Consumer demand for healthy, fresh food has been, and still is, on the rise. Life is extremely fast-paced. The need for convenient access to food is imperative to people’s livelihood.

Micro markets are the solution that consumers need. They conveniently provide fresh and healthy food, snacks and beverages to consumers, 24-7. Additionally, fresh food options provide a significant amount of revenue. That makes it more important than ever for micro market operators to develop and execute a diverse fresh food program.

There is so much growth potential in offering fresh food. So make sure you get to know each one of your locations and what the purchase power is of each item!

When curating your fresh food options, keep in mind these 5 fresh food tips that will help you with your micro market success:

1. Stay Conscious of Flexible Workplace Schedules

According to Ryan Jenkins, author of The Millennial Manual: The Complete How-To Guide to Manage, Develop and Engage Millennials at Work, “Every generation today seeks a healthy work-life balance, but its millennials who demand it from their employers. In today’s employee market, creating a work-life balance for Millennials is a compelling competitive advantage.” (INC)

Gone are the days of working in the office from 9-5 day after day. Today, a workplace is an environment that allows employees to work where and when best suits their personal needs. And as we approach the holiday season, some workplaces will be seeing less of their employees, by providing flexible perks.

By being aware of your locations flexible schedules will help maintain inventory and lead to better profits. Here are 4 Tips for Managing Inventory for Flexible Workplaces.

2. Offer Promotions

Stocking your micro market with the right food and beverages is one task. The other is making sure they are being purchased. Promoting products increase sales and decrease spoilage. It’s simple.

If you want to increase engagement, drive customer loyalty, or avoid overstocking products, implementing promotions will help. Offer promotions via digital signage, host a re-grand opening, print flyers and more.

We’re connected to promotions and information all day long—thanks to the Internet and mobile devices. Connecting your customers to products where they spend most of their time can save them money and bring you benefits.

3. Stay Current with Food Trends

In addition to being aware of flexible schedules and providing promotions, staying current with food trends is also an important task.

Ever-changing technology and customer demands are challenges that everyone faces. Staying up to date with industry trends will bring you bigger opportunities. It’s tempting to ignore it all and keep plugging along with your day-to-day tasks, but if you ignore current needs, you might lose out on growth opportunities.

Subscribing to industry publications, attending the NAMA Show, and partnering with a strategic leader are three great ways to stay current with food and industry trends.

4. Layout/Design an Efficient Micro Market

It’s also important to stay conscious of your locations micro market layout and design. It plays a huge part in market flow and sales. The right layout/design will help your customers have easy access to fresh foods and the ability to quickly purchase what they need when they need it.

Micro markets are the perfect companion for grab-and-go lifestyles and workforces. The variety of products that are available, easy checkout and 24/7 store hours, make for a convenient breakroom. Yet without an efficient layout/design, your micro market won’t be a positive experience for all.

Be sure to watch Creating Micro Market Experiences. This video will help you with your questions about digital signage, checkout design, and overall layout and market flow.

5. Routine Rotating and Reporting

Lastly, being conscious of rotating your fresh food and understanding buyer’s behavior plays a big part in your overall micro market success.

Think about it. If you order the same product options and not review how those products are doing in your markets, it’s likely you are wasting money. Rotating your products and introducing new options will keep your market new and exciting.

Be sure to take time to truly understand your customers by evaluating buying habits and taking weekly inventory. Utilize your inventory management system, such as 365 ADM, to review and analyze reports to determine the undersold products.

The Takeaway

The important thing is to make sure that your micro markets are stocked with fresh food and beverage options. Staying conscious of flexible schedules, offering promotions, staying current with food trends, having an efficient micro market layout/design, rotating products and analyzing reports, will result in return happy customers and increase your revenue and market traffic.

Ready to get fresh?

Top 5 MicroMarket Products: Holiday Edition

Stocking your micro markets with holiday treats will bring your locations delight. Implement these holiday trends into your micro market today!

Also featured this month…

A number of operators swear by their fresh food programs. They invest in a higher quality of micro market food in order to set their companies apart and drive revenues, not just offer the customer a convenient onsite food option. Read More…