Description
Catering as a Turnaround Strategy Garden Fresh Restaurant Corp. Case Study Get Catering and Grow Sales! TM System.
Garden Fresh Restaurant Corp.
Case Study – Get Catering and Grow Sales! ™ System
Catering as a
Turnaround Strategy
1-877-6-MONKEY
www.monkeymediasoft ware.com
@monkeymedia
©2014 MonkeyMedia Soft ware. Al l right s reser ved.
G
arden Fresh Restaurant Corp. has 124 soup, salad and
bakery restaurants under the Souplantation and Sweet
Tomatoes brand names. The locations span 15 states and
offer diners a lunch and dinner buffet-style experience that features
a smattering of fresh vegetables, made-from-scratch soups and hand-
crafted muffns, breads, pizzas, pastas and desserts. Founded in San
Diego in 1978, the company was purchased by Sun Capital Partners,
Inc. in 2005 and now has more than 1.2 million members in its Club
Veg loyalty program.
The Situation
Throughout the last nine years
of company growth, Garden
Fresh deployed and maintained
a catering program that spanned
72 locations and generated
$4 million in annual revenue.
The program was created by
an internal team with general
managers at each location
operating their unit-level catering
program as they saw ft.
While the program was viewed
as a success, Garden Fresh
was only generating 2-3% proft
from annual catering revenue.
Additionally, there was no formal
program structure or sales team
to further develop its catering
platform.
“We knew we could sell
catering, but we didn’t have the
infrastructure to control or grow
it,” said Bob Mason, Catering
Director at Garden Fresh
Restaurant Corp. “So, we started
searching for a company that
could guide us.”
Streamlined Strategy and
Catering Sales Training
Mason connected with the
executive team at the MMS
Catering Institute™ and
MonkeyMedia Software in 2011
in an effort to bring the Garden
Fresh catering program completely
under its strategic umbrella. With
help from the catering experts
at the MMS Catering Institute,
Mason worked toward the
strategic alignment of the Garden
Fresh executive team in regard
to what a streamlined and well-
executed catering program could
provide. He also continued to
work with the Catering Institute
on the creation of a clear and
concise catering vision for future
operations.
1-877-6-MONKEY
www.monkeymediasoft ware.com
@monkeymedia
©2014 MonkeyMedia Soft ware. Al l right s reser ved.
Case Study
3
“When Garden Fresh started
catering, each store was doing its
own thing and every store had its
own catering van, which resulted
in operational waste,” said Tracy
Avolio, VP of Client Services
for the MMS Catering Institute.
“They didn’t have Catering Sales
Managers but had Catering
Coordinators in their stores
helping with order execution and
food delivery. As often is the case,
retail operations always took
precedence over catering, which
resulted in a negative consumer
experience.”
When Garden Fresh started catering, each
store was doing its own thing and every store
had its own catering van, which resulted in
operational waste.
Tracy Avolio, VP, Client Services, the MMS Catering Institute
Based on the initial
recommendations of the Catering
Institute, Mason and the Garden
Fresh team adjusted catering
operations at underperforming
locations, trimming the number
of stores that were catering
certifed from 72 to 45. The
company eliminated several of
its catering vans and started
to hire experienced Catering
Coordinators with sales-specifc
backgrounds. The company also
optimized its catering menu by
offering items à la carte, rather
than in packages.
“We’re selling products today
that we never sold when we had
packages,” Mason said. “We
realized that by selling packages,
we were not selling items that
were convenient for those who
wanted to order from us. When
we switched the menu, it was a
bit of a fre drill for us because
we didn’t realize the popularity
of some of our menu items. It was
pretty crazy.”
Since implementing the best
practices recommended by the
MMS Catering Institute, Garden
Fresh is on target to ring in $3.4
million in catering sales this year,
but at a proft level that has nearly
doubled. The company has also
increased its outgoing marketing
messages tied to catering, which
was another challenge Mason
said the company faced when
trying to strategize the program
on its own.
“What the MMS Catering Institute
has done for us is basically
change the entire way we
cater,” Mason said. “The past
year has been a pretty radical
transformation, all in favor of
more sales and profts.”
Restaurant Catering
Software
With a sales strategy and the
correct personnel frmly in
place, Garden Fresh deployed
MonkeyMedia Software’s
MonkeyCatering business solution.
“We now have the products
and the technology to focus on
sales,” Mason said. “We’re
doing quarterly sales training
and workshops with our Catering
Sales Managers, which is
excellent. And the way we set it
up with our sales team has been
good and effective.”
With MonkeyCatering, the
company also unveiled online
ordering for catering at each of
its 45 locations that are catering
certifed.
