STOP & SHOP COURTS PASSOVER SHOPPERS

RICHARD TURCSIK

BOSTON -- Stop & Shop Cos. here courted Jewish shoppers for the Passover holiday with its annual Passover Coupon Book of savings on seasonal and traditional grocery products.

The glossy, four-color, 16-page, 5.5- by 8.5-inch booklet was available to shoppers at the store entrances. Its cover featured a photo of a Passover holiday place setting, while the inside cover told the story of Passover and interior pages featured photos of various kosher and traditional grocery items and accompanying coupons.

Featured grocery items included 25-cent coupons for Maxwell House and Sanka instant and ground coffee, Durkee spices, Hollywood safflower oil, 64-ounce bottles of Mott's apple juice, Wesson vegetable oil, Sunsweet prune juice, Lipton tea bags, Vanity Fair napkins, Chock Full O' Nuts coffee and Sun Maid raisins.

Kosher for Passover coupons included in the booklet were 15 cents off Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt; 50 cents off Manischewitz Honey Stars cereal and Gefilte Fish; 25 cents off Manischewitz onion bagel mix, macaroons and Matzo Crackers and Snack Bits; a 25-cent coupon for Kedem juice; 20-cent coupons for Joyva candy and Swee-Touch-Nee tea bags, and 10-cent coupons for Rosoff horseradish and Dr. Brown's soda.

Officials at Stop & Shop declined to comment on the coupon book, but local observers told SN that the chain used the coupon book to tie with merchandising displays.

"It is an annual program that Stop & Shop targets to the ethnic areas. They also capitalize on it with in-store displays and in-aisle merchandising," one New England observer told SN.

Another observer said that other area retailers have coupon books, but they don't target specific ethnic groups. "First National, Windsor Locks, Conn., has a winter-spring coupon book that was good through April 2, but it did not include any Passover items," said the observer.