Prepared foods: Michael Farrand, director of sales and marketing--deli for Hormel, discusses how prepared foods merchandised in a chilled format can help retailers turn the deli department into a consumer destination for tonight's dinner

Grocery Headquarters, September, 2004

What are the trends in the category?

Michael Farrand: Bold flavors, in convenient heat-and-serve forms, are winning the day. Hot foods have inherent holding challenges, particularly with sauces, which carry the bold flavors for proteins. Pork carnitas and zesty barbecue products are particularly challenging for retailers to keep hot and appealing to the eye. Time under heat is the enemy of sauced proteins. The answer lies in displaying fully cooked applications cold, allowing the consumer to add heat at home and serve.

We see an overall shift from hot offerings to heat-and-serve applications. Most of the growth is being seen in the fully prepared main courses and side dishes displayed chilled in the deli. This allows consumers to grab and go, leaving the...