RETAIL SOLUTIONS

The Food Marketing Institute has just published research data that could help retailers reach a wider range of meal-seeking consumers.

hich groups to target based on their own market area and their stores' strengths.

"Supermarkets can satisfy the different needs from several departments. Once you understand that, then you know it goes beyond food service. How to pull things together to sell them is the challenge," said Kai Robertson, senior manager in research, FMI.

Researchers suggest that retailers approach meal solutions as a category, making it a distinct business operation, separate from the deli.

The options themselves are divided into four categories based on their degree of table-readiness: ready-to-eat, ready-to-heat, ready-to-prepare and ready-to-create.

A meal solution might include a combo of those options; for example, a ready-to-prepare entree from the meat department, sides from the deli or frozen departments and whole-grain bread or a dessert from the bakery.

The researchers point out that frozen items could be a particular boon because restaurants don't usually offer them, and don't have the space for them even if they wanted to.

The six different groups of consumers identified are: on-the-go jugglers, healthy family cooks, gut-stuffing indulgents, meat-and-potato cooks, strict food monitors, and thrifty food balancers.

The three that represented the largest segments of respondents were strict food monitors, comprising 20% of all meals seekers; followed by meat-and-potato cooks and on-the-go jugglers, both of which made up 18%.

Strict food monitors need to know what is in their food, but they tend to be on-the-go, so they are a good target for supermarket meal solutions strategies, the researchers said. They are more interested in healthy choices than in fast ones.

Meat-and-potato cooks prefer traditional family meals and usually take time to plan and prepare, often cooking from scratch. Price is important to them.

On the other hand, time is the decisive issue with on-the-go jugglers, and would respond well to fax, phone and on-line ordering options, separate checkouts, dedicated parking, and convenient packaging, the report says.

The other consumer segments, as described by the researchers, include:

Healthy family cooks -- At 13% of the sample, this group prefers brand names and eats plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables, and is willing to spend more money.

Gut-stuffing indulgents -- Representing 15% of the sample, this is the group that's served by the fast-food industry and could be attracted with the variety in the frozen department. * Thrifty food balancers -- This group, representing 16% of the sample, is driven by price and value. They plan ahead for dinner, have time to cook from scratch, and are interested in serving a balanced meal. Private-label brands appeal to this consumer, the research showed.

The study also found that the majority of all respondents consider the planning and the clean-up the most frustrating parts of the meal process.

That underscores the need to offer suggested menus and to bundle parts of the meal -- such as entree, sides and dessert -- to save the consumer both time and decision-making, the researchers said. And cooking bags or disposable pans as part of the solution could address clean-up concerns, they added.

The study, conducted by The NPD Group and sponsored by Hobart Corp., involved qualitative data gathered in 18 focus groups across the U.S. A questionnaire was then developed to probe further into consumer needs identified in the focus groups, and was distributed to more than 2,600 consumers.

The research report, entitled, "Beyond Food Service... How Consumers View Meals," is $35 for FMI members and $70 for non-FMI members. It can be ordered by contacting FMI publication sales at (202) 452-8444.