“From a service perspective, the
technology rollout couldn’t have
been better,” Mason said. “We
had online ordering in the past
but we were only getting about
5% of orders online. With the
MonkeyCatering online ordering
platform, online activity has gone
way up and it’s interesting to
see the products that customers
are choosing when our catering
team is not involved in the order
process.”
For example, every customer that
has ordered online has purchased
a vegetable platter, which the
company is now selling at a rate
of 200+ per month.
“Before we went online we sold
zero platters because they were
labor intensive and we never
1-877-6-MONKEY
www.monkeymediasoft ware.com
@monkeymedia
©2014 MonkeyMedia Soft ware. Al l right s reser ved.
Case Study
4
suggested them as a catering
item. The same holds true for our
pizzas and breads,” Mason said.
“Online ordering will change the
way we go after catering and it’s
showing us that, operationally, we
need to be more nimble. Now that
we know what the public wants,
we have to fgure out how to give
it to them.”
Through software implementation
and the added component of
online ordering, Mason and his
sales teams have the opportunity
to track sales and customer data
that offer increased visibility into
the entire catering business.
“As with everything, it’s new
and challenging, but the visibility
is awesome. We have made
personnel decisions based on
the information and the low
performers show up quickly,”
Mason said. “We’ve also seen
catering sales, by market,
increase 20-30% - sales that are
still holding. The Pacifc Northwest
is up 30% and that was our
slowest performing market a year
ago. The MonkeyCatering
system
has changed everything for us.”
Avolio attributes the catering
partnership success to
thoughtfulness on behalf of both
sides.
We now have the products and the
technology to focus on sales.
Bob Mason, Catering Director, Garden Fresh
“The ultimate goal is to make
their catering program great,”
Avolio said. “If the Garden Fresh
team didn’t believe in catering as
a proftable business operation,
it would be in the same state
that it was three years ago.
They’ve been able to successfully
implement a new, streamlined
strategy that has turned around
their entire catering program.”
For Mason, the experience of
working with MonkeyMedia
Software and the MMS Catering
Institute has been equally as
positive.
“Both teams are excellent at what
they do,” he said. “They are
visionary in their thinking and
planning so I believe they will
always be on the cutting edge in
the restaurant world. You have all
of their resources available at your
fngertips. While implementing
a new catering program is
challenging, when you start to see
the results, it all comes together!
We had a lot of operational stuff
we had to clean up, but now that
we’re on the other side we see the
value and the opportunity, and
we’re making more money every
single day.”
1-877-6-MONKEY
www.monkeymediasoft ware.com
@monkeymedia
©2014 MonkeyMedia Soft ware. Al l right s reser ved.
The Catering Institute Team
5
The Get Catering and Grow Sales!™ System
Looking for a proven turnkey solution for your restaurant catering business? Our
Get Catering and Grow Sales!™ System provides proven strategy and education
through the MMS Catering Institute™, while the MonkeyCatering™ software
platform leverages operational effciencies leading to fawless execution and
increased profts. Get the book and get engaged.
About Erle Dardick
Erle Dardick is a 15-year catering veteran, business turn-around expert and author,
and is best known for helping multi-unit restaurant executives create successful catering
revenue channels. Erle founded MonkeyMedia Software to provide catering solutions to
multi-unit restaurant operators. He also is the author of “Get Catering and Grow Sales! A
Strategic Perspective for The Multi-Unit Restaurant Executive.”
About Wayne Alexander
With 16 years of experience and a hands-on style founded in operations and servant
leadership, Wayne has established catering as a sustained accelerated growth platform.
Through sales force talent development, organizational alignment in the multi-unit
franchised environment, centralized call center management, and program development,
Wayne reaches catering decision makers at their time of need.
About Lisa DeFeo-Bass
Since 1990 Lisa DeFeo-Bass has worked for multi-unit restaurant operations such as
Outback Steakhouse, Carrabba’s Italian Grill, and Boston Market, where her positions
have included Regional Operations Manager, Senior Sales Consultant, and National
Accounts Manager. Lisa acts as a consultant to restaurant companies developing a
catering program or have one that could run more effciently and proftably.
About Tracy Avolio
As VP, Client Services, Tracy’s role is to help multi-unit restaurant concepts develop,
implement and grow their catering program, focusing on strategic program planning
and educational training. Tracy has been in the restaurant industry for nearly 25 years
working in positions such as Marketing Manager, Sales Director, Regional Catering
Sales, and National Account Manager, with concepts such as Ruby Tuesday, Landry’s
Seafood and Boston Market.
1-877-6-MONKEY
www.monkeymediasoft ware.com
@monkeymedia
©2014 MonkeyMedia Soft ware. Al l right s reser ved.
doc_127737232.pdf
Catering as a Turnaround Strategy Garden Fresh Restaurant Corp. Case Study Get Catering and Grow Sales! TM System.
