WATT PoultryUSA - January 2012

Fresh chicken growth at
Roundy’s

In more traditional retail products, assortment seems to be the key.

Roundy’s carries a wide variety of
brands in its different stores, includ-
a typical store. The company says the
limited assortment and lean operation
allow it to offer prices as much as 40%
lower than typical supermarkets.
“Our consumer is under stress,”
with 39% of them using food stamps
or other government
assistance programs,
he said. “We serve the
underserved and are
proud to do so.”
Save-a-Lot sells
meat and poultry under
store brands and urges
consumers to “switch
and save” from national
brands. Its selection of
both fresh and frozen
chicken items leans to-
ward dark meat, with
56% of its fresh poultry
units consisting of legs,
thighs or drumsticks. Frozen chicken is
also popular, both in the individually
quick frozen format or in prepared din-
ners from brands such as Banquet.

Consumers are concerned about social issues but not enough to participate in paying for them. – Harry Balzer, The NPD Group

bone-in chicken products such as the company’s signature fried chicken. The company’s new grilled chicken product uses a larger bird, he added.

Save-a-Lot’s Orton is keeping an eye on his suppliers.

“Availability is a concern, but we
need strong suppliers and there’s not
very many left that can handle our
volume,” he said. “We can work with a
number of suppliers. We can scour the
market and take advantage of protein
that is out there, and we’ll just have
to do with what we can get our hands
on and promote that with our edited
assortment.”
ing the Roundy’s brand, Perdue,
Harvestland, Full Circle Organic, Bell
& Evans and Gold’n Plump, plus mari-
nated, rotisserie foodservice chicken,
Beauvais said. The organic product is
offered in about half the stores.

“Natural” chicken

“Natural” is one of the biggest
buzzwords in the food industry. While
the government has a definition of
“all-natural” poultry, marketers tend to
offer their own. “For us, it’s less fooled-
around-with food,” Wahlenmaier said.
“It’s a journey for us about eliminating
things that are not necessary in our
food and letting the natural ;avor of
that product speak for itself.”
“We were the ;rst national concept
to eliminate artificial trans fats (in
2005) and to get rid of high-fructose
corn syrup from food (in 2008),” he
added. “Last year, we eliminated arti-

Product availability

The marketing meeting was held against the backdrop of dramatic change in the chicken industry, with nearly all companies losing money, some companies going bankrupt and analysts calling for production restraint; i.e., less chicken in the market. How did this affect the thinking of the marketers?

From the customer’s
point of view, Ledford
said, the key is “ensured
supply.” After all, he said,
“If you don’t have chicken,
you don’t need to have the
KFC store open.”
A more speci;c con-
cern for KFC is the con-
tinued shrinkage of the
supply of small birds for