Consumer Passion

If you're trying to order Pizza during or after the Super Bowl ...

You might want to try Dominos, with its new Pizza Tracker technology, which enables you to follow the progress of your order online from the time you click the "Place Order" button or hang up the telephone until the Domino's delivery person is knocking on the door. 

"There is absolutely nothing like this in the food service industry," said Domino's chief information officer, Chris McGlothlin, of the ability to track telephone orders.  "At Domino's, we're obsessed with great service. We measure performance.  Now we can prove it every step of the way.  Pizza Tracker will allow customers to know when their order is being prepared, when it's out of the oven, and when it's out the door and on its way. It even includes the first name of the person delivering the order."

Pizza Tracker is linked directly to the computers inside the pizza stores using Domino's Pulse and is accurate to within 40 seconds, McGlothlin said. "Once it leaves the store, drive times vary due to distance, weather and traffic conditions, but customers will know that it's on the way." 

Dominos predicted it would sell some 1.2 million pizzas across the U.S. today, a third more than a usual Sunday. 

Dominos Pizza undergoes Digital Makeover at Dominos.com

Domino's Pizza has done some remodeling at Dominos.com.  In addition to a complete visual redesign, the website experience is centered around the pizza chain's "You Got 30 Minutes" brand campaign and its "BFD Builder" promotion (Big Fantastic Deal), where you can build your own pizza, name it, and enter it into Domino's database.  Most of all, the new website is aimed at consumers who want to order pizza online and via text messaging.

It's difficult to keep up with announcements from the major pizza chains, who are in a race to one-up each other in the digital side of the business.  Domino's website revamp, in my opinion, puts them on top for now.  It's easy on the eyes, and draws your attention to the following actions:

1. 1.  Ordering online
2. 2.  Build Your BFD (large, unlimited toppings, $10.99); most creative BFD gets its creator $500 worth of pizza
3. Sign up for Hot Email Offerings
4. Mobile Ordering (if you go to mobile.dominos.com, it's specially designed for mobile phones)

It's very easy to navigate, with big action buttons and an easy to see and use store locator.  It doesn't look like they've missed a thing.  Consumers can customize their own pizzas, order them any way you can imagine (phone, computer, mobile website, text message), and have a chance at winning some pizza with their user generated pie entries.  From the press release:

"The online ordering section of Dominos.com is better than ever," said Rob Weisberg, vice president of precision and print marketing at Domino's Pizza. "Customers will find a new look to the online ordering navigation tool they have grown accustomed to.  Whether it's finding online coupons or reaching the checkout page, customers now have a new stylish, easy-to-access page for ordering pizza online."

Lastly, Domino's announced the launch of Dominosbiz.com, which was created to host all of the company's corporate information.  The Consumer Passion overall opinion of the digital makeover?  Aces.   

Happy 3rd Birthday Pinkberry

Pinkberry turned three today, celebrating with the launch of a coffee frozen yogurt ... or 'swirly goodness' as it likes to call it's product.  12 months in the making, the coffee flavor is only the third type of swirly frozen goodness on the Pinkberry menu.  There's original Plain, Green Tea, and now Coffee.  Each of the flavors can be topped and mixed with a variety of delectable goodies, from fresh fruit to granola to your favorite cereal.  Some ingredients are not even on the menu, adding to the allure of this modern yet  eclectic place ... a place that can be found in just two cities, LA and New York (30 locations), and a place affectionately  dubbed 'Crackberry' by fans who go bonkers for the unique taste, healthy angle, and funky atmosphere (great article in May 2007 Fortune).

“We wanted to celebrate our third anniversary by providing something new and special to our loyal customers,” said Shelly Hwang, co-founder of Pinkberry. “Our frozen yogurt is unique because you can taste the perfect balance of each flavor – the coffee, the signature Pinkberry yogurt tang, and the toppings – none overpower the others.”

