Supermarket Perimeter - January 2019 - 12

Fill-in trips
on the rise
SOURCE: Kantar Retail

Consumers want
convenient, but
they also want
fresh and local.

27%

2017

26%

25%

2016

2015

24%

Packaging priorities
Obviously, a big part of increasing convenience with
fresh foods is ﬁnding the right packaging ﬁt.
"Packaging can help retailers serve by providing
different options and merchandising conﬁgurations that
meet the growing demand of the grab-and-go category,"
says Ben Brummerhop, sales manager of stock food for
Fitchburg, Wisconsin-based packaging supplier Placon.
"Consumers are busy and need freshly prepared and
snack-sized food available at all times for convenience."
Cindy Blish, associated brand and communications
director for Shelton, Connecticut-based Inline Plastics
Corp., agrees.
"The demand for healthy, portable and convenient
food options continues to rise," she says. "The right
packaging gives the consumer a quick choice and a
quick decision."
But an increase in packaging can also hamper any
green initiatives a retailer
might have in place.
Serving one trend can't
necessarily get in the
place of another important trend.
"Our customers want
greener options. It is important to them and us,"
Kauder says. "Increasing
convenience makes this
an ongoing challenge, but
a key focus."
In August, New
Seasons announced a
pilot partnership with GO
Box, a local reusable food
container program.
Instead of single-use
packaging, consumers can choose the GO
Box program and New
Seasons gives them a
reusable container for
self-serve and other
made-to-order venues in
the store's prepared foods
New Seasons Market
and deli departments.
The consumer then
returns the container when they are ﬁnished with it and
the cycle begins anew.
"Grocers need to leverage their partnerships with
packaging suppliers and local governments to not only
improve the packaging, but provide more recycling
options in our communities," Kauder says. "It can be a
win-win."

While
customers
want
convenient
options,
they also
want and
expect
higher
quality."

Dave Kauder,

12 - JANUARY 2019

www.supermarketperimeter.com

NEW SEASONS MARKET

23%

2014

2013

Are more ﬁll-in trips
the result of greater
convenience on the store's
perimeter? Or have stores
become more convenient
to accommodate ﬁll-in
trips? Either way, those
trips are increasing.

"While customers want convenient options, they
also want and expect higher quality," Kauder says. "In the
past convenience meant lower quality, now high quality
is an expectation."
West Des Moines, Iowa-based Hy-Vee has done a
couple things to make it more convenient for shopper
who might stop by the store looking for a meal option
with no speciﬁc items in mind.
First, Hy-Vee bundles a protein from its meat department and a vegetable from its produce department
- a Kansas City-area store recently bundled steaks with
brussels sprouts - for a grab-and-go option. Then, to
further increase the convenience, the bundles are placed
in an open-air cooler at the front of the store. If shoppers
are still looking for dinner ideas, one of the ﬁrst things
they see is an easy decision already been made for them.
New Seasons offers similar grab-and-go options that combine items from multiple perimeter
departments.
"We have seen a demand for convenience in meat
and produce as well," Kauder says. "Our meat graband-go cases have seen strong sales growth by making it easy for the customers to ﬁnd what they need
quickly, but still get the highest quality standards in the
marketplace."
But more than anything, Kauder says, it's the quality
that reigns supreme.
"Overall we have been able to meet these trends,
but as the workforce becomes tighter it is challenging
to keep the quality work in-house," he says. "At New
Seasons Market we believe the best quality comes from
in-house, fresh, daily production as much as possible.
Once a grocer makes the decision to outsource you lose
some ability to really control quality and use the best
local ingredients."

http://www.supermarketperimeter.com

Supermarket Perimeter - January 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Supermarket Perimeter - January 2019