Surviving the Summer Months
March 24th, 2008 | 
Author: Easter has just passed (barely) and it looks like we have a straight shot into summer. Depending on each school there is about two months until the summer vacation hits and everything that goes with it. Now, summer months were not kind last year, with many people leaving comments on the severe drop in business and many are still reeling from its effects. With that in mind what is the strategy for this summer?
Without trying to over-emphasize this may be the make or break time for many out there. The previous year had a big slow down for summer, which lead into a slower than normal Thanksgiving and of course less than optimal Christmas. In essence we are coming up on 6+ months of struggling sales and if history repeats itself it could be very trying times.
· I think the water shortage will be widespread just like it was last year.
· Gas is higher than it was last year – will that be helpful or a hindrance as far as people staying close to home and food prep?
· The economy is slumping – I’m not sure it’s as bad as earlier predicted, but definitely not the best.
· Food prices are higher than last year – mainly due to gas prices.
So there are some strikes against meal assembly and the restaurant business in general. I see articles that consumers are already to show their frustration at rising prices. What is the plan of attack to make MA attractive to customers this year? Grilling is always a good choice, but you obviously people can get their own steak, chicken, etc to grill and having just one or two grilling items won’t really be that big of a draw. Advertising, and getting it started early is a key component, but where and with whom? The topic got a bit of a kickstart not too long ago right here,
http://www.mealassemblywatch.com/Forum/index.php?topic=156.0,
but even then many have hit the ceiling with “I’ve tried everythingâ€.
I already know of many people getting their Fourth of July plans together and planning vacations. With so many more people offering the carryout option can prepared meals be a part of the vacation plan? It got a lot of favor the first time around, last year it didn’t hold much sway, will people see it as convenient this year?
It’s been a slow start and a lot of new factors coming into play this time around. How is a meal assembly owner going to survive the summer?
And let us not forget those in the Dream Dinners camp. They’ve had a series of meetings which hopefully resulted in helpful ideas to implement for the summer.
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