FIESTA MART MAGAZINE IS SET FOR WEB

BARBARA MURRAY

HOUSTON -- Fiesta Mart stores here has begun promoting Caribbean and Nigerian foods in its Viva Fiesta! ethnic marketing magazine, and has added the publication to its Web site, www.fiestamart.com, according to Carrie Compian, international food buyer for the retailer.

Some stores do very well with Sylvia's Soul Food brand, Compian said. New at Fiesta Mart stores are Sylvia's Secret Chicken Rub, Honey Sweet Golden Cornbread and Muffin Mix, and a line of packaged gravies.

The bimonthly, eight-page magazine also promotes weekly cooking classes in the store on Blalock and Katy Freeway here, which help sell grocery products, Compian said. The slick publication is mailed to customers in ZIP codes in areas served by the six stores that currently carry the widest variety of international foods, said Compian. The schedule of dates, times and culinary topics for two months is included in the magazine, along with details about how to sign up.

The cooking classes have broadened their reach, Compian said. Although instructors are usually local, sometimes the chain brings in chefs from farther afield. Tommy Tang, for example, a TV chef from Los Angeles known for Thai cuisine and his own line of retail frozen foods, taught a recent class. The culinary school recently tied in with a Caribbean-food promotion, with a chef sent by the Caribbean Export Trade Agency, Compian added.

Besides international foods, the magazine promotes specialty and natural food for some of its key upscale stores, Compian explained. "Every one of our stores is different. We don't have the full international specialty and natural foods variety in every single store, just some.

"We use the magazine as a tool to feature new items, and of course we promote what we have going on," she said. The May/June issue, for example, focused on Mayfest, featuring German products such as Lowensenf hot mustard, Appel canned herring, Gundelsheim canned soups and Bismarck sparkling mineral water. No prices were given, but they will be added in future issues of the magazine.