It may look like the world of foodservice is controlled by 10 giants, but is it? Beyond the giant category killers are the brands restaurant operators and consumers know well and use every day. But, beyond these products are the collective voices of the consumer and the restaurant operator who vote with their wallets every day.

While B2C social media and social web analytics is helping businesses connect and engage more with their customers, what are businesses like Kraft, P&G and…

I am reporting this log from the Collective Zoo website in Las Vegas, Nevada



The downside of ordering a pizza? Where do we begin?

No place ever puts enough cheese, no matter how much you ask for. It’s often a hassle when you ask for a half cheese, half supreme pizza. Most places, especially delivery, only let you choose up to three toppings. Almost nowhere offers any sauces other than simple marinara. Asking for a specialty crust is out of the question. Oh, and that will be a…

The California Zephyr: Chicago to Emeryville, California

Did I mention that train travel requires having “sea-legs” and being unafraid to meet people at a shared dining room table, or, after falling into their lap?  Well, we know Leslie, Rudy, Sam and Tina, Nan, Jordan...all “lap” buddies and good sports.

We arrived in Chicago about two…

Day 2

Coach travel sucks. Be it on a plane, a boat or a train, coach only offers two benefits: (1) it's cheap; (2) it gets you where you are going at the same time as first class. We opted for coach class from Boston to Chicago because it’s only a 24 hour ride. We…

I am sitting in the South Station in Boston waiting for my son Dylan to arrive so we can box up his bicycle. Dylan just completed an incredible cross country solo bike trip that took nearly 3 months. This is one of those once in a lifetime father+son trips that I had to make. Maybe I'm kind of barging in on his adventure. Too bad. Now,it's our adventure and one I have been looking forward to for, well, three months.



I had some Business in NYC yesterday, so I have already logged 4…

IFDA Keynote.7.23.12.zip

To download the presentation, please click on the link above.…

We are so lucky as an industry, really. Why? Because we have so many really, really smart people working on solutions that address decades-old problems. These smart entrepreneurs are developing new technologies that address the trifecta of business issues: (1) Sales, (2) Costs; and (3) Customers. 

Sales

Sales and increasing them is always on our mind as operators. Whether you are a franchisee, a multi-unit operator or corporate chieftain, "butts-in-seats" is…

HI, I found this post from World at Work and thought it was worth sharing.

BY LAUREN VALK

Jonna Contacos-Sawyer and Albert Lee began their session at WorldatWork’s recent Total…

CMO's Guide To The Social Landscape. Developed once again by 97th Floor, an SEO, social media, and viral infographics firm, the latest social media infographic welcomes five new members to the roster. Time will tell whether they give heavyweights such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn a run for brands' advertising dollars, but incumbents including Pinterest and…

Managing inventory requires attention to detail and careful planning to avoid the challenges excess inventory bring. Nothing kills cash flow faster than buying too much and selling less than projected. So I wonder, if there was a web-based service that would facilitate the buy/sell/trade of excess inventory in your local market including picking up and delivering the "goods", would operators subscribe to this service?

I remember borrowing ingredients or a bottle of Tequila from time…

Ok, this is cool. While I think this is generally a good list, I am not so sure I agree 100% with the ranking. What do you think?

See this story on Fox News…

I'm on a bit of a food+technology discovery tour to better understand the buzz on what is new for the foodservice industry; the why and the why now. As a start-up entrepreneur, I am fascinated by what drives someone to want to be an entrepreneur, or even a food and/or tech entrepreneur. One would think that will all the buzz around start-ups these days that the number of new companies being formed would also be up. But, not so fast.

According to a quarterly survey from…

Phil Lempert, CEO of The Lempert Report and “Supermarket Guru,” created his list of predictions for 2012. These top 10 predictions range from…

I was so excited to see this post on Mashable that I just decided to re-post in its entirety. Finally, food+tech is coming of age using the clid and new devices that bring utility to restaurant operators.

How Professional Foodies Are Using Tech to Transform the Restaurant Business…

I remember the first POS terminal that I ever saw and used was way back in 1977. It was a monster and weighed a ton! I have no idea what this thing cost or who made it. It was all metal and brown. It didn't have a screen but it did have a keypad for entering data It was not exactly an elegant design, so I know Steve Jobs wasn't consulted.  I learned about PLU (Price Look Up) codes, and remember the thing churning like it was thinking, or trying to.…

It's good to keep track of what is created over time with hard work, passion and dedication. We at FohBoh have always advocated for the restaurant industry, working hard to deliver on our promise and this will only continue as we move in to 2012.

The FohBoh Milestone Timeline: 2007-2011…

I just had a very interesting conversation with a marketing manager at a regional chain a few days ago. She was pretty savvy about restaurant marketing in general and loves the notion of connecting online with her guests. She is in love with social media. In fact, she admitted that she is addicted to TweetDeck and that little tone that bleeps every time a new message arrives. 

It's a neurotransmitter that some researchers have linked our cultural obsession with social media –…