BREAKFASTS PIZZA APPETIZERS DIPS & SPREADS APRIL 2010

INSIDE WE HELP YOUR BUSINESS GROW

MIXED REVIEWS
BOB ANDERSON
CRITIQUES
AHOLD’S PL
PAGE 26

JEROME SCHERER
FOR AHOLD
PRESENTING: THE GOOD,
& A VIRTUAL
PANEL THE BAD AND
DISCUSS THE
STATE OF
THE MERELY PUZZLING.
LOGISTICS
PAGE 48

HAMDI
ULUKAYA:
FROM SHEPHERD
TO CHOBANI
CEO
PAGE 58

BETTY BUYER
BATTLES
SAMMY SELLER
PAGE 14

PETE PENGUIN
WITH IRI’S
LATEST DATA
PAGE 18

SOME SEE ‘AN ABSENCE OF NEGATIVES,’

www.fdbuyer.com BUT ALSO ‘AN ABSENCE OF POSITIVES.’ (OUCH!)
TABLE OF CONTENTS

C O V E R STO RY
22
MIXED REVIEWS FOR AHOLD
The good, the bad and the merely puzzling.

THE FRONT END

4 Out Warren’s Way 14 Betty Buyer

Kill the Nerds! Is there hope for those Betty dukes it out with Sammy Seller
secondary brands after all? over the meaning of the return of the SKU
at Walmart.
6 What’s New
24
Our pals at RetailWire discuss whether
10 Got ‘Shopper-Centric?’
At SymphonyIRI Group’s 2010 Summit,
Girl Scouts should be stopped from, um,
soliciting, outside the former Ukrop’s stores.
experts hold forth on engineering (Oh, stop it!)
shopper relationships, innovations in
analytics, and rewiring retail/marketing.

T H E D ATA B A N K

16-20 THE DATABANK

IRI data on the largest frozen and dairy sub-categories, and leading brands.

C AT E G O RY S P O T L I G H T S

32 Breakfasts: Waffles Still Off, But…

36 Pizza: Plenty of Potential

40 Appetizers Up in Units

44 No Dip in Dips (Or Spreads!)

LOGISTICS

48 Light At The End Of The Tunnel

Top executives at leading warehousing/logistics companies see
light at the end of the recessionary tunnel. Here’s how they believe
the state of the industry has changed, permanently.

VENDOR VISIT
58 A Shepherd’s Return
Would you believe that the guy who markets Chobani (which means
‘shepherd’) was a shepherd himself, as a boy in Turkey?

APRIL 2010 www.fdbuyer.com 3

OUT WARREN’S WAY
KILL THE
NERDS!
Is there hope for those secondary
brands after all?
R
ecently I had long chats with
a couple frozen food buyers
at major chains about how
brands are becoming commod-
itized. No rocket science here — the
recession has turned many branded
manufacturers into cowards, afraid
to innovate. More and more, from
the shopper’s point of view, the only
real differentiation between brands
is “what’s on sale.”
But cripes, if there were ever a
time for innovation, it’s now. Private
label already had a strong head of
steam before the economy went to
hell, and so did the move toward
SKU rationalization.
Both these factors can get brand-
ed items delisted in a heartbeat.
Brands know they need differentia-
tion to stay viable, but they seem
stuck in analysis paralysis. And the
worst offenders seem to be the big-
gest brands.
No sooner had I hung up with my
retailer pals than I read a mag-
nificent piece online from Advertis-
ing Age magazine. It’s titled “Our
4 www.fdbuyer.com APRIL 2010
Biggest Brands Can No Longer
Be Managed by Nerds.” You really MASTHEAD
ought to read it it — just go to www.
adage.com, and enter a few words of Warren Thayer
the title into their little search box. Editor, Managing Partner
Do it now. I’ll wait… warren@fdbuyer.com
Wasn’t that terrific? My favorite 603-252-0507
line in the piece was “Fluency with
buzz words and expertise with Paul Chapa
spreadsheets do not guarantee Sales Director, Managing Partner
brand-marketing competence.” A paul@fdbuyer.com
close second: “If Edison had done 913-481-5060
market research, he would have
invented bigger candles.” Joan Weinberger
I don’t see this changing quickly Advertising Manager
with the big brands. What’s it take, joan@fdbuyer.com
something like 60 miles to turn a 212-254-4627
cruise ship? Besides, I’ve always
mistrusted guys with suspenders Randy Szarzynski
unless they’re genuine, bona fide Art Director
farmers, or younger than six. randy@fdbuyer.com
But I do see increasing opportu-
nity for the smaller brands that I Contributing Editors:
so unabashedly root for. Retailers Dan Alaimo, Kirsten Gehlbach,
seem in the mood to buy local and Len Lewis, April Miller, Dan Raftery,
Morgan Little and Betty Buyer.
seek out real innovation, and that’s
where these smaller players fit in
so well. EDITORIAL ADVISORY
Where’s This Headed? BOARD
I have to wonder where all this is
Dan Raftery,
headed, since Walmart is the cham- Raftery Resource Network
pion of the big brands. It’s easy for
shoppers to see Walmart is cheaper
Todd Hale, The Nielsen Company
when comparisons on the same big
brand are so readily available.
Bob Anderson, former vp of
This has more than a few retail- private label, Wal-Mart
ers I’ve spoken with tentatively
rethinking their commitment to
Dr. Brian Harris,
the big brands. After all, there’s no The Partnering Group
favorable differentiation available to
them in carrying the same product
Phil Lempert, NBC Today Show
Walmart does, but at a higher price.
Will this result in a weakening of
Nevin Montgomery,
the big brands, and new opportu- National Frozen & Refrigerated
nity for the little guys? Or will the
Foods Association
nerds rule? Hmm….
Thom Blischok, IRI
Published by CT Media Partners,
Postmaster: Send address changes
Warren Thayer, Editor to CT Media Partners, 272 Elm St.,
warren@fdbuyer.com Norwich, VT 05055
NEW PRODUCTS
In-Shelf Frozen Dog Food
Medina, Ohio-based Bil-Jac
(www.bil-jac.com) is debuting
a patented in-shelf freezer
for its premium frozen dog
food, allowing it to sit along-
side dry dog food and treats.
The new freezer, which re-
portedly goes from the box
to a fully stocked standard
shelf in 20 minutes, com-
pleted successful tests at
two Ohio stores: a Heinen’s
in Avon Lake, and an Acme
store in Akron.
Wheat-Free Wafflewiches
Ian’s (www.iansnaturalfoods.com), Lawrence, Mass.,
introduces wheat-free/gluten-free Wafflewich break-
fast sandwiches in two
varieties.
Maple Sausage & Egg
Wafflewich comes in a
10-ounce package and
is also casein-free. Egg
& Maple Cheddar Waf-
flewich, in a 9-ounce
package, is vegetarian
and also nut-free. Waffle-
wiches are sandwiched by
two delicious wheat-free,
gluten-free waffles. As with all of Ian’s products, the
items don’t have hydrogenated oils, artificial colors,
flavors or preservatives. Suggested retail is $4.99.
Jamba Juice Bars
Jamba Juice Company (www.
jambajuice.com), Emeryville,
Calif., and Eugene, Ore.-based grown from non-GMO seed. Hand harvesting and
Oregon Ice Cream Company
(www.oregonicecream.com)
are rolling out a line of frozen ties of veg-
fruit sorbet and frozen fruit
sorbet & yogurt bars. The
all-natural non-dairy bars are microwave-
made with real fruit, provide able pack-
a good source of vitamin C,
and contain pre-biotic fiber. The
70-calorie fruit sorbet bars come in two flavors: Peach retail price
Blackberry Smash and Strawberry Lemon Swirl. The
fruit sorbet & yogurt bars, with 80-90 calories each,
come in three flavors: Vanilla Strawberry Jubila-
6 www.fdbuyer.com APRIL 2010
tion; Vanilla Blueberry Pomegranate Perfection; and
Coconut Pineapple Passion Smashin’. Each box of
four 2.5-ounce bars, distributed by Oregon Ice Cream
under license from Jamba Juice, has a suggested retail
of around $3.99.
Rockin’ Refuel
Phoenix-based Shamrock Farms
(www.shamrockfarms.net) introduces
Rockin’ Refuel, a protein-fortified
sports recovery beverage made with
milk and 20 grams of protein. The
12-ounce bottles come in choco-
late, strawberry and vanilla, and
contain nine essential nutrients,
naturally occurring electrolytes,
and no artificial sweeteners or
high-fructose corn syrup. They have
a low glycemic index. Suggested
retail is $1.39. To support
the launch, Shamrock
partnered with the Hoop
It Up 3-on-3 basketball tour for a series of 11
local market weekend tournament events, as
well as the nationwide Rockin’ Refuel “Most
Rockin’ Shot” contest. For details, go to www.
rockinrefuel.com.
Organic Veggies
Village Grown Organics (www.villagegrownor-
ganic.com), Kelton, Penn., debuts a variety of hand-
harvested IQF organic fruits and vegetables ranging
from asparagus to edamame to mixed berries. The
company grows, packs and ships its products. Within
one or two hours of being picked, every vegetable
is hand processed in one of three processing plants
within walking distance of the company’s fields. No
additives or preservatives are used, and crops are
processing allows Village Grown Organic to grow heir-
loom varie-
etables. The
ten-ounce
aging has a
suggested
of $2.49 to
$2.79.
 Authentic Indian cuisine
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NEW PRODUCTS

Sauté Your Way New from Tony Roma’s

A La Carte Specialty Food
(www.alcfood.com), New
Orleans, La., introduces
a line of frozen entrees
called Sauté Your Way
(www.sauteyourway.
com), featuring wild-
caught, domestic Gulf of
Mexico shrimp. Packaging
prominently notes that
the products are made with sauce created by “Chef
Paul Prudhomme’s magic seasoning blends.” Current
varieties are: Asian Soywabi Sauce, Thai Red Curry
Sauce, New Orleans Roasted Garlic Sauce and Key
Largo Lemon and Dill Sauce. Additional sauce flavors
will be added, linking particular flavors with cities or
regions. The 18-ounce packages contain eight ounces
of shrimp (60-70 count per pound) and 10 ounces of
sauce. They serve four when pasta or
rice is added. Suggested retail is $6.99.
Margaritaville Chicken Wings
Oakwood, Ga.-based Wayne Farms
rolls out Margaritaville chicken wings
in four flavors: Island Buffalo with
pineapple Buffalo sauce; Caribbean
BBQ with Caribbean BBQ sauce; Or-
ange Peel with sweet and sour sauce;
and Mango Chutney with sweet man-
go chutney sauce. The fully cooked
frozen breaded chicken wings with
accompanying sauce packets come in
28-ounce stand-up resealable bags. They are packed
eight to the case. Suggested retail is $8.99.
Spreads with Greek Yogurt
Cedar’s Mediterranean Foods (www.cedarsfoods.
com), Bradford, Mass., has added a variety of cheese
spreads made with Greek yogurt. The company’s
traditional flavored Tzatziki (Greek strained yogurt,
cucumber/garlic) has been very successful, and a
spokesperson says “We feel Greek
yogurt-based dips will be a great
category.” Cedar’s is putting a
healthy, lighter, fresher spin on
popular flavors like French On-
ion, Blue Cheese, Artichoke/
Spinach Cheese and Jalapeno/
Artichoke. The items can go in
dairy (11-ounce packages) or deli
(8-ounce packaging).
Rupari Food Services, Deerfield Beach, Fla. (954-480-
6320), introduces four 20-ounce frozen barbecue ap-
petizers under the Tony Roma’s label. All feature Tony
Roma’s hickory barbecue sauce. They are: Boneless
Pork Ribs — finely
cut pork shoul-
der meat, slowly
smoked; Pulled
Pork— succulent
smoked, hand-
pulled pork shoul-
der; Pork Spareribs
— hand selected
pork spareribs sea-
soned with the company’s signature dry rub; and Pork
Rib Bites — sparerib appetizer pieces seasoned with
the signature dry rub. For more info, see our story on
appetizers in this issue.
Sorbet Squeezups
The Jolly Llama Company (www.
jollyllamasorbets.com), San Fran-
cisco, launches four-packs of its
Real Fruit Sorbet Squeezups; they
had been available previously
only in three-ounce single-serve
tubes. The products are all-natural,
gluten-free, dairy-free, fat-free, and
GMO-free and come in Mango,
Strawberry, Blueberry, Acai, and
a new Raspberry flavor. The new
four-pack Squeezups boast a 15%
reduction of sugar content, and a lower calorie count.
The products are sweetened with natural pure can
sugar, and are fortified with fiber and vitamins A and
C. Packaging is sustainable and recycling; the compa-
ny donates a por-
tion of income
to organizations
dedicated to
ending world
hunger. Sug-
gested retail is
$4.99 to $5.99.
To see more new products, go to www.fdbuyer.com
Got a new product you want featured?
Tell Kirsten Gehlbach, at Kirsten@fdbuyer.com

8 www.fdbuyer.com APRIL 2010

 NEW at Kahiki

Sophisticated Taste Mixed with Lo Mein Noodles

We are committed to high quality and innovation here at Kahiki.
We pay close attention to consumers’ ever-changing taste palates
and trends. Our blending of research and testing led us to entrées
containing Lo Mein noodles. In popular flavor profiles such as
Kung Pao Chicken and Pepper Steak, these entrées will wow the
taste buds of your customers. And, round out your line of Asian
products with the rest of the Kahiki line of entrées and appetizers.

Kahiki.com

Single-Serve Entrées Multi-Serve Entrées Appetizers

SUMMIT: 2010
GOT
‘SHOPPER-
CENTRIC?’
At SymphonyIRI Group’s 2010 Summit,
experts hold forth on engineering
shopper relationships, innovations
in analytics, and rewiring retail/
marketing.
BY WARREN THAYER
R etailers and vendors need to
focus more on acquiring a
deeper understanding of their
customers and what motivates them
to buy and remain loyal. Many tradi-
tional metrics fall short on providing
sufficient actionable insights in today’s Retailers need to think less
recessionary environment.
Sessions at SymphonyIRI Group’s
Summit 2010 March 22-24 in San
Antonio often focused on “shopper-
centric” category management, and
the tools and techniques you need
as consumers change their shopping
behavior. (Information Re-
sources, Inc. — or IRI — has
renamed itself SymphonyIRI
Group, reflecting its broader
role in today’s market.)
There’s been too much
focus on categories and quar-
terly sales versus things like
the shopping experience, and
share of shopping trips. That’s
the gist of what I took away
from this year’s conference,
which included a good mix of
more than 1,000 marketers, including
friends from Ruiz Foods and Kahiki
Foods, among others.
Parts of the conference reminded
me of the Efficient Consumer Re-
sponse sessions of a generation ago,
with many of the same concepts
coming up but with different names
for them. Yet there’s no doubt that
discussing them anew — with their
latest nuances — is healthy. New
technology and means of communi-
cation/media have changed the rules
permanently, and consumers are
always a changing dynamic.
10 www.fdbuyer.com APRIL 2010
Here’s coverage of a few of
the sessions.
NEW SHOPPER HABITS
NEED NEW
RESPONSES
We’ve gone about as far as we can
with price; now we need innovation to
dig out of the hole we’re in.
Dr. Romesh Wadhwani, chairman,
and John Freeland, president and
CEO, SymphonyIRI Group, shared
thoughts on innovation at the start
of the conference. Here’s a
paraphrased synopsis…
We’ve gone about as far
as we can with price; now
we have to rely on inno-
vation to drive growth.
in terms of categories and
more in terms of shoppers.
They’d also be wise to part-
ner with vendors to build JOHN FREELAND
programs that drive loyalty.
Today, 55% of Americans shop at 10 or sales from its good-for-you products
more stores annually — loyalty pro-
grams are less strong.
Shopper Trips
Up 6%
The number of shopper
trips is up 6%; and the
number of stores a shop-
per visits per month has
nearly doubled to about
eight or ten. Capturing
DR. ROMESH shopper trips from your
WADHWANI competitor — or not los-
ing them to your competi-
tor — is of huge importance.
Leading-edge retailers are mov-
ing toward shopper-centric category
management, using more granular
data and integrating insights about
shopper segments into their tradi-
tional metrics.
A year ago, half of shoppers made
lists; today, 83% do so, and the lists
are increasingly specific, often down
to the brand level. Given that “the
moment of truth” is apt to happen in
the home before the shopping trip,
it would be wise to move some trade
spending away from in-store and
toward direct targeting in the home.
The next few years will be ones
of thrift and affordability — major
changes in buying behavior. Clubs
and dollar stores have been growing;
C-stores are down. A few surprises: In
2009, spending went up among low-
income households, and retirees, but
down in middle class households.
Shoppers are moving away from
impulse purchases and toward buying
based on information. They expect
simplicity in promotion, variety and
all facets of the shopping experience.
Besides share of wallet, we need to
know share of purchases
made for an occasion,
event or holiday. We need
to apply strategic seg-
mentation around shop-
per health stages and life
stages.
Consumer spending on
health and wellness prod-
ucts will see double-digit
growth over the next five
or ten years. Pepsi expects
to triple over the next ten years.
WHAT’S NEW?
SymphonyIRI
Chicago-based Information Resources
Inc. is now the SymphonyIRI Group
Inc. The announcement came at its
Summit 2010: Reinventing CPG and
Retail Conference in San Antonio.
The company also unveiled a
new set of solutions for predictive,
automated analytics, technology
platforms and strategic consulting
services. “An important founda-
tion of these new capabilities is the
Advantage Solutions suite, built on
the breakthrough IRI Liquid Data
platform,” a press release said.
“While we now have all of the
capabilities to play a much broader
role, the IRI brand name in some ways
was confining,” said John Freeland,
president and CEO. He said the last
two years have been about fortifying
its capabilities and innovating execu-
tional competencies to help clients
with their strategic needs. n
 Have you noticed part of your
freezer case heating up?