Garden Fresh Restaurant Corp.
Case Study – Get Catering and Grow Sales! ™ System
Catering as a
Turnaround Strategy
1-877-6-MONKEY
www.monkeymediasoft ware.com
@monkeymedia
©2014 MonkeyMedia Soft ware. Al l right s reser ved.
G
arden Fresh Restaurant Corp. has 124 soup, salad and
bakery restaurants under the Souplantation and Sweet
Tomatoes brand names. The locations span 15 states and
offer diners a lunch and dinner buffet-style experience that features
a smattering of fresh vegetables, made-from-scratch soups and hand-
crafted muffns, breads, pizzas, pastas and desserts. Founded in San
Diego in 1978, the company was purchased by Sun Capital Partners,
Inc. in 2005 and now has more than 1.2 million members in its Club
Veg loyalty program.
The Situation
Throughout the last nine years
of company growth, Garden
Fresh deployed and maintained
a catering program that spanned
72 locations and generated
$4 million in annual revenue.
The program was created by
an internal team with general
managers at each location
operating their unit-level catering
program as they saw ft.
While the program was viewed
as a success, Garden Fresh
was only generating 2-3% proft
from annual catering revenue.
Additionally, there was no formal
program structure or sales team
to further develop its catering
platform.
“We knew we could sell
catering, but we didn’t have the
infrastructure to control or grow
it,” said Bob Mason, Catering
Director at Garden Fresh
Restaurant Corp. “So, we started
searching for a company that
could guide us.”
Streamlined Strategy and
Catering Sales Training
Mason connected with the
executive team at the MMS
Catering Institute™ and
MonkeyMedia Software in 2011
in an effort to bring the Garden
Fresh catering program completely
under its strategic umbrella. With
help from the catering experts
at the MMS Catering Institute,
Mason worked toward the
strategic alignment of the Garden
Fresh executive team in regard
to what a streamlined and well-
executed catering program could
provide. He also continued to
work with the Catering Institute
on the creation of a clear and
concise catering vision for future
operations.
1-877-6-MONKEY
www.monkeymediasoft ware.com
@monkeymedia
©2014 MonkeyMedia Soft ware. Al l right s reser ved.
Case Study
3
“When Garden Fresh started
catering, each store was doing its
own thing and every store had its
own catering van, which resulted
in operational waste,” said Tracy
Avolio, VP of Client Services
for the MMS Catering Institute.
“They didn’t have Catering Sales
Managers but had Catering
Coordinators in their stores
helping with order execution and
food delivery. As often is the case,
retail operations always took
precedence over catering, which
resulted in a negative consumer
experience.”
When Garden Fresh started catering, each
store was doing its own thing and every store
had its own catering van, which resulted in
operational waste.
Tracy Avolio, VP, Client Services, the MMS Catering Institute
Based on the initial
recommendations of the Catering
Institute, Mason and the Garden
Fresh team adjusted catering
operations at underperforming
locations, trimming the number
of stores that were catering
certifed from 72 to 45. The
company eliminated several of
its catering vans and started
to hire experienced Catering
Coordinators with sales-specifc
backgrounds. The company also
optimized its catering menu by
offering items à la carte, rather
than in packages.
“We’re selling products today
that we never sold when we had
packages,” Mason said. “We
realized that by selling packages,
we were not selling items that
were convenient for those who
wanted to order from us. When
we switched the menu, it was a
bit of a fre drill for us because
we didn’t realize the popularity
of some of our menu items. It was
pretty crazy.”
Since implementing the best
practices recommended by the
MMS Catering Institute, Garden
Fresh is on target to ring in $3.4
million in catering sales this year,
but at a proft level that has nearly
doubled. The company has also
increased its outgoing marketing
messages tied to catering, which
was another challenge Mason
said the company faced when
trying to strategize the program
on its own.
“What the MMS Catering Institute
has done for us is basically
change the entire way we
cater,” Mason said. “The past
year has been a pretty radical
transformation, all in favor of
more sales and profts.”
Restaurant Catering
Software
With a sales strategy and the
correct personnel frmly in
place, Garden Fresh deployed
MonkeyMedia Software’s
MonkeyCatering business solution.
“We now have the products
and the technology to focus on
sales,” Mason said. “We’re
doing quarterly sales training
and workshops with our Catering
Sales Managers, which is
excellent. And the way we set it
up with our sales team has been
good and effective.”
With MonkeyCatering, the
company also unveiled online
ordering for catering at each of
its 45 locations that are catering
certifed.
