MELROSE PARK, Ill. -- For Jewel Food Stores here, successful fresh meals marketing is increasingly becoming a balancing act, and it is tweaking that balance in its latest prototype meals format.
For the 158-store chain, that act includes balancing consumers' quickly changing needs for prepared foods with the operator's own desire to preserve its core strengths in merchandising, chain officials told SN.
It means reconciling the benefits that gourmet products can afford to image, with the benefits that everyday meals products accrue to sales.
It also means juggling the various options available for sourcing meals items, and finding equilibrium between the pull for stores-specific assortments and the force calling for program continuity from unit to unit.
Fresh-meal solutions are in the spotlight at the latest Jewel/Osco formats, which the chain considers a "customer-friendly" approach that is heavy on fresh foods.
Probably the best working example of this meals marketing philosophy is in the Naperville, Ill., Jewel/Osco, which opened earlier this year.
On entering, customers are greeted by a powerful perishables presentation, with deli, bakery and produce in the fore.
A large kitchen area dominates, and an expanded grab-and-go section featuring salads and sandwiches is spotlighted. There is an additional 6-foot multideck case with preplated meals; then the traditional sliced meats and cheeses and service entrees.
Balance rules in the meals section. There are hot and cold items in service and self-service guises. Complete meals alongside fresh meal components pointedly demonstrate the cross merchandising potential.
Chain executives told SN they listened to customers, then tested their research in select units prior to deepening the commitment to the prepared-foods business.
"What we heard is that customers seek higher quality perishables," said Nancy Chagares, vice president of Chef's Kitchen, bakery and floral merchandising. "Perishables were cited as actually defining the quality of shopping."
The chain tried to plot out a design that is more "customer friendly," Chagares said. Entry is easy into the chain's Chef's Kitchen, bakery, floral and produce departments, for example. "You are 'hit' with deli, bakery and produce upon entering the store," she said.
The bunching of fresh foods not only attracts customers sensually; it also makes sense in terms of cross merchandising opportunities. The meal solutions take advantage of the synergy among the Chef's Kitchen, deli, bakery and produce departments, Chagares explained. "From the customer's perspective, it just makes sense. Plus, it is easier in execution from a store perspective," she said.
Chagares said that keeping an eye on the latest in consumer food trends does not mean Jewel will lose sight of the merchandising strengths it already commands.
"We do a tremendous volume in salads and sandwiches," she explained. "There are a lot of niche operators who are trying to take our business. We are striving to develop what we already have, not ignoring the core of business."
And the balancing act is far from perfected, she added. "The answer to meal solutions is that there is none. We will continually experiment and listen to our customers and take steps to expand, revise and adjust."
One continuous challenge is getting product to stores faster and fresher. Jewel's new order makes freshness a priority, and the chain built a state-of-the-art distribution facility in 1996 to more effectively pursue it. This facility allows the chain a 24-hour turnaround of product, Chagares said.
Jewel expects the fresh-meals program to benefit more directly from integration with this distribution system over the next few months, she said. The chain is also evaluating how it uses labor and other factors bearing on how meals items get to market.
"To be successful, there has to be a mix of how meal-solution items come into the store. We have to manage at the store level, to utilize labor efficiently and maximize profitability. Food service traditionally combines a mix of products," Chagares noted.
For Jewel's meal program, at present about half of the preplated chilled meals are made in-store, while the other half comes in frozen.
The in-store prepared segment takes full advantage of the chain's deepening commitment to rotisserie fare; the chicken, turkey and pork roast are plated up with vegetable side dishes.
Rotisserie is the linchpin of Jewel's current fresh-meal solutions strategy. Close to all of Jewel's units run a pair of rotisserie ovens. "We have made quite a large capital investment to give the stores two rotisseries each," said Chagares. "The prototype units also include a two-tier hot-foods case, which can display up to 50 containers."
Besides whole birds, turkey breast, pork roast, ribs and chicken parts fill out the case's offerings, along with side dish and potato items and pot pies. This wide variety of products is offered from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. to capture the lunch bunch as well as the dinner crowd.
Chagares said the breadth of the rotisserie program is a key, and its effectiveness is what led chain executives to add the large hot cases to the prototype meals presentation.
"This is an opportunity to offer customers hot grab-and-go items that do compete from a quality standpoint," Chagares pointed out. Units are allowed to adjust the mix as their customer base dictates. For example, more chicken parts might be available during traditional lunch hours, while whole bird counts would be bumped up during the dinner hours.
Other offerings, such as pasta and meat loaf, come to the units frozen, from outside vendors. For salads and some other products, base components are shipped to the store where fresh ingredients are incorporated.
Parity must also be found in the price-value positioning of the assortment.
"You have to have balance," Chagares said. "It is expensive to make good-looking product, and you have to keep asking, where is the balance. Gourmet items are what everyone wants to see, but they are not necessarily what they want to buy. In some areas, gourmet items do well, it depends on the demographics. You have to cater to differences."
To help strike the balance, the chain mandates five items from its menu of 25 plated meals, for the sake of advertising consistency and program continuity across stores.
"We want to cater to our customers' needs, so out of the remainder of choices, the stores are asked to select what they feel their customers will choose. But they still must be offering a good balance in variety. It is important to provide guidelines for execution and consistent implementation.
"We pride ourselves on offering customers a value equation. We give them quality at reasonable prices, with a mix that offers variety," Chagares said.
Chagares pointed to the cheese category, with its 400 varieties. The chain sets the case depending upon the demands of each local marketing area. Thirty-five Jewel/Osco units, for example, are located within the Chicago city limits and command a strong Hispanic penetration. The cheese set for these units differs greatly from the suburban cheese set.
In the ready-made meal area, each unit maintains flexibility in variety and selection. "In those Hispanic-oriented units, there are more ethnic items, including burritos. In the suburban units there are more traditional offerings with lasagna and meat loaf."