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growth
+8%
+6.1%

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SEGMENT

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Don Ostergren, our VP of Sales, at 800-800-7912.

Visit us online at stockpalermos.com

© Palermo Villa Inc. 2010

*52 week IRI sales report ending 11/29/09

SUMMIT: 2010
FOOD LION
TESTS OUT
NEW TOOLS
Here’s how the company is using new
tools to learn about its shoppers and
collaborate with its vendors.
T hose who can’t or won’t take
part in collaboration spanning
the entire supply
chain will struggle, as
traditional category man-
agement processes are
not enough to succeed
anymore.
That’s the word from
Rick Anicetti, CEO of
Salisbury, N.C.-based
Delhaize America Shared
Services (Food Lion,
Bloom, Harvey’s, Reid’s,
RICK ANICETTI
Bottom Dollar Food). Ani-
cetti, speaking at the Summit 2010
of SymphonyIRI Group March 23 in
San Antonio, said new tools will be
required to push greater discovery,
as “pushing old buttons won’t even
produce old results.”
He said that analysis for actionable
understanding
today requires To better understand shopper
greater levels of
behavior, it set up two lab
sophistication in
stores, each equipped with 120
both tools and
people. With the overlapping
economy hurt- recognition software.
ing, Food Lion
wanted to capital-
ize on changing consumer behaviors.
These included more use of coupons,
shopping lists and private label, and
less use of restaurants and buying of
organics, for example.
Trip Missions
So the company augmented its
shopper segmentation by adding
trip missions it defined as: Grab
‘n go, for tiny trips and immediate
needs; On the Fly, for the “post-it
note” trip; On a Mission, for “got a
list, get out of my way;” and finally
the Pantry Packing trip, for “big
12 www.fdbuyer.com APRIL 2010
basket, whole store.”
But as Anicetti noted, it was still
not possible to tell which aisle specific
shoppers went down and gain further
understanding of how they made pur-
chases. So the company set up two lab
stores, each equipped with 120 over-
lapping cameras with face recognition
software (signs at the entrances advise
shoppers of the cameras).
The cameras track and analyze
each consumer transaction through-
out the store, helping
Food Lion understand
patterns and nuances
that obstruct sales. The
cameras will be in-
stalled in two additional
stores later this year.
The system will have
mapped 600,000 cus-
tomer transactions by
October, and will be able
to integrate this infor-
mation with loyalty card
data, segmentation clustering and
trip mission analysis and insights.
Anicetti showed a “traffic heat
map” of a store, showing which aisles
and departments got high, medium
and low traffic. You can learn more
about this by going to VideoMining,
Food Lion’s
vendor for the
program, at
www.vide-
omining.com.
cameras with face The company
works with
a variety of
manufactur-
ers, including Tropicana, ConAgra,
Coca-Cola, Nestlé, General Mills
and Kellogg’s.
Food Lion shares insights with its
vendor partners via:
—Vendor Pulse, store-level item-level
movement data, used to drive in-stock
conditions, inventory planning and
promo planning.
—Shopper insights Portal (SiP), an on-
line reporting system for sharing Food
Lion shopper and trip insights, includ-
ing info on store clusters, customer
segments, and trip missions.
—Vendor Collaboration Team, a
group of dedicated analysts sup-
porting SiP subscribers with ad hoc,
deep dive analysis involving shopper
insights.
Goals Outlined
Food Lion is implementing Customer-
Centric Category Management Goals
that Anicetti outlined:
—Integrate customer insights into the
category management planning proc-
ess to provide unique shopping oppor-
tunities across clusters and banners.
—Implement shared service support
category management and mer-
chandising functions to support all
banners in the Food Lion family and
Bottom Dollar Food.
—Implement customer-centric role-
based planning by major category
through clearly defined strategic and
tactical guidelines.
—Standardize and document cat-
egory management and merchandis-
ing processes.
The customer-centric category
management program integrates in-
formation from various databases into
category roles, strategies and tactics.
It also affects merchandising, assort-
ment, price and promotion execution.
Each category is classified as either
“cluster” or “standard.” A stand-
ard merchandised category doesn’t
require different treatment when
merchandised across clusters or ban-
ners. A single enterprise plan reflect-
ing overarching banner strategies is
sufficient. But a cluster merchandised
category requires different treat-
ment to maximize sales and profit
across clusters and banners. There-
fore, multiple, customized plans are
constructed to manage them across
clusters and banners. These catego-
ries may even have different roles
across them.
It appears that Food Lion’s plans
are working. It surveys shoppers on
how many of them rate their store as
either “good or great,” and over the
last couple years, that percentage
has risen from the high 80s to the
low 90s. n
—Warren Thayer
B E T T Y BUYER
TOLD
YOU
SO!
Walmart is putting
back some of the
items it
had cut.
There’s
a lesson
here!
BY
SAMMY
SELLER
H ate to say “I told you so,”
Betty, but Walmart is rethink-
ing its SKU rationalization
program and putting back some
of the items it had cut. It seems
consumers actually missed the
variety (what have I been saying all
this time?) and took some of their
shopping elsewhere. Foot traffic in
Walmart has been down, and the
marketing geniuses there have dis-
covered that even some of the items
that didn’t meet velocity hurdles
were an important part of the mix.
Still don’t understand, Boop-
sie? Okay, think of what’s on your
shelf as a fine piece of music. Now,
read these extracts from a famous
satirical essay, wherein an efficiency
expert reviews a performance of
Schubert’s Unfinished Symphony.
“For considerable periods, the
four oboe players had nothing to do.
Their numbers should be reduced
and their work spread over the whole
orchestra, thus eliminating the peaks
and valleys of activity. All twelve
violins were playing identical notes
with identical motions. This unnec-
essary duplication and the staff of
14 www.fdbuyer.com APRIL 2010
this section should be drastically cut
with consequential substantial sav-
ings… Much effort was expended in
playing 16th notes or semi-quavers.
This seems an excessive refinement,
since most of the hearers are unable
to distinguish such rapid playing.
It is recommended that all notes be
rounded to the nearest 8th.”
Now do you get it? The merchan-
dising mix can’t be decided by your
efficiency experts, Betty. Sure, there’s
science and algorithms (big word
— sorry!) involved here, but buy-
ing and merchandising are all about
the music. Shoppers do like variety,
and even some things that — on the
surface — may seem like duplica-
tion. And they can distinguish more
subtleties in product than your bean
counters can imagine.
So take another look at your SKU
rat program, and don’t fall into the
same trap Walmart did.
WRONG
AGAIN,
SAMMY!
What are you smoking? This is a
Walmart issue that has nothing to
do with us.
BY BETTY BUYER
P
ut a sock in it, Sammy. And if
you ever call me Boopsie again,
so help me I’ll delist all your
items and shove all that inventory
down your pie hole. How’s that for
SKU rationalization?
Listen, your little story about the
efficiency expert was amusing but
irrelevant. Actually, though, I wasn’t
aware that Mad magazine was still
publishing, but I’m glad you keep up
on those things.
For starters, Walmart supercent-
ers have long had
a lot fewer SKUs
than traditional
supermarkets.
As they expand
deeper into our
channel, they’re still
finding their way,
and so you’ve seen
some swings and
some corrections.
Sorry to rain on
your parade, but
this is a course
correction for
them, and you
can’t expect
supermarkets
to react by
suddenly car-
rying all of your
SKUs.
Think about it,
Sammy. We in the
traditional channel have had more
time to test out our thoughts on
variety over the years. And we’re still
more likely to carry more of your
items than Wally does. Don’t forget
that shoppers have different expecta-
tions for different channels — they
simply don’t expect as much variety
at Walmart.
What you really have to worry
about, Sammy, is that all you manu-
facturers have been trying to play it
safe and doing less innovation. We’re
seeing more and more commoditiza-
tion of brands, with price the only
determining factor. If our shoppers
don’t see any real differentiation in
offerings in a category, we’re still
going to make more cuts. Often, that
means we’re going to add innovative
private label. Sorry it had to come to
this, Boopsie. Suck it up! n
Betty Buyer and Sammy Seller are
pseudonyms for retailers and manu-
facturers who still believe things
could be better. Got a comment or an
idea? Write to warren@fdbuyer.com.
THE DATABANK
TOP
DAIRY
BY BESSIE BOVINE
Supermarket
sales of dairy
foods dipped
3.7% to $11.388
billion in the 12
weeks ended
Feb. 21, 2010,
compared with the year-ago period,
according to Information Resources, Inc.,
the fun-loving market research firm based
in Chicago.
Units climbed 1.7% to reach 5.001 bil-
lion. Volume was up 2.8% to 42.152 billion.
Volume with merchandising support was
off by 2.4% to 42.3%.
For the 52 weeks ended Feb. 21, dol-
lars fell 5.4% to 46.756 billion. Units were
up 2.2% to 20.858 billion and volume was
up by 2.7% to 179.688 billion. Volume sold
with merchandising support was up by
2.1% to 47.1%.
Our chart shows the largest sub-cate-
gories in the dairy department in super-
markets during the 12 weeks ended Feb.
21, 2010. Data is for the brands as origi-
nally trademarked, and may not include
line extensions.
F A C T O I D S
35.5%
Dollar gain by lemonade in the
12 weeks, to $51,990,316. It’s the
fastest growing sub-category
with sales over $1 million
(again).
30.8%
Dollar gain by pastry/Danish/
coffee cakes, to $2,379,835 in
the 12 weeks. Private label, with
82% share, is up 18.2%.
105.37
The fastest time in seconds
to eat a 12” pizza. The record
was set by Josh Anderson (New
Zealand) on March 22, 2008,
according to the Guinness Book
of World Records. .
16 www.fdbuyer.com APRIL 2010
SUB-CATEGORY $ SALES $% CHG. UNITS % CHG. VOLUME $ CHG.
SKIM/LOWFAT MILK $1,539,641,472 (7.0) 591,967,744 (1.0) 3,714,486,784 (0.3)
Private Label $995,811,904 (6.8) 404,038,272 (0.6) 2,683,459,072 0.6
Hood Lactaid 100 $57,454,320 (1.0) 14,097,632 (1.1) 56,509,144 0.4
Horizon Organic $43,975,504 (1.0) 10,623,403 3.2 47,383,804 1.8
Organic Valley $19,249,112 (1.5) 4,687,481 1.1 20,081,204 (0.9)
Prairie Farms $18,254,542 2.6 7,577,661 11.1 48,785,908 10.4
Deans $15,519,778 (8.5) 6,493,176 (2.3) 34,691,524 (1.5)
Hood $13,318,968 (13.6) 4,976,194 (4.3) 26,162,148 (5.4)
Hiland $12,180,051 15.5 4,779,878 21.9 27,722,266 18.6
Garelick Farms $12,041,999 (22.4) 4,873,310 (14.5) 23,041,296 (14.5)
Kemps Select $11,455,517 (13.2) 4,044,577 (4.6) 25,066,372 (2.6)
YOGURT $841,718,100 4.2 851,233,500 3.8 471,471,600 4.6
Private Label $86,985,850 (3.3) 146,807,200 (1.0) 73,601,390 (3.1)
Yoplait Original $82,949,500 (4.9) 118,835,000 (0.7) 51,752,860 (0.1)
Yoplait Light $81,017,280 (3.1) 127,180,000 2.8 50,887,120 2.6
Dannon Light N Fit $61,852,720 23.2 83,017,500 23.2 42,499,880 28.3
Dannon Activia $51,491,190 18.6 17,737,770 19.9 22,078,050 22.3
Stonyfield Farm $28,869,580 (7.1) 17,763,450 (3.4) 14,139,300 (3.4)
Dannon Activia Light $27,967,670 17.6 10,090,390 20.6 12,063,870 21.41
Chobani $27,259,300 209.3 21,140,860 210.8 8,587,909 7.6
Yoplait Go Gurt $25,754,710 6.1 8,804,230 6.4 10,758,690 211.6
Fage Total $21,462,430 36.5 9,220,789 46.8 4,396,985 49.
FRESH EGGS $755,065,152 (4.8) 368,124,672 (2.1) 5,096,174,592 (0.8)
Private Label $520,436,160 (5.5) 272,674,432 (1.7) 3,834,669,056 -
Eggland’s Best $74,462,808 3.1 25,395,320 5.1 312,548,032 6.0
Rose Acre $12,955,935 14.2 7,184,750 20.4 101,679,616 18.6
Cal Maine Sunup $10,116,532 10.5 3,753,046 2.2 77,956,848 4.3
Land O Lakes $10,071,208 0.9 3,164,708 2.5 37,972,424 2.5
Hillandale Farms $5,584,441 (17.4) 2,960,748 (17.0) 36,401,088 (17.3)
Penn Dutch Farms $4,693,342 0.4 2,480,456 (0.3) 33,265,150 (0.9)
California Ranch Fresh $4,218,379 (22.3) 2,121,411 (19.1) 28,947,836 (20.7)
Crystal Farms $4,148,370 2.9 2,624,478 7.9 33,477,736 7.6
4 Grain $3,979,542 (9.3) 1,545,662 (7.9) 18,547,938 (7.9)
NATURAL SHREDDED CHEESE $630,957,248 (8.5) 245,550,336 4.9 147,677,184 5.4
Private Label $347,387,808 (1.7) 139,379,776 10.9 91,725,760 12.1
Kraft $115,057,504 (29.1) 45,805,772 (15.3) 23,569,346 (18.1)
Sargento $62,359,936 9.0 23,280,928 27.3 11,909,333 25.3
Crystal Farms
Sargento Chefstyle
$24,811,200
$12,556,694
(5.3)
(3.2)
9,718,878 13.3
4,266,265 13.2
5,712,598 9.7
2,515,451 10.8
Borden $9,634,180 (16.3) 4,311,436 2.5 2,216,076 1.8
Di Giorno
Tillamook
Stella
Sargento Artisan Blends
$8,600,379
$5,230,484
$5,054,904
$4,573,672
(4.4)
(4.4)
4.3
74.3
1,989,481 (2.9)
1,582,770 1.6
1,431,946 11.8
1,826,824 99.5
736,610 (3.3)
1,065,304 18.9
455,125 11.8
913,412 99.5
ORANGE JUICE $602,826,304 (4.9) 197,837,440 0.5 14,026,321,920 0.7
Tropicana Pure Premium $193,150,880 (3.1) 54,996,712 0.3 3,841,301,504 0.2
Private Label $109,280,416 (1.8) 44,644,140 3.5 3,674,450,432 5.8
Simply Orange $93,722,080 5.7 26,966,646 11.5 1,589,939,712 8.5
Minute Maid Premium
Florida’s Natural
Minute Maid Premium For Kids
Citrus World Donald Duck
$72,575,448
$69,779,472
$5,378,744
$4,275,398
(13.6) 23,828,694 (3.7) 1,728,946,176 (5.4)
(5.6) 22,783,118 (3.3) 1,509,747,328 (3.1)
2.8
14.0
2,162,322 13.4 138,388,608 13.4
1,950,287 28.5 125,932,400 28.7
Tree Ripe $3,975,349 (10.1) 2,349,468 3.1 136,409,536 3.3
Tropicana Pure Premium Hlthy Kds $3,663,053 (24.7) 1,142,373 (21.7) 69,160,064 (21.8)
Tropicana Pure Premium Hlthy Hrt $3,344,664 (31.7) 1,118,262 (28.6) 71,568,800 (28.6)
NATURAL CHUNKS
Private Label
Kraft
$600,873,408
$234,742,784
$41,486,420
(8.8) 180,921,088
(11.2) 79,237,040
(20.2) 17,114,294
1.8 129,908,488 0.8
1.0
(2.2)
62,906,892 1.1
9,308,893 (5.3)
Tillamook $37,310,748 (16.0) 7,417,170 (6.4) 8,978,237 (4.5)
Kraft Cracker Barrel $27,229,170 0.4 8,302,675 11.9 5,201,584 10.5
Cabot Vermont $18,319,810 (5.7) 6,180,355 (2.9) 3,469,899 (2.5)
Laughing Cow Mini Babybel $12,347,002 32.3 3,305,385 37.1 929,833 37.1
Crystal Farms $10,970,132 (10.1) 4,865,412 6.4 2,642,300 4.9
President $10,925,443 (1.1) 1,894,163 (1.0) 930,356 0.4
Belgioioso $10,683,028 7.4 2,253,238 12.4 1,352,823 14.1

