GREECE IS THE WORD

BARBARA MURRAY

Specialty retailers are pushing their Greek Center Store products through promotions while continuing to stock their shelves with authentic and diversified items.

Mollie Stone's markets, based in Mill Valley, Calif., ran a Greek Easter sale the week before Greek Orthodox Easter, which was Apr. 30 this year, a week after the mainstream Easter.

"This is the first time we're doing it," Dave Bennett, co-owner of the small chain, told SN. "We want to start expanding our holiday program, and we were looking for different holiday opportunities that we never did before." He said the staff decided on Greek Easter months ago, and consulted with some of Mollie Stone's customers from the Bay Area communities who are knowledgeable about Greek cooking.

Not only did the chain put whole lamb on sale, but it also included Center Store products; some obvious ones like Greek olives and orzo, the rice-shaped pasta, but also some less obvious ones, like chicken broth, which is used to make traditional soups and savory stews. Grape leaves, jarred and canned, went on sale along with items in the deli and produce departments. The sale was linked to the wine and spirits department, too, where Metaxa ouzo was specially priced. In the frozens department, phyllo dough was on sale.

At Whole Foods in San Francisco, Nanci Burg, demo and events coordinator, said the grocery aisles' Greek selection is pretty much olive-based, but the deli offers spanikopita and fresh dolma at all times, along with varied Greek olives.

Greek ethnic food is in demand throughout the year, so Zingerman's Delicatessen, Ann Arbor, Mich., is not promoting it at any special time, said Alex Pratt, assistant manager of the retail department. However, the deli used to, and may at some time in the future, run a Greek Month promotion.

On an ongoing basis, Pratt said the store carries Greek olive oils, "red wine vinegar that's wonderful," some Greek mountain honeys, chamomile and sage grown in Greece -- which can be brewed for tea -- and some tapenades, made with kalamata and hondroleia olives.

Most of Zingerman's Greek products come from importers such as Hellas International, Salem, Mass. Areti Skalkos, one of the owners, said they have not targeted supermarkets, but rather specialty markets, "because the ordinary supermarket consumer usually does not want to pay that extra dollar. We have high standards on our products, so we find it hard to get some movement into everyday supermarkets."

Skalkos said Hellas sells to Harris Teeter's top 20 stores, and Fresh Markets, a small chain in North Carolina, and is currently working with QFC stores in Seattle and others on the West Coast, like Andronico's and Whole Foods.

Zagara's, Mount Laurel, N.J. carries the canned or jarred sour cherries, baby oranges and kumquats that are offered to guests in Greek-American homes, according to John Zagara, president.

His two stores, which are owned by Genuardi's, also carry Papagalos brand coffee and Lakerda, a bonita fish that is pickled and packed in olive oil.

Zagara's has cultivated a relationship with Divina, a small family company in Greece, which carries a full line of Greek olives, its own capers and oils, olive and canola. "They have really good sweet red peppers, from the Nestos River region in northern Greece, and they have their own couscous made from the highest grade of durum semolina wheat," Zagara said.

"We are planning on taking some trips over there, and featuring products from the region in our cooking school. We like to do region themes, and tie in all the products," Zagara added.

Imports are steadily increasing, showing a gain of about 40% to 50% during the last decade, with around $100 million worth of food products from Greece shipped to the U.S. annually, according to Yannis Papadimitriou, the counselor of economic and commercial affairs at the Consulate General of Greece, New York, N.Y.

Some major supermarket chains he mentioned that have included Greek food items are Giant, in Washington, D.C.; Safeway in California; Sutton Place Gourmet/Balducci's in Washington and the Northeast; Pathmark in New York and New Jersey; Kings Supermarkets, Parsippany, N.J.; Gristede's in New York City, which is owned by Greek-Americans; D'Agostino's; Tops Friendly Markets in Buffalo; Zingerman's in Ann Arbor; and Star Markets in Boston, to name a few. "The number is growing," Papadimitriou said.

Supermarkets follow trends set in restaurants, said Papadimitriou and others in the industry. "Greek foods are discovered as being part of the Mediterranean diet," which has been shown to have health benefits. In addition, he said, "There is an increased interest in Greek foods, also because they are known to be made from pure ingredients, not chemically processed."