Pinkberry says it was inspired by European gelato and frozen yogurt history, America’s ice cream pastime and pop culture from around the world. The company says each moment in the Pinkberry experience – from the design, to the tastes and textures to the sounds – make Pinkberry unique, and it seems plenty of passionate consumer of this product would agree.  I just wish they'd open one in Northern Virginia.  But you fortunate folks in the two biggest markets in the U.S., be on the lookout for a Pinkberry near you, and give the new Coffee flavor a try.  Pinkberry recommends chestnuts, mochi, bananas and chocolate chip toppings with the new frozen swirly cup of goodness. 

Edy's Slow Churned Ice Cream adds American Idol inspired flavors

Edy's is changing "I Scream" to "I Sing" (for ice cream), at least when it comes to its Slow Churned Light offerings.  Edy's Slow Churned Light is rolling out a second season of American Idol inspired flavors:

• Cheesecake Diva - cheesecake light ice cream, brownie bites and fudge swirls
• Most Orange-inal - chocolate light ice cream filled with crunchy pieces of chocolate cookie
• Mint Karaoke Cookie - mint light ice cream with a crescendo of chocolate cookies
• Cookies N Dreamz - vanilla light ice cream with swirls of orange sorbet
• One Split Wonder - banana light ice cream swirling with fruit and gooey fudge

Ice cream lovers (that would be me, and Slow Churned Light is terrific stuff - doesn't taste like lower calorie ice cream) and Idol fans can vote for their favorite flavors at Slowchurned.com until May 31st.  The winning flavor will earn a permanent spot in the Slow Churned light line-up.  Fans who cast a vote before April 29th will be entered for a chance to win a trip to the American Idol finale and other  prizes. 

Pasta Choice Reveals Your Political Preference

The current political season and atmosphere demands a timeout and a sprinkle of levity.  So in that spirit, out comes a survey from the USA's largest pasta maker, American Italian Pasta Company.  Red state/blue state analysis shows Democrats lean towards elbow macaroni, while Republicans tend to prefer long spaghetti.

"With the race for the White House now swinging into high gear on the heals of the Iowa and New Hampshire primaries, we decided to take a lighthearted look at red state vs. blue state pasta preferences to answer the question: as a country, are we divided about our pasta as we are about our politics?" said Drew Lericos, vice president of marketing of AIPC, maker of Mueller's, Heartland and Golden Grain pasta brands, among others.

From its headquarters in Kansas City, MO, AIPC analyzed Nielsen-based sales data, comparing different shapes and cuts of pasta preferences in the Republican or "red" states to the Democratic or "blue" states, based on the 2004 presidential election results.  AIPC did uncover some bi-partisan ground:  healthier pastas - including whole grain and whole wheat varieties - are gaining in popularity across party lines.  (full press release here)

Paging Howard Schultz: The Best Coffee Experience Is Found Online, At StoryVille.com

I got to thinking about Starbucks again this morning after reading a BusinessWeek.com article, Howard Schultz's Grande Challenge.  The article points out that Starbucks stock skipped rope Monday on news that Schultz is returning to the captain's chair. The article also refers to analysts who have doubts about his turnaround plan, a plan best summed up by this quote from Schultz in a press release:

Put simply, we are recommitting ourselves to what has made Starbucks and the Starbucks Experience so unique: ethically sourcing and roasting the highest quality coffee in the world; the relentless focus on the customer.

Amen.  And in the spirit of armchair quarterbacking, I have some suggestions for Mr. Schultz, to help him and his company along their new path.  First, implement an operational and marketing plan called  The Starbucks Experience, which focuses on three things: the Coffee, the People, and the Place.   Second, and in order to properly pull of the first, visit another Seattle roaster, the Storyville Coffee Company, and order some of their delightful and fresh roasted beans. 

Go to  Storyville.com and sign up for the introductory offer, where you get four weeks of coffee delivered to your doorstep, along with two very hip and perfectly designed coffee mugs, for $29.99.  After the four weeks are up, if you so desire, you'll continue to receive a half pound of the freshest, highest quality beans each week, delivered in an airtight, resealable pouch with the roasting date stamped on it, packaged in a handsome and artsy Storyville box, which comes with instructions on how to use a French Press properly.  That way, when you start grinding these heavenly beans that are just two days out of the roaster, you'll proceed to hand craft a pot of delicious dark nectar that'll send your tastebuds to tastebud heaven.       