F A C T O I D S
25.1%
Dollar gain by vegetable
juice cocktails, to $8,270,298.
Bolthouse Farms, up 39.8% to
$4.6 million, is the leader.
25.0%
Dollar gain by juice and drink
smoothies, to $41,617,640.
Leader of the pack is
Bolthouse Farms again, up
87.9% to $11.6 million.
36.0
The record for eating cock-
roaches (presumably at a
single sitting), set by Ken
Edwards in London on March
5, 2001, according to Guinness.
-6.9
Dollar loss by natural cheese
category, to 1.787 billion in the
12 weeks. “All Other Forms”
is the only sub-category scor-
ing a gain — up 6.7% to $1.5
million. But the segment
leader in “All Other” — Kraft
Snackables — is down by 7.1%.
6.5%
Dollar gain by breakfast
entrees, to $11.4 million.
Driving the gains are private
label, and the Bob Evans
brand.
17.35
Number of seconds it took
Nico Surings to run 100 meters
(328 feet) barefoot on ice,
setting the world record for
such a feat. He did it in the
Netherlands on Dec. 8, 2006.
$7,204
Sales of potato pancakes in
the 12 weeks, all of them from
“Irene’s,” which apparently has
the market to itself. The sub-
category is down 12.0%.
SUB-CATEGORY $ SALES % CHG. UNITS % CHG VOLUME % CHG
WHOLE MILK $582,636,672 (14.2) 220,261,808 (7.3) 1,375,565,312 (7.4)
Private Label $387,575,392 (13.8) 151,677,184 (6.9) 1,004,921,152 (6.6)
Horizon Organic $17,975,992 (0.4) 4,191,146 3.0 19,452,904 3.3
Hood Lactaid 100 $12,687,394 (7.5) 2,862,021 (7.8) 12,722,366 (6.2)
Hiland $6,732,444 21.2 2,595,176 26.3 14,941,507 29.0
Borden Milk Products Lp $6,544,944 (11.8) 2,185,046 (0.1) 12,495,388 (0.4)
Prairie Farms $5,873,023 (5.2) 2,322,944 3.6 14,181,898 4.5
Tuscan Farms $5,553,048 9.2 2,260,024 19.9 11,448,946 15.0
Organic Valley $5,145,402 (7.1) 1,253,712 (3.3) 5,402,404 (6.6)
Hood $4,614,331 (15.0) 1,776,748 (6.7) 8,708,985 (7.3)
Poinsettia $4,435,694 (26.4) 1,797,172 (12.6) 13,009,360 (10.0)
MARGARINE/SPREADS/BUTTER BLENDS $329,465,600 (7.4) 164,701,072 (3.3) 202,784,816 (2.7)
I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter $54,891,856 0.2 20,282,684 5.7 21,077,890 5.7
Shedd’s Country Crock $42,304,640 (16.6) 16,028,932 (11.9) 33,095,790 (7.3)
Smart Balance $31,902,144 (11.3) 10,169,045 (10.8) 10,968,849 (9.9)
Blue Bonnet $23,815,966 (11.6) 23,893,804 (0.6) 26,957,590 (3.2)
Land O Lakes $23,693,292 13.6 11,216,660 14.0 7,902,964 5.9
Private Label $23,011,944 (15.7) 17,020,864 (14.2) 25,884,734 (12.9)
Shedd’s Country Crock Plus $16,850,580 43.5 6,353,383 53.8 14,052,837 61.8
I Can’t Believe It’s Nt Buttr Lght $15,654,950 (8.5) 6,123,710 (1.9) 6,134,514 (2.3)
Parkay $12,529,452 (15.5) 7,209,372 (12.6) 7,544,266 (12.1)
Imperial $12,466,041 (16.5) 13,798,830 (3.6) 14,321,444 (5.0)
BUTTER $311,442,560 (8.6) 124,389,776 (0.5) 117,743,064 -
Private Label $156,184,672 (12.5) 70,637,664 (4.5) 68,670,672 (4.3)
Land O Lakes $83,479,288 2.4 27,309,178 16.7 25,298,610 19.8
Challenge Butter $12,796,152 (16.2) 4,140,882 (8.8) 3,589,699 (9.5)
Breakstone $6,956,480 (24.0) 2,960,910 (18.0) 1,669,270 (26.3)
Crystal Farms $5,799,451 6.0 2,546,170 21.5 2,444,405 20.8
Cabot $5,252,865 (14.5) 2,094,505 (3.9) 2,092,778 (3.9)
Tillamook $5,188,482 (21.7) 1,779,256 (14.5) 1,779,256 (14.5)
Keller’s $5,059,086 - 1,991,274 5.8 1,934,394 8.2
Hotel Bar $3,450,206 9.4 1,505,028 22.8 1,400,891 23.8
Darigold $3,005,885 (11.5) 1,166,331 (4.8) 1,142,559 (4.1)
PROCESSED CHEESE SLICES $268,583,392 (12.2) 100,034,688 (2.0) 81,812,752 (1.7)
Kraft Singles $84,387,232 3.1 29,727,152 22.1 25,119,350 18.5
Private Label $80,965,008 (12.0) 35,591,288 (1.0) 29,307,644 (0.2)
Kraft $26,622,440 (31.0) 9,727,599 (30.0) 7,599,295 (28.3)
Kraft Deli Deluxe $22,797,872 (27.7) 4,734,590 (25.5) 4,388,341 (26.7)
Borden
Kraft Velveeta
Crystal Farms
Land O Lakes
$13,082,686 3.2
$11,418,543 (6.8)
$5,426,550 (7.8)
$4,071,605 (27.8)
5,657,475 26.2
2,828,094 0.4
2,234,666 6.7
1,052,801 (28.8)
4,491,865
2,322,584
1,859,141
756,501
26.8
(0.7)
3.6
(31.8)
Galaxy Nutritional Foods Veggie $3,701,530 0.1 1,109,573 0.4 506,298 0.4
Borden Sandwich Mate $1,883,052 (29.7) 1,792,936 (30.1) 944,510 (29.8)
COFFEE CREAMER $249,890,560 7.2 94,853,152 10.5 153,919,456 9.7
Nestlé Coffee Mate $148,769,952 0.4 54,509,772 3.9 89,163,152 4.9
International Delight
Private Label
International Dlght Cff Hou Insp
$50,894,692 4.5 20,100,408 1.2
$16,205,446 24.5
Nestlé Coffee Mate Carb Select $15,390,574 6.6
$9,354,665 *
6,850,803 21.9
4,524,633 11.4
4,836,282 *
31,419,796 5.7
12,434,360 17.9
9,049,266 11.4
4,836,282 *
Mocha Mix $3,453,224 (7.6) 1,047,246 (8.3) 2,880,934 (9.3)
Silk $3,233,020 1.8 1,539,154 (0.6) 1,793,346 1.7
Hood Country Creamer $923,645 1.0 615,875 (1.8) 1,231,749 (1.8)
Bailey’s $813,176 * 362,744 * 413,433 *
Knudsen Coffee Creations $199,723 (15.9) 67,702 (15.2) 135,405 (15.2)
FLAVORED MILK/EGGNOG/BUTTERMILK $208,914,512 0.7 97,899,568 5.1 293,842,368 5.8
Private Label
Nestlé Nesquik
Hood
$71,368,320 2.0 34,538,380 6.1 129,829,784 7.7
$13,785,744 (28.9)
$7,197,166 4.2
9,248,766 (6.4)
2,409,942 5.0
10,124,190 (34.4)
6,396,584 4.2
Dean’s $6,875,532 3.7 3,563,556 8.1 9,399,112 7.8
Southern Comfort $4,364,834 8.6 1,525,806 9.3 3,051,613 9.3
Prairie Farms $4,335,900 5.2 2,237,161 9.0 7,364,200 14.8
Hiland $3,549,888 21.6 1,795,036 25.6 5,437,400 25.8
Horizon Organic $3,279,142 1.8 824,863 2.7 2,805,998 6.1
Darigold $3,118,212 21.0 1,272,112 29.6 3,284,304 27.4
APRIL 2010 www.fdbuyer.com 17
 THE DATABANK
TOP
FROZEN
BY CLARENCE BIRDSEYE
Supermarket sales of frozen foods
rose 1.0% to $7.455 billion in
the 12 weeks ended Feb. 21,
2010, compared with the
year-ago period, according
to Information Resources,
Inc., the Chicago-based mar-
ket research firm that pro-
vides service with a smile.
Units also climbed 2.0% to reach 2.518
billion. Volume was up 0.3% to 3.344 billion.
Volume with merchandising support was up
by 0.5% to 45.3%.
For the 52 weeks ended Feb. 21, dollars
climbed 1.8% to $31.785 billion. Units were up
0.6% to 10.769 billion and volume was flat at
15.010 billion. Volume sold with merchandis-
ing support was up by 1.5% to 47.1%.
Our chart shows the largest sub-categories
in the frozen department in supermarkets
during the 12 weeks ended Feb. 21, 2010. Data
is for the brands as originally trademarked,
and may not include line extensions.
F A C T O I D S
31.9%
Biggest dollar gain in a sub-
category with sales of over
$1 million — drink/cocktail
drink concentrate, which
hit $13,268,363 in the 12
weeks ended Feb. 21. Yoplait
Smoothies are the driver here.
66.0
Age in years of oldest male
stripper, according to the
Guinness Book of World
Records. Record was set by
Bernie Barker, who still per-
formed in Miami Beach (where
else?) in 2000.
24.2%
Dollar gain by processed fro-
zen/refrigerated turkey/turkey
substitute, to $12,682,931 in the
12-week period. Jennie-O is the
category leader, up by 14.6%.
But private label is No. 2, and
it’s up by 104.4%.
18 www.fdbuyer.com APRIL 2010
SINGLE SERVE DINNERS/ENTREES $789,132,544
Stouffer’s $89,431,792
(3.9) 376,142,272
(0.4) 34,926,368
(0.2) 238,932,384
6.5 25,071,240
(1.5)
6.0
Banquet $65,563,864 5.7 64,881,836 10.0 33,975,848 1.4
Weight Watchers Smart Ones $56,947,336 (7.0) 25,921,260 (3.2) 15,254,278 (3.1)
Stouffer’s Ln Cuisin Caf Classcs $56,368,172 (15.2) 24,545,958 (11.5) 13,680,692 (12.7)
Marie Callender’s Complete Dinnrs $33,097,722 (24.3) 12,663,272 (22.7) 11,332,147 (23.0)
Healthy Choice Cafe Steamers $29,313,994 (1.5) 11,156,092 1.0 7,142,467 0.9
Stouffer’s Ln Cuisn One Dsh Favrt $28,942,648 (7.9) 13,699,703 (3.2) 8,401,468 (3.5)
Healthy Choice Complete Selectns $27,588,274 (22.7) 10,756,178 (20.8) 7,615,948 (21.3)
Swanson Hungryman $26,167,508 1.2 9,069,976 1.1 9,460,001 1.4
Stouffer’s Ln Cuisn Sp Cuisn Clss $24,508,024 (19.3) 10,627,675 (15.8) 6,257,181 (15.5)
PIZZA $782,041,920 6.8 263,473,824 8.9 253,932,448 11.1
For brand listings, see our story on pizza in this issue.
ICE CREAM $756,064,512 (3.5) 231,585,648 0.7 720,230,272 (1.0)
Private Label $191,367,488 (4.0) 67,328,496 (0.8) 264,190,304 (4.3)
Breyer’s $85,611,312 (1.4) 26,048,532 9.2 77,424,080 9.8
Dreyer’s/Edy’s Slowchurned $55,687,884 (7.2) 15,457,291 (0.6) 46,371,892 (0.6)
Blue Bell $51,972,416 6.3 14,199,710 11.4 40,832,616 8.3
Häagen-Dazs $44,332,900 (11.4) 11,741,702 (10.6) 12,877,757 (11.9)
Ben & Jerry’s $38,030,920 (12.3) 11,542,107 (13.1) 10,654,204 (11.7)
Dreyer’s/Edy’s Grand $26,770,334 (22.2) 7,835,090 (17.1) 23,293,084 (16.9)
Wells’ Blue Bunny $25,464,964 5.5 7,053,659 17.5 27,668,772 16.1
Turkey Hill $25,268,624 (10.2) 8,783,118 (5.0) 25,659,856 (9.9)
Dreyer’s/Edy’s Fun Flavors $22,360,584 30.2 6,429,475 38.0 19,288,424 38.0
PROCESSED FZ/RFG CHICKEN/CHICKEN SUB $425,486,080 6.4 85,322,912 5.0 109,433,344 9.3
Tyson $106,699,728 8.5 18,969,952 17.0 25,653,760 18.1
Private Label $63,589,488 5.5 11,208,266 1.1 19,795,322 7.9
Banquet $43,236,920 (0.2) 8,408,643 (2.9) 12,702,579 (6.1)
Tyson Anytizers $38,206,888 16.5 6,805,054 21.4 8,839,921 25.9
Perdue $29,303,752 18.2 6,187,294 19.8 6,838,761 24.7
Fast Fixin’ $17,362,248 (3.5) 3,616,621 (8.7) 6,609,320 (5.7)
Perdue Short Cuts $16,061,869 4.7 3,861,674 9.8 2,081,404 10.6
TGI Friday’s $13,043,122 3.2 2,924,941 (0.2) 2,519,922 1.3
Foster Farms $12,932,228 1.2 2,154,378 (1.0) 2,759,838 5.2
Redi Serve $12,388,400 (0.6) 5,494,776 (6.3) 5,457,559 2.0
NOVELTIES $385,672,992 2.4 126,702,560 9.0 165,952,384 2.7
Private Label $55,732,832 (5.6) 21,354,038 (4.2) 39,871,296 (5.7)
Weight Watcher’s $31,371,312 (7.7) 7,486,414 (9.4) 8,979,502 (12.7)
The Skinny Cow $30,169,344 24.9 6,932,670 31.5 9,074,847 27.3
Nestlé Drumstick $21,468,312 8.9 5,005,140 14.3 7,850,256 18.1
Dreyer’s Edy’s $19,770,392 2.6 5,146,177 6.6 6,041,758 6.1
Klondike $17,846,300 17.5 5,681,436 27.2 9,321,626 27.1
Häagen-Dazs $15,378,988 12.8 8,926,006 27.9 2,902,028 23.1
Popsicle $12,403,118 (12.2) 3,491,556 (12.9) 6,966,120 (11.0)
Blue Bell $9,442,848 2.7 2,338,687 0.9 5,035,750 3.1
Klondike Slim-A-Bear $9,142,975 (6.0) 2,771,780 3.7 3,484,115 4.3
SHRIMP $333,307,800 6.4 40,004,490.00 7.6 48,681,030 7.9
Private Label $205,899,600 13.5 23,736,130.00 12.6 29,584,790 15.1
Seapak $13,672,780 17.3 2,273,041.00 12.6 2,011,804 20.5
Gorton’s $9,722,463 41.3 1,744,604.00 47.6 1,287,346 55.7
Tastee Choice $7,727,450 7.8 753,950.10 28.8 943,685 7.2
Aqua Star $7,544,243 (17.4) 1,160,858.00 (4.8) 1,209,372 (14.7)
Seabest $7,520,079 10.6 1,209,093.00 (2.7) 1,334,960 12.5
Censea $6,144,026 24.4 558,572.90 26.7 872,975 33.5
Cape Gourmet $6,042,595 (16.8) 400,942.00 (19.9) 771,851 (25.7)
Sail $3,720,531 21.1 330,615.20 17.5 515,368 17.3
Contessa $2,341,401 (56.8) 378,187.00 (55.4) 297,512 (58.6)
FZ/RFG CHICKEN/CHICKEN SUBSTITUTE $308,942,432 (1.3) 54,706,644 - 192,883,264 (2.6)
Private Label $136,177,200 1.6 22,773,894 0.6 88,364,072 2.3
Gold N Plump $20,284,528 (12.1) 3,993,131 (6.8) 7,587,481 (8.6)
Tyson $22,521,700 (9.6) 3,383,335 (3.5) 8,413,538 (6.1)
Perdue $14,589,880 6.3 3,819,042 (1.5) 6,454,442 10.4
Perdue Perfect Portions $12,818,803 0.8 1,615,147 4.0 2,422,721 3.9
Barber Foods $10,386,617 (18.9) 1,990,968 (19.9) 1,875,140 (22.4)
Pilgrim’s Pride $8,794,370 8.7 1,210,126 (7.7) 3,738,849 (0.1)
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THE DATABANK
TOP
FROZEN
F A C T O I D S
15.0%
Dollar gain by pizza crusts/
dough, to $2,238,426. House of
Pasta tops out the category,
but it’s a real horse race with
private label and Kinnickinnick
Foods; all are within $30,000 of
each other.
100.2
Age in years of the world’s old-
est tandem parachute jumper
(female). The jump was made by
Estrid Geertsen on September
30, 2004 over Roskilde, Demark,
when she was 100 years and 60
days old, according to Guinness.
13.9%
Dollar gain by handheld break-
fast entrees in the 12 weeks,
to $84,195,008. Products from
Jimmy Dean, the segment
leader, are up by 23.6% and
71.7% respectively.
11.8%
Dollar gain by cheesecakes,
to $17,416,148, in the 12 week
period. Sara Lee tops the seg-
ment, up 6.9% to $8,748,568.
But private label is up 94.5% to
$4,424,240.
71.6
Age in years of the oldest
performing ballerina, accord-
ing to Guinness. Charin
Yuthasastrkosol was 71 years,
203 days when she performed
for Thailand’s ambassador to
the U.S. in Albuquerque, New
Mexico, on July 21, 2002.
6.7%
Dollar gain by meat substitutes,
to $54,757,440, in the 12 week
period. Top brand is Morningstar
Farms, up in double digits for
several lines. It has about a 60%
share of this sub-category.
20 www.fdbuyer.com APRIL 2010
Country Store
Gold Leaf
$5,760,242 (11.0)
$5,132,422 (25.3)
1,409,731 (3.5)
983,633 (21.6)
12,267,045 (2.4)
9,836,331 (21.6)
Tender Bird $4,991,968 (32.2) 821,833 (31.0) 4,366,348 (36.2)
MULTI SERVE DINNERS/ENTREES $304,104,064 0.8 54,628,940 2.8 110,294,512 0.6
Stouffer’s $104,973,128 (8.4) 15,247,930 (8.3) 44,510,604 (6.0)
Bertolli $30,190,562 9.6 4,277,690 17.6 6,424,064 17.6
Birds Eye Voila
Private Label
$24,067,580 36.9
$18,037,522 13.4
6,056,624 43.9 8,377,396 44.3
2,522,356 6.7 6,231,215 12.5
Birds Eye Steamfresh $11,591,210 (2.7) 1,855,096 0.5 2,782,644 0.5
Stouffer’s Easy Express
Bertolli Oven Bake Meals
Contessa
$10,038,218 58.4
$9,333,153 4.9
$8,488,005 (32.4)
1,763,393 96.0 3,047,214 71.7
1,323,157 12.6 1,920,679
1,438,537 (22.5)
9.0
2,136,532 (22.2)
On Cor Traditionals $7,563,472 (4.5) 3,096,336 (3.4) 5,520,534 (4.1)
TGI Friday’s $7,192,638 11.7 985,287 20.4 1,477,931 20.4
HANDHELD ENTREES (NON-BREAKFAST) $300,971,872 (2.0) 132,547,264 (3.1) 90,674,832 (0.3)
Hot Pockets $83,482,624 1.8 33,896,484 3.9 22,135,032 3.5
Lean Pockets $37,294,616 (10.5) 17,128,814 (9.9) 9,720,428 (11.9)
El Monterey $23,959,238 16.3 8,337,463 27.8 13,448,572 14.6
State Fair $15,823,054 2.4 3,253,081 1.0 4,964,786 3.9
White Castle $13,715,096 (1.3) 2,797,381 (0.8) 2,255,781 (0.8)
Stouffer’s Ln Cuisin Casl Etng Cl $11,963,604 (37.9) 5,174,903 (35.1) 1,940,588 (35.1)
Foster Farms $11,041,755 19.6 2,023,977 18.2 4,873,894 17.7
Stouffer’s Corner Bistro $10,217,181 2.6 3,806,622 7.8 1,432,704 8.2
Smucker’s Uncrustables $8,319,411 (4.3) 2,513,392 (5.0) 1,526,780 (2.1)
Private Label $7,488,397 (2.3) 3,030,074 (5.3) 2,583,956 (10.0)
FISH/SEAFOOD $274,429,700 18.9 53,173,770.00 20.1 59,407,940 21.7
Private Label $72,036,580 31.6 12,195,460.00 21.2 14,070,840 30.7
Gorton’s $49,687,420 9.6 10,729,890.00 15.6 10,321,040 11.4
Van De Kamps
Great American
Mrs Pauls
$19,856,930 33.8 4,238,508.00 41.2 5,475,715 42.2
$13,689,580 (7.3) 1,863,534.00 13.9 3,475,651 (7.0)
$11,593,490 25.0 2,653,651.00 25.9 3,253,474 30.8
Sea Best $7,191,780 7.9 1,221,930.00 5.5 1,885,713 30.0
Great Fish $3,850,044 (17.7) 745,741.90 (13.1) 1,328,633 (13.1)
Gorton’s Grilled Fillets $3,948,664 (4.8) 1,214,136.00 (4.4) 576,714 (4.4)
Aqua Star $3,402,981 (15.3) 888,484.60 (21.4) 618,549 (13.8)
Fishin $2,946,213 24.4 453,609.10 11.2 830,529 43.3
APPETIZERS/SNACK ROLLS $268,031,840 (0.4) 71,865,624 0.3 68,061,024 0.6
For brand listings, see our story in this issue.
PLAIN POTATOES/FRIES/HASHBROWNS $249,940,336 1.6 93,232,440 2.5 175,445,616 2.0
Private Label $80,309,248 3.9 33,556,424 4.2 71,798,112 3.4
Ore-Ida $56,610,740 1.2 21,478,950 2.7 32,665,088 2.1
Ore-Ida Golden Crinkles $19,301,214 8.3 5,531,592 9.6 13,091,990 9.4
Ore-Ida Tater Tots $11,549,509 (0.8) 3,610,306 0.9 7,623,788 0.2
Alexia $7,830,075 8.0 2,295,992 (0.3) 2,603,250 0.8
Ore-Ida Fast Food Fries $7,728,213 3.0 2,273,030 4.9 4,266,555 4.9
McCain
Ore-Ida Golden Fries
Ore-Ida Crispers
$5,850,646
$5,837,260
$4,708,916
2.9
(4.5)
3.1
2,133,824
1,834,147
1,516,700
2.9 3,167,936
(2.5) 3,854,530
5.0 1,895,874
1.1
(2.7)
5.0
Ore-Ida Zesties $4,623,832 2.7 1,500,007 4.6 3,000,014 4.6
MEAT (NO POULTRY) $190,433,968 4.0 34,056,352 6.9 68,008,496 3.8
Private Label $37,702,584 8.2 6,305,366 16.1 13,302,882 15.4
Moran $11,511,040 7.1 2,368,164 3.7 4,391,492 11.6
Armour Homestyle $10,018,684 3.4 2,692,224 (6.5) 3,639,696 0.8
Steak-Umm $9,907,796 18.5 1,941,640 30.2 2,011,880 4.8
Bubba Burger $8,389,596 (11.6) 907,971 (10.7) 1,901,132 (11.1)
Rosina $8,282,482 2.1 1,182,099 6.9 2,309,705 7.7
Mama Lucia $6,829,035 0.7 1,857,896 22.0 2,519,806 14.0
FRESH BAKED BREAD/ROLL/BISCUIT $139,354,368 (3.3) 52,607,600 (3.2) 45,884,532 (3.5)
Private Label $26,159,004 8.7 12,157,468 10.2 10,199,960 10.5
New York $25,301,092 2.2 9,160,393 2.5 6,813,174 2.3
Pepperidge Farm $22,248,350 (3.9) 8,425,410 (4.7) 5,558,150 (5.2)
Sister Schubert’s $15,110,071 26.8 4,870,680 32.7 4,060,416 37.5
Cole’s $14,090,700 (5.6) 6,112,536 (4.2) 5,266,109 (4.4)
Pillsbury $9,513,054 (30.6) 2,915,179 (36.4) 4,884,304 (26.6)
 COVER STORY
MIXED REVIEWS
FOR AHOLD
BY WARREN THAYER
J ust so you’ll know, I always
dread doing a cover story on a
retailer based in the Northeast.
Invariably, vendors and brokers com-
plain about how expensive it is to
do business there, how high slotting
is, and how, by gum, half these guys
belong in jail.
Heck, I don’t know. Maybe some
of them do. During my brief corpo-
rate experience as an ad director in
Manhattan many moons ago, I broke
Robinson-Patman every 20 minutes
or so, excepting for lunch breaks.
Like it or not, it was the way things
were done. So I probably belonged
in jail, too. One day, when angst got
22 www.fdbuyer.com APRIL 2010
the worst of me and I actually tried
to tell the feds how rotten the busi-
ness was, they told me they knew all
about it and that “It’s just not a prior-
ity right now.” True story.
So, yeah, when I asked about
Ahold, I got it all in spades. With the
possible exception of Wegman’s (for
the most part), a goodly chunk of
vendors quietly (and not so quietly)
despise retailers in the Northeast.
You know that. But I have to say that
the vitriol I heard directed against
Ahold for making money on the buy,
rather than on the sell, was more
widespread than I had expected.
So, guys, if you have your hands
out too often for every little thing
— and only you know if it’s true or
not — try knocking it off. Or at least
toning it down a bit. Being from the
Northeast, you’ve already got two
strikes against you. Okay, enough
of all this.
Most people I spoke with spent
more time discussing Stop & Shop
than Giant, so even though I’m
told the units operate similarly,
you should keep that in mind. For
example, one vendor has had very
different experiences with different
Ahold banners, noting that Giant-
Carlisle has been “a wonderful trad-
ing partner” while Stop & Shop and
Giant-Landover “have been more
challenging.” He says “Improvement
is coming with the new leadership
of Carl Schlicker and Jeff Martin
THE GOOD,
THE BAD AND
THE MERELY
PUZZLING.
coming over from Carlisle to lead the
entire Ahold retail division.”
Because they’re not crazy, all the
vendors and brokers interviewed
insisted on anonymity.
A MIXED BAG
I got a real mixed bag of responses to
my questions about Ahold. Probably
the one that summed everything up
best was from Don Stuart, president
and CEO of Cannondale Associates,
the Wilton, Conn.-based sales and
marketing consultancy.
Not being one to mince words,
Don said “I don’t see them standing
out relative to major national chains,
but they don’t have Kroger or Safe-
way in their markets. There may be
an absence of negatives, but there’s
also an absence of positives.”
Ouch. But this rang pretty true
for most of the folk I interviewed
about Ahold. What I took away
from those interviews was that
Ahold is perceived as a decent
player that is allowed to coast be-
cause it has no stiff competition. In
the markets Ahold serves, Walmart
supercenters are — compared with
other parts of the country — rela-
tively rare. Ahold has excellent store
locations that serve it well. And a
key — but high-price — competitor,
Shaw’s (Albertson’s), is exiting some
markets in disarray. As one vendor
put it, “Ahold’s New England comps
are up, thanks to Shaw’s.”
 And as yet another friend told
me, “Where it (Stop & Shop) has
a stiff competitor like (Demoulas)
Market Basket, it has one foot on a
banana peel.”
But in fairness, most observers
agree that Ahold stores offer very
good selection and fresh, shopper-
friendly appearances. They also say
that Ahold’s relentless discipline
keeps in-stock levels enviably high.
Stuart sees freshness in the stores
he didn’t see only a few years ago,
“But I don’t think they’ve gone be-
yond the realm of the core grocery
store,” he says, noting that Ahold
would do well to bring in more
theater and excitement to the shop-
ping experience.
DATA, DATA
While Ahold has a high-profile
loyalty card, Stuart feels it is not on
the forefront in terms of using it to
target messages and offers to help
mold shopper behavior. “I see a lot
of opportunity to more aggressively
leverage card data in the U.S. for
competitive advantage,” he says.
Using data is tricky, of course.
Ahold buyers sometimes have a
tendency to ask trading partners
for more and more category data,
“which they seem to use to give them
an excuse not to act,” complains
one vendor. He concedes that this is
a problem with many retailers, but
somewhat more with Ahold. Several
vendors say that between high slots
and slow decision-making, the best
new product opportunities could go
to competitors.
BACK TO HI-LO
Recently, Ahold went through an
EDLP cycle, but then the recession
came and shopper interest in that
pricing format waned. It is now back
to hi-lo, although perhaps not with
the depth and frequency of three
years ago, Stuart says.
Some frozen/dairy vendors com- focus guys?”
plain that the most aggressive price Several branded vendors say
cutting is being done in non-foods, their items — at or near the top of
and that to make up for the lower the category — were dropped with-
profits there, perishables suppliers out warning in favor of private label.
are being asked to give concessions or In some cases, they say these items
meet onerous margin requirements. were returned to the shelf when
the new private label item did not
PRIVATE LABEL meet hurdles.
Most observers give Ahold high
grades for its private label program. UKROP’S TO MARTIN’S?
Stuart says “They’ve done a solid job Stuart says Ahold has a unique
there. They have
distinctive offer-
ings across most
of the store, espe-
AHOLD USA UPDATE
cially in terms of —Ahold USA (www.ahold.com), part of Dutch-based
premium, natural Royal Ahold, is reorganizing into one operating com-
and organic.” He pany (Ahold USA Retail) with four retail divisions:
thinks the U.S. Stop & Shop New England; Stop & Shop Metro New
operations would do York; Giant-Landover; and Giant-Carlisle. Support
well to better lever- functions are being combined in one unit.
age Ahold’s strong —Giant-Carlisle has acquired Richmond, Va.-based
heritage with private Ukrop’s for about $140 million, and is rebannering
label in Europe, them with its Martin’s name.
drawing from its —Growth in the U.S. could come via new store for-
extensive experience mats such as the pilot with C-stores Ahold now has
and learnings there. in Pennsylvania.
Predictably, most —Fourth-quarter profits were hurt by increased
private label ven- promotion and tougher competition.
dors are pleased
with Ahold. They
say it is willing to take a chance on opportunity to learn from Ukrop’s,
innovative new items before they the Richmond, Va.-based chain
have proven themselves with a major it recently acquired. Ukrop’s was
national brand. But some complain widely regarded as an industry jewel
about what they call the company’s — despite its small size it was often
aggressive use of reverse auctions, mentioned in the same breath with
saying that loyalty just doesn’t exist. icons such as Wegman’s, Publix
Not the first time I’ve heard that and HEB.
complaint in the industry. Considering its incredibly
Just as predictably, branded ven- loyal shopper base and all the great
dors are not pleased. “Ahold needs branding that Ukrop’s did, he is
to continue its focus on locally sup- puzzled that Ahold is rebanner-
plied food, but ease up on its stress ing the stores under its Martin’s
on private label so that brands can name. (This issue is discussed, albeit
grow as well,” says one. Says anoth- loosely, in the RetailWire discus-
er, “The program seems to lack clear sion on the following pages.) Ahold
identification. What would they is sinking some serious cash into
like to do on private label? Nature’s refurbishing the stores — including
Promise? Simply Enjoy? What’s the adding more refrigeration. n
APRIL 2010 www.fdbuyer.com 23
 COVER STORY
STORE
BRAND
CRITIQUE
‘Some of these packages are well
done and I like them very much.
Others I just don’t get…’
Editor’s note: During a recent trip
through Stop & Shop stores, I bought
a variety of private label products,
and sent photos of them to Bob An-
derson so he could share his thoughts
about the packaging. Bob is the
president of Store Brand Consult-
ing, Rogers, Ark., and the former VP/
GMM of private label at Walmart.
He’s also on our editorial advisory
board. If you e-mail him at bob.
sue@sbcglobal.net, please tell him I
said hi.
—Warren Thayer
BY BOB ANDERSON
B efore I get started with my
impressions of these prod-
ucts, let me explain a bit of my
private label philosophy First, as a
general rule, I don’t think U.S. food
retailers need to have a three-tier
private label program, because the
third tier so often ends up giving up
not only margin but — in most cases
— quality as well.
That said, it’s important to take
tremendous care with your pre-
mium line. A premium line
should be just that — pre-
mium. Just having unique
flavoring or an additive is
not enough. The packaging
should clearly shout out to
the customer precisely why
it’s superior to any brand. And
while packaging should be “the
window to the product,” it should
never be better or worse than the
24 www.fdbuyer.com APRIL 2010
product quality itself.
Being different or unique doesn’t
make it premium. The product
should be better than a brand both
in its ingredients and flavor, exceed-
ing national brand standards before
you put your name on it.
Over the years, I’ve seen many re-
tailers go overboard with premium,
offering too many SKUs and diluting
the message. This confuses shoppers
and makes your “premium” products
essentially meaningless.
Another mistake I’ve seen: having
too dramatic a difference between
the premium label and the na-
tional brand
equivalent. If
shoppers see
a huge differ-
ence in qual-
ity (as well as
price), it may
cheapen their
perceptions
of your na-
tional brand
equivalent,
and you don’t BOB ANDERSON
want that.
If it were
up to me, I’d
always make sure that my national
brand equivalent had a category-
friendly branded look to it that is
equal to the best brand on the shelf.
In 95% of the cases, I would not
recommend copying the same color
as the brand. You want to be a brand
in your own right, and not a private
label “me-too.” At the same time,
you don’t want to look so far apart
from the national brand that you
look like just another SKU.
I’m not familiar enough with
Ahold’s private label program to
know its tier strategies, so none of
the above is meant to be directed at
them. But here are my thoughts on
the private label photos Warren
sent to me.
I like how they use product call-
outs (as we did at Walmart). This is
key to helping sell the product. You
only have a very short period of time
to “tell the product/brand story”
‘As a general rule, I don’t think
U.S. food retailers need to
have a three-tier private label
program, because the third
tier so often ends up giving up
not only margin but — in most
cases — quality as well.’
when the customer is in each four-
foot section.
I like no more than three callouts,
and they can be different based on
the product. But if the item doesn’t
have three callouts, then don’t do
any. Some of the packaging here has
only one.
The gelato is one I like a lot.
It has that European look that
complements the product
nicely. I like the 50/50
picture/curve verbiage
approach. It’s clean, fresh
and makes a good win-
dow to the product.
I just don’t get the light
cream. I don’t care for the
cow or the light blue color, and
the packaging here looks to be a
 COVER STORY