“From a service perspective, the
technology rollout couldn’t have
been better,” Mason said. “We
had online ordering in the past
but we were only getting about
5% of orders online. With the
MonkeyCatering online ordering
platform, online activity has gone
way up and it’s interesting to
see the products that customers
are choosing when our catering
team is not involved in the order
process.”
For example, every customer that
has ordered online has purchased
a vegetable platter, which the
company is now selling at a rate
of 200+ per month.
“Before we went online we sold
zero platters because they were
labor intensive and we never
1-877-6-MONKEY
www.monkeymediasoft ware.com
@monkeymedia
©2014 MonkeyMedia Soft ware. Al l right s reser ved.
Case Study
4
suggested them as a catering
item. The same holds true for our
pizzas and breads,” Mason said.
“Online ordering will change the
way we go after catering and it’s
showing us that, operationally, we
need to be more nimble. Now that
we know what the public wants,
we have to fgure out how to give
it to them.”
Through software implementation
and the added component of
online ordering, Mason and his
sales teams have the opportunity
to track sales and customer data
that offer increased visibility into
the entire catering business.
“As with everything, it’s new
and challenging, but the visibility
is awesome. We have made
personnel decisions based on
the information and the low
performers show up quickly,”
Mason said. “We’ve also seen
catering sales, by market,
increase 20-30% - sales that are
still holding. The Pacifc Northwest
is up 30% and that was our
slowest performing market a year
ago. The MonkeyCatering
system
has changed everything for us.”
Avolio attributes the catering
partnership success to
thoughtfulness on behalf of both
sides.
We now have the products and the
technology to focus on sales.
Bob Mason, Catering Director, Garden Fresh
“The ultimate goal is to make
their catering program great,”
Avolio said. “If the Garden Fresh
team didn’t believe in catering as
a proftable business operation,
it would be in the same state
that it was three years ago.
They’ve been able to successfully
implement a new, streamlined
strategy that has turned around
their entire catering program.”
For Mason, the experience of
working with MonkeyMedia
Software and the MMS Catering
Institute has been equally as
positive.
“Both teams are excellent at what
they do,” he said. “They are
visionary in their thinking and
planning so I believe they will
always be on the cutting edge in
the restaurant world. You have all
of their resources available at your
fngertips. While implementing
a new catering program is
challenging, when you start to see
the results, it all comes together!
We had a lot of operational stuff
we had to clean up, but now that
we’re on the other side we see the
value and the opportunity, and
we’re making more money every
single day.”
1-877-6-MONKEY
www.monkeymediasoft ware.com
@monkeymedia
©2014 MonkeyMedia Soft ware. Al l right s reser ved.
The Catering Institute Team
5
The Get Catering and Grow Sales!™ System
Looking for a proven turnkey solution for your restaurant catering business? Our
Get Catering and Grow Sales!™ System provides proven strategy and education
through the MMS Catering Institute™, while the MonkeyCatering™ software
platform leverages operational effciencies leading to fawless execution and
increased profts. Get the book and get engaged.
About Erle Dardick
Erle Dardick is a 15-year catering veteran, business turn-around expert and author,
and is best known for helping multi-unit restaurant executives create successful catering
revenue channels. Erle founded MonkeyMedia Software to provide catering solutions to
multi-unit restaurant operators. He also is the author of “Get Catering and Grow Sales! A
Strategic Perspective for The Multi-Unit Restaurant Executive.”
About Wayne Alexander
With 16 years of experience and a hands-on style founded in operations and servant
leadership, Wayne has established catering as a sustained accelerated growth platform.
Through sales force talent development, organizational alignment in the multi-unit
franchised environment, centralized call center management, and program development,
Wayne reaches catering decision makers at their time of need.
About Lisa DeFeo-Bass
Since 1990 Lisa DeFeo-Bass has worked for multi-unit restaurant operations such as
Outback Steakhouse, Carrabba’s Italian Grill, and Boston Market, where her positions
have included Regional Operations Manager, Senior Sales Consultant, and National
Accounts Manager. Lisa acts as a consultant to restaurant companies developing a
catering program or have one that could run more effciently and proftably.
About Tracy Avolio
As VP, Client Services, Tracy’s role is to help multi-unit restaurant concepts develop,
implement and grow their catering program, focusing on strategic program planning
and educational training. Tracy has been in the restaurant industry for nearly 25 years
working in positions such as Marketing Manager, Sales Director, Regional Catering
Sales, and National Account Manager, with concepts such as Ruby Tuesday, Landry’s
Seafood and Boston Market.
1-877-6-MONKEY
www.monkeymediasoft ware.com
@monkeymedia
©2014 MonkeyMedia Soft ware. Al l right s reser ved.
doc_127737232.pdf