TOM THUMB ACCENTS EUROPEAN BREADS

ROSEANNE HARPER

DALLAS -- Tom Thumb Food & Drugs here, a division of Houston-based Randalls Food Markets, is touting its European breads with new vigor.

After a year and a half of fine-tuning the program, everything is in place, officials at the 50-unit division told SN. Cents-off coupons and ads mark the beginning of a new effort to grab customers' attention.

The division ran a full-page, color ad in the Dallas Morning News last month that was dominated by a color photo of various crusty breads and included a coupon for 50 cents off a loaf.

"We've been providing the European bread concept for some time now at our stores and customer response has been great. Over the last year, we've been giving our associates additional training on how to prepare the breads, and now that we have everything the way we want it, we're ready to talk about the products," said Mark Prestidge, vice president and division manager.

Prestidge said Tom Thumb attributes the success of the products to their quality, taste and healthy aspects. The recent ad points out that the breads are free of cholesterol, tropical oils and preservatives.

This is the first major effort the chain has undertaken to promote the breads. "We've mentioned them before in our bakery ads, but haven't done a full page like this until now," said a spokeswoman.

The ad was headlined, "Introducing our European Classics bread." Beneath the large color photo, which occupied more than two thirds of the page, this blurb emphasized the artisan ancestry of the breads: "For centuries European master bakers have passed along recipes from generation to generation, each adding their own special touch until these bakery masterpieces have become famous throughout the world. Now our bakery department, using specially blended ingredients based on a superb collection of old world recipes, has recreated bread and pastries that will bring a new world of flavor and richness to your table."

The breads made their debut at Tom Thumb's first "new generation" store in 1993 and, by the end of 1994, they had been rolled out to all Tom Thumb stores.

In the division's larger volume units, the breads are made in-store from mixes. In other units, they are baked off from frozen dough, Prestidge said.

More than a half-dozen varieties -- including three-seed, tomato, harvest, pesto, herb, and wheat and honey -- are available and all have a retail price of $1.99. Weights of the loaves differ.

A 50 cents-off coupon, incorporated in the ad, was a first for Tom Thumb in promoting the European bread line. The coupon was good for a week. While the loaves are packaged unsliced in plastic bags, they can be sliced to order at most stores.