bit more generic. The waffles look very free, transfat-free etc. These
I would have traditional, and as good are benefits people recognize
suggested going as Eggo’s. The colors are as being healthy, and not just
with more of a clean and fresh, and make “another line.”
usage theme of you think of rising in the
what light cream morning. Again, I don’t I like the whipping cream
is used for, than care for the font, and would a lot, although I’m not sure
with a cow. like to see three icons here. about the red ribbon at the
Store brands and national bottom. While the ribbon
I like the three brands need to quit putting look is okay, I’m not sure
callouts on the the same old tag lines on how they’re choosing colors.
organic soy milk, but I don’t care products such as “excellent I would have gone with a dark blue
for the font description of the source of 10 vitamins” etc. Also to help offset the red in the berry
product. It doesn’t go with the other the line “has calcium” — and give it pop. The icon callouts
fonts. But I do like the three product what doesn’t? P&G need to be more to the center
callouts here. I’m not sure if the did a study many of the product on this one.
light green is a theme years ago, and found
for organic items or Moms really didn’t The king crab and ched-
just this item. If it is care about calcium. dar spread is well done
for all, then I would It was okay to have it — it’s simple and makes
not have done it. I in the product, but they good use of small
get the green/natural didn’t want to pay for it, space, and I like
thought process, but OR taste it. the color choice. I
green doesn’t do well Just about everything nowadays understand why they
on dairy and other has calcium, so it’s not a big deal. couldn’t do more here
fresh items all that The industry needs to use icons/ and am glad they didn’t
well. Also going tag lines that are relevant to today try to.
with a “theme issues, such
color” has as low salt, The pie crust has a
not always been success- low sugar, clean look, sort of Eu-
ful — just ask Nabisco sugar-free, ropean. But the white
(SnackWells) or Heinz low-fat, plate gets lost and
(PINK Weight Watcher’s fat-free, white-on-white is not
packaging.) gluten- a good thing. n

