLACEMENT
16 wholesalebusiness Issue 5, 2009
FEATURE
Food-to-go steps up a gear
Drive HMR
sales by getting
your offering
spot on
By Anelle HAmilton
Food-to-go, or HMR as it is
commonly known, can be a real
footfall driver that brings in lots of sales and
profits. However, to achieve success you
have to do your homework and get your
offering right. Get it wrong and it could be a
costly mistake. Wholesale Business speaks to
a successful forecourt operator who tapped
into a very profitable market in his area.
Case study:
‘Dinner Club’ at Caltex Ruhamah
This Caltex site is situated on a busy main
street in Roodepoort and although its
fuel sales were substantial, the owner was
looking for ways to increase the number
Hot and cold foods-to-go
Sandwiches, Pies, Chicken, Chips and Colddrinks
Hearty home-cooked meals are served from 1600 until 2000 as part of the site’s Dinner Club.
of shoppers in his store. “We launched
our HMR offering called ‘Dinner Club’ four
months ago. Although our food sales were
good during the day, they completely
dried up at around 1600,” says owner
Dave Venter. In working hours, reps and
contractors frequently visited the site, but
Venter realised that he had to be innovative
to draw the after hours crowd. “We decided
that the time was right to offer dinner
solutions to our customers at competitive
prices. We compiled a weekly menu offering
28 dishes that are served between 1600
and 2000 and the reaction has been
phenomenal,” he adds.
Sales started at R1000 and during the
last month have escalated to R2800 a night
- that equates to 110 plates a night! The
meals are very reasonably priced and start
from R20 for a ladies portion and R30 for
a men’s portion. The menu is rotated every
two weeks so that regular customers do
not get bored with the meals. The site did
not promote Dinner Club extensively. “We
printed 5000 leaflets that were distributed
only on the forecourt and in the C-store.
The majority of our customers come from
word of mouth referrals.”
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HOME MEAL REPLACEMENT
18 wholesalebusiness Issue 5, 2009
FEATURE
The clientele
Old age homes in the area and other
pensioners make up around 40% of the
store’s clientele. Working couples and
bachelors also like the convenience of
buying a nutritious, home-cooked plate of
food at their local filling station. A lady has
been appointed to run the Dinner Club in
the store and she ensures that the roast
chicken for example, is placed in the warmer
at around 1600, just before the afternoon
rush. The warmer is kept at 65°C and she
sees that the food is not left out too long.
The chef only cooks 3kg of food at a time
to ensure that all food is freshly prepared.
“When we started Dinner Club we
decided that the emphasis must be on
providing customers with hearty, homecooked
meals that are low in fat and sugar
and are MSG-free. A lot of our customers
are pensioners and we wanted to cater for
their special needs. The chef only uses fresh
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The site recently introduced pizza and the slices are popular among motorists as they are easy
to consume while driving.
herbs and spices,” says AT&D consultant
Corne Koelewyn,
Seasonality
The menu is adapted when the seasons
start changing, as customers prefer lighter
meals during the warmer months. “This
past winter has been exceptionally cold
in Gauteng and our roasts and stews
sold very well. We are in the process of
adapting our menu for summer and we
will be adding lasagne, stir fry, cottage pie
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and spaghetti & meatballs to our offering,”
Venter adds.
He says it is important to experiment
with meals when you introduce a menu
as this is the only way to identify hits
and misses. It is also vital to cater for the
specific needs of your market and ask your
customers for feedback. “We operate in an
area where our main market consists of
middle class Afrikaans customers. They want
quality food and they also want their food
prepared in a certain way. Our green beans,
for example, have been adapted to cater for
them. We cook ours the traditional Afrikaans
way, which means we add bone marrow
and cream to dish. Our customers can’t get
enough of it!”
Customers can also phone in their orders
for convenience. Some regulars even leave
two sets of plates at the store, which get
rotated every other day. “When our store
was closed for renovations for two weeks
recently, my phone did not stop ringing.
Our customers were very happy when we
reopened again,” he adds.
Tips to boost HMR sales
Venter has the following tips for forecourt
operators who want to grow or launch their
HMR department.
u Hearty home-cooked meals can only be
made with quality ingredients.
u Invest in the right equipment. All food
at his site is cooked in a steam oven.
u Invest in the right promotional material.
u Pick a variety of ingredients so
customers do not get bored.
u Don’t be afraid to change the menu
on the day if you find other quality
ingredients.
u The store only recently started selling
pizza slices and it has been very successful.
The slices work well on forecourts as
motorists find them easy to eat while they
are driving. The pizzas must be displayed
in an attractive way and identify your
selection with nametags.
u Weather plays a big role in eating
decisions so adapt your menu accordingly.
u Offer in-store tasting when you launch
new items in your bakery.
Pies on the go
Pies are very popular as hot food-togo
items on forecourts in South Africa.
However, this has not always been the case.
According to Erick Geyser MD of St. Pie, the
words ‘garage pie’ are the biggest challenge
to pie retailing in South Africa. “ Pies come
from a background in South Africa that is
somewhat ‘unsavoury’ and the sins of the
industry’s past still haunt manufacturers
and retailers today. This is a difficult stigma
HOME MEAL REPLACEMENT
Fruit & Veg City, Hillcrest, Durban
FEATURE
to shake even though I am convinced of the
fact that local manufacturers make some of
the best pies in the world,” he adds.
Pepper Steak pies are a hot favourite
on forecourts and even outsell most
of the major soft drink brands and
convenience food products. They are the
main contributor to the reputation of pies
as ‘value generators’ in forecourt stores.
However, this is not true for every shop.
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wholesalebusiness Issue 5, 2009 19

