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GOURMET NEWS MAY 2017 www.gourmetnews.com NEWS & NOTES 8 Key Trends Continued from PAGE 1 the incursion of e-commerce onto the food retailing landscape, the evolution and ex- pansion of contactless payment options and the rise of the smaller store formats. The E-Commerce Effect For several years, e-commerce has been one of the fastest growth areas for grocery and consumable products. Retailers covet e- commerce shoppers because they tend to be less price sensitive, spending noticeably more than in-store only shoppers and driv- ing higher margins. E-commerce shoppers are also desirable because they tend to stock up, placing two large orders per month on average, with items in their baskets often double or even triple what is typically found in the carts of in-store shoppers. Not surprising given Amazon's inex- orable inroads into consumables, many brick-and-mortar chains have begun mak- ing it possible for shoppers to order online and pick up in store. By some estimates, brick-and-mortar stores now average more than 100 e-commerce orders per week. The practice is so popular that even Amazon wants a piece of the pie and is reportedly considering establishing up to 2,000 "click and collect" stores and possibly even some full-scale grocery stores. Unsurprisingly, even the ever savvy and mighty Walmart is not immune to the al- lure of e-commerce. The supercenter jug- gernaut is working to get up to speed and dramatically boost its digital operations to better compete with the likes of Amazon, which presently has the advantage of a larger online presence in international mar- kets, a larger selection and number of prod- ucts online, and a more successful mobile app and customer loyalty program in Ama- zon Prime. Walmart's $3.3 billion acquisi- tion of Jet.com in August 2016 was a decisive strategic step in boosting the re- tailer's digital operations. Use of Mobile Payments, Apps, and Screenless Payment Accelerate Especially as Millennials and Gen Z come of age, a growing aspect of shopping con- venience will be the ability to pay wire- lessly or by tapping a card on a reader. Many experts predict 2017 will see accel- erated growth in contactless transactions due to a variety of factors, including Amer- ica's continued transition to the EMV elec- tric standard for smart payment cards requiring insertion rather than swiping. Rapidly gaining ground are apps de- signed to speed up the payment process, keep track of transactions, calculate and apply customer rewards, and help shoppers bypass lines. For example, since introduc- ing the popular Walmart Pay in 2016, Wal- mart has already added two new features to the mobile app: the ability to refill prescrip- tions and skip pharmacy lines and the abil- ity for users of Walmart Money services to submit information for the transaction pri- vately rather than filling out paperwork in stores, also skipping the line. Also getting into the app game, Target plans to intro- duce a mobile payment option in 2017, al- though it is not yet clear whether it will be embedded in the core Target mobile app, Target's Cartwheel discount/coupon app, or both. On a similar note, screenless payment is shaking up online grocery shopping. A pi- oneer in this area is Amazon with its voice- activated Alexa home assistant and developing cashier-less Amazon Go brick- and-mortar stores, where sensors automat- ically calculate purchases as customers load up and leave the store." Smaller Stores Bigger Than Ever If there's one thing every grocery shopper wants, it's the convenience of being able to get in and out of the store as quickly as pos- sible, and for a growing number of shop- pers and retailers, smaller stores are the ticket. In Europe, ALDI and Lidl have long wielded the smaller store advantage com- pared to the huge hypermarkets, and both chains are expanding in the U.S. As a result, the smaller store strategy will be even more important to Walmart and Target, both of which have been fielding smaller formats to offset inroads made by dollar stores and to fill the gap between full-sized supercenters and stores too small to warrant their investment. Walmart's ex- periments with small-format stores include its Neighborhood Market stores – which measure approximately less than one-quar- ter the size of a Walmart Supercenter – and currently number about 700, with expan- sion ongoing. Walmart also recently added two Walmart Pickup and Fuel shops as a way to test additional pickup options. Cus- tomers order online and pick up at the smaller stores, which carry convenience store basics as well as fuel. The orders are delivered from larger Walmart stores to the smaller stores. Target, too, has been opening small stores, though mostly in urban areas where space is tight. In late 2016, Target opened three smaller format stores in New York City, and according to reports, CEO Brian Cornell envisions opening hundreds of smaller Targets, making them a major part of future growth. Overall in 2016, Target opened 32 "flex-format" stores occupying less than 50,000 square feet, with plans for at least 16 more in 2017. The smaller stores afford Target entry into high-rent urban areas that can't handle typical big-box stores. Along with the smaller size, the stores' product selection is tailored to the surrounding demographic. As of early 2017, even the smallest value grocery format of all – dollar stores – is going even smaller. Looking to tap further into the all-important Millennial cohort, in January 2017 Dollar General began testing in Nashville a 3,400-square-foot concept called DGX, with plans to open a second DGX in Raleigh, North Carolina. GN Connecting With Grill Innovations At IH+HS BY GREG GONZALES For home cooks, barbecuing is just as much about the experience as it is the end product. Cooks love sharing great food with family and friends, but