instore - June 2017 - 27

cover story

Perform
like a
Restaurant
Kowalski's embraces savvy strategies for prepared
foods - in operations and customer response.
by John Unrein

F

or any supermarket to compete with a restaurant, a dramatic
change in operational procedures can be necessary. Simply
offering a menu of restaurant-quality foods is never enough.
For instance, you must compete with local restaurants for the highest
quality cuts of meat and top brands of seafood. You need to rethink
distribution. You should travel to meet with culinary influencers
(nationally and internationally) to understand food trends on the
horizon. And - this is urgent - you must continually ask customers to
rate their experiences at your stores.

Further, Kowalski's operates a central kitchen that "feeds" fresh
prepared foods to all stores, which receive deliveries six days a week.
This guarantees maximum freshness. Roughly 70 percent of the deli
prepared foods come from the central Kowalski's kitchen.

"The No. 1 thing we hang our hat on is the customer experience,"
says Jenny Mahoney, deli director for Kowalski's Markets, an 11-store
gourmet retailer based in Woodbury, Minnesota. "We invite our
customers to give us feedback, and we make our way to the East and
West coasts to know what the trends are. With 11 stores, we react quite
quickly. We can turn on a dime, create and get to shelf right away."

Kowalski's conducts a training program called "points of distinction" to
educate staff on how the gourmet retailer distinguishes itself with products
and service. On its website in a section called "Foodie Focus," Kowalski's
posts trendy topics and offers informative answers for customers on issues
ranging for healthy diets to entertaining occasions.

ALL PHOTOS BY JOHN UNREIN

It is this type of agility that has served Kowalski's so favorably in its 34
years in business. The instrumental tipping point for its success came
around the time the family-owned company built its first store from the
ground up. That was 17 years ago. The store was designed like a European
village with a glass-walled bakery oven and three restaurant concepts.
Fast forward to today, and the influence of the restaurant world can be
witnessed in every corner of their stores.
"Our stores operate more like a restaurant in our perishables areas,"
says Terri Bennis, vice president of fresh food operations for Kowalski's,
noting their deli department receives daily deliveries from US Foods,
a leading broadline distributor specializing in the restaurant sector. "It
starts with partners and how well you can execute."

Staff training and consumer feedback are equally instrumental to
success in winning the battle to entice the foodservice customer.
"Everyone's been through culinary training that we put on," Mahoney
says, "so they know what they are selling."

And consumers play a key role in monthly or quarterly strategy meetings in which Kowalski's invites customers to provide in-person feedback directly to Kowalski's decision makers. Up to 20 consumers per
store regularly participate, and their feedback is critically important.
You never know what your customers really want unless you ask them.
"We see customization trending: choose the protein, choose the
sauce, and create your own meal," Mahoney says, pointing to one
pivotal trend affecting the supermarket and restaurant landscape
in America. It's happening in pizza and pasta bars, for example, and
Kowalski's addresses this trend with a create-you-own pasta bar, so
"our customers can create the way they want it."
A large sign inside the deli department at Kowalski's Woodbury store
speaks loudly to customers and how they can "Taste the Difference."

instore * JUNE 2017 * 27



Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of instore - June 2017

instore - June 2017
editor’s note - RETAIL FOODSERVICE Something different
CONTENTS
spotlight - BY THE NUMBERS Sweet goods
product knowledge - CATEGORY UPDATE Chicken wings
merchandising - ON DISPLAY Allergen-free baked goods
equipment & packaging - LATEST INNOVATION Deli take-out packaging
specialty insights - CONSIDER Deli Crackers
Commissary Insider
news - NEED TO KNOW
cover story - Next-level foodservice
cover story - Perform like a Restaurant
product trends - FIRST TO MARKET
product showcase
AD INDEX
instore - June 2017 - instore - June 2017
instore - June 2017 - 2
instore - June 2017 - editor’s note - RETAIL FOODSERVICE Something different
instore - June 2017 - 4
instore - June 2017 - 5
instore - June 2017 - CONTENTS
instore - June 2017 - 7
instore - June 2017 - spotlight - BY THE NUMBERS Sweet goods
instore - June 2017 - 9
instore - June 2017 - product knowledge - CATEGORY UPDATE Chicken wings
instore - June 2017 - 11
instore - June 2017 - merchandising - ON DISPLAY Allergen-free baked goods
instore - June 2017 - 13
instore - June 2017 - equipment & packaging - LATEST INNOVATION Deli take-out packaging
instore - June 2017 - 15
instore - June 2017 - specialty insights - CONSIDER Deli Crackers
instore - June 2017 - 17
instore - June 2017 - 18
instore - June 2017 - Commissary Insider
instore - June 2017 - COM2
instore - June 2017 - COM3
instore - June 2017 - COM4
instore - June 2017 - COM5
instore - June 2017 - COM6
instore - June 2017 - COM7
instore - June 2017 - COM8
instore - June 2017 - COM9
instore - June 2017 - COM10
instore - June 2017 - COM11
instore - June 2017 - COM12
instore - June 2017 - COM13
instore - June 2017 - COM14
instore - June 2017 - COM15
instore - June 2017 - COM16
instore - June 2017 - news - NEED TO KNOW
instore - June 2017 - cover story - Next-level foodservice
instore - June 2017 - 21
instore - June 2017 - 22
instore - June 2017 - 23
instore - June 2017 - 24
instore - June 2017 - 25
instore - June 2017 - 26
instore - June 2017 - cover story - Perform like a Restaurant
instore - June 2017 - 28
instore - June 2017 - 29
instore - June 2017 - 30
instore - June 2017 - 31
instore - June 2017 - product trends - FIRST TO MARKET
instore - June 2017 - product showcase
instore - June 2017 - AD INDEX
instore - June 2017 - 35
instore - June 2017 - 36
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