At this summer's Fancy Food Show, to be held at the Jacob Javits Center in New York in July, the Greek area will include about 50 exhibitors, a small increase over last year. Even better, "We will be exhibiting at the very center of the main hall, so it will be hard to miss us," Papadimitriou said.

Sometimes American companies adapt Greek flavors, as Gardenburger has done with its "Classic Greek" frozen meat alternative patty made with kalamata olives and feta cheese, introduced a couple of years ago. It's doing well, said Wendy Preiser, director of retail marketing for Gardenburger, Portland, Ore. "It mirrors the consumer's desire to have products that are more flavorful and gives them added benefits from gourmet ingredients. It also plays into the consumer's desire for ethnic foods," she added.

"Greek and Mediterranean foods have been hot for years in restaurants. We look at restaurant trends for guidance as to what will be up and coming in the grocery store, and we also talk to consumers a lot about it."

The Greek veggie burger is intended to reach a more mainstream consumer who is looking for variety, "because chicken, fish and pasta can get really dull day after day," Preiser said.

Cost is sometimes an issue among Greek items. Premium Greek olive oil, such as the Morea brand, can sell for as much as $20 for half a liter. "The process and the handling makes it very expensive," said Skalkos. Because of those kinds of price points, their chief customers are retail stores like Dean and Deluca, Sutton Place Gourmet, Hay Day and Balducci's. "We have some cookies, that, pricewise, could go into the supermarket," she said.

Eric Moscahlaidis, president of Krinos Foods, Long Island City, the largest importer of Greek products in the United States, and which imports from 25 other countries as well, told SN the category is growing. "There has been, for some time now, extraordinary interest in the Mediterranean diet and a lot of our products are key components. And, there is a general awareness of ethnic foods, Greek foods in particular." To spur that interest, Krinos has used introductory allowances, ad support and in-store demos, as well as coupons, and even some Catalina couponing in the past.

"There has been an explosion of Greek restaurants, in Manhattan and across the country. They are a great way for mainstream consumers to be exposed to Greek products, which they can now look for in their local stores," he said.

Zagara said his stores have been working with Krinos since 1973. "A lot of these things, like olives and capers, are grown with the same consideration as grapes for fine wine," he said. "A small company usually gives you more oversight and a better tasting olive all around. They provide not only Kalamata but others, Green Mount Athos, Missinia Estate Kalamata, on the pellopenesus peninsula. Krinos has the great dolmas that we offer in jars, and loose in bulk as well. We also have a sauce, Skorvalia, a garlic sauce made with garlic clove, potato, salt olive oil and that comes from a small importer that we deal with," Zagara added.

Moscahlaidis is also president of the Greek Food & Wine Institute, New York, N.Y., a nonprofit organization made up of Greek producers and U.S. importers of Greek foods, wines and spirits. Its mission is to introduce the variety, quality and availability of Greek cuisine to mainstream American consumers, through seminars, tastings, a newsletter and promotions across the country.

"We have done things specifically with supermarkets in the past, such as setting up a Greek week, or providing a sweepstakes with a trip to Greece, or helping to create a Greek section in the international aisle," he told SN.

The Institute gets no government funding, so it works with small budgets, and cannot give cash support for promotions. But the Institute will reach out to its members to see if they will be interested in putting something together for a supermarket chain.

"We've put together trip giveaways. Tops has used them. It's something that we're always willing to do. We have support materials, and a newsletter that talks about new products," said Lisa Cutick, administrator of the Institute.

Moscahlaidis revamped Krinos' whole line, to keep it more in line with what consumers want, reducing sodium by half, Cutick said. He also hired a firm in Greece to oversee the olive selection and curing, and the bottling process from start to finish. Labels were updated, too, about a year ago. A new line of olives will come out later this year, and also a line of spreads, and the company is now importing Mythos, a Greek beer. Krinos has an Internet site, for informational purposes only, including recipes, and publishes three pamphlets about varieties of olives, olive oil and cheeses.

"Most retailers would be quite upset if we sold direct," said Moscahlaidis. "We do our best to protect all of our retailers. We've tried to educate the supermarket buyers that this is a category that is growing and will continue to grow."