Supermarket Perimeter - August 2020 - 24

Deli

HOLIDAY
CATERING
Planning for the unknown
BY EMILY PARK

24 - AUGUST 2020

pandemic," he said. "We saw back during the Easter holiday that some
retailers did a really nice job in promoting and marketing their deli
prepared as an option for families who were entertaining - albeit at
home with their immediate family versus bigger groups."

Push catering online
It's almost a guarantee that come the holiday season, there will still be
some consumer hesitancy surrounding the act of going into the store
and up to the deli counter to put in an order for holiday meals. This
makes moving the holiday food ordering process to a seamless, online
transaction even more important this year.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, experts have been predicting a
second wave of COVID-19 hitting around the start of ﬂu season, which
coincides with the biggest holidays of the year. While it's impossible
to predict whether that will be case, Richard suggests that retailers
prepare for it.
"Really making sure consumers can shop, purchase and pick up
or have it delivered to their place is going to be important," he said.
"Hopefully after the last few months retailers have really examined
their online shopping capability, because I think that is going to be key
not only for marketing these items - the joint prepared and catering
services that are offered instore - but also as a way for people to
purchase those easily and not require the customer to come into the
store in order to place their order."

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INCHING CLOSER TO THE FALL and the big holiday season that
comes with it, now is the time that many grocers begin putting together
their game plan for the one of the busiest times of the year for the
grocery industry.
Typically, the holiday season brings with it office parties and plenty of
gatherings of family and friends, in which consumers search out help at
their local supermarket to assemble those "homemade" meals through
catering plans and the many prepared food options the grocery store
deli can offer.
This year, however, a usually predictable season has lots of uncertainty
surrounding it as the coronavirus pandemic has continually displaced
typical American life week by week since the start of the pandemic in
March. It's challenging to begin preparations for the holiday season when
it's unclear how large COVID-19 outbreaks will be, come Thanksgiving
and Christmas time. Regardless, there's a good chance many annual
holiday gatherings will look different this year. But that shouldn't stop
grocers from approaching the opportunities of the holiday season, said
Eric Richard, industry relations coordinator for the Madison, Wis.-based
International Dairy, Deli, Bakery Association (IDDBA).
In a category that has struggled since the onset of the pandemic,
Richard thinks holidays are still a big opportunity for the category to
capitalize on.
"It's up to individual retailers to really see the importance of
those holidays, especially when we're still in the midst of the COVID
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