MONTVALE, N.J. -- A&P is one of the East Coast supermarkets promoting a supplier-sponsored, national sandwich recipe contest at its deli service counters this summer.
Tear-off entry forms for submission of customers' favorite sandwich recipes using Finlandia cheese are provided on an easel in all A&P's SuperFresh, Waldbaum's and A&P banner stores.
Finlandia Cheese, Parsippany, N.J., is offering an all-expenses-paid trip to Hawaii to the consumer who submits what they judge as the recipe for the "most creative, great-tasting sandwich." Four runners-up will get $500 gift certificates to their favorite supermarket.
A&P officials believe this type of contest can pep up department activity as well as boost cheese sales. "[The contest] creates excitement within the store because it lets the customer know something is going on in the deli section," said Manny Skounakis, category manager, cheese, A&P USA. "It gives Finlandia brand awareness, and certainly gives us a sales lift in the whole category. We'll gear our deli ad around the contest one week this summer, and maybe run a line with the [Finlandia] logo even before that, just to raise awareness."
A&P offers 12 stockkeeping units of Finlandia brand cheese, two of them in bulk, to be custom-sliced at the deli service counter.
That's where most customers buy it, Skounakis said. There are also five types of chunks and five types of pre-sliced, vacuum-packed product merchandised in two different island cases, he added.
Part of the Finlandia promotion includes coupons for 55 cents off any Finlandia cheese product that weighs six ounces or more. In fact, the entry forms have a coupon attached, and there's an instant-redemption coupon on the packages of pre-sliced Finlandia.
Earlier this year, A&P delis cooperated with the Irish Dairy Board in a contest that involved Irish products including cheese and butter.
