MEAT LABELS AS MARKETING TOOLS

STEPHEN DOWDELL

ATLANTA -- The new world of nutrition labeling, Food Guide Pyramids and other information sources on diet and health is changing consumers' attitudes about the position meat should play.

But supermarkets can help ensure that meat remains in the game, said two retailers at the Meat Marketing Conference here.

During a seminar about consumer concerns and how to respond to them through the meat department, representatives from Wegmans Food Markets, Rochester, N.Y., and Brodbeck Enterprises, Platteville, Wis., talked about their commitment to keeping meat on the minds of shoppers, including shoppers that may be questioning how meat fits into a healthy diet. The executives made it clear that the two companies -- both considered innovative, upscale operators -- want to keep their meat sales as well as their customers as healthy as possible, and they don't believe those have to be mutually exclusive goals.

"The shape of healthy eating at Wegmans is the Food Guide Pyramid," said Jane Andrews, a registered dietitian and coordinator of nutrition programs for the 51-store chain. She was speaking of the federal government's pyramid-shaped consumer guide, which offers advice on the number of servings from the major food groups that each person should strive to consume daily.

Wegmans has aggressively attacked the challenge of offering shoppers nutrition information. "We were the first one to use it on our food products, in 1991. The meat department used the pyramid as early as 1992," Andrews said.

The chain's "good food tours" during this school year brought 10,000 fourth-graders into the meat department for a full 15 minutes to listen to advice about things such as selecting the proper portion sizes for meat -- and to learn that it is healthy to eat two to three servings of beef, pork, lamb, seafood or poultry a day.

Andrews added that supermarket meat minds should not assume that such lessons about the nutritional values of meat have already been learned, either in or out of the store, Andrews added.

"When I got into the nutrition field, in 1975, the general feeling was the more meat the better," she said. "The idea of limiting meat consumption was ludicrous. Now it is 1995, and teachers request that we not include the meat department in store tours. We have even had a store manager or two say we should not include meat in tours, because they think meat is not a healthy message for children."

Reactions ranging from that severe to such a benign activity as a school tour betray a fear that meat is no longer a safe bet for a healthy diet. But Wegmans is betting its consumers are still interested in eating meat and learning more about it, so the chain is improving the odds that it will be ready to meet their needs.

"In our stores, people are looking for leaner meats and closer trim," said Andrews. "Ninety percent lean is the biggest selling ground beef at Wegmans, and 93% is close behind in our stores.

"Consumers want to know about food and nutrition, and they expect our employees to have the answers," she added. To a chain like Wegmans, having those answers is a big part of the customer service it offers. "Our commitment has been an ongoing effort at full disclosure," she noted.

The "disclosure" of nutrition information is a stated goal of the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act, and the requirements for labeling in the fresh departments are no exception, even if, at present, the specific labeling guidelines are voluntary.

Andrews said Wegmans uses attractive chalkboard-packaged ground meats that have the percentage-lean and full nutrition labeling.

According to Andrews, the most common questions Wegmans' meat department staffers hear is, "How do I cook this?" The chain put together a reference booklet that keeps all the information needed about cooking the major cuts handy right in the department. When the time came for developing a nutrition information resource, "our meat managers suggested we put the nutrition information in the cooking guide."

Wegmans seized upon the idea, she said, "because we believe it is important to make nutrition information and education accessible in the workplace, and trustworthy.

"If we don't make the information available, the customers may not choose to buy meat, because meat has gotten a bad rap," Andrews said.

Retailers can help mitigate the damage that meat's reputation has suffered; but they can also add to the damage, she suggested. She cautioned strongly against abusing the term "lean" in marketing and merchandising messages; being vague about what it really signifies is a popular vice she scolded the retail industry for indulging in.

"We really like to use percent lean as a way to build trust," she said of Wegmans' approach. "Don't misuse lean. Label for trim as the meat is packaged. For example, don't use that label with skin-on poultry, if the skin is being sold. And label with the cooked serving size; consumers want that."

Seeking to head off retail excuses for not being more aggressive and conscientious with giving consumers nutrition information, the Wegmans dietitian added, "You may say you don't have or can't get a registered dietitian and the other support services. Well, you can use the new Nutri-Facts resource."

She was referring to the nutrition information kit widely disseminated by industry trade associations last month that gives supermarkets vital nutritional information on the most popular cuts in the meat department -- everything they'd need to comply with the voluntary guidelines set forth by the nutrition labeling act.

To Andrews, and Wegmans, this message to the conference's retail attendees was perhaps the most important. Having built a one-of-a-kind program that is both a marketing coup and a dike against Big Brother's intrusion, Wegmans would hate to see it all go up in smoke.

"The USDA is scheduled to survey meat departments in stores in May," she said. "Mandatory regulations would mean you won't have the flexibility to meet your own needs. I hope all of you will make that information available in your stores."

For Brodbeck Enterprises, operator of eight Dick's supermarkets in small towns through sprinkled southwest Wisconsin, the Nutri-Facts program is just the stepping-off point for a current nutrition information program that relies as much, if not more, on educating employees as it does enlightening shoppers.

" 'The customer comes second' is our philosophy," explained Alan Warren, meat and seafood director for the "sort-of-upscale" operator. "We think of our members first, and they appreciate that and reflect that in how they treat our customers."

In the meat department, that means building a highly skilled and well-trained work force. Among the resources Brodbeck uses are a two-week seafood handling and merchandising course; the American Meat Institute's meat counselor training program, which "everyone in the department goes through"; more general customer service training programs, and Cornell University's home study course in food marketing.

"All the meat managers are certified in all three courses," Warren said. "We give bonuses for grades of B or better," he added. On top of that, the company periodically sponsors 12 "members" in the Dale Carnegie selling course. "It's expensive, but we believe in it," he explained.

The education does not stop there. All department managers also are equipped with cardiopulmonary resuscitation and crisis management training.

With an in-store staff so equipped, Brodbeck comes to its market as a learned food marketer, and then sees what it can learn from its shoppers.

"We do a lot with surveys. We are always handing them out," Warren noted. "Once a year we take all directors and store management staff to a special event where we evaluate the surveys and plan what to do for the next year."

The independent also relies on the marketing information gleaned from its frequent shopper program, called the Dick's Insider Club.

From its small-town marketing universe, Brodbeck has learned that high service levels can give its meat department an edge. To show its commitment, the stores leave their meatcutting rooms fully open right behind the case, he said. Also, "we are a big believer in demonstrations," he said.

The department uses other flags to draw attention to service, such as providing frequently rung customer service bells, and broadcasting "customer service needed in the meat department" often over the stores' intercoms.

The Nutri-Facts program is adopted into a brochure that service meat clerks pass along with every purchase. "You have to be proactive and get that message out to customers," said Warren. "We give a lot back to the community."

That "giving" gets back to Brodbeck, by way of a faithful shopper base, he concluded. "Customer loyalty to your service is one of the few things around to make you different. Mostly, we are carrying all the same products, even in meat. And with the advent of case-ready products, that will be even more so in the future."