FROZEN-FOOD PANEL SHEDS LIGHT ON COLD EQUATIONS

CAROL ANGRISANI

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. -- Category management, duplication vs. variety and the effect of the fresh department were among the topics a panel of retailers, brokers and manufacturers discussed at the National Frozen Food Month Kickoff and Frozen Food Seminar here.

Participants in the question-and-answer discussion were John Crawford, grocery merchandiser at Winn-Dixie; Kevin Pruitt, frozen-food buyer for Harris Teeter; Peter Fulton, director of frozens at Acosta Sales; Wayne Castay, Mid-Atlantic zone manager of Freezer Queen; Tommy Fincher, vice president of perishables for Rogers America-Charlotte, N.C.; and Ron Suchecki, vice president of sales at Mrs. T's Pierogies.

Following are excerpts from the forum.

QUESTION: What impact has category management had on the number of new items presented in the frozen-food category on an annual basis?

PRUITT: Category management for us is beginning to take effect. Our stockkeeping units are down 10% from last year. What impact does National Frozen Food Month have on your business? Do you see a recognizable difference in frozen-food volume during this period?

FINCHER: There's a tremendous amount of support in the Carolinas for this event. In the Southeast, it seems retailers have gotten more involved in NFFM.

CRAWFORD: Over the last few years, we've taken a more active part in NFFM. The promotional support from brokers and manufacturers has created excitement. We've seen a big aftereffect. The [excitement] goes into the summer months. It's been positive for us. In the frozen-food category, which subcategories has your company experienced the most success with during the past 12 months? To what do you attribute this growth?

PRUITT: Pizza. We instituted a private-label program a year ago. It's having a phenomenal success.

Other subcategories include vegetable polybag meal starters and novelties, which have shown growth due to multiple and aggressive pricing. Do deep-cut retail promotional activities have the effect on business they did for categories five years ago?

PRUITT: If you look at a Harris Teeter ad today vs. a year ago, it's different. Before, it was a shopping list of products, which wasn't benefiting us because consumers were only looking at the front and back.

Now, we're down to 50 items and we're doing deep discounts on them.

CRAWFORD: Freestanding inserts aren't doing much for our business. They only have a 2% redemption rate. Some of the major manufacturers have moved away from FSIs. Consumers today want to taste new and unusual products. That's where our opportunity is.

CASTAY: It's more of a tool, from a manufacturer's standpoint. We started doing FSIs a few years ago. We experienced an 8% to 12% redemption rate.

Of all frozen-food categories, which would you recognize as making the largest transition or change in promotional strategy over the past five years, and how?

PRUITT: Entrees and pizza. They're both meal solutions. We used to promote them as a temporary price reduction. Now we're looking to tie them in with a specific item with a theme.

CRAWFORD: Pizza and fish are offering much greater opportunities. With pizza, we're doing multiple pricing because it offers the consumer the opportunity to mix and match. With fish, we're cross merchandising.

Many categories, such as produce and fresh prepared, have made great strides in today's supermarket. Has this growth been positive or negative for frozen food and how?

CRAWFORD: Probably more negative than positive. But there are positives. There are many frozen-food items that consumers would purchase if they could just smell them.