I say all of this because The Starbucks Experience can learn from The StoryVille Experience.  This small roaster manages to transform a webstore into a magical coffee journey.  For true coffee fanatics,  Storyville is paradise.  They get it.  The end to end consumer experience exceeds your expectations in every way.  From the website design, to the well produced videos (The Truth, a must-see about 'Big Coffee' deceiving us into drinking the equivalent of stale axle grease, is hilarious), to the top-notch  customer service , and of course ultimately to the coffee itself, which only comes in one flavor, Fresh.  This little coffee engine that could, enabled me to create that elusive coffee experience at home, that mystical trip that's part liquid, and part state of mind. 

Starbucks is credited with bringing the whole idea of premium coffee out of the shadows. Before Starbucks, no one was talking about Arabica beans or Specialty coffee.  They paved the way for outfits like Storyville.  And they can reclaim their place as the high mountain coffee experience, brought to the masses, if they first concentrate on roasting the best Coffee, AND making sure only the freshest beans are for sale and use at each location.  This is Storyville's ace in the hole.  They are educating consumers on the fact that coffee does not age well, and it should be ground and used as soon after roasting as possible.  But when you grab a bag of Starbucks coffee - and they have some great stuff (Gold Coast and Verona are my favorites) - you have no idea how long it's been gathering dust on the shelf.  Months in many cases, and it's very hit or miss in terms of freshness.  So number one, it's the coffee, coffee, coffee.

Then it's the People.  Taking care of both the customer and the employee, so both are happy ... and happy to talk to each other.  Get your best communicators out there communicating to people, asking them in a helpful way if they need help taking the Starbucks experience home with them today.  And please get them out there cleaning, cleaning, cleaning as the minutes go by, so the trash isn't piled up, and the bathrooms dirty.  Oh, that leads lastly to the Place. 

Make sure each and every Starbucks is a cozy getaway, with fresh ground smell, great music, magazines and newspapers to read, community information boards, an ocassional live acoustic guitar and other surprises like someone walking around with a tray of free goodies and drink coupons.  And educate people on how to take that coffee house experience with them, to their home or business, by selling them great coffee, brewing equipment, and hip mugs.  That's all they need.  Great Coffee, great People, and a great Place to enjoy it all.   

43rd Pillsbury Bake-Off Voting Begins - $1 Million Prize

Pillsbury is inviting consumers to go online and check out the 100 finalist recipes, and vote for their favorite, as the 43rd Bake-Off Contest marches toward an April payday worth $1 million to the winning  cook and his or her recipe.  One lucky voter could also win a million bucks.  Some history:

In 1949, the Pillsbury Bake-Off Contest, originally called the "Grand National Recipe and Baking Contest," was held in New York City's elegant Waldorf-Astoria Hotel.  To celebrate Pillsbury's 80th birthday, executives at the company's advertising agency created the contest and invited homemakers to share their treasured recipes.  Response was so great that Pillsbury decided to hold it again the following year, and the year after that, until it became an institution.  Theodora Smafield of Rockford, Illinois won with the first contest with her No-Knead Water-Rising Twists.  Yum.  Her take was $50,000.  Not a bad chunk of change for 1949.

For this year's edition, thousands of recipes were submitted, and after months of tasting and testing, the Pillsbury Kitchens whittled it down to a list of 100 finalists.  Go to Pillsbury.com/bakeoff for details and to vote for your favorite recipe.  Eligible voters will be entered into the sweepstakes, one will be randomly drawn, and if that voter picked the recipe that received the Grand Prize at the Bake-Off Contest finals, that voter will also win $1 million. 

