Meat + Poultry - November 2010 - 26

DELI OVERVIEW

Oscar Mayer sliced and packaged deli
meats include Deli Fresh, a current lineup of deli-meat products, and Carving
Board, a new launch of products.

install larger departments, more meat
and cheese cases and one brand in
one or two cases.
IDDBA's report relays more delis
were profitable this year than during
the previous year. Only 13.2 percent
of deli operators reported a drop in
profits, compared to 45.5
percent last year. Fiftytwo percent of operators reported an increase
in profits, compared to
22 percent the previous
year. Service deli gross
margin declined from
43.6 percent last year to
Lopez
46.2 percent this year.
Kraft Foods Oscar Mayer Brand,
a big deli-meats producer, says prepackaged deli meat sales are up more

"If consumers understand
why they're paying
more for something, or
are educated about it,
then they will make the
jump into the premium
product."
than 2 percent over last year, as consumers continue to look for ways to
cut costs during these tough economic times. "Brown-bagging for lunch
has made a big comeback," says Tom
Lopez, senior director of marketing
for Oscar Mayer. Lopez says the Oscar Mayer "Brown Bag Barometer" -
a poll of more than 1,000 Americans
who brown bag their lunches regularly - reveals nearly 70 percent of
those who carry a lunch from home
do so at least three times a week, with
half of those brown-baggers packing
lunches four to five times a week.
Oscar Mayer deli meats are processed at seven different plants. Labels used for sliced and packaged
deli meats include Deli Fresh, a current lineup of deli-meat products and

Carving Board, a new product
line. Deli item species include
turkey, ham and beef.
Because there is more brown bagging and more sandwiches are being
made, consumers want deli meats
having a juicy flavor and carved offthe-roast taste, Lopez says. To that
end, the company is introducing Oscar Mayer Carving Board Meats,
made from high-quality cuts of meat
that are slow roasted. After roasting,
the meats are sliced into thick pieces,
packed and sealed. Four varieties are
being featured: oven-roasted turkey
breast, slow-cooked ham, slow-roasted roast beef and rotisserie-seasoned
chicken breast. Each contains one
gram of fat and 60 calories. The goal
of the new products is to save consumers time and money.

Looking to 2011
Lopez says Oscar Mayer continues
to listen to what consumers want
and will meet the demand for highquality deli meats. Lopez says the
company's "Brown Bag Barometer"
found two-thirds of brown-baggers
cite affordability and convenience as
the most important factors in choosing deli meats for their lunches. The
most popular brown-bag contents
are sandwiches, particularly deli
items, followed by leftovers, frozen
"heat-and-eat" items and gourmet
creations.
Lopez says Oscar Mayer currently features 18 deli-inspired meat and
poultry varieties, including new turkey
pastrami, honey ham and oven-roasted turkey breast, available in familysize packs. He says Oscar Mayer Deli
Fresh meats continue to be popular
and are the primary growth drivers of
the pre-packaged deli meat category.

26 * Meat&Poultry * November 2010 * www.MeatPoultry.com

The deli-fresh shaved family-size
packs include meats with nine servings per package.
Bill Patterson, senior marketing
analyst with Mintel, says he is seeing a struggle between deli products
and pre-packaged meats this year
and into 2011.
"As we went into the recession, we
saw growth in deli sales and packaged
meats. The packaged deli-meat market, in particular, did well during the
recession. But in my view, it wasn't going to be sustained. Growth only goes
so far, before setting back into a normal pattern, especially as we're getting
to the end of 2010," Patterson said.
He adds that during the course of
the recession, the consumer has been
turned into a "value buyer." "That
doesn't necessarily mean a 'cheap'
buyer," Patterson clarifies. "If consumers understand why they're paying more for something, or are educated about it, then they will make the
jump into the premium product. This
is certainly true of the value buyer and
the deli business," he says.
Mintel's Patterson believes the deli
counter excels at educating consumers, probably more than any other
area of the store. "How can you beat
what they do?" Patterson asks with
a laugh. "They offer the customers
free slices. People waiting for service
in front of the deli counter can taste
meat, cheese. And then they ask you,
'How thick or thin do you want it?'
Most delis have gotten this message,
some sooner than others, but they all
have gotten it by now - give the consumer a sample, ask how they want
the products cut - that's why you see

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Meat + Poultry - November 2010

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