Food Makers Eye Convenience, Soy As Retailers Look Warily at Web - comprehensive review of Food Marketing Institute conference

Brandweek, May 14, 2001 by Sonia Reyes, Barry Janoff

With the majority of time-strapped consumers eating their main meals away from home, delivery and take-out purchases continue to march ahead. That fact was not lost on the scores of exhibitors plying convenience at last week's Food Marketing Institute confab, and retailers increasingly willing to stock new options to boost razor-thin margins.

Those solutions ran the gamut from pre-marinated and ready-to-cook meats and poultry to frozen and shelf-stable home meal kits and bagged salads. The target? Cooks with no time or inclination to prepare meals from scratch but who are willing to spend some time to produce a guilt-free nutritious satisfying meal.

Along with convenience and portability consumers are increasingly looking for foods and beverages that deliver health benefits.

That's a boon for the functional foods segment and natural/organic categories, a booming industry that crosses cereal, snack bars and beverage, many centered around soy, which is widely touted as an elixir that may help lower the risk of breast and prostate cancer, reduce osteoporosis and offset menopausal symptoms.

"We live longer lives than our parents did," said Valerie Skala, vp of analytic product management at Chicago-based Information Resources Inc. "We look around and ask ourselves, 'What can I eat to maintain my energy, vitality and prevent the degenerative diseases that my parents were susceptible to?'"

Not far behind is the growing popularity of ethnic restaurant dining which has food marketers scrambling to roll out a variety of Hispanic (largely Mexican), Asian and Italian entries, and exotic condiments for consumers looking to replicate these flavor palettes at home.

Making its first foray into another category beyond soup, Campbell Soup is firing up the growing home meal kit category with the July launch of Campbell's Supper Bakes, a boxed, shelf-stable entry that comes with the staple ingredients needed to make a homecooked meal, minus fresh meat.

Campbell will launch a $15 million national TV, print and radio effort, via Young & Rubicam, New York, in July that will target moms with the likely tag, "True homemade taste."

In four flavors such as Savory Pork Chops with Herb Stuffing and Garlic Chicken with Pasta, each kit contains an easy-open can of a specially blended baking sauce, a seasoning packet, rice, pasta or stuffing and a crumb topping which takes five minutes to prep and 30 minutes to bake.

"We think the Campbell name and equity will attract new consumers to the category who wouldn't ordinarily try a home meal kit," said Tracy Brala, marketing manager for new business development at Campbell. "It's the perfect mealtime solution for busy moms who appreciate convenience but don't want to sacrifice quality or taste."

The intro comes as ConAgra Foods is expected to launch in June its Banquet Homestyle Bakes, another shelf-stable meal kit with a $35 million national marketing push (Brandweek, April 23) in September.

In time for peak grilling season, Bird's Eye this summer unveils Simply Grillin', the first line of seasoned frozen veggies, in flavors like Roasted Garlic and Roasted Corn and Potatoes with an off-the-grill flavor in a foil tray that can be baked or grilled as a sidedish. A national TV effort, via Cramer-Krasselt, Milwaukee, kicks off in the last quarter.

Tyson Foods, meanwhile, is relaunching its 4-SKU Tyson Meal Kits in flavors like Chicken Fajitas and Chicken Fried Rice with three new pasta extensions: Oriental Style Chicken & Rotini Pasta, Three Cheese Chicken & Radiatore Pasta. The standup bags come with a sealed pouch of seasoned pasta and mixed veggies and another that contains Tyson Chicken that can be prepared via stovetop in minutes. Tyson is also shipping a new line of premarinated fresh chicken under the Tastybasted brand in see-through packaging in flavor varieties like Teriyaki, Salsa and Italian that will get radio, FSls and instore efforts.

Dole is rolling out shelf-stable Fruit-n-