A&P CIRCULAR CRANKING UP THE HEAT ON GARLIC TOAST

ROSEANNE HARPER

MONTVALE, N.J. -- A&P here devoted an unusual amount of space in a recent ad circular to garlic toast.

Half the chain's weekly bakery ad -- about an eighth of a tabloid-size page -- was used to promote the product.

The ad featured a full-color photo of loaves of bread displayed in wicker baskets. Superimposed on the photo was this message: "Have you tried? Store-baked garlic toast. Our own store-baked, $1.99 pound." Underneath the price, the ad said, "We bake our own Italian bread fresh every day. We then apply our own special recipe garlic spread generously, and create a garlic toast that is ideal for snacks, dips or use as croutons."

Officials at A&P's corporate offices here did not return SN's phone calls seeking comment.

A bakery consultant who has worked extensively with supermarkets told SN it's highly unusual to devote so much space to this type of product, one that's generally made from stales.

"I don't know of anyone else who has made such a big thing of a secondary product, but it's a brilliant marketing move. Both the amount of ad space and pricing it by the pound are different," said Ed Weller, president of Weller Co., a North Hollywood, Calif., consulting and marketing firm.

The visibility the ad provided is apparently not being extended to in-store merchandising, judging from a visit to A&P's store in Woodcliff Lake, N.J., the week that the ad ran.

The toast, made from baguette slices and packed in clamshell containers, was displayed in three bottom-row wicker bins of a six-bin display.

An associate said she didn't know whether the product was new or whether it will be available on a regular basis.

The packages of toast were marked down from their original retails by 25%.