ESA - Elohi Strategic Advisors

ESA - Elohi Strategic Advisors

Food and Beverage Services

Chicago, Illinois 4,085 followers

Custom strategy and execution that empowers you to pioneer, innovate and succeed in the foodservice industry.

About us

Precision-Tuned Foodservice Solutions: Expert support and strategic guidance, precisely when your brand needs it. Focused on empowering companies to pioneer, develop, innovate, and accelerate in the food & beverage industry. We provide scalable leadership, strategy, and execution expertise across revenue generation, marketing, research & insights, product & pricing, and management to new and established food & beverage companies. We specialize in taking your new business, new product, or new segment expansion from zero to momentum. Our Team We are an integrated team of foodservice industry experts with experience in sales, marketing, and product. For the last 30 years, we have worked at large global companies, high-growth start-ups, and everything in between. We leverage our experience to set your business up for scalable, sustainable growth. Our Approach Strategy and execution go hand in hand, and doing both with excellence is critical to in-market success. For Elohi, it’s about far more than creating a deck. We’re with you every step of the way, from strategy development and resource planning to in-market execution and revenue forecasting. Our Solutions Whether you’re launching a new company, entering a new channel, or introducing a new product line, we develop the right strategic plan for you. We draw on our experience, market dynamics, consumer insights, and your business goals to craft a thoughtful go-to-market strategy focused on execution.

Website
https://www.elohi.us/
Industry
Food and Beverage Services
Company size
11-50 employees
Headquarters
Chicago, Illinois
Type
Privately Held
Founded
2015
Specialties
Sales Strategy, Pricing Strategy, Foodservice Sales, Distribution Strategy, Redistributors, P&L Management, Forecasting, Sales Training, Sales Operations, In-Market Planning, Recruiting & Onboarding, Marketing Strategy, B2B & B2C Marketing, Customer Marketing, Industry Events, Creative Services, Product Strategy, Innovation Roadmap, Marketing Collateral, Sales Toolkits, and Foodservice Overview

Locations

Employees at ESA - Elohi Strategic Advisors

Updates

  • What do #foodservice consumers want? Two things, according to this Speciality Food Magazine article: nostalgia and newness. https://bit.ly/4ekHbkx Diners want to feel comforted and pampered, with safe, comfortable, nostalgic flavors and experiences. They also want to taste the newest, trendiest flavors that take them out of their safe zone. We all want what we like, what we've always liked, and what we might like next.

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  • As usual, Mark DiDomenico has a good point. That the CPI shows inflation starting to cool, while #foodservice prices continue to rise, is an industry-wide challenge. How do you see your portion of the #valuechain responding?

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    Chief Insights Officer, Elohi Strategic Advisors, Food and Beverage Insights Expert, Moderator, Speaker, Mentor

    Surveys conducted during times of economic stress, whether high inflation, high unemployment or recession, nearly always list "cutting back on restaurant spending" as the number one way consumers cope. Current surveys are no exception. July became the 16th consecutive month of reported lower customer traffic for restaurant operators in the U.S. according to the National Restaurant Association. What's driving this trend? Inflation. Seems obvious, right?   Today's report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (https://www.bls.gov/) on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) offers a glimmer of hope. Maybe. The CPI measures the monthly change in prices paid by U.S. consumers, and it’s a leading metric for tracking inflation. It's a way of measuring how much it hurts when the restaurant check comes or when the cashier tells you your total at the grocery store. CPI had trended over 3% for most of the year, and fell to 2.5% in August. The index for food was even better, coming in at 2.1% for the most recent 12 months. While inflation for food at home was less than 1%, food away from home was still high at 4%. While inflation is cooling, restaurant prices continue to rise at an elevated rate. Why does this matter? Cost pressures have hit hard, from food to housing, and consumers need some relief. Until they get said relief, they are likely to continue cutting back on foodservice spending. The question is, "how will the industry respond?" We've seen an uptick in dealing and meal bundles already. However, excessive dealing can devalue the brand as much as the menu price. Other options are needed. This should be an industry-wide challenge. How can suppliers and foodservice operators work together to provide more value and cut costs. Increasing cross-utilization of products in the kitchen can help operators control costs and increase efficiencies. Manufacturers can help. Consumers are frustrated. During and shortly after the pandemic, they accepted restaurant price increases as a direct result of supply chain issues and increased operating costs. That acceptance has all but disappeared. A recent spate of restaurant chain bankruptcies tells the story. Action is necessary, or we can expect more filings. What other answers do you see to this complex situation? How prepared are you -- wherever you are in the foodservice value chain -- to find innovative ways of offering foodservice customers and consumers prices that work out for everyone? What win-win solutions do you see? Reach out to ESA - Elohi Strategic Advisors for expert strategy -- and expert execution -- as you navigate the complicated waters of today's economic seas.

