DELIS WEIGH IN WITH HEALTHY SANDWICHES

ROSEANNE HARPER

SCHENECTADY, N.Y. -- Price Chopper Supermarkets is the first of several retailers to embark on a program that could change the image of in-store delis by emphasizing healthy sandwich creations formulated to satisfy the respected Weight Watchers "point" system -- and take a bite out of food-service rivals promoting their own popular line of low-fat options.

It's the type of initiative that's been missing in supermarket delis -- traditionally perceived by consumers as a high-fat destination of mayonnaise-based salads and fatty cold cuts, retailers and industry observers told SN.

"People who are watching their weight have stayed away from the deli. They think of soppresata and salami when they think of the deli. Now we're letting them know they can get a light sandwich from the deli, one that tastes good," said a deli director at one of the chains.

Other retailers who have so far embraced the program, developed by deli-meat manufacturer Hansel 'n Gretel, include Weis Markets, Sunbury, Pa., and Morton Williams Associated Stores, Bronx, N.Y. A&P began testing it in its northern New Jersey division last week.

Price Chopper's heavily promoted program features Hansel 'n Gretel's recipes for healthy and interesting-sounding sandwiches. The retailer is using a half-page ad in its chainwide circular and giant, full-color posters in front windows of each unit to pull customers from the front of the store into the deli. There, customers can pick up an attractive brochure, created by Hansel 'n Gretel, that lists nutritionist-tested recipes for nine sandwiches that average 192 calories. The range, depending on the ingredients, is 170 to 220 calories, and most have three Weight Watchers points.

The posters are an eye-catcher at the entrance to Price Chopper stores. In an obvious takeoff on the much-publicized Subway sandwich diet, they include the tease line: "You don't have to take a subway to lose a belt size!" At the bottom of the poster is a line of type that says, "Visit Our Service Deli for a Free Recipe Booklet."

Other chains have launched the same program, engineered by the Glendale, N.Y.-based provisioner, which makes the Healthy Deli line. The effort has been dubbed Delirobics

Ron Walser, Hansel 'n Gretel's chief operating officer and the man behind the marketing program, told SN this program takes easy, healthy dieting a step further than Subway's program does.

"Ours has plenty of meat but fewer total calories, and we not only list the calories and fat content, but we also indicate the number of points for each sandwich, which I think will attract anybody who knows anything about that system," Walser said.

The Weight Watchers point system takes into account calories, fat content and fiber content per portion of any food. According to the amount of each of those three things in a single serving, it is assigned points. The idea is to make calculating what is healthy eating easy.

It's a lot simpler than counting total calories and percentage of fat, Walser said. Weight Watchers members who talked to SN heartily agreed. So did Dick Carnathan, director of deli/meat/seafood operations at 163-unit Weis Markets.

"It is so easy. Incorporating Weight Watchers points in this program is just about as intelligent as you can get," he said.

Of the nine sandwiches featured in the brochure, seven have three points each and two have four points. In comparison, a plain slice of pizza has nine points and a cup of regular yogurt has five. Typically, a man weighing 200 to 224 pounds is allowed 24 to 29 points a day under the Weight Watchers' program.

At A&P, Sal Zinzi, category manager, home meal replacement, for the chain's Atlantic region, praised the way Hansel 'n Gretel set up the Delirobics program by incorporating points and creating recipes for good-tasting sandwiches.

"This will get the customer over by us now. So many people are on diets these days and if they walk on past the deli it doesn't do me any good," Zinzi said.

At A&P's flagship store in Woodcliff Lakes, N.J., SN noted that the service deli was targeting Super Bowl watchers with the program. Beneath a red banner featuring a photo of big Delirobics sandwiches, each of four starburst signs saying "Game Special" listed a variety of Healthy Deli meat and its price.

While the A&P division gave the program a soft launch last week, it will officially send it off on Feb. 9 with a half-page ad in its circular. Headlined "Helping You Keep Your New Year's Resolution," six Healthy Deli meats will be spotlighted at their regular retail of $6.99 a pound, not at a special price.

Zinzi explained that he wants to see if the product and the program themselves, not the price, will drive sales. If they do, the program will be rolled out everywhere, he said.

At Morton Williams Associated, Bronx, N.Y., vice president of deli and meat operations, Richard Travaglione, said he finished the rollout of the program to all nine of the chains' stores last Monday.

"I held a seminar to show the deli managers how to make the sandwiches. I've tried them. They actually taste good and they fill you up. You feel like you've eaten a regular sandwich," said Travaglione.