close to schools for example, may find
that Sausage Rolls and Russian Rolls might
outsell Pepper Steak pies three to one,
while stores in traditional student centres
might find that Burger pies top their sales
report each month. “Attentive franchisees
can always rely on Pepper Steak to prop
up sales, but can often find a top seller
amongst the 30 or so pie flavours on the
market, by simply being in tune with your
clients’ needs,” he says.
When it comes to forecourt sales, it
is obvious that food sales will decline
whenever fuel sales drop, as c-stores are
still a convenience destination. “I think that
pies are showing their resilience during
these tough times by - depending on site
location- even substantially growing
sales.”
Forecourttrader.co.uk also offers operators
good advice when they are looking at
expanding, or starting up a food-to-go
offering on the forecourts.
Here are their answers to some frequently
asked questions.
Should I stock hot food and snacks, or just
sandwiches?
Once you are comfortable with your
initial set-up, there is a natural progression
into hot breakfasts and thereafter into
sandwiches. Providing you have the
capacity to do so and demand exists
among your customers, you should offer
hot food and sandwiches to maximise sales
opportunities.
Left: Try out your
new menu items by
offering customers
in-store tastings.
Right: Coffee is a
great profit maker,
footfall driver and
ties in very well
with meal deals.
Should the food be prepared in-house or
delivered?
Most consumers prefer the idea of their
food being freshly prepared in-store and
we see this and the associated theatre as a
genuine selling point for in-store food-togo.
Furthermore, preparing it in-store gives
you the flexibility to offer a much wider
range and tailor your food to meet your
customers' requirements.
Do I need a coffee machine?
Coffee is a great profit-maker as well as
footfall driver and ties in very well with
meal deals such as a coffee and a sandwich
for a price. Machines can be configured
as self-serve or serve-assisted depending
on your particular store set-up. These
days, consumers are far more discerning
in their appreciation of coffee so quality
is paramount. You should strive to offer
a range of coffees, using a bean-to-cup
HOME MEAL REPLACEMENT
FEATURE
machine to ensure the coffee is freshly
ground and make sure you use fresh milk.
How do I weigh up availability versus
wastage?
One of the golden rules of a bakery is
to bake little and often as this reduces
wastage significantly. There is no point
in baking too much product in one batch
if you then have to throw away a large
amount of it at the end of the day.
Where is the best place to put my food-togo
installation?
From an operational point of view you
might think that the back of the store
is the best place to site it, or even in a
convenient alcove somewhere. However,
in reality, the best place for it is where it
will be most visible to your customers.
There is an element of impulse to foodto-go
purchases so your offer needs to
wholesalebusiness Issue 5, 2009 21

HOME MEAL REPLACEMENT
22 wholesalebusiness Issue 5, 2009
FEATURE
be in clear view.
If this spot is already taken, where can it be
put?
If the ideal spot is already taken then it
depends on what is already occupying it.
Food-to-go profit margins are between 50%
and 60% and the category can contribute
as much as 15% to the total turnover
of some stores. Therefore, you need to
compare this with the return you are
getting from whatever already occupies the
space and then make an informed decision.
What's the best way to inform my
customers about my food- to-go range?
Use window vinyls and A-boards
externally, and over-sized shelf talkers and
posters internally. If you are near a busy
office or factory area, then consider a leaflet
drop or a coffee loyalty card that offers
every sixth cup free.
Making it Easy
South Africans love ‘vetkoek’. This delicious
recipe can be adapted with different fillings
to cater for your market.
Best Beef Vetkoek
Ingredients
1kg beef mince
10ml sunflower oil
One medium onion, finely chopped
Two cloves garlic, crushed
500ml water or stock
50ml tomato sauce
5ml mixed herbs
5ml salt
Pepper to taste
250ml mixed vegetables
Vetkoek ready made
Method:
Heat the oil in a pot, on a medium heat.
Fry the onion until transparent. Add the
garlic and turn up the heat. Once the pot is
quite hot, add the mince to brown it. Use a
wooden spoon to break up any lumps and
to stir from time to time.
Once all the meat is browned, add the
The menu offers customers 28 dishes to choose from per week. It is rotated every two weeks
and adjusted seasonally.
water or stock, tomato sauce and herbs.
Turn down the heat and allow the mince
to simmer for at least 20 minutes until the
vegetables are cooked.
Season with salt and
pepper to taste.

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