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  • Spend some time with Elohi Strategic Advisors and Prepared Foods later this month, for a lively discussion of one of 2024's hottest topics: protein. ESA's team brings a full range of perspectives to the table, across channels -- #foodservice, #ingredient and #industrial, and #retail. And functional views that cover 360 degrees, from sales and marketing to operations to insights. Mark your calendars and don't miss this wide-angle view of proteins -- where they are now and where they're likely to go next -- from knowledgeable veterans of the #foodandbev industry.

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  • Guess who'll be leading a panel at Plant Based World Expo North America again this year! Don't miss Stephanie Lind's panel discussion with Jodi Singer Tobin, from Buyers Edge Platform and Kathy Altamirano from Odeko, about the future of bringing plant-based to the menu. The event takes place in the Javits Center on September 11-12, 2024, featuring a 100% plant-based exhibition and conference for retail and foodservice professionals. Join Stephanie and her guests there next week and use our code SPEAKER20 for 20% off paid passes (qualified buyers attend for free). Registration is open now! Learn more: https://bit.ly/4etvMiL Already registered? Be sure to add the panel to your show planner! https://bit.ly/4ebbmKZ #PBWE2024 #PlantBased

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  • Five takeways from Technomic, Inc.'s presentation at the National Restaurant Association this summer: https://bit.ly/46PDXDj ⚡ Consumers want convenience. 🗝️ Memory-making experiences are key to bringing people in the door. 🥡🥙 Global tastes rule. 🍱🥐 🏋🏾♀️ Wellness, nutrition and functional foods matter to consumers more than ever. 🌻 Both consumers and operators are committed to sustainability and alternative proteins. How does your brand help operators address these consumer needs? Retail sales and marketing messaging don't work in #foodservice, where your product is a back-of-house ingredient, rather than the star of the grocery store shelf. You know you need to address a different market in foodservice -- but do you know how? At ESA - Elohi Strategic Advisors, our decades of experience across the #foodandbev industry mean we can help your brand find your sure path to success. ➕ Follow ESA - Elohi Strategic Advisors to keep up with the latest. 🔔 Get notified when we post about #sustainability, #foodandbev, #foodwaste, #foodtrends and other topics that impact the #foodservice space. 💻 Want more info? We Should Talk! https://bit.ly/3McITZp

