Refresh

Over the past 13 years of writing about supermarkets, I’ve been witness to a good number of well-meaning but poorly executed promotions.

My personal favorite was the day a popular (but now defunct) regional chain here in the Northeast introduced a new mascot to customers. The event was heavily promoted, so the turnout was large — lots of families, which was the idea, since we all know that young kids love furry, colorful characters.

When the big moment came, out stepped this Frankenstein-like creation of what appeared to be a humanoid made of various food groups (“What’s with the cheese wedges?”). As it lurched onto the stage (a stiff, new costume), several children cowered and the applause was… polite. This was not a friendly, approachable mascot. This was something you wanted to run from.

Needless to say, the creation didn’t last long. Which brings us to the most recent example of this phenomenon at work: A Safeway store in Kirkland, Wash., recently erected a large, bright sign promoting a farmers’ market event in the parking lot.

The problem is, there were no farmers at this market. The store was just promoting what was basically a huge, outdoor display of regular, conventional produce.

Having a farmers’ market with no farmers is not only misleading, it runs afoul of a Washington state law that defines a farmers’ market as one with five or more farmers present. The discrepancy was called out by non other than the manager for a nearby farmers’ market, who happened to be driving by and saw Safeway’s sign. MORE…

Spartan Stores announced that it was expanding the Michigan’s Best program it started last year to support home state farmers, processors and manufacturers. The expanded program kicked off Fourth of July weekend in nearly 100 Spartan-owned stores under the Family Fare, D&W Fresh Market, Felpausch, Glen’s, Glen’s Fresh Marketplace, and VG’s banners, as well as 250 independent grocery stores it services in Michigan.

The fact that it’s Michigan we’re talking about means the program has definite economic undertones. This isn’t local for local’s sake – Spartan promotes Michigan’s Best as a significant booster to the state’s ailing economy (from April 2006 to May 2010, Michigan consistently reported the highest unemployment rate in the country; Nevada recently beat it out by 0.4%. Michigan’s most recent number stands at 13.6%).

“Buying local helps keep Michigan residents employed,” Alan Hartline, Spartan’s executive vice president of merchandising and marketing, stated in a news release. “It also benefits communities by boosting the local and state economy by creating more jobs.”

He goes on to say that local products such as fresh fruits and vegetables are healthier options because they can be on the shelves within hours of being picked.

“Local products also have lower food miles, meaning they are shipped shorter distances, which requires less gas and is better for the environment,” he added.

But make no mistake – in this case, “local” means jobs. The news release cites statistics from the Michigan Department of Agriculture showing that, if each family in Michigan started spending $10 per week of their grocery bill on Michigan products, “we would keep more than $37 million in Michigan, each week.” MORE…

The Food and Drug Administration has tried for more than three decades to pass limits on sub therapeutic use of antibiotics in poultry and livestock. Each time, they’ve been turned away by Congress, which is lobbied heavily by agricultural and drug industry interests.

It’s a cyclical tale, for sure, but one that becomes more interesting as public interest and scientific evidence on the issue increases. Now, for the first time in several years, the FDA is going at the industry again. In a draft guidance issued yesterday, the agency recommended banning the use of antibiotics to promote growth in animals.

What’s at stake, the FDA and numerous health experts claim, is the future potency of antibiotics for humans. Drugs like tetracycline and penicillin transfer from animals to the people who consume them, and their overuse has given rise to new strains of antibiotic-resistant superbugs.

“Antimicrobial resistance, and the resulting failure of antimicrobial therapies in

humans, is a mounting public health problem of global significance,” the draft guidance document reads.

Industry groups like the National Pork Board, in response, say that the FDA is overreacting. They claim that there is not enough scientific evidence to support such claims. Furthermore, they point out that the majority of producers do give antibiotics for health reasons only, and not to promote growth. MORE…

Some states have been singled out as having the most obese residents, or the worst nutrition. Other states are praised for the high percentage of the population leading active lifestyles and eating right. States are ranked, picked apart and reviewed. Government leaders use the reports to create programs that either try to undo the poor showing or maintain high scores.

Even supermarkets get in the act. Retailers often look to consumer media reports to promote fresh foods and nutrition services like dietitians and healthy cooking classes. It’s part of their umbrella health and wellness marketing effort.

So, what to do about this? In its July issue, Health magazine did a bit of research (whether it involved actual sampling, I can’t say) and determined the “50 Fattest Foods Across the Nation.” That’s basically each state’s favorite or signature food. All of them are probably delicious. Not a single one is good for you.

Take Georgia’s Luther Burger, for instance (pictured left): “The story behind the Luther Burger is murky. But the general consensus is that this monstrosity was invented at a suburban bar in Decatur, Ga., and named after R&B legend (and diabetic) Luther Vandross. In 2008 Paula Deen of the Food Network took it one step further by topping it off with a fried egg.

