SHARED RESPONSIBILITIES BENEFIT KROGER BEEF LINE

LYNNE MILLER

CINCINNATI -- Demonstrating the emerging benefits of exclusive retailer-supplier alliances, Kroger Co.'s Cattleman's Collection is receiving positive customer reviews during the private-label beef line's ongoing rollout.

Stringent specifications developed by the retailer and integrated throughout the entire selection and processing stages have helped protect quality and consistency, according to Excel Corp., the Wichita, Kan.-based meatpacking and marketing company contracted by Kroger to produce the line.

"We've linked all the partners with 24 quality checkpoints," said Paul Hiemenz, vice president of new-brand initiatives for Excel, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cargill Inc., Minneapolis. "It's these checkpoints that are the quality-control glue that holds the chain together. They keep everyone focused on meeting consumer expectations."

A lot is riding on the introduction. Kroger has positioned Cattleman's Collection as an exclusive brand with packages bearing distinctive black-and-gold labels and a "Verified Tender" tag. The presentation raises customer expectations, which have to be met for the line to be a success, Hiemenz noted.

Working closely with a select number of beef producers and corporate partners, Excel uses the 24-point quality checks to navigate the product through a chain that includes seed-stock producers, commercial cow/calf operators, stockers and feed yards. Vision grading involves taking digital pictures of the rib-eye surface to evaluate its size and fat content, which improves the consistency of the product, Hiemenz said.

The final product is hand-selected and carefully tracked to ensure it meets the agreed-upon standards for quality, including trim.

Aside from boosting sales of the line itself, the strategy may also help offset the ongoing, 20-year decline in fresh beef sales, and industry observers point to a deterioration of beef quality as partly responsible for the drop. Industry studies show up to 90% of today's meat buyers would buy more fresh beef if they had a product that met their quality expectations for tenderness, juiciness and freshness on a consistent basis, they said.

The emergence of retail-supplier partnerships is seen by some as a remedy to the situation, since quality becomes more "controllable" as both ends of the distribution channel start working from the same blueprint.

Field reports indicate the Kroger/Excel strategy is working. Store associates at several Kroger units in Atlanta told SN the branded beef cuts are strong sellers for the meat departments.

"We've had a lot of people say it tastes better [than other beef]," said one Atlanta store associate. "It's very tender."

"We sell a lot of it," an associate at another Atlanta Kroger said. "It's good stuff. Customers are crazy about it."

For Christmas dinner, Huston Keith sampled a standing rib roast from the Cattleman's Collection. "It was very tasty," said Keith, a food-industry consultant with Keymark Associates, Marietta, Ga.

While in-store promotion has been limited mainly to low-key signage, Kroger regularly features two or three items from the Cattleman's Collection in weekly store circulars, including two-for-one specials, Keith observed.

A quality beef line should assist Kroger in upgrading its image in Atlanta, where the chain competes with Publix, another supermarket leader in the market, said Keith.

Cattleman's Collection Beef debuted in King Soopers and City Market stores in Kroger's Denver market in May 2001.