THE SOLUTIONS IN THE BAG

BARBARA MURRAY

Meal solutions are driving sales of foils and wraps, and now that the grilling season is here, the category is sizzling.

The introduction of Reynolds Hot Bags into the market last year added considerable incremental growth to the category, observed Don Spencer, grocery manager at Bozzuto's, Cheshire, Conn., as did other retailers polled.

Indeed, cooking bags overall have grown 62.4% in the New York metro food channel for the year ended March 7, 1999, said Andy Carrano, vice president for marketing and corporate affairs at A&P, Montvale, N.J.

Disposable containers, like those introduced recently by Glad and Ziploc, grew 19%. Perhaps because of that, Carrano noted a slight decline in the wraps segment within New York food-store channels.

With consumers' interest in foods to go and ready-to-cook products, "Anything that makes it easier is being bought," said Harry Janson, president of Janson Supermarkets, which operates the ShopRite of Hauppauge, N.Y. "We sell a lot of wraps and foils; it's a good category for us. We have a huge section that takes up a good portion of the paper aisle." Some wrap products even carry recipes on their packages, he said.

On a dollar basis, wraps and bags totaled $2.8 billion for the 52 weeks ended Dec. 26, 1998, according to ACNielsen, Schaumburg, Ill. This represented a gain of 2.9%. Food outlets had a 72.4% share of dollar sales and a 76.4% share of units sold.

Reynolds Metals Co., Richmond, Va., which won a silver Edison Award this spring from the American Marketing Association for its Hot Bag, has now introduced a smaller size, positioned for side dishes on the grill and complete meals for smaller families. The new bags hold three to four servings. The company is playing up the convenience aspect of this product, as in cooking ears of corn or vegetables inside the bag without worrying that they will fall off a skewer or into the coals. And, of course, cleanup is a breeze.

Reynolds encourages retailers to use its products to create meal solutions. The company also stresses convenience through its Ingredient Meal Solutions program, commented Dale Schloss, buyer for foils and wraps at Bashas' Markets, Chandler, Ariz. "The Reynolds IMS program was promoted during the Memorial Day weekend," he added.

"The Hot Bag has been a flexible product that we merchandise with a multitude of products -- meat, seafood, produce, marinades and condiments," said Bozzuto's Spencer. He expects the new smaller size will do just as well. He added that sales in Hot Bags spike in the June-July period, but some other retailers said oven-baking bags do well during the winter holidays too.

Spencer also noted that foils and wraps are an important component of meal solutions. "Supermarkets need to convince shoppers of the ease of a no-fuss complete meal. Wax paper, oven bags, and hot bags are integral parts of the preparation and presentation of food products," he said. "Likewise, the storage and protection of food is easy with aluminum foil, plastic wrap, freezer paper and resealable containers. Promoting these items as natural tie-ins with complete meal preparation is essential.

"We, at Buzzuto's, have demonstrated Hot Bags as part of our food-show presentations. Recipe tie-ins have also been added to our print advertising to make food preparation simple," he added.

According to Wayne Albrecht, Reynolds senior brand manager, Center Store has been left behind when it comes to meal solutions. While the development of meal solutions on the periphery of the supermarket has helped areas like deli and perishables increase their sales, he said, "the rest of the store has really declined.

"With the time pressure on consumers, they are searching for convenient ways to eat and have been going out to buy meals. We are trying to teach them to use the grocery and Center Store products to assemble their meals," Albrecht said. "We have a whole generation now who didn't learn to cook the way their parents did. They are relying on convenience items."

Jack Mahon, category manager for Genuardi's Family Markets, Norristown, Pa., said he brought in Hot Bags just about a year ago. "We promoted it almost right away, with a floor display by the meat counter, to tie in with the meal solutions. The item is doing pretty well," he said.

Reynolds' sales have been declining in regular foil, Mahon noted, "so they are trying to capture new sales, by introducing new uses of foils. It seems to be working.

"People haven't been cooking. So [Reynolds] is trying to capitalize on it. What's nice about the product is, it's not a duplication of anything else, so it's all incremental sales. We just did a review last week," he told SN in early June. "Our foil sales came out really well. The bags did help grow the category."

At a suggested retail of $3.79 for the large size, three-count packages and $3.29 for the regular size, the product is "at a nice profitability level for the retailer; they're not giving it away," Mahon said.

Spencer of Bozzuto's told SN that reusable storage containers are also doing very well at retail, and that these items are providing strong year-round sales. "This category extension has proven very profitable, as there seems to be very little cannibalization of other storage items.

"While providing increased profits for the retailer, it provides a low-cost alternative for the consumer. Gladware or Ziploc plasticware average 50 to 60 cents, whereas a Rubbermaid container might retail for over $2," he said. Presto Products Co., Appleton, Wis., is also producing disposable containers, which are sold under private labels. Mahon noted a recent decline in sales of reusable containers and speculated that the products last longer in home use than the manufacturers expected.

Bozzuto's Adams Superfood Stores has foils and wraps sections of 8 to 16 feet. Larger sections allow for increased shelf facings on the more profitable and high-velocity items in the category, Spencer noted.

Most A&P, Waldbaum's and Super Fresh stores have a 24-foot section, which also includes trash bags. One of the keys to merchandising this category is through floor displays. "Hot Bags and containers respond especially well to displays," said Carrano of A&P.

A&P's private label, America's Choice, has a good share of the category, "so we continue to promote it," Carrano said, with an ad for every segment each week, or some type of in-store price reduction.

Bashas' allocates a 12-foot section for foils, bags and wraps. Foils and wraps are promoted in Bashas' Savings Guide, in displays and through temporary price reductions.

Disposable pans and burner bibs are not generally merchandised with the foils and wraps. They are usually in the baking aisle, though they can be found in shippers next to a meat department, or near housewares. SN even noticed them displayed in the bread aisle in an independent Clements' Market in Portsmouth, R.I.

Genuardi's has 20 feet for foils, wraps and bags, including trash bags. Disposable pans are sometimes merchandised in the same aisle, Mahon said. The chain carries the Handifoil brand, and said it believes sales are up in that category. "It's a pretty steady cash cow," Mahon said.

Mahon mentioned another new Reynolds product -- wrappers for sandwiches. "They are meeting expectations," he told SN. He also noted that reusable containers have done well, with very little promotion. Glad introduced two stockkeeping units, for salad and soup entrees, he said, and then Ziploc followed a few months later with its own containers.

"Sales have slowed down a little bit," he noted. "The products are so good, consumers are keeping them longer than expected. They are not as disposable as the companies thought they would be."

Genuardi's will be selling its own private-label containers by the end of the summer. "The five items [three Glad, two Ziploc] haven't taken any sales away from Rubbermaid or anything else in the category," Mahon said. "If anything took a hit, it was probably the storage bags and freezer bags. Those sales were down in the marketplace, but not in Genuardi's."

About six months ago, the New York Times carried a story about dangerous chemicals being released when plastic wrap is used to cover foods heated in the microwave oven. Mahon recalled that both "Dow Chemical and Reynolds gave documentation that their products are fine, and that the story didn't have a negative effect on sales.