Ingredients: Ground-beef patty, topped with cheese and bacon between two donuts instead of a bun.

Fat content: The two Krispy Kreme glazed donuts are worth 24 grams of fat and the patty is another 16.” MORE…

Could we be living in the dawn of a compostable age? From the look of things so far this year, it seems so. We’ve seen compostable potato chip bags from a major manufacturer, compostable coffee cups, meat trays, produce bags and more. Even the largest retailer in the world is composting these days.

So why now? Well, after years and years of not being quite good enough, the technology to make solid, cost-efficient compostable packaging has arrived. And driving that technology is increasing consumer consciousness about the massive amount of waste we produce. Can you blame them? They don’t want this world to end up like the one depicted in Wall-E — a depopulated wasteland filled with skyscraper-high piles of trash.

Companies that aren’t assessing their packaging right now should beware. It’s their embracing of “green” marketing and sustainability that has led many consumers to look more closely at every aspect of what they’re buying. Any backlash manufacturers and retailers feel would be a somewhat self-inflicted.

And yet, there are questions about compostable and biodegradable packaging. Do consumers actually do it? Do they know it doesn’t mean simply throwing something in the trash and letting it magically melt away? Composting is not a very glamorous process. It involves soil and worms, and usually attracts unwanted company. My parents’ compost pile in Kentucky gets everything from raccoons to deer, who sidle up to the tall wooden box like it’s a drive-thru window. MORE…

New stats are showing that fast beat out casual when it came to the performance of the fast casual dining segment last year. Figures compiled by Technomic indicate that fast casual is tops among the big restaurant sectors.

The Chicago-based foodservice industry consultant determined that 2009 sales for the top 100 fast-casual chains in the United States reached $17.5 billion, a 4.5% increase over the prior year; units grew by 4.3% to 14,777 locations. The performance is impressive given the tail-end effects of the recession on dining out, but entirely understandable, since the growth is based on a trade-down from table service restaurants.

In other words, the desire to eat out didn’t diminish, only the destination changed.

What is “fast casual”? Think Panera Bread — which Technomic says remained the leader of the fast casual pack, with 2009 sales of nearly $2.8 billion, up 7.1% from the prior year. Unit also grew (4.3%) to 1,304 stores. Chipotle Mexican Grill came in second, with sales growth of 13.9% to $1.5 billion, and unit growth of 14.2%, to 955 locations.

Many of these restaurants have a health and wellness or sustainability component to them, but there’s new competition all the time, and one of the newbies will be pretty hard to beat. A chain called Otarian is making a name for itself (two stores are open in New York’s Manhattan and two are planned for London) by building its entire operation and menu around carbon reduction.

Otarian is “the first ever low-carbon restaurant chain, using a cradle-to-grave analysis in the carbon footprinting of every menu item,” states the website. Indeed, each menu item (including containers and packaging) has been analyzed for carbon content, with an eye on using ingredients and processes that creates minimal carbon emissions.

So, the Tex Mex burger (spicy vegetarian patty, barbeque sauce, guacamole, salsa, cheese and lettuce on a white or brown bun) creates 1.72 kilograms of carbon, compared to 2.55 kilograms for a comparable meat-based product — a savings of nearly one kg.

Technomic’s 2010 Top 100 Fast-Casual Chain Restaurant Report notes that, besides burgers (up 16.7%), the fastest-growing menu categories reflect our desire for international flavors: Asian/noodle (up 6.4%) and Mexican (up 6.3%). It seems that Otarian — with its global conservation goals, pan-Atlantic locations and sustainable menu items — might be onto something.

(Photo credit: Otarian/Oswal Projects)

Having recently emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy, Bi-Lo is back in the game and looking to grow. One of the first orders of business is to enhance their health and nutrition profile. To that end, the company just launched Bi-Lo thrive!, a multiplatform program that provides nutrition education and identifies healthful foods in stores. A key part of that program is Monica Amburn, Bi-Lo’s new dietician, who spoke with Refresh this morning.

What are some of the opportunities and challenges for a dietician working in the supermarket industry?

It’s a very different environment for a dietician coming from the healthcare industry, like I have. I’m trying to learn the dynamics of the business, the politics, and how food even gets into grocery stores. It’s really just putting the pieces together, then being able to get your message across to the consumer in a way they understand. Getting a clear message across is the challenge, and I think that’s why retailers are bringing in dieticians these days. We’re really the people best trained to talk about food.

What will your day-to-day job be like within the new thrive! program?

I’m trying to figure out how I can reach as many people in the Bi-Lo market as possible without me being there every single day in person. I go from Chattanooga to Charleston, and that’s a very large radius for one dietician. So I’m working on our new publication and making sure that’s accessible, working with the media, and slowly but surely making it into the market, doing store appearances and seminars.

How will this unfold at the store level?