Things have certainly changed in the past 58 years.  You can vote for your favorite recipe online, and choose to send an e-note to friends and family, encouraging them to vote for the recipe as well.  I'm sure people who've entered the contest are mixing their cooking skills with their viral chops as well.  It will no doubt help to have a large network of friends and family who're willing to spread the word, and vote for your pie, cookie, caserole, etc.  After a  quick scan, I can confirm there are some really amazing recipes among the finalists.  Not that I'd have the patience or ability to pull off any of them in my kitchen.  But it's nice to dream of Spicy Mole Pork Burritos (Mike Briggs, Arlington, VA), or Warm and Fudgy Rasperry Pudding Cake (Karen Bowlden, Boise, ID).  Delicious. 

Starbucks Announces a Return to Roots

Wow, that was quick.  No sooner had I rested from posting about Starbucks' attempt to trade places with McDonalds when I see the Wall Street Journal online headline: Starbucks Chairman Schultz to take CEO Job, Make Changes.  After reading Janet Adamy's story, I searched for the original press release, which had this wonderful sub heading:  Renewed Focus on Customer Experience and Innovation.  Well hip hip hooray and bookmark the day.  I'd love to take credit for this ... that Mr. Schultz read my earlier posts about Starbucks (Dec. 27, New Apple Patent Enables Line Cutting at Starbucks), how I'm a fan and critic, how they need to ditch the breakfast sammies, stuffed animals and fast food envy, and return to the thing that made them great - the customer experience.  And then this evenings announcement.  Ta-da!!  (one can pretend one has clout)

The seed of today's decision to replace CEO Jim Donald with Chairman Howard Schultz was planted back in February of last year, when Schultz's much ballyhooed memo - sent to Donald - became public, courtesy of Starbucksgossip.com.  From my February 28, 2007 post about it:

Schultz discusses the rapid expansion of the coffee chain, ticking off regretful side effects like deployment of automatic espresso machines, bagged coffee replacing "scooped beans", lack of aroma, removal of "romance and theatre", cookie cutter store design, and a lack of coffee-centric merchandise.  He sums up his thoughts: "we desperately need to look into the mirror and realize it's time to get back to the core and make the changes necessary to evoke the heritage, the tradition, and the passion that we all have for the true Starbucks experience." 

From today's press release, here's Schultz:

Put simply, we are recommitting ourselves to what has made Starbucks and the Starbucks Experience so unique: ethically sourcing and roasting the highest quality coffee in the world; the relentless focus on the customer; the trust we have built with our people, and the entrepreneurial risk-taking, innovation and creativity that are the hallmarks of our success.”

Schultz took over Starbucks in 1987, and he's credited with educating the American population on the beauty of the bean, specifically Specialty beans, the top three percent of the high quality Arabic beans which Starbucks uses.  Coffee lovers like myself appreciate more than just the fine cup of coffee we find at great coffee houses.  We love the laid back atmosphere, the day dreamy getaway you can have with just a cup of joe, a Wall Street Journal, magazine, or good book ... and a nice comfy chair by the window.  With some Frank Sinatra music serenading the escape in the background.  In other words, we love the Experience Mr. Schultz is talking about.  I hope he pulls off the turnaround.  We can all use a nice getaway.

McDonalds and Starbucks: Trading Places

Remember in the film Trading Places, when stock trader Dan Aykroyd finds himself beat up, broke, fired  and friendless ... wearing borrowed pimp clothes ... wondering what the heck happened?   I wonder if Starbucks Chairman Howard Schultz is feeling a bit like Aykroyd these days.  His coffee chain has been reeling the past year, with slumping stock, stagnant sales, and a growing legion of uninspired (passionless) customers.

Unlike Akroyd's character, who gets shanghai'd into the role of a street person by his two evil bosses, I believe Starbucks has only itself to blame for its decent from coffee greatness. Today's Wall Street Journal article by Janet Adamy, McDonald's Takes on a Weakened Starbucks, tells of a massive new push by McDonalds into the premium coffee end of things, with new espresso stations and pricier fu fu drinks on the way.  From the article:

The confrontation between Starbucks Corp. and McDonald's Corp. once seemed improbable.  Hailing from very different corners of the restaurant world, the two chains have gradually encroached on each other's turf.  McDonald's upgraded its drip coffee and its interiors, while Starbucks added drive-through windows and hot breakfast sandwiches.