OH, AND BY THE WAY…
We’ve known for a long time that Bob believes frozen foods
aren’t meeting their potential. One day, holed up at an airport,
he sent us a diatribe. Here’s an excerpt:
BY BOB ANDERSON
Instead of “ice cream,” “dinners,” “vegetables” and so on, you might
as well name the frozen categories what they really are: “quick/
easy,” “belly-filler,” “don’t want to cook,” “can’t afford to eat out,”
and “don’t have taste buds.” No wonder many people don’t even go
down the aisle anymore.
Isn’t it time that frozen food came out of the Ice Age? I get that
improving the quality will raise the retails. But then again, I’ve found
that you can only can sell poor quality once — unless you’re selling

O kay, here is one thing I never got: Unlike the rest of the
food departments, frozen has the ability to be a total
store within itself. By this I mean you can choose an
appetizer, side dish, bread, vegetable, potato, entrée, and dessert
all inside the same department. But few if any retailers lay out the
to people who accept items from the “categories” I just listed.
Quality drives sales. Just look at the red box guy who is the best
that frozen has. Last I looked, his sales were better than the rest.
There are tons of ways to improve frozen food and bring new
customers, sales and profit into this category. For me the question is
department this way. when and by whom? I’m betting on Al Gore, since if he is right with
Frozen food is a key piece of real estate that’s not paying its way. global warming, then change can’t be too far off.

26 www.fdbuyer.com APRIL 2010

If you’re looking to enjoy the delicious taste of the islands at your next party, tailgate or family meal,
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To learn more about Margaritaville Foods, visit www.margaritavillefoods.com
Margaritaville is a registered trademark of Margaritaville Enterprises LLC, and is used under license.
 COVER STORY
Ahold bought Ukrop’s, then banned
Girl Scouts and charities from
soliciting outside stores, as they’d
always been allowed to do. Was
this a blunder? Or a good move for
the customer?
Our pals at RetailWire.com had an
online discussion about Ahold’s re-
cent purchase of the iconic Ukrop’s
chain of 25 stores. Ahold is folding
the Richmond, Va.-based chain into
its Martin’s banner, but the re-ban-
nering of the stores wasn’t the real
focus of the discussion. Rather, it
was about how Ahold immediately
began enforcing its corporate policy
forbidding the Salvation Army, the
Girl Scouts and such to seek support
in front of the stores. Ukrop’s had
always allowed it.
“Ahold has purchased a very well
run, family operation in Ukrop’s.
The right step for Martin’s Foods
is to have a solid conversation with
Bob Ukrop, gather his perspective
on how the chain has handled local
fundraising outside of stores over
the years, and then formulate a
strategy that fits those mid-Atlantic
markets. A crafty Speaker of the
House, Tip O’Neill once wisely
28 www.fdbuyer.com APRIL 2010
opined, “All politics is local.” Ahold
would do well to LISTEN first for
understanding.” Roger Saunders,
Managing Director, PROSPER
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT/
BIGResearch
“I think treating each customer
to a small dose of guilt as they
enter your store isn’t good for
the company or generally wanted
by the customer. Ukrop’s — right
now — is different, however. They
were an integral part of the commu-
nity. In fact, I can think of no other
Richmond brand that stands more
for the community. Richmonders
are curious how well Ahold will
retain the aspects of Ukrop’s that
made them special and are watch-
ing with a critical eye. Ahold should
not tamper with community-related
policies until they can transition
customers. A year or two from now,
ban the Girl Scouts, but right now
they are giving people a reason to
not like them during a time when
people are forming opinions. Ter-
rible move, Ahold.” ‘atdrake’
“Martin’s Food Markets are now
on the defensive and facing a
potential PR nightmare — for what
purpose? To merely extend Ahold’s
policies to each acquired banner
without consideration of the impact
on the target market makes little
marketing let any PR sense. Acquisi-
tions like this work best when the
acquiring firm combines its opera-
tional efficiencies with the mar-
keting effectiveness of the acquired
organization.” Richard George,
Professor of Food Marketing, Saint
Joseph’s University
“There’s nothing like buying a com-
pany and then attacking its intan-
gible assets. Happens all the time,
never works. Let the kids sell their
cookies — or start looking for new
customers to replace the ones you’ll
lose. This isn’t a one rule fits all situ-
ation. Ukrop’s customers are used
to a certain standard of community
relations and it ought to be pre-
served.” Ryan Mathews, Founder,
CEO, Black Monk Consulting
“Nobody likes to see the efforts
of worthy charities hampered by
restrictive policies. But no re-
tailer wants its shoppers to have an
experience just prior to a shopping
trip that results in a smaller basket.
In extending this policy to its re-
bannered Martin’s locations, Ahold
may have made the right business
decision — but it’s a cold decision.
James Tenser, Principal, VSN
Strategies
They are not Ukrops anymore.
Whether the decision is good or bad
is up to the consumers to decide.
They can decide with their wallets.
Will they? Likely not. Few consum-
ers really do make choices with their
wallet that equal their words and
thoughts. Will this be remembered?
Maybe. But it’s likely nothing that a
great sale on Coke and Pepsi won’t
fix.” ‘Scanner’
“How weak kneed is the person
who can’t walk by a kettle or card
table? They don’t grab you and
shake you for loose change. Grow
up!” ‘FreezerFreak’
WILL IT HURT?
Retailwire.com asked online visitors
whether Martin’s ban on charitable
solicitations outside its stores will
help or hurt it in holding onto
long-time Ukrop’s customers.
Help a lot 3%
Help somewhat 13%
Neither help nor hurt 25%
Hurt somewhat 43%
Hurt a lot 18%
1. Source: IRI, Dollar Sales, Total U.S. Supermarkets, 52 w/e 2/28/06 vs. 52 w/e 1/2/00, Frozen Mexican Food Brands
2. Source: IRI, Dollar Sales, Total U.S. Supermarkets, 52 w/e 2/28/10, Frozen Mexican Food Brands
(Premium Burritos/Chimichangas exclude low-priced burritos with retail prices below $0.15/ounce)
10 YEARS OF CATEGORY LEADERSHIP
• José Olé® has driven 65% of category dollar sales growth since the brand was
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• José Olé® is the market share leader in Premium Frozen Mexican Food,2
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INVITING AMERICA TO
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programs: national consumer contests, FSIs, in-store advertising,
online couponing, and web marketing.
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consumers to the frozen food aisle with a $20,000 “Party of
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HELPING TO
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S P OT LIGHT: BRE AKFAST
WAFFLES
STILL OFF,
BUT…
Yeah, you know all about the Eggo
shortage. But there’s light at the
end of the tunnel, and handhelds
are up 13.9%.
BY LEN LEWIS
F rozen breakfasts, still
hamstrung by the Eggo waffle
shortage, limped along with
a 4.5% dollar drop in the 12 weeks
ended Feb. 21, according to data
from Information Resources,
Inc., the Chicago-based market
research firm.
But there were several bright
spots in the category (see chart).
Since waffles drive the category,
let’s start there. Eggo has long been
at the top of this very substantial
pile, and the shortage has had a
big effect. Flooding at an Atlanta
factory and equipment problems at
a plant in Rossville, Tenn., are the
root of the problem, but the good
news is that the end is in sight.
“There is still a shortage,” says
Kris Charles, vp of global communi-
cations for Kellogg Company, Battle
Creek, Mich. (www.kelloggcompany.
com). “We’re allocating available
product to retail customers based
on historical percentage of busi-
ness. So it will vary by store how
32 www.fdbuyer.com APRIL 2010
much Eggo products are on freezer
shelves. All Eggo bakeries are now
operational. We anticipate that
inventories will be restored toward
the end of the year.”
Of course Kellogg’s breakfast
product line is diverse, so we asked
Amitabh Krishan, associate director
of frozen foods, for his thoughts on
general trends. “The major factors
driving the segment are consumer
demand for more convenient food
that also offers great taste and nutri-
tion,” he says. “They want full-flavor
options that are low in fat and cho-
lesterol, but also provide positives
such as protein and fiber.
“Morningstar Farms veggie food
net sales grew over 3% in 2009,
driven in part by the successful
introduction of the MorningStar
Farms Hot and Spicy Sausage Pat-
ties. This reflects the increasing
demand for healthy, full-flavor
breakfast options as more and
more consumers look to re-
duce their meat consumption,”
Krishan notes.
Breakfast Is Underrated
Vendors agree that while
breakfast may be the most
important meal of the day, it
is also one of the most underrated
at retail.
“The category is well positioned
for growth because more people are
concerned about living a healthy
lifestyle. But it’s not being lever-
aged well enough,” says Theresa
Marquez, chief marketing
executive, Organic Val-
ley Family Of Farms, La
Farge, Wis.(www.organ-
icvalley.coop).
Kenni Floyd, business
development manager
for CCF Brands, Rogers,
Ark., (www.ccfbrands.com)
adds: “Our view is that the
category is off from last
year and the shortage of a
national brand (Eggo) has
hurt the entire category,”
he says
“I think it’s been underes-
timated and therefore harder to get
breakfast items into limited freezer
space unless it’s a proven seller,”
notes Alicia DePatsy, marketing
director, Pineland Farms Natural
Meats, New Gloucester, Me. (www.
wolfesneck.com). “But we’re watch-
ing things closely and meeting with
a lot of frozen category managers. I
believe it’s going to grow in the next
year or two,” she says.
It’s no secret that shoppers
are shifting to healthier options,
DePatsy adds. “Even chains like Sub-
way will have breakfast sandwiches
and healthier options and the whole
kid-friendly healthy breakfast is the
category to watch.”
Marquez agrees, noting strong
performance by her company’s new
pourable yogurt. Since it is made
with agave instead of sugar, it ad-
dresses diabetes and obesity issues.
The yogurt comes in a 32-ounce
container with a suggested retail of
$3.99, but the company will prob-
ably add a smaller size.
“We’re trying to expand the idea
of putting it on cereal — which a lot
of consumers already do,” says Mar-
quez. Organic Valley is also working
on an Omega-enriched milk to be
launched in May.
Proteins Booming
The protein segment of breakfast
is also booming, according to Tim
Smith, director of Sara Lee’s Jimmy
Dean line (www.jimmydean.com),
Downers Grove, Ill. “We’ve seen
substantial
growth in the better-for-you cate- Such offerings can make getting And it’s almost impossible to com-
gory since introducing Jimmy Dean people back to supermarkets for pete at the same price.”
D-lights in 2007,” he says. “This line
breakfasts somewhat problematic Curtis Earls, vp of sales for CCF,
of breakfast sandwiches and bowls — even in a recession, notes Can- agrees that competing with McDon-
at under 300 calories is the brand’sdice Haines, business development ald’s is tough. “It’s hard getting the
manager for CCF sausage, egg and cheese to come out
Brands. “Sonic (a just right. But CCF has focused on
‘Shoppers want full-flavor fast-food restaurant) succeeding in niche markets such
options that are low in fat and has reacted by of- as its soft bread stuffed with savory
cholesterol, but also provide pos- fering a $1 breakfast
burrito. It’s going
sausage. All the doughnut shops
here have sausage rolls and we’ve
itives such as protein and fiber.’ to be tough getting been very successful bringing them
budget conscious into grocery stores,” Earls says.
consumers to give
fastest-growing segment. We’ve up the convenience of a drive- Where to Stock?
recently expanded D-lights with a through,” she says. Another question is where to put
Turkey Bacon Bowl and a Whole “There’s always going to be that breakfast items in the store. “Are
Grain Bagel Sandwich.” push for fast food,” she says. “No customers looking in the refrigerat-
However, price and convenience matter how convenient something ed case, the meat counter, between
offered by fast-food restaurants is is at home, there’s still preparation the yogurt and pudding or in the
a tough combination to beat. For time and the use of cooking uten- freezer case? One strategy may be
example, Burger King recently an- sils. Even items like breakfast bowls to get consumers into an assembly
nounced that its menu strategy for are not as convenient as something line mode for breakfast by heating
2010 includes a $1 breakfast meal. already wrapped up at McDonald’s. the bread, meats and eggs separately

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S P OTLIGHT: BRE AKFAST

as opposed to an all whole grain flour As Jimmy Dean’s Smith notes:

in one convenience and contains no “Across the category brands are be-
item. “Maybe that high fructose ing asked to justify their shelf space.
would raise the corn syrup. The There has been a general shift in
quality and con- 14.25-ounce consolidation to the power brands
sumer expectations,” package has five and key players. You have to look at
says Floyd. bagels and carries the space-to-sales ratio and ensure
CCF is working a suggested retail that a brand that’s getting 20% of
on several things of $1.50 to $1.88. your real estate is generating at least
in this area, such as “Breakfast will 20% of your revenue.” n
frozen egg patties be a struggle this
for building break- year. But we’re Len Lewis, veteran retail industry
fast sandwiches. At Jimmy Dean D-Lights recently added a making sure we journalist and columnist, is editorial
the same time, the turkey bacon bowl to its highly success- fill the consum- director of Lewis Communications,
company is capturing ful better-for-you line-up. ers’ needs in the Inc. and author of The Trader Joe’s
the indulgent segment frozen, refrigerated Adventure. He can be reached at len-
with a chocolate cherry bagel under and deli departments so retailers can lewis@optonline.net. Or at www.
the Olde Hearth label. It is made with pick up an extra customer, Floyd says.” lenlewiscommunications.com

FROZEN BREAKFASTS
Supermarket sales for the 12 weeks ended Jan. 24, 2010, according a year ago. Data is for the brand as originally trademarked and may
to Information Resources, Inc., the Chicago-based market research not include line extensions.
firm and caped crusaders. Percent change is versus the like period

SALES % CHG UNITS % CHG VOLUME % CHG

TOTAL CATEGORY $335,102,784 (4.50) 124,287,712 (6.50) 99,626,544 (8.50)

