A PACKAGE DEAL

RICHARD TURCSIK

Judging by the move in this direction by some major players, offering meal solutions in Center Store is an idea whose time has come.

Albertson's, Pathmark and Harps are among the chains including Center Store products in their everyday meal solutions programs by offering a weekly recipe or

menu prepared for shoppers that usually features the week's sale items or special prices if all ingredients are purchased. Successful meal solutions programs also use ingredients found in the store's other departments, in addition to the canned and prepared items found on the Center Store shelves.

These and other supermarket operators are responding to the fact that time-pressed shoppers no longer have time to sit and plot out a weekly menu, let alone cook it. Instead shoppers are turning to restaurant concepts like Boston Market and Eatzi's and even increasing their reliance on the McDonald's and Wendy's of the world for their evening meals.

"We realize that our competitors are now the restaurants and fast food joints and we have got to get people cooking again and back into the grocery store," said Karen Ramsey, assistant advertising manager at Harps Food Stores, Springdale, Ark. "We focus so much on the discounter down the road instead of the real threat, which is the restaurants and places where you can drive through and pick up."

"Most people are coming to the store somewhat harried for time," noted Paul J. Kelly, principal in Silvermine Consulting Group, Westport, Conn. "They don't want to spend a whole lot of time in the store, which is unfortunate for the store; but they want to be able to come out of the store with something that they can cook for dinner tonight and maybe tomorrow night. They can't look out much further than that."

"Various statistics show 60% of consumers don't know what they are having for dinner at four in the afternoon. At this point in time, the average time to prepare a meal is 15 minutes," said Jon Kramer, president of J. Brown/LMC Group, a Stamford, Conn.-based consulting firm. "I think this is really part of a very significant evolution for the future, and one that is going to gain momentum.

"I really see meal solutions as a tremendous opportunity for supermarkets in a way to provide them with the relevance that they've lost over the last 15 years. It is a major growing arena, and it is growing a lot faster than we anticipated it would," he added. "This [meal solutions] is going to put supermarkets in a position where they cannot be emulated, imitated or picked off by nonfood trade classes like Wal-Mart or clubs because those people structurally cannot compete on that basis," said Chris Hoyt, president of Hoyt & Co., a consulting firm based in Stamford, Conn.

"Kmart can sell food, but they can't sell meal solutions," he added. "What meal solutions are doing is insulating the supermarkets from the assaults of the nonfood trade classes because the nonfood trade classes are not structured to sell meals. Kmart can sell the top stockkeeping units of Tide and Heinz ketchup, but they cannot put a meal together," Hoyt said.

"If supermarkets continue along this line they will see real market share growth," he predicted.

For example, Harps has had success with its Quick & Easy Menu Planner, a program in which a daily dinner menu featuring the week's specials, and designed by Ramsey, appears on the third page of the chain's weekly circular.

One week's menu featured items like beef stroganoff, rice, garden salad and crescent rolls; pancakes, sausage and syrup, and orange juice; and chicken patties on a sesame seed bun with melted Swiss cheese, potato chips and pork and beans. Center store items suggested for the recipes included Campbell's cream of mushroom soup, Best Choice apple sauce, Showboat pork and beans, Riceland rice, Guy's potato chips and Mrs. Butterworth's pancake mix and syrup.

"We always try to have items from all the departments so that the customer has to go through the whole store. I always include a few items that are not on [special] that get the customer into another aisle. You can save them money, but also get them down more aisles. It is appreciated," Ramsey explained.

"I also group the items together, such as meat, fruits and vegetables and canned goods so that they can make sure they get everything when they are in that section. It allows them to go through the store quickly," she added.

Woodbridge, N.J.-based Pathmark Stores introduced its Smart Meals program late last year. With Smart Meals, a different meal is featured in Pathmark's weekly circular. The meals include discounted items from grocery aisles, frozen foods and perishables departments. All items featured must be purchased in order for the discount to be received.

In recent weeks, Smart Meals have included items such as Topps frozen hamburgers, Pathmark frozen crinkle cut potatoes, hamburger rolls, Campbell's pork and beans and a six-pack of Coca-Cola for $6.99, or $1.75 per serving, compared with $9.56 if purchased separately. An Italian dinner Smart Meal featured two jars of Prego spaghetti sauce, two boxes of Ronzoni spaghetti, Capri Italian bread, Pathmark garden salad and a 2-liter bottle of Coke or diet Coke for $4.99, compared with $7.74 if purchased individually.

"A strategy like this probably makes a lot more sense than a category management approach. It is not just the spaghetti sauce category, but Italian meals that I'm going to manage. That is the way the shopper really shops this category anyway. They don't just go to the Ragu section to pick up a jar of sauce," said Silvermine's Kelly.

Pathmark officials declined to comment about the success of the Smart Meals program .

Albertson's, Boise, Idaho, instituted its Quick Fixin' Ideas campaign in February. Drawing from all departments, including Center Store, frozens, meat, dairy, produce and deli/bakery, the program is merchandised using in-store fliers, signs, newspaper ads and demonstrations. Albertson's also features the ingredients on sale in its circulars.

Albertson's officials could not be reached for comment.

Harps is also branching out in other ways. In addition to its Quick & Easy Menu Planner program, the chain has teamed up with Recipes by Margaret, a local woman with a site on the Worldwide Web.

"We didn't want to set up our own Web page, but this is a great way to get into the Internet without going full course. Margaret has her Web site set up and people can call in and leave questions, etc.," Ramsey said.