CLEMENS ROLLS OUT 'EASY MEAL' DISPLAY, DEMO PROGRAM

Roseanne Harper

KULPSVILLE, Pa. -- Clemens Markets has launched a "Meals in Minutes" program that brings ingredients together in one spot and features chainwide demos.

Fresh beef shoulder tenders, used in a gorgonzola-roasted pepper steak sandwich on ciabatta bread, were featured in the chain's most recent demo.

"We had random-weight packages of the shoulder tenders right there [at the demo station] as well as all the other ingredients," said Chriss Ruth, merchandising specialist, natural/organics/specialty foods, at the 20-unit chain. "We want to make it convenient for the customer. Sales of all items used in the recipe were up significantly, and we received a lot of positive comments from customers. They said the meat was delicious and that they appreciated the meal idea."

Recipes used in the program are developed by Clemens dietitian Marnie Sherno.

In addition to beef shoulder tenders, this particular recipe used ciabatta bread baked in the stores' bakeries and two of the chain's proprietary label products: 213 West Main Street brand roasted peppers and steak rub.

"When we do these displays and demos, we're looking to create awareness of our specialty private-label items as well as of other products," Ruth said.

The gorgonzola-roasted pepper steak sandwich tastings, just before the July Fourth weekend, were co-sponsored by the Pennsylvania Beef Council, an affiliate of Centennial, Colo.-based National Cattlemen's Beef Association.

Relatively new, the shoulder tenders, also called petit tenders, have gained sales momentum recently, an NCBA spokesman said.

Along with other new cuts, shoulder tenders are a product of years of research, supported by the beef checkoff program, that focused on isolating muscles in the chuck and round. The cuts are flavorful and tender, and can be sold at lower retails than more well-known cuts.

Prior to the demos, the Pennsylvania Beef Council's promotions coordinator Carrie Bomgardner prepped Clemens' full-time, 14-person demo team on the origins and versatility of beef shoulder tenders. A tasting was part of the pre-demo education.

"They all liked the tenders," Bomgardner said. "It's great that Clemens has their own demo people. They're very interested in what they're doing."

Clemens plans to set up permanent, refrigerated cases displaying the ingredients featured in the Meals in Minutes recipe in each store, but the cases are still in the pilot stage, Ruth said.

All stores will demo the finished product on one weekend each month, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Ruth told SN. A color photo of the entree will be displayed at the station, and recipe cards will be handed out. Typically, the demo kicks off with two weeks of advertising the recipe's ingredients at a special price.

In this case, nearly a third of a page in the chain's ad circular described the sandwich and offered shoulder tenders at $1 off their everyday retail of $5.99 a pound. Often, manufacturers of ingredients help support the ads and demos, but Ruth said Clemens is committed to having a meals display and monthly demo regardless of supplier support.

The new Meals in Minutes series kicked off in the spring with a Cinco de Mayo theme. The opener featured chicken fajitas using Perdue ShortCuts, Green Mountain salsa, Tabasco sauce and other ingredients.

During the two weeks following, sales of Perdue ShortCuts were up 155% over a comparable period, sales of Green Mountain salsa shot up 39%, and Tabasco sauce sales jumped up a whopping 489%, Ruth said.