WAFFLES $102,728,832 (20.00) 43,455,140 (19.00) 35,848,784 (23.70)
Kellogg’s Eggo $47,835,728 (27.70) 17,476,184 (30.70) 15,287,237 (35.30)
Private Label $27,809,776 10.00 14,741,464 2.50 12,493,850 2.80
Kellogg’s Nutri Grain Eggo $6,708,926 (53.50) 2,211,382 (56.60) 1,700,111 (56.60)
Aunt Jemima $10,522,331 95.50 5,749,293 115.30 4,492,353 34.60
Van’s $3,847,928 19.90 1,184,138 18.40 631,885 16.90
BREAKFAST ENTREES $88,280,504 (0.10) 33,847,776 - 25,933,268 1.00
Aunt Jemima $24,376,472 13.50 11,964,944 8.20 7,520,348 16.80
Jimmy Dean Breakfast Bowls $11,604,670 12.50 4,261,920 15.30 2,138,475 15.00
Jimmy Dean $11,553,885 (10.90) 2,533,346 (19.80) 2,676,826 (6.70)
Private Label $8,004,984 34.60 3,985,088 34.90 3,654,341 32.80
Krusteaz $4,493,760 8.70 1,663,698 11.80 1,661,660 10.80
BREAKFAST HANDHELD $84,195,008 13.90 21,699,962 9.90 19,183,716 12.90
Jimmy Dean $36,856,348 23.60 6,510,626 28.80 8,090,346 20.10
Jimmy Dean D Lights $8,625,784 71.70 1,414,302 77.10 1,723,830 77.50
Tennessee Pride $7,033,915 21.20 1,703,661 34.10 1,760,108 27.70
Weight Wtchrs Smrt Ones Mrnn Exp $5,540,290 (4.10) 1,987,452 (1.40) 993,726 (1.40)
Hot Pockets $5,036,188 (17.70) 2,407,068 (15.50) 1,315,793 (16.30)
OTHER BREAKFAST FOOD $38,972,352 3.10 16,419,838 6.20 11,644,840 4.90
Pillsbury Toaster Strudel $34,587,904 8.60 14,816,205 11.10 10,727,780 11.30
Weight Wtchrs Smrt Ones Mrnn Exp $2,216,198 (0.40) 792,876 2.60 396,438 2.60
BAGELS $13,952,304 (13.20) 7,231,290 (14.20) 5,954,880 (11.70)
Kraft Bagel Fuls $4,742,718 (20.50) 1,886,893 (22.30) 1,179,310 (22.50)
Lender’s $3,933,465 (13.40) 2,398,714 (15.70) 1,811,497 (15.60)
MUFFINS $6,350,237 17.00 1,445,640 (7.60) 823,246 (25.40)
Vitamuffin $3,162,293 84.70 656,787 85.00 328,394 85.00
Vitamuffin Vitatops $2,158,057 200.40 462,727 200.90 231,364 200.90
EGG SUBSTITUTES $623,570 (27.80) 188,075 (24.50) 237,807 (25.30)

34 www.fdbuyer.com APRIL 2010

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S P OTLIGHT: PIZZA

PIZZA:
benchmarks, and
consumers are
attuned to hearsay
about quality ups

PLENTY OF as well as downs.

I think that

POTENTIAL efforts to upgrade

frozen pizza qual-
ity are having
Pizza sales continue to be strong, some success, and
and new innovative items are hot. that the category’s
But some shoppers don’t even con- growth has been
sider frozen product. Hmm…. driven by im-
provements in
BY MONA DOYLE perceived quality
as well as the weak economy and invested $6 to $85 in pizza stones,

F rozen pizza sales may be
strong, but many of today’s
consumers won’t even try it —
dismissing it as “junk,” that “doesn’t
taste good” and “can’t compete with
the real thing.” Still others, who do
use frozen pizza (but as a last resort)
believe “all brands of frozen pizza
taste the same.”
The good news here is that the
category will grow if these negative
perceptions can be changed. Mary
Brown, senior director of brand
marketing for Schwan’s (www.the-
schwanfoodcompany.com) told me
that Freschetta has done research
confirming that “many people had
been avoiding frozen pizza because
they didn’t realize that good stuff
actually goes into it.”
Freschetta is now
trying to confront
that perception di-
rectly with new TV
and packaging.
FIXING THE
IMAGE
But it isn’t go-
ing to be easy to
overcome frozen
pizza’s “not-the-
real-thing” image.
The reputation of
processed food is
being undermined by food critics
and by product recalls, and non-
users are especially hard to reach
because they rarely even look at
the offerings. But many compa-
nies are paying attention to quality
shoppers’ need for cheap meals.
Private label growth has been espe-
cially strong because it’s cheap AND
because many shoppers believe that
private label’s quality is improving
and that they will enjoy whatever
national or private label brand they
bring home. And private label piz-
zas are keeping up with brands in
offering new flavors and even new
benefits. Ric Alvarez, president and
CEO of Frozen Specialties (www.
frozenspecialties.com), says that “on
average, Frozen Specialties’ private
label offerings have less calories,
sodium, and fat content versus the
leading name brand competitor.”
Frozen pizza retail prices can be
dramatically different, both day-to-
day and brand-to-
brand. I asked
a shopper who
was putting
three packages
of Ellio’s into
her cart if she
felt there was a
big difference
between frozen
pizza brands.
“There certainly
is, but I’m
buying what’s
cheap right
now. My kids like
Red Baron, but I don’t have a ride
to Wal-Mart today and Red Baron
costs twice as much here. Ellio’s is
buy one, get two free today, so they
are just going to have to eat Ellio’s.”
Millions of consumers have
which they use in gas grills and We-
bers as well as ovens, to make crusts
baked at home crispier and closer to
the crunchy mouth feel that comes
from pizzerias. Stone adherents
believe that the stones work on all
kinds of frozen and “home-brewed”
pizza, the kinds that that promise to
rise, or the kind that promise to stay
as skinny and crispy as possible.
‘HOME BREWED?’
Seeing the phrase “home brewed”
used to describe a home-assembled
pizza suggests something seen
as amusing, fun, and a little bit
sneaky. (No one would describe
sandwiches assembled at home as
home brewed.) I wondered why
pizza crusts are such a small part of
the frozen pizza category, and Peter
Cokinos, senior vp of sales and mar-
keting at Little Lady Foods (www.
littleladyfoods.com), came up with
a terrific and provocative answer:
“Although consumers are preparing
meals at home more often than they
used to, many consider “pizza night”
a break away from the kitchen. Buy-
ing a pizza crust in addition to the
cheese and toppings can easily cost
more than a fully topped pizza and
requires more work for the consum-
er in the kitchen.” The provocative
part of his answer is that the truth
he cited — that assembling your
own pizza can easily cost more — is
what proves to some consumers
that frozen pizza is junk. “I make my
own, so I know what’s in it.”
Mouthwatering pictures on the

36 www.fdbuyer.com APRIL 2010

 *Source: CLT Consumer Testing, September 2009

©2010 Schwan’s Consumer Brands North America, Inc.

S P OT L IGHT: PIZZA

large-sizes packages help to dif-
ferentiate brands, ingredients, and
flavors and make frozen pizza fun
and challenging to shop. Even the
organic and gluten-free varieties
look like they are going to taste deli-
cious. Flavor innovations run the
gamut from gourmet pesto to bar-
becue, nacho, and buffalo chicken.
Front-panel buzzwords hype the
taste while targeting those looking
for thick chewy crust as opposed to
those who swear by crusts that, like
women, “can’t be too thin.”
The difference between thick and
thin crust users is as stark for some
as the difference between users
of smooth versus
crunchy peanut
butter, but hype
describes the pizzas
as “fire-baked, flat-
bread, crispy thin,
or naturally rising.”
Since I haven’t a
clue what “fire-
baked” means, I
asked the experts
whether they
thought that shop-
pers did understand
the buzzwords or
whether the marketers might be
talking to each other, the way retail-
ers talk to each other when the ad-
vertise fruits and vegetables by their
trade sizes like #10 or #4, which are
meaningless to most shoppers.
Peter Cokinos had what I thought
was a great answer to my buzzwords
question: “Anytime a product can
be better described (and make
the consumer at the grocery store
hungry just by reading that descrip-
tion), it is exciting for the consumer
and the manufacturer alike.” I still
don’t know what fire-baked means,
but I think Peter is right, and that
retail buyers probably enjoy the buz-
zwords, too.”
MORE EYE-APPEAL
The large-size pizzas have much
more eye-appeal than the small
ones, but many of the large sizes
are too large for small households,
narrow freez-
ers, and toaster
ovens. Toaster
oven loyalists
are an impor-
tant and fre-
quently over-
looked market
segment who
like the fact
that toaster
ovens deliver
the crispness
of oven baking
without the
cost or time of getting a big oven
up to pizza temperature. Someone
should experiment with more in-
novative packaging for single slices
of pizza, perhaps something on the
order of Coke’s Fridge Packs, from
which single slices could be re-
moved easily, even by kids in search
of a snack.
Responding to a question about
where new frozen pizza competi-
tion is coming from, Steve Warnert,
director of sales and marketing at
Amy’s Kitchen (www.amyskitchen.
com), said: “There is nothing that
competes head-to-head with pizza.
There’s no way to lose with pizza,
anytime, anywhere.” In the opposite
corner, Peter Cokinos (Little Lady)
said that “New frozen pizza compe-
tition is coming from all different
directions (but) pizza has been and
will continue to be around for a long
time, and new competition contin-
ues to try to get even just a small
slice of the pizza category share. (No
pun intended!)” Although they are
saying opposite things, I think they
are both right. I also think the cat-
egory would benefit in the long term
if more front panels highlighted
ingredients like the kinds of cheese,
sauce, or meat. Co-branding with
a respected cheese, veggie, or meat
brand, e.g., “made with XYZ moz-
zarella,” would move the percep-
tions of those who “dis” frozen pizza
because it’s not the real thing. n
Mona Doyle (mona@consumernet-
work.org) founded and chairs The
Consumer Network, Inc., a Philadel-
phia research and consulting firm,
and publishes The Shopper Report,
a monthly monitor of consumer
thinking and perceptions.

FROZEN PIZZA
Category sales for the 12 weeks ended Feb. 21, 2010, according to Percent change is versus the like period a year ago. Data is for the
Information Resources, Inc., the Chicago-based market research firm. brand as originally trademarked, and may not include line extensions.

CATEGORY $ SALES % CHG UNIT SALES % CHG VOLUME % CHG

TOTAL CATEGORY $782,041,920 6.8 263,473,824 8.9 253,932,448 11.1
Di Giorno $157,129,936 24.9 29,569,628 28.3 44,387,140 24.3
Private Label $76,177,520 3.1 31,945,602 (0.2) 30,622,774 4.3
Tombstone $69,577,528 7.6 19,724,008 9.3 27,000,604 9.9
Red Baron $64,661,000 9.5 16,979,376 12.2 21,611,002 12.3
Tony’s $41,862,368 46.6 23,546,858 126.3 19,083,456 77.8
Freschetta $40,715,984 4.6 7,767,912 8.0 11,606,900 7.9
Totino’s Party Pizza $40,133,016 10.2 30,838,662 14.3 20,136,224 14.2
California Pizza Kitchen $35,600,908 (5.6) 6,784,253 (3.0) 5,344,276 7.8
Jack’s Original $31,098,464 0.6 11,728,204 6.5 12,522,035 6.9
Stouffer’s $19,615,342 (13.7) 7,017,578 (15.1) 5,300,407 (14.5)

38 www.fdbuyer.com APRIL 2010

SPOTLIGHT: APPETIZERS
APPETIZERS
UP IN
UNITS
Value is the name of the game
here. Dollars are off slightly, and
results throughout the segment are
uneven.
BY WARREN THAYER
W e surveyed a cross-
section of branded and
private label manufactur-
ers of appetizers, and pretty much
everyone agrees that shoppers just
aren’t buying the expensive stuff
anymore.
Great American
When planning new private label
items, retailers are becoming more
adventurous and looking toward
foodservice trends instead of lean-
ing so heavily on syndicated data
and replicating products, says Frank
Benso, vp of retail and club sales,
Great American Appetizers (www.
appetizer.com), Nampa, Idaho.
“Mac/cheese bites, and green
bean fries with a wasabi/cucumber
sauce are being received very well,
as these are strong foodservice
trends that create a point of dif-
ference for progressive-thinking
retailers,” he says. “Other items that
are being considered include steak
fingers with a BBQ sauce; and onion
petals with an Aussie sauce.”
“Italian, Mexican and Asian
cuisines remain popular, but ‘fusion’
flavors are also appearing with the
mingling of our mosaic society,”
Benso points out. Packaging is
becoming more user-friendly with
resealable, gusset bags for larger
pack sizes, he adds.
He urges retailers to take advan-
40 www.fdbuyer.com APRIL 2010
tage of seasonal, holiday, or theme
promotions with a strong advertis-
ing campaign geared toward volume
and a strong merchandising set
geared toward profit. “Advertise for
volume and merchandise for profit,”
as he puts it.
Tony Roma’s
Deerfield Beach, Fla.-based Rupari
Food Services (954-480-6320), the
leader in fresh ribs, is rolling out
four new frozen BBQ appetizers
(see our new products pages). The
company, which markets the Tony
Roma’s line, has aggressive plans in
frozen, and expects to gain market
share quickly, according to Robert
Mintz, the CEO.
Mintz says consumers are after
attractive price points, but “Price-
conscious shoppers are willing to
pay a little more for quality. If you
put good product in the package,
it will sell.” Rupari is avoiding the
temptation to reduce package sizes
to achieve a lower price point, be-
cause “That will hurt you eventually.
The consumer is a lot smarter than
people think,” he adds.
Mintz is seeing a significant shift
at retail toward more branded of-
ferings, which he believes will help
retailers more than private label
knockoffs. “Private label is
doing okay,
but the
branded
side of the
business
is doing
extremely
well. Con-
sumers are
looking for
branded
products,
and cases
are being set
up with clusters of brands.”
While ethnic flavor profiles are
more prevalent than before, Rupari
is sticking to its core BBQ business.
“We’re looking at different flavors,
but not necessarily ethnic. We’re
launching sweeter flavors, and some
fruit flavors that are going to play
well this year,” Mintz says.
Yankee Trader
Ads and packaging that offer
consumers serving suggestions or
different ways to use the product
can help generate sales, but BO-
GOs are the most effective ways to
move cases according to Stephanie
Hernan, owner and CFO of Yankee
Trader Seafood (www.yankeetrader-
seafood.com), Pembroke, Mass.
If you’re going to offer multiples, she
says, it’s wise to make them some-
thing like two for $6, or 10 for $10,
so people can do the math quickly
and easily and understand the value
immediately.
Demos can be effective, since
once shoppers try and like an item
they are more likely to buy, Hernan
notes. But she cautions that these
are really effective only when the
product is new or unique. If the
appetizers are seafood based — like
Yankee Trader’s — it’s important to
demo them near the seafood depart-
ment, since not all seafood shoppers
visit all parts of the store.
Yankee Trader recently launched
a line called Davios Spring Rolls,
which includes a
Philly Cheese
Steak Spring
Roll, Chicken
Parm Spring
Roll and a
Shrimp and
Cojito Spring
Roll.
Ruiz Foods
Ruiz Foods
(www.el-
monterey.com),
Dinuba, Calif., long known for
its successful El Monterey line of
Mexican foods, continues to have
strong sales from its Tornados
brand. Launched in supermarkets
after sales exploded in C-stores, the
SPOTLIGHT: APPETIZERS

line includes flavors such as more of price protect-

Chicken Club, Cheesy Pep-
per Jack, Ranchero Beef
and Cheese and Cheesy
Pepperoni and Southwest
Chicken.
To support the Tornados
brand, Ruiz has used national
TV, Facebook, FSIs, and, of
course, NASCAR.
“Our sponsorship of NASCAR’s
No. 39 Ryan Newman came about
as we decided to pursue a national
professional sports sponsorship,”
says Bryce Ruiz, president and CEO.
“We quickly narrowed our search
to NASCAR and a Sprint Cup team.
The fan base is huge, 40% women
and sponsorship opportunities that
allow for a variety of consumer-
based promotions.”
Ryan Newman’s No. 39 Torna-
dos Chevy Impala premiered at the
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Las Ve-
gas Motor Speedway early this year,
and the campaign and exposure to
date has been excellent, Ruiz says. .
“The retail on-pack consumer
promotion features in-pack collec-
tor cards and hundreds prizes. To
detail a bit, each box contains one of
ten collector cards. Each card con-
tains a code that can be entered at
www.mytornados.com for hundreds
of other prizes. The promotion is
titled ‘Ticket to Ride’ because the
grand prize is an exclusive racing
trip of a lifetime to include hot laps
with none other than Tornados Rac-
ing drive Ryan Newman,” Ruiz says.
there is a demand for these items
especially in retailers that target the
natural consumer
With the recession, cash-starved
consumers are seeking out value-
priced belly-fillers — often in larger
pack sizes to get a better deal, says
Bylada’s Silverman. He adds that
some retailers who had been giving
more space to higher-end value-
added items are seeing this trend
and stocking more mainstream pri-
vate label items. The shift is produc-
ing more volume and ROI for them,
he notes.
To meet increasing “green”
requests from retailers, Bylada is
increasing case packs to reduce cor-
rugated costs, and considering use of
printed films to eliminate the need
for the retail box where possible.
Best-in-class retailers are dedicat-
ing more ad space and incremental
merchandising space to private label
snacks and appetizers, and promot-
ing more frequently year-round,
Silverman says. He’s seeing a lot
ing versus national
brands.
Silverman believes
category manage-
ment is increasingly
focused on driving
private label penetration,
creating differentiation and
shopper loyalty.
Kettle Cuisine
Chelsea, Mass.-based Kettle Cuisine
(www.kettlecuisine.com) recently
added Three Bean Chili to its
frozen lineup, according to Levon
Kurkjian, vp of marketing. The
10-ounce ready-to-heat bowl is line
priced with other offerings at $3.49
to $3.99. Vegan, hearty, tasty, and
loaded with all-natural fiber and
protein (but without high levels of
fat or sodium), the soup fills a mar-
ket void, he says.
Kettle Cuisine’s ten soups are
all-natural and certified gluten free
— two attributes of growing impor-
tance to many shoppers, according
to Kurkjian. To grow the category,
he urges retailers to dedicate more
space and to use endcaps or pro-
motional coffin cases to drive trial.
Moderately discounted promos also
drive strong increases, he says.
Also productive: dedicated
gluten-free frozen food or natural
food sections, with branded shelf
strips and door clings. n