We have a dedicated endcap display in all the stores that features products I’ve talked about in the thrive! magazine. My picture will be part of that signage. We’ll also add shelf talkers to items that I’ve featured. As my themes change the signage will move to different items around the store.

So what’s the main message you want to get across to shoppers?

It’s not a vegan, tofu plan I’m trying to get across. Let’s take the way people in the South eat, but let’s make it just a bit healthier. I’m all for small changes and substitutions.

Is there a favorite dish or recipe you’re anxious to share?

You know, I went to a store this past weekend and sampled a recent recipe that was great — a Caribbean Summer Salad. It has corn and black beans and peaches in it. We sampled it in the store, and it went over very well.

Mention Alfalfa’s Market to Boulder residents and the superlatives flow: Best, hippest, most helpful and friendliest are part of everyone’s memories. The 11-store chain based in Boulder was absorbed by Wild Oats after a 1996 merger, but the reputation lingers.

There was even a period when Whole Foods — which in turn bought out Wild Oats in 2007 — considered restoring the Alfalfa’s banner to the site of the original store at 1651 Broadway. Such is the power of Alfalfa’s.

“A lot of people still call it Alfalfa’s, even though it’s gone through two name changes,” said Mark Retzloff, co-founder of the Alfalfa’s chain and one of the three guys who plan on bringing the operation back to life in the very location where it started out back in 1983.

Retzloff, along with business partners Barney Feinblum (of Celestial Seasoning tea fame) and Hugo van Seenus, won rights to the Alfalfa’s name as part of Whole Foods Market’s ongoing divestiture of more than two dozen former Wild Oats locations, as ordered by federal regulators. The trio’s A-M Holdings LLC beat out Topco Associates for the intellectual property. Retzloff told me this afternoon by phone that he’s missed the retail scene, and bid eagerly for the Alfalfa’s name.

“The Alfalfa’s legacy is still very, very strong here Boulder. The name has a lot of equity. For a number of years it was named the best supermarket in town. It’s known as a place where a lot of community events were initiated that are still going on today.

The team has plans to update the 32,000-square-foot space that is currently occupied by a Whole Foods. That store will close by July 4th weekend, with the reborn Alfalfa’s to open later this year or in early 2011. Retzloff told us that 24,000 square feet will be reserved for retail, with an emphasis on fresh foods, local and regional items, in addition to community spirit.

“Our goal is to differentiate ourselves. A big part of that is being much more community-oriented, being a community-focused store,” he said. MORE…

In 2006, Wal-Mart raised a lot of eyebrows by announcing it was going to start stocking organic foods. One of the world’s more controversial mega-retailers — vilified for steamrolling expansion and bland uniformity — was entering a category founded on principles of scale (small), authenticity (local) and stewardship (sustainability). How was this possibly going to work?

The solution lay in scale: It was about this time that big manufacturers like Kellogg, General Mills and Coke ramped up their own organic operations, either acquiring their way into the category (as Kellogg did with Kashi in 2000) or converting their own brands to natural/organic (many began including organic options in their conventional lines).

Club stores also became fans of natural/organics, and quickly became a preferred niche for many manufacturers, who liked the absence of slotting fees. The retailers liked having product that appealed to the “treasure hunt” mentality of many club shoppers. As long as the item’s volume remained in the category’s top three spots, it stayed.

Then, there’s the online component of the business which, after some fitful starts, has established itself as a viable business model that is entirely capable of handling home deliveries of some commodities and brands. MORE…

The science around coffee’s health benefits may be mixed at the moment, but there’s no doubt that the brew is a champion when it comes to organic sales. Figures released today at the 5th annual tasting event — hosted by the Organic Coffee Collaboration, a project of the Organic Trade Association — show that the market for organic beans in the United States and Canada topped $1.4 billion in 2009, up from $1.3 billion the year before.

Coffee is the No. 1 organic import, and now represents about 5% of all organic sales in North America. Organic certification continues to be a minimum, upon which additional standards are added, including for fair trade, bird-friendly, Rainforest Alliance and others.

The cup continues to fill as more roasters improve their relationships with growers and expand their roasting and distribution capabilities. Even with the recession, the category grew at just over 4% — not bad for a product subject to premium pricing and special-occasion treatment.

“This data shows that consumers did not shy away from organic during tough economic times, but rather purchased it in even greater volumes than in the past,” said Sandra Marquardt, who organizes the even every year on behalf of the roasters and the OTA.

Daniele Giovannucci, an international market analyst who conducts the survey annually, documented a 21% growth rate for organic coffee during the period 2004 to 2009, which dwarfs the conventional growth rate, which stumbled along at 1% during the same time frame.

With such a strong outlook, I’m tempted to close with one of the gag set-up lines from that 1980 movie classic, Airplane!, spoken by the earnest Dad flying with his wife and son: “I think I will have another cup of coffee…”

(Photo credit: Shayon Ghosh)