sometimes the process can require careful attention and limit the fun, smoke out the party or keep them from running out for a last-minute bag of ice to fill the cooler. The barbecue grills and tools of 2017, introduced at the International Home + Housewares Show in March, untether hosts from a single spot, clear the smoke, and enable custom and connected control. Char-Broil ® announced a new first at the show: the SmartChef ® TRU-Infrared ® Gas Grill. Controlled through the SmartChef app, the grill addresses and al- leviates common grilling challenges. Tra- ditional grilling methods take time and finesse; with the support of the app and linked recipes from Char-Broil, grilling up perfect foods is possible for all users. The SmartChef app monitors and controls grill temperatures and grill times, and syncs to phones over Wi-Fi to notify users when food is done, about burner status, when the gas tank is low and when the grill is cool enough to cover. "Having a guided cooking experience inspires grilling techniques, and gives consumers freedom to learn how to build their craft," said Brendan Anderson, Vice President of Marketing and Product Management at Char-Broil. "For Char-Broil, it's all about creating a better product and that in- cludes smart technology, too." This smart grill will retail for $799. Barbecuing near the table or on an apartment balcony can be uncomfortable because of the smoke, but not with Lotus- Grill ® . This invention features a built-in, battery-operated fan, which supplies the charcoal with air. As such, the charcoal is constantly well-aerated, which means the barbecue can be lit without virtually any smoke, and it starts up with lighter gel in about 3 minutes. Precise temperature control is as easy as turning up the fan speed with the control switch; the more air blown into the charcoal, the hotter it burns, up to 660 degrees Fahrenheit. Combustion takes place in a closed con- tainer inside the barbecue, so grease never comes in contact with the charcoals. Plus, the double-walled bowl doesn't get hot, so it's safe on any surface. The LotusGrill comes in three sizes and various colors. The smallest size is currently available at Sur La Table for $200, and larger sizes are also available. For the cook who already has a favorite barbecue but still wants the convenience of a smart grill, there's Loki, the smart Wi- Fi meat thermometer. Whether it's a turkey in the oven, pork on the grill or brisket in the smoker, Loki keeps track of the progress and sends notifications through the app to an iOS or Android mo- bile device when the meat is ready. It also knows when the grill needs fuel, sugges- tions for cook times, temperature recom- mendations and recipes. "There's no other meat thermometer that delivers Loki's functionality," said James Hammer, CEO of Loki Products, Inc. "The product was born out of my family's passion for great food and the desire to spend more time with each other during our weekly dinner gatherings, rather than watching the oven, smoker or grill. We wanted to be able to start our smoker in the morning and monitor the cooking from anywhere. Now Loki enables all of that and more." With four probes, Loki can monitor four different kinds of meat at once. The first Lokis shipped in January this year. The company has not yet finalized which re- tail outlets will carry Loki, but the retail price begins at $149. KettlePizza™ introduced its new Ket- tlePizza Gas Pro at the show. The one-piece stainless steel unit transforms gas grills into pizza ovens. Placed on a preheated gas grill along with a pizza stone, the KettlePizza Gas Pro creates a high-heat cooking cham- ber that cooks the top and bottom of the pizza simultaneously, and evenly. It will be offered in three different kits, including a Basic model, Deluxe model with pizza stone and wooden peel, and a Deluxe USA model with a pizza stone and aluminum pro peel. For cooking on the grill, RÖMERTOPF ® launched a line of flame-safe cookware, made in Germany from fireproof ceramic. The new line allows current fans of the brand to take their healthy recipes to the outdoors, with each item designed for use on open flame or a hooded grill. It includes a Vertical Chicken Roaster, two sizes of casserole dishes and a Dutch Oven, and comes in a classic charcoal finish with a food-safe clear glaze. Cook up to five different foods at a time with the pre-seasoned 5-in-1 Cast Iron Skil- let by Style Asia. Heavy-duty construction allows for superior heat retention that dis- tributes evenly throughout the skillet. It features griddle surfaces for grilling meat or sauteing vegetables, and works in the oven when harsh weather won't allow grilling outdoors. The BBQ Holster by Holster Brands will hold all the tools together. It conve- niently clings to the side of the barbecue to keep all the tools in one place, and at- taches to any smooth, non-porous sur- face. The patented design and specially formulated silicone eliminates the air be- tween two surfaces and creates a tempo- rary bond, and removal is as simple as lifting up. No need to worry about burn- ing, either, as it's made of 100 percent sil- icone that resists heat up to 500 degrees Fahrenheit. Grillbot was created to take the grunt work out of cleaning grills through robot- ics. The fully-automated device makes grill cleaning easy, with the push of a button. Designed to use on any style grill, con- sumers simply place Grillbot on the grilling surface and it does all the cleaning. The new Grillbot Pro comes with the same LCD alarm and timer as the original, but adds Bluetooth connectivity to a smartphone app and a replaceable cleaning cartridge. The app allows for control away from the grill, including on/off function, cleaning cycle alerts, a heat alarm and brush replace- ment reminders. Available in summer 2017. GN

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