IT'S A SNAP

CAROL ANGRISANI

The never-ending quest to get dinner on the table in lightning speed is elevating the status of food-storage containers.

"Containers make it easier to store and serve food," said Rhand Lawson, category manager for Brookshire Bros. in Lufkin, Texas. Brookshire devotes 8 feet to the category and is considering adding another 4 feet.

Indeed, they fill a consumer need. About 77% of all meals eaten come from home, and about 60% of all households will serve leftovers within the next two weeks, according to The NPD Group, Port Washington, N.Y.

More than half of all households own value and/or disposable containers like Ziploc and GladWare, and nearly 90% have a high-end brand such as Tupperware or Rubbermaid, according to NPD.

Containers cater to all types of demographic groups, but especially to two-income families with little time to make dinner.

"People are looking for ways to make the home-meal process easier," said Harry Balzer, the NPD's longtime food analyst.

Containers help do that by allowing home cooks to prepare large batches of food on the weekend, and then freeze daily portions. They then can be popped into the microwave for thawing and into the dishwasher after use.

Along with storing leftovers, containers are being positioned as an easy way to take lunch to work, and even organize household items.

Once dominated by the Rubbermaid and Tupperware brands, the category changed in the late 1990s with the emergence of lower-cost containers from Ziploc and other brands. The momentum continued with value lines from Rubbermaid, as well as growth in private label.

While dollar sales in food stores of all household

food containers slipped 1.7% to $236 million for the year that ended Dec. 25, 2005, several top brands, including Ziploc, experienced double-digit sales increases, according to Information Resources Inc.

Strong category growth prompted Town & Country Markets, Poulsbo, Wash., to create a permanent 3-foot section just weeks ago, said Andrew Gagner, grocery buyer.

"We used to give them just a couple of shelves, but the time was right to give them their own section," Gagner said.

Containing about 14 stockkeeping units, the section will meet the needs of Town & Country's middle-class consumers, Gagner said.

Meanwhile, private-label dollar sales in food stores jumped 15% to $22.9 million for the same period, according to IRI.

Retailers have jumped on the trend with store-brand versions of the popular national-brand products.

Carlisle, Pa.-based Giant Food Stores, a division of Ahold USA, in 2001 launched a line of private-label food containers under the Giant label. Each retails for about $2.50.

A&P's America's Choice private-label line features a full range of sizes, including entree, large bowls, and soup and salad bowls.

While Ziploc's Snap 'n Seal, five-count/entree size, retails for $2.99, the same size in the America's Choice line carries a $2.59 price tag.

Brookshire Bros., meanwhile, is considering increasing its private-label assortment, which generates 30% margins and is priced about 10% less than the national brands.

Marketed under the Hy-Top label, the line includes entree and 1- and 2-quart sizes. Brookshire wants to add bowls to the mix.

At Felpausch Food Centers in Hastings, Mich., the Spartan brand of containers comes in the same sizes of the big-name sellers but at a price that's 20% lower, said Bruce Colvin, category manager for grocery, frozen and dairy.

Associated Grocers in Seattle has doubled its offerings over the past year to 22 SKUs, four of which bear the Western Family private label. It's in the process of adding another four items, said Karen Cononetz, the wholesaler's senior director for Center Store.

Along with in-line placement, the category benefits from impulse sales spurred by manufacturer promotional vehicles.

"In the past year, we have seen a tremendous opportunity in shippers of storage containers," Cononetz said. Unit sales of storage containers have increased 44% and dollar sales have soared 58% in that period, she said.

The category also benefits from seasonal promotions opportunities.

"There are times when we gear [containers] to back-to-school, or summer picnics or holiday leftovers," said Denny Hopkins, spokesman for Giant Food of Carlisle.

Strong margins also make the category attractive to retailers. Brookshire makes margins of about 15% when it offers containers on special about once or twice a quarter, but everyday retails generate healthy 25% margins.

At Felpausch, the category generates margins of about 30%, Colvin said.

"At first, people weren't buying into it," he said. "But there's more interest now that there are new choices and sizes, and the pricing is better."

There are category challenges. Retailers need to be mindful of strong competition from mass merchandisers.

"Mass buys in truckloads, which helps a lot with their pricing," Lawson of Brookshire Bros. said.

Retailers also need to decide whether to place the products in general merchandise or in grocery. Function and brand are two criteria. Some retailers, like Felpausch, keep products of the same brand together, even if one is a lower-cost version, like Rubbermaid's TakeAlongs. Or, they may merchandise the value line in grocery with other low-price food storage products like food bags. A&P in Montvale, N.J., partially integrates its products in grocery. On a visit to one of its Long Island, N.Y.-Waldbaum's banners, SN saw the GladWare and Ziploc brands merchandised together in Center Store along with TakeAlongs from Rubbermaid. Rubbermaid's and Tupperware's main brands are still in general merchandise.

Manufacturers are touting their new products, variously, as convenient, versatile and affordable.

Ziploc's Twist 'n Loc, the category leader at a number of retailers, is positioned as the ideal way to transport soups, sauces, gravies, flour and coffee. The round containers, introduced by S.C. Johnson in March 2005, have a leak-resistant seal and measurement lines for portion control.

"These are perfect for busy families who want to make more than one batch of food and store it," said Petrell Ozbay, spokeswoman for S.C. Johnson. "They go from freezer to refrigerator to microwave."

Meanwhile, Glad created containers that work with Hamilton Beach appliance, Change-A-Bowl Slicer/Shredder. Designed to simplify prep and clean-up time, the appliance prepares fresh foods directly into a GladWare storage container.

Some manufacturers also position the containers as suitable for nonfood uses, while promoting their low price to make people feel more comfortable using them out of the home.

Among Clorox's GladWare multiple-sized containers is a 4-ounce "mini-round," which is said to hold everything from food to jewelry.

Consumers use Twist 'n Loc to sort cosmetics and other household items, Ozbay said.

"People want less clutter and are using containers to help organize their lives," she said.