We're on to something here.  The two have been moving toward each other.  But guess which one can get away with that type of move?

McDonald's is entering the sixth year of a successful turnaround, while Starbucks has begun struggling after years of strong earnings and stock growth.

And this is particularly interesting: 

Starbucks increased the pace of its store expansion at the beginning of this decade.  Some changes, including drive-through windows and breakfast sandwiches similar to the Egg McMuffin, mirrored techniques used by fast-food chains. This led to tensions among management and employees about whether the chain was eroding the core of the Starbucks experience, according to former employees and people close to the company.

I wrote about Starbucks in February of last year, a post called Back to Bean Basics, where I agreed with some things Schultz said in an internal memo, about Starbucks losing it's way.  I am not anti-Starbucks.  I have dropped zillions of dollars on its coffee (and scones) over the years.  Despite some frustrating experiences, I still go once every week or two (down from five times a week two years ago).  This blog is much more about the positive end of things, as I'd rather celebrate the great things companies are doing than wack them for the bad.  But sometimes I feel inspired to get out the stick and offer some critical analysis and opinion.  This is one of those times. 

McDonalds is off track on this venture.  It will never be a 'coffee house' to people looking for great coffee AND great coffee house atmosphere.  If it wants to offer better tasting coffee, super.  But instead of trying to upgrade its coffee fleet so it can offer fancy dancy drinks at a price point just below Starbucks, McDonalds should simply be trying to educate consumers about simple, great tasting coffee.  Offer better quality, fresher coffee, and price it the same or just a bit more than before.  And then try to kill both Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks, by 'demystifying' coffee.  Tell people great taste isn't rocket science.  It's high quality beans, ground fresh daily, and served hot and fresh.  That's what the to-go crowd wants each day from McDonalds.  They don't want some new Mickey Ds barista trying to mimic a Starbucks espresso slinger.  Stop it.  But ... if McDonald's fails in this effort, it's not that big a deal.  The worst thing it's done is try to 'upscale', and the worst that happens is people laugh at the lonely new barista.

Starbucks, on the other hand, has been 'downscaling' for the past couple of years.  By adding breakfast sandwhiches, and drive throughs, and automated espresso machines, it has taken the Henry Ford assembly line approach to the coffee house.  And thus, the 'experience' is not so magical anymore.  Coffee is in Starbucks' wheelhouse.  Stick to it, do the upper shelf stuff better than anyone else, and be happy.  By trying to beat McDonald's at its own game, you lost yours along the way.  But you can still get it back ... and I'm rooting for you. 

Top Soup Trends for 2008

I was not aware that it is National Soup Month.  So now being aware, and being a huge fan of soup, why not ladle out some soup trends for the year, courtesy of the Swanson Broth experts in the Campbell's Kitchen.  And 'broth', for those of us who need a good definition (this one from Web-Holidays.com), is a liquid resulting from cooking vegetables, meat or fish in water.  Synonymous with bouillon.  Good, now to today's press release:

"The trends we are observing today in homemade soup are a microcosm of what is happening across the food industry," says Lucinda Ayers, vice president of Campbell's Kitchen.

The broth folks at Swanson say beets, farro, fig relish and other unexpected ingredients will make their way into soups in 2008.   Good heavens.  Beets?  Bleecch.  Farro?  Don't know what it is.  Figs?  Like them in fig newtons.  Didn't know they had a relish side. 

By keeping a close watch on recent soup trends, Swanson Broth developed a short list of "emerging" and "embraced" trends in food.  The "emerging" spectrum represents what's happening with haute cuisine, for the most part at restaurants with experimental chefs; while "embraced" refers to the home kitchens of creative cooks and more mainstream restaurants.  Some of the trends apparently point to these additional ingredients making their way into soup in '08:  pomegranate, cauliflower, short ribs, blood orange, artichoke, whole grains, mango, and coulis, which is some sort of French sauce.  I can get down with short ribs and whole grains.  Maybe I'll just stick with my roasted chicken and lentil soups, vintage 2007, currently in the the cupboard.