Recipe Kiosks Drive Center Store Sales at Independents

COMMERCE, Calif. — A four-store test of a recipe kiosk, conducted by member independent retailers of Unified Western Grocers here, is finding that the kiosk is leading shoppers to purchase products cited by the recipes. The kiosks, from ShoptoCook, Buffalo, have been piloted since January at one store each by O’Brien’s Marketplace in Modesto, Calif.; Stump’s Marketplace in San Diego; Beale’s Thriftway in Portland, Ore.; and Lamb’s Thriftway, also in Portland. “The ShoptoCook Recipe Center really helps promote the center store,” said Ray Van Wetten, executive director of retail support services for Unified, in a statement. “Once shoppers print out the recipe and the possible food pairings, they buy the ingredients in the store, sometimes with a coupon from the kiosk. That’s a value-added opportunity.” He added that one of the four retailers testing the kiosk “already wants to expand it to his other four stores.” The kiosks, which are installed in more than 300 U.S. supermarkets, are typically located in a perishables department such as meat, seafood, produce, or wine and cheese.