Bylada Foods APPETIZERS/SNACK ROLLS

Bylada Foods (www.byladafoods.
com), Moonachie, N.J., recently
added mini breakfast bagels for
frozen snacks or breakfasts. Michael
Silverman, vp of sales and market-
ing, says the products meet the
growing demand for savory hand-
held and mini items. They come in
three flavors: bacon, egg and cheese;
sausage, egg and cheese; and egg
and cheese.
Also new from Bylada, targeting
shoppers who want to eat healthy,
natural foods: whole wheat, whole
grain all-natural mini pizza bagels,
in three flavors: 3-cheese; cheese
and pepperoni; and combination.
any consumers becoming more con-
scious of eating all natural we feel
Supermarket sales of appetizers and snack and bowling club. Percent change is versus
rolls for the 12 weeks ended Feb. 21, 2010, the like period a year ago. Data is for the
according to Information Resources, Inc., brand as originally trademarked, and may
the Chicago-based market research firm not include line extensions.
$ SALES % CHG UNITS % CHG VOLUME % CHG
TOTAL CATEGORY $268,031,840 (0.4) 71,865,624 0.3 68,061,024 0.6
Totino’s Pizza Rolls $59,163,352 1.1 18,637,918 1.3 20,977,156 2.8
TGI Friday’s $27,926,768 (6.3) 6,779,102 (11.1) 5,137,284 (8.2)
Bagel Bites $20,653,540 (4.7) 5,959,384 (11.0) 4,182,541 (9.1)
Private Label $19,730,764 1.4 6,070,425 (4.5) 5,375,497 (5.5)
Jose Ole $17,110,716 14.5 3,679,526 21.4 4,879,053 21.9
El Monterey $13,925,194 16.9 2,783,548 47.1 3,898,437 16.0
Farm Rich $10,426,967 28.2 2,287,494 40.0 3,082,016 27.1
Delimex $7,857,858 (8.2) 1,233,912 (12.9) 2,395,478 (11.1)
Tyson Anytizers $8,920,034 7.7 1,239,783 4.0 1,845,890 14.6
Poppers $7,587,336 (3.6) 1,942,563 (6.0) 1,309,454 (4.3)

42 www.fdbuyer.com APRIL 2010

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SPOTLIGHT: DIPS
NO DIP
IN DIPS
(OR SPREADS!)
‘Healthy’ trend is clear in both, with
many new products rolling out.
BY WARREN THAYER
& DAN RAFTERY
D
ips and spreads both turned
in healthy gains in the 12
weeks ended Feb. 21, accord-
ing to data from Information
Resources, Inc., the Chicago-based
market research firm (see chart).
The gain was strongest in “Flavored
Spreads” — primarily hummus —
which continues its meteoric climb.
And with household penetration
at only 14% for hummus, there is still
tremendous upside potential, says
John McGuckin, exec vp of sales,
Sabra, Queens, N.Y. (www.sabra.
com)., He believes sales could reach
$500 million in three years with 20%
annual growth.
After the Super Bowl, Fourth of
July is the next best event for hum-
mus, says McGuckin, “and Labor Day
is good too.” He recommends includ-
ing hummus in promotions that tar-
get gatherings of people, regardless of
the holiday or event.
NEW PRODUCTS DRIVE SALES
New products will continue to drive
growth by attracting first-timers and
offering regulars new variety. Sabra’s
recent rollout of Spinach and Arti-
choke Hummus will be followed soon
by another still-secret flavor with
proven appeal.
Usage occasions are expanding,
which McGuckin credits for part of
the sales increase. The four-pack of
two-ounce hummus is going in lunch
boxes, along with carrots, celery
and other fresh produce for snacks
that are healthy, he says. McGuckin
44 www.fdbuyer.com APRIL 2010
believes these multi-packs add purely
incremental sales.
“Healthy” is the operative word
here, as vendors roll out new items
to meet growing consumer demand
even in traditionally “less-than-
healthy” categories such as dips, says
Emily Alfano, senior marketing man-
ager, Future Foods, Carrollton, Tex.
(www.saladsofthesea.com). That’s
one reason why the company’s
five-item line of all-natural
Greek Yogurt Dips, launched
last June, is performing so
well, she says.
Nobody needs to tell you
how well Greek yogurt is
doing in the dairy case. The
items offer real zip compared
to basic dips, and less fat.
“Basically, we have substituted
traditional sour cream with
Greek yogurt,” she says. It’s a
delicious and healthier product,
she notes, with the benefits of probi-
otics additional protein and calcium.
Alfano explains that while all-
natural is popular, it also costs more
to make and has a shorter shelf life
than its traditional counterparts. For
this reason, some retailers prefer to
stay with traditional products with
preservatives, she says. Shelf life of
the Greek yogurt dips is 40-45 days,
depending on the item.
Salsa snack packs were rolled out
in December by Fresherized Foods,
Fort Worth, Tex. (www.eatwholly.
com), best known for marketing
Wholly Guacamole but now extend-
ing its reach into other categories.
The Fresherized team had seen the
success of 100-calorie snack packs
in other categories, and was also
mindful of the obesity epidemic. It
had launched
guacamole
snack packs
— helping
consumers
cut fat and calories when they used a
single serving on a burger or chicken
— and the salsa extension seemed
like a no-brainer.
Results in the market have been
very positive, according to Jay Al-
ley, vp of retail sales. Individual
3.65-ounce snack packs of salsa have
fewer than 50 calories, and
a four-pack carries a
suggested retail of
$2.99 to $3.49.
Brand new from
the company — set
to hit the shelves in
April or May — is
Wholly Queso. The
14-ounce pack-
ages are line-priced
with the company’s
guacamole at $3.99 to
$4.99. People love to
snack, and even though
this item may not be
as healthy as guacamole
or salsa, there’s something about
creamy cheeses, veggies and spices
that is hard to resist. It’s being made
with more cheese than is found in
competing products, and will be
targeted primarily to the produce
department, says Jay Alley, vp of sales
at Fresherized.
YANKEES & COWBOYS
On a side note, the company’s
products are now the official queso,
guacamole and salsa of the New
York Yankees. It’s had huge success
with a similar deal with the Dallas
Cowboys, says Tracey Altman, vp
of marketing.
“Any time you can identify with
a local team and a party setting
where people eat together, it can be a
real sales driver,”
she says. In
referring to
the Yankees
deal, Altman
 #IN1 HUMMUS
AMERICA
SABRA HAS DRIVEN OVER 75% OF
CATEGORY SALES IN THE LAST YEAR!

IRI Latest 52 weeks Nov 1, 2009

SPOTLIGHT: DIPS

(who has been known to root for
another team) says “It’s Jay’s way of
punishing me!”
Fresherized is focusing consider-
able attention on health and well-
ness. Added nutrients, simplicity in
labeling, food safety and childhood
obesity are very much on its radar.
‘WHAT’S GUACAMOLE?’
“Jay and I were doing store testing in
Orlando recently, and three little kids
came up. We asked them if they liked
guacamole, and they didn’t know
what it was,” says Altman. “They use
ranch dressing and ketchup, and even
the parents didn’t know that salsa and
guacamole are good for you, with ad-
ditional vitamins and minerals.”
This suggests that a little consum-
er education might go a long way. To
this end, Fresherized has shelf talkers
that say “Less Waist, More Taste.”
It is also working with marketing
partners — such as Hefty, the Beef
Council and local dairies — to get
out its message.
Altman urges retailers to pro-
mote the category and give it more
facings, since it is directly on trend
with health and wellness. She reports
working with an Arizona retailer who
set up a destination category with
queso, salsa and guacamole. Typically,
this retailer had been going through
a few hundred cases a week, but this
promotion — supported with dis-
plays and signage — pushed through
50,000 cases in just two weeks.
“I was scared to death he’d have
a ton of shrink, but he’s the happi-
est guy because he sold through all
the product,” she says of the retailer.
“This is an impulse product. Retailers
who give it space and promote it will
sell it.”
This year, look for a consumer
trend to “back to the basics” and
“comfort,” says Mary A. Vaccaro,
senior marketing manager, Sandridge
Food Corp., Medina, Ohio (www.
sandridge.com).
“I would expect the flavor profiles
in the dip and spread category to fol-
low suit,” she explains. The recession
has forced more people to eat out less
often, and dips have long been staples
at party or family gatherings, she says.
NEW TWISTS
While French onion dip is probably
the oldest and best known, many
people also appreciate new twists on
old favorites without breaking the
bank, Vacarro points out. Examples
of this new trend include dips such
as Buffalo Chicken, Jalapeno-Cheese
and Queso.”
She adds that while dips and
spreads are growing in popularity,
they are impulse-driven and rarely on
shopping lists. Appropriate merchan-
dising can boost sales dramatically.
“To get consumers to buy, you need
to give them a good reason. Position-
ing a dip as ‘restaurant quality’ might
encourage consumers to indulge in
‘dining out’ in the comfort of their
own home, for only a few dollars,”
Vacarro says.
In the flavored spreads category,
hummus drove gains of 16.4% in the
12-week period. “New flavors of hum-
mus continue to be developed but
the biggest sellers are still Original,
Red Pepper, Garlic and Artichoke/
Spinach,” according to Dominick Fro-
cione, vp of sales, Cedar’s Mediter-
ranean Foods, Bradford, Mass.(www.
cedarsfoods.com). He thinks the next
big push will be yogurt-based dips, of-
fering an alternative to cream cheese
or sour cream based products.
“Salads are really becoming their
own category,” he adds. “We have
worked closely with some major
accounts to build a Mediterranean
Salad Section. Consumers are picking
these salads up because they are visu-
ally appealing and healthy.”
Frocione says retailers would be
wise to build a Mediterranean desti-
nation section. “Customers hear all
the media attention paid to healthy
eating and lifestyles that are all part
of Mediterranean, so don’t split up
your category. A good Mediterranean
section needs to offer: hummus, sal-
ads, tzatziki, (Greek yogurt dips), and
pita chips,” he says. n
Dan Raftery (Dan@RafteryNet.com)
is president of Raftery Resource Net-
work and a trumpet hobbyist. Warren
Thayer (warren@fdbuyer.com) is the
notorious editor of this magazine and
a part-time toreador.

FLAVORED SPREADS & DIPS

Supermarket sales for the 12 weeks ended Feb. 21, 2010, according to Percent change is versus the like period a year ago. Data is for the
Information Resources, Inc., the Chicago-based market research firm. brand as originally trademarked and may not include line extensions.

SUB-CATEGORY $ SALES % CHG UNIT SALES % CHG VOLUME % CHG

FLAVORED SPREADS $72,436,980 16.4 21,425,380 19.8 13,619,720 23.6

Sabra $30,942,640 35.6 8,081,810 41.5 5,102,386 41.3
Kraft Foods $9,360,653 (17.2) 2,963,282 (21.8) 1,472,649 (19.9)
Tribe Mediterranean $9,146,554 9.1 2,923,065 13.1 1,757,022 12.9
Cedar’s Mediterranean $6,295,466 (1.2) 1,795,039 (1.0) 1,324,054 (0.3)
Private Label $5,285,081 59.7 2,407,152 123.9 1,911,136 121.1
DIPS $123,255,056 2.4 50,679,636 5.1 42,355,448 3.7
Private Label $29,788,724 (1.8) 12,410,075 1.8 11,033,564 (0.1)
T. Marzetti $19,148,240 (2.9) 5,744,276 (1.9) 5,168,128 (1.5)
Dean’s $12,091,144 5.5 6,930,980 6.0 6,075,016 5.7
Heluva Good $10,630,120 8.6 5,740,595 10.0 4,647,382 9.6
Wholly Guacamole $7,577,549 22.9 2,581,977 51.1 1,665,327 43.6

46 www.fdbuyer.com APRIL 2010

 THE
DELICIOUS-CREAMY
ALL-NATURAL-PACKED-WITH
PROTEIN-AND-PROBIOTICS
GREEK YOGURT
Thanks for making Chobani the
#1 Greek yogurt in America.
(Source: IRI 12 weeks ending Feb. 21)

TWICE THE PROTEIN

TWICE THE PROTEIN • NO FAT • ALL NATURALNO FAT • ALL NATURAL
LO G ISTICS
A return to normal is on the
horizon, according to senior
executives of some of the
industry’s leading cold warehousing
and logistics companies.
Cutbacks and inventory adjust-
ments have been part of the reces-
sionary picture, but that didn’t stop
investments in technology that will
help these companies be more com-
petitive. Increasing efficiency and
service levels have become a key
part of the approach at these firms.
Meanwhile, many of these
executives are keeping an eye on
the potential impact of new regula-
tory developments in Washington.
While they concede that business
isn’t great, they expect improve-
ment soon. They also believe that
the lessons learned during lean
times have been valuable.
We asked a variety of questions
of a virtual roundtable which
included:
–Jerome Scherer, vp national
sales and marketing, government
affairs, U.S. Cold Storage,
Voorhees, N.J.;
–Chuck Tippmann, president,
Tippmann Group/Interstate Ware-
housing, Fort Wayne, Ind.;
–Don Schoenl, CEO, Nordic Cold
Storage, Atlanta;
48 www.fdbuyer.com APRIL 2010
–Don McGraw, president, Colum-
bia Colstor, Moses Lake, Wash.;
–Peter Westermann, president
and CEO, Total Logistic Control,
Holland, Mich.;
–Mike Henningsen, chairman
and president, Henningsen Cold
Storage, Hillsboro, Ore.;
–Andy Janson, president, Hanson
Logistics, St. Joseph, Mich.;
–Drew Blum, president & CEO,
Allied Frozen Storage, Buffalo, N.Y.
HOW HAS THE RECESSION
IMPACTED YOUR COMPANY?
Scherer: It has been a challenging
time for most food companies. High
unemployment and low consumer
confidence has resulted in reduced
consumer spending in many areas
of the economy, including frozen
food sales. With the economic
downturn, frozen food manufactur-
ers have been rationalizing invento-
ries to match lower demand. Many
are holding off on new product
development and production facil-
ity expansion, waiting to see the
direction the economy is going. As
a result, there is more competition
in the PRW industry as space has
opened up in most markets.
Tippmann: Not unlike many com-
panies, the recession has forced us
to size our employee base consist-
ent with our business profile and
revenue. There has been tremen-
dous focus on reducing waste,
increasing efficiencies and asking
our employees to “stretch” just a bit
more on behalf of our customers.
We are fortunate to have a tremen-
dous workforce that has risen to the
occasion on many fronts.
Schoenl: We are a regional con-
solidation point for manufacturers
servicing the retail and foodserv-
ice providers. The total volume
handled by our Atlanta Logistics
Centers actually increased since
2008, but the mix is much differ-
ent. As consumers moved from
eating out to eating more meals in
the home, our foodservice volume
decreased while our retail volume
surged. Customers in both markets
cut inventory levels. Average order
sizes shrank and the number of
SKU’s increased to gain incremen-
tal revenue.
About a third of Nordic’s volume
relates to the export of protein. The
recent recession has seen manu-
Jerome Scherer, vp national
sales and marketing, government
affairs, U.S. Cold Storage: ‘We do
have specific concerns about food
safety… we are focused on helping
our customers deal with product
recall in the most timely and
accurate way possible.’
 What was your logistics company doing in 1923?
Our business was founded on these four principles, and
they have been the mainstay of our company ever since.