    Key Insights from Technomic’s 2024 Featured Session

    Key Insights from Technomic’s 2024 Featured Session

    nationalrestaurantshow.com

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    4,085 followers

    Spicy foods are like scary movies -- they allow us to take negative sensations like pain and fear and enjoy them a little. Spicy foods were one of the top trends predicted at the beginning of 2024, and this summer, CNN reports that swicy -- sweet and spicy -- is the hottest thing this summer. -- https://cnn.it/3MiDcZL Why do we like spicy foods, though? 🌶️ Risk and reward: A person's risk-taking behavior is a good predictor of their spicy food preference. 🌶️ Health benefits: Spicy foods may have potential health benefits. 🌶️ Endorphins and dopamine: Spicy foods can cause the brain to release endorphins and dopamine, which are natural pain and stress relievers and cause feelings of pleasure. 🌶️ Evolutionary adaptation: Humans may have evolved to seek foods that reduce pathogens, and spicy, capsasin-containing foods often do have anti-germ qualities. 🌶️ Cultural norms and personal preference: We like spicy foods because our society or culture teaches us to like them, or for the same complicated blend of causes we like other things -- which can amount to ... because we like them. ➕ Follow ESA - Elohi Strategic Advisors to keep up with the latest. 🔔 Get notified when we post about #sustainability, #foodandbev, #foodwaste, #foodtrends and other topics that impact the #foodservice space. 💻 Want more info? We Should Talk! https://lnkd.in/e4fTixHt

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    4,085 followers

    This article from Anthropocene Magazine points out the issues #culturedmeat has -- and will continue to have -- with public perceptions. As we found in our Taste of Change study, just a little education -- in fact, basically just a definition of the process for creating cultured meat -- changes consumers' minds. While animal welfare has driven development of #cellcultured, it may not drive adoption -- at least not without some public relations work. https://bit.ly/3YIQyWH ➕ Follow ESA - Elohi Strategic Advisors to keep up with the latest. 🔔 Get notified when we post about #sustainability, #foodandbev, #innovation, and how they impact the #foodservice space. 💻 Get more info about custom research and Taste of Change: https://lnkd.in/eF57pGZe

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  • #Foodservice #distributors depend on GDSN data for the information they need to sell products. Full stop. 🛑 Is your data correct and complete enough to work as a sell sheet for distributor sales reps? 🛑 Have you kept up with the new naming conventions? 🛑 Do you only have GDSN data for retail? The foodservice channel has different, more specific requirements. GDSN is how you sell your product to operators today. #GDSN is how data is communicated in foodservice: from you➡️ to your distributors ➡️ to your distributor's DSRs ➡️ to operators. If you're not sure you're communicating effectively and that your data represents your product accurately, reach out for an audit and support -- info@elohi.us https://bit.ly/3WI0Zr7

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  • This chart from Statista tracks the #foodservice industry's recovery since 2020, using information from the Consumer Price Index for Food Away from Home and the US Census Bureau. https://bit.ly/3WpgUdI "Restaurant sales appear to have returned to their pre-pandemic growth path." The sales increase of 36% since Feb 2020, as the accompanying article says, "underscores the industry's strength and resilience over the past three, undoubtedly challenging, years." Let's hear it for foodservice -- whatever the challenges are now, we're meeting them and growing! ➕ Follow ESA - Elohi Strategic Advisors to keep up with the latest. 🔔 Get notified when we post about #sustainability, #foodandbev, #foodwaste and other topics that impact the #foodservice space. 💻 Get more info: https://bit.ly/3yuT0Fz

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  • ESA - Elohi Strategic Advisors Product Spotlight: Trade Show Management and Optimization 💵 Trade Shows = Time/Money Investment -- AND -- Trade Shows = Opportunities and Sales Leads 💵 They're an investment ... that can have a big payoff. But only if they're done right. #Foodservice operators report that seeing a product at a #tradeshow like National Restaurant Association drives new product trial, so choosing the right events and presenting well at them is CRITICAL. Trust the ESA - Elohi Strategic Advisors Team to help you select, optimize and manage the before, during and after of your trade show experience. Best-in-class #strategy and #execution allow your marketing team to maintain focus, while maximizing the return on your trade show spend. Three-phase integration of planning, execution and follow-up means that booth traffic and engagement ➡️ lead to scans that ➡️ lead to sales. Don't squander your trade show investment -- info@elohi.us https://bit.ly/3WtzQb0 #IFMAworld #coex #RLC #NACS2024 #NACSShow #PlantBasedWorld Plant Based World Expo North America #NACUFS NACUFS #ExpoWest Natural Products Expo #IDDBA IDDBA #MenuDirections The Culinary Institute of America

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