Poultry International - February 2012 - 22
22 Chicken suppliers Buyer snapshots 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 toward 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 dinners from brands such as Banquet. Jason's Deli 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 specific concern for KFC is the continued shrinkage of the supply of small birds for bonein 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." "Natural" chicken "Natural" is one of the biggest buzzwords in the food industry. While the government has a definition of "all-natural" poultry, Headquarters: Beaumont, Texas Founded: 1976 CEO: Joe Tortorice Jr. Units: 225 Sales: Privately held Represented by: Ed Wahlenmaier, director of purchasing Roundy's Supermarkets, Inc. Headquarters: Milwaukee Founded: 1872 Units: 156 Annual Sales: $4 billion CEO: Robert A. Mariano Retail Banners: Pick 'N Save Copps Rainbow Metro Market Mariano's Fresh Market Represented by: Jim Beauvais, vice president of meat & seafood Save-A-Lot Food Stores Headquarters: St. Louis Founded: 1977 CEO: Santiago Roces Units: 1,285 stores; 15 distribution centers Sales: Not stated separately from parent company SuperValu Represented by: Robert Orton, director, meat and seafood Schwan's Food Service A unit of Schwan Food Company Headquarters: Marshall, Minnesota Founded: 1975 (parent company founded 1948) CEO: Gregory Flack (Schwan Food Company) Sales: Privately held Represented by: Michael Pennella, senior vice president & general manager, national accounts Unified Foodservice Purchasing Co-Op Headquarters: Louisville, Kentucky Founded: 1980 CEO: Daniel E. Woodside Units: Serves over 21,000 restaurants under the KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, Long John Silver's and A&W banners Annual expenditures on food: $4.7 billion Represented by: Mike Ledford, senior director of purchasing, poultry 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 artificial dyes and colors from food." Jason's Deli also specifies that its chicken - Harry Balzer, The NPD Group has to be produced without antibiotics and promotes the chicken as marketers tend to offer their own. "antibiotic free (ABF)." "For us, it's less fooled-around"We feel strongly about being ABF with food," Wahlenmaier said. "It's in chicken," he said. The company a journey for us about eliminating buys two chicken items, a 4.5 ounce things that are not necessary in our filet and diced chicken. The products food and letting the natural flavor of are used in salads, wraps, potato that product speak for itself." dishes and sandwiches - a total of 15 "We were the first national items representing 30% of the menu. Consumers are concerned about social issues but not enough to participate in paying for them. www.WATTAgNet.com | February 2012
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