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www.henningsen.com
Oregon • Washington • Idaho
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LO G ISTICS

facturers go out rent economic to lower sales volume. They need

of business while downturn. The
others idle plants fact that the
or work at reduced food industry is
volumes. We have fairly resilient
seen inventory to economic
levels dramatically highs and lows,
below 2008 levels. coupled with the
However, inventory fact that Hanson
levels have risen has a diverse
steadily since the customer base
beginning of the with a presence
year as companies in commodities,
begin to produce Chuck Tippmann, president, food service, re-
more and some for- Tippmann Group/Interstate tail, etc., within
eign markets have Warehousing: ‘There has been our network
tremendous focus on reducing
put restrictions on waste, increasing efficiencies and of facilities. In
imports from the asking our employees to “stretch” some instances,
United States. just a bit more on behalf of our the weak dollar
customers.’
has actually had
McGraw: During a positive impact
2009, inventory turnover declined, on our business, driving exports.
which caused a minor reduction in
the size of our workforce. Employee Blum: Many people feel that the
turnover also dropped to about half food industry is somewhat reces-
of the rate in 2008 as jobs became sion-proof due to the underlying
increasingly scarce. supply/demand economics. While
this might be true, the desire for
Westermann: We see a stronger cost cutting can result in an in-
emphasis from our clients for the crease in mergers and consolida-
3PL to be a technology thought tions; hence, the risk of losing a
leader. There is a growing inter- customer increases. Additionally,
est among many of our clients to customers will reduce inventory
outsource their WMS needs and not levels to barely meet their needs
to re-invest capital in a WMS/TMS and scale back on forward produc-
system. More and more clients are tion. Fortunately, we haven’t lost any
looking for a variable solution to sys- major customers; however, we have
tem needs and are looking for 3PLs seen a reduction in inventory from
to offer a Tier 1 technology solution certain customers. Our focus is to
in a “pay-by-the-drink” format. deliver quality customer service at a
reasonable price. If we can success-
Henningsen: Fortunately, the food fully reduce variable costs without
industry is less impacted, in gen- jeopardizing this focus, we try it.
eral, than many other industries,
but the foodservice segment slows WHAT IMPACT HAS THE
when people can’t afford to eat out. RECESSION HAD ON YOUR
Turns and inventories are generally TOP CUSTOMERS? WHAT DO
lower, and employee awareness over YOU DO DIFFERENTLY AS A
career stability is heightened. There RESULT?
is greater access to high quality tal-
ent today. Scherer: Many of our customers
have been impacted by tighter credit
Janson: Hanson Logistics has been and their inability to finance their
fortunate enough to be “riding inventories. They are also experi-
out the storm” during the cur- encing financial pressure related
help controlling their costs and a
good way to deal with both issues is
to speed up their inventory turns.
This is where we have been work-
ing closely with our customers to
accommodate faster inventory and
order flows. Cross docking, short-
term storage and access to inventory
and order information is the key to
these programs.
Tippmann: On the warehousing
side, our key customers have been
very focused on inventory levels
and reducing their carrying cost of
inventory. In some cases, this has
resulted in reduced volumes and/or
alternative pricing models. In a tight
credit market with reduced sales,
this is a natural response. Our focus
has been, and continues to be, on
meeting our customers where they
are. Service cannot waiver as cus-
tomer service both up and down-
stream in the supply chain is more
critical than ever as firms compete
aggressively for business.
Schoenl: There is no doubt that the
supply chain became more compli-
cated. With the reduced inventory
Don Schoenl, CEO, Nordic Cold
Storage: ‘As consumers moved
from eating out to eating more
meals in the home, our foodservice
volume decreased while our retail
volume surged. Customers in both
markets cut inventory levels.’

50 www.fdbuyer.com APRIL 2010

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LO G ISTICS
Mike Henningsen, chairman and
president, Henningsen Cold
Storage: ‘Reduced access to work-
ing capital causes heightened need
for our customers to more closely
manage their inventory and overall
logistics costs tighter than ever.’
levels, most safety stocks have been
eliminated. Customers are demand-
ing more cross-docking and spe-
cial handling, later order changes,
smaller order sizes, etc. To respond,
we have focused on retaining our
associates and continuing to train
them to be easy to do business with;
to offer solutions, not explanations;
and to provide customers with
timely information to assist them in
their planning process.
McGraw: Some of our customers
have revised inventory deployment
strategies to delay forward distribu-
tion until demand requires move-
ment. We do see higher inventories,
and this will lead to a reduction in
production for 2010. As a result, we
continue our efforts to ensure proper
product rotation and reliable out-
bound loading services to prevent
any downstream stock outages. As
always, watching labor costs and
other expenses becomes more impor-
tant during these economic times.
We are fortunate that our major
customers have strong reputations
for quality and value, which will
position them well as the economy
recovers. We know that those
customers will continue to demand
quality and value from us. Cost
52 www.fdbuyer.com APRIL 2010
containment will be even more es-
sential as the government addresses
healthcare and the deficit. Our
location also works well for export
business and we still see opportuni-
ties in this market.
Henningsen: Reduced access to
working capital causes heightened
need for our customers to more
closely manage their inventory and
overall logistics costs tighter than
ever. We respond by working with
them to improve efficiencies and
carve out costs. Part of our job/
service is to try to reduce stressors
inherent with their employees.
Janson: The recession has certainly
not hurt our business and, in a lot
of cases, it helped. More people are
watching their pocketbooks and eat-
ing at home. Many of our customers
work with Walmart and Aldi, and it
seems many shoppers have turned
to Walmart for value during this
current economic downturn. We
work in the frozen seafood segment
in a couple of our facilities and we
have experienced a downturn in
this segment.
WHEN DO YOU SEE THE
ECONOMY RETURNING
MORE TO “NORMAL?” HOW
DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE
FUTURE, AND ANY NEW
GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES?
Scherer: We are optimistic about
the future of the frozen food indus-
try. We expect to see a rebound dur-
ing the last half of 2010 and a return
to more normal growth for 2011
and beyond.
Tippmann: They joke that “flat”
is the new normal. We are not
sure if this is the case or not, but
clearly it’s going to take some time
to start seeing significant growth
across industries. That said, on our
construction side, we are already
seeing more companies undertake
engineering work and evaluating
projects than in 2009. Although
this in itself does not translate into
business, clearly the sentiment
seems more encouraging.
Schoenl: This recession will pass
and the economy will slowly re-
cover. However, the lessons that
we have learned will remain and,
as a result, Nordic and the rest of
the refrigerated supply chain will
continue to become more efficient
and effective in dealing with future
challenges. I am very proud of the
way our customers and associates
responded since the current reces-
sion began.
McGraw: It is difficult to predict
what will be normal or when the
economy will get there. Recent
economic developments were very
unsettling to consumers and dis-
ruptive to product demand. Looking
forward, consumers seem to be still
somewhat cautious and now busi-
nesses appear to be taking a similar
perspective on expectations for
growth.
Henningsen: Hopefully soon —
early signs are already showing.
It’s going to take some time for
economic recovery and stability to
occur. It could be a number of years
Don McGraw, president, Colum-
bia Colstor: ‘We continue our
efforts to ensure proper product
rotation and reliable outbound
loading services to prevent any
downstream stock outages.’
 before employ-
ment numbers
improve. In fact,
this recovery
may include little
or no real job
growth, which is
scary as peo-
ple decide how
to spend what
money they have.
Peter Westermann, president and That being said,
CEO, Total Logistic Control: ‘More the U.S. popula-
and more clients are looking for a tion is continuing
variable solution to system needs
and are looking for 3PLs to offer to grow, pri-
a Tier 1 technology solution in a marily through
“pay-by-the-drink” format.’ immigration, and
the major con-
sumption markets will continue to grow.

Janson: In my opinion, we are still 12 to 18

months away from a moderate recovery. Han-
son Logistics is taking advantage of the current
downturn by expanding at our Chicago loca-
tion and considering expansion at two of our
Michigan locations. Additionally, we are tak-
ing steps to improve our energy efficiency in
our existing facilities. The environment is quite
competitive amongst sub-contractors and sup-
pliers in this area. We are fortunate that we are
in a position to capitalize on this situation.

Blum: Without government intervention, I

would feel comfortable in saying the economy
will start to recover soon. However, we have
a government which wants to increase its
role in everything we do, so how can anyone
predict what the economy will look like in the
future? Regionally speaking, the frozen ware-
housing business is presently at equilibrium,
so we don’t see any real growth opportunities.
However, we are always looking to expand
our relationships with existing customers and
forge relationships with new customers. If this
can result in a growth opportunity for us we
are eager to explore it.

WHAT ARE YOUR TOP CONCERNS,

INDUSTRY-WIDE? TAXES, GOVERN-
MENT REGULATION, FOOD SAFETY,
OTHER?

Scherer: All of the items mentioned will con-

tinue to challenge the industry. We do have
specific concerns about food safety and secu-
LO G ISTICS
rity. In particular, we are focused on
helping our customers to properly
deal with product recall in the most
timely and accurate way possible.
Tippmann: There is always a
concern that taxation or regulation
decisions could adversely impact
our industry. Right now, we all need
to be extremely thoughtful about
any new taxes or regulations that
take the wind out of any potential
turnaround.
Bigger picture, we need an
overall improvement in consumer
and business confidence. It’s a real
chicken and egg discussion. We all
need consumers to start spending
so businesses can start focusing on
growth, improvement and expan-
sion vs. mere survival. If we could
string one or two quarters of mod-
est growth together, the business
atmosphere would thaw consider-
ably and fundamentals would follow
shortly thereafter.
McGraw: Our goals are to oper-
ate our facilities safely, efficiently,
sustainably and profitably. We are
concerned about any costs and obli-
gations that distract from those goals.
Drew Blum, president and CEO,
Allied Frozen Storage: ‘Without
government intervention, I would
feel comfortable in saying the
economy will start to recover
soon. However, we have a govern-
ment which wants to increase its
role in everything we do.’
54 www.fdbuyer.com APRIL 2010
Henningsen: Taxes, governmental
burdens and other penalties for do-
ing/growing business and creating
jobs in U.S. The state of Pennsylva-
nia is a good example, as they are
trying (again) to impose a tax on
warehousing services.
Janson: All of the above (points
raised in the question) plus health
insurance costs for our teammates.
Things are changing quickly in
Washington, and it has become a
full-time job just trying to keep up
with those changes. I agree with
some, but do not with most, but we
have to be in a position to be able to
adapt quickly. We are taking proac-
tive steps on some of the issues,
especially in the area of food safety
and security.
Blum: You’ve nailed the top three
(in the question), especially govern-
ment regulation, which includes
labor, health insurance and workers
compensation. You could probably
throw in utility costs as a fourth.
WHAT NEW TECHNOLO-
GIES ARE YOU NOW USING,
OR SEE COMING ONLINE
SHORTLY THAT BRING REAL
PROMISE?
Scherer: Over the past years, we
have made big investments in ad-
vanced warehouse technology and
the integration with our logistic and
information systems. We feel very
good about our use of information
technology and have become ex-
tremely efficient in the warehouse,
maximizing labor while assuring a
high degree of accuracy in inventory
control and order assembly.
Meanwhile, our ongoing focus is
on the implementation of energy ef-
ficiency technology and equipment.
Whether it be retrofitting to more
efficient lighting, using variable
speed drives on compressors, evapo-
rators and condensers or resurfac-
ing a roof to highly reflective white,
Andy Janson, president, Hanson
Logistics: ‘I still hold out hope for
RFID (radio frequency identifica-
tion). Once this technology gets
to a cost-effective level it will
have a huge benefit and impact
on our business.’
we know that our ability to control
energy costs is critical.
Solar energy technology is of
great interest to us. In August of
2008 we began operating a major
roof-mounted solar system at our
Tulare, Calif., warehouse distribu-
tion center. This is an ideal appli-
cation for energy generation and
sustainability. We look forward to
many more such installations in
the future.
Tippmann: Advancements in
computer control systems have
helped us more efficiently control
both the freezer temperature and
the engine room. We’re letting the
freezer temperature control the
suction pressure of the engine room,
which results in significant energy
savings on our utility bills. We have
also spent the last couple of years
designing a more efficient and cost-
effective alternative to traditional
blast freezing. The QFR (Quick
Freeze Racking) Zone has allowed
us to dramatically cut costs on
labor and utilities associated with
blast freezing.
Schoenl: The recession has helped
us focus on becoming a better
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LO G ISTICS

company. We have invested sig-
nificantly in technology to help us
operate more efficiently. We imple-
mented the Red Prairie WMS and
LMS systems to make sure that we
are more efficient and effective in
how we handle product within the
warehouse. We now run a Lean
Logistics-hosted Transportation
Management System to help us
manage our multi-vendor, LTL con-
solidation program. In addition, we
have purchased systems and equip-
ment to reduce energy consumption
throughout our network.
McGraw: We are working on a
variety of initiatives that contribute
to our ability to create value for our
customers. We have implemented
management programs focused
to improve safety and productiv-
ity. We are implementing real time
monitoring of energy consumption
to improve refrigeration efficiency.
We are upgrading our warehouse
management software to provide
more accurate and timely inventory
information to our customers.
Henningsen: We are migrating
to Red Prairie’s warehouse man-
agement system. In addition to its
full RF capabilities, it is improv-
ing product trackability, trace and
recall abilities, as well as labor
efficiencies. From a building/facility
standpoint, we continue to invest
in measures that will improve our
energy efficiencies both short and
long term. And, we are embarking
on our first installation of roof-
mounted solar panels at our newest
Portland, Ore., facility.
Janson: I still hold out hope for
RFID (radio frequency identifica-
tion). Once this technology gets
to a cost-effective level it will have
a huge benefit and impact on our
business, especially in the area of
inventory tracking and monitoring
the integrity of the cold chain.
Blum: We have a state of the art
warehouse management system
(WMS) which we are continually en-
hancing to improve performance and
deliver exactly what the customer
needs. The ultimate goal is to
have our WMS and our customers’
production and accounting systems
interact seamlessly so everything we
do on the warehouse floor updates
our WMS and our customers’ sys-
tems in real time with each scan. Ad-
ditionally the installation of energy-
saving devices, like LED lights and
co-generation driven refrigeration
systems, bring real promise to our
industry, and we have already begun
investing in these technologies. n
–Warren Thayer contributed to this
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VENDOR VISITS
A SHEPHERD’S
RETURN
Would you believe that the guy
who markets Chobani (which means
‘shepherd’) was a shepherd himself,
as a boy in Turkey?
BY WARREN THAYER
A s a boy, Hamdi Ulukaya
joined his family in taking
their sheep and cows up into
the mountains of Eastern Turkey
every summer where the grazing
was good and the weather
was cooler. Hamdi didn’t
mind the quasi-nomadic
lifestyle of sleeping in tents
for the two or three months
they were away.
A third generation pur-
veyor of cheese and yogurt,
Hamdi enjoyed the beauty
around him. He dreamed
of traveling to other parts
of the world — perhaps
the United States — but
never left Turkey until after
graduating from Ankara
University in 1994.
He’d majored in political
science, and now he de-
cided to pursue English
as a second language — at
Baruch College in New
York City.
“It was a sudden deci-
sion I made in college,” he
recalls. “I said ‘I’m going to
explore.’ I didn’t know any
English, and I had never Hamdi Ulukaya, the CEO and founder of the company that
been to a big city before. It markets Chobani Yogurt, on the set of Fox Business News,
was a huge culture shock, where he was interviewed about entrepreneurship in February. Chobani’s charity program
and the first days were
among the worst of my life.”
One cold day, Hamdi was sitting
on the steps of the New York Public
Library on Fifth Ave., rummaging
through his pockets for another
quarter so he could buy a subway
58 www.fdbuyer.com APRIL 2010
token back to his apartment. Dis-
couraged, he wondered why he had
been so crazy to leave Turkey and
come to New York in the first place.
But then, to his delight, he found a
quarter. He bought his token and,
once home, resolved to stay in the
United States.
Time passed quickly. Hamdi’s fa-
ther came for a visit and told his son
that the cheese made in America
was terrible. He said there was a real
opportunity for him to get into the
dairy business.
“I said ‘No. I didn’t come here to
make cheese,’” Hamdi remembers
saying.
After about two years in the city,
he moved upstate to attend the
State University of New York, near
Albany. It was in many ways a world later, thousands of miles away, I’d
away, and one that made him feel at
home once again.
While going to school, he lived
on a farm, earning his rent by doing
chores. By 2002, he had formed his
own wholesale feta cheese company
called Euphrates, after the river he’d
grown up near in Turkey. The busi-
ness, in Johnstown, N.Y., thrived
almost immediately.
Three years later, going through
junk mail in his office, he came
across an ad for a fully equipped
cheese plant for sale. He threw it in
the trash, but pulled it out 20 min-
utes later.
It was a former Kraft plant that
would be perfect for Hamdi’s next
venture: making yogurt. He’d
planned to do it at his feta
cheese factory, but every-
thing clicked and by 2007,
Hamdi was marketing
Chobani yogurt.
He was joined by Mus-
tafa Dogan, a yogurt master
and long-time family friend
he’d known back in Turkey,
“to do his magic. Mustafa
speaks with the cultures. In
Turkey, you don’t have food
scientists, you have yogurt
masters,” Hamdi says.
Why “Chobani?”
“It means shepherd in
many languages,” Hamdi
explains. “It brings memo-
ries of home to a lot of
people, including me. When
you visit shepherds up in the
mountains, they can’t give
you much, but what they
give you comes from the
heart. I see Chobani as a gift
when you open the cup.”
Hamdi makes his own
gifts to others, as well.
donates 10% of profits to
charities worldwide.
Looking back, he says “I’d never
have thought that all these years
be doing the same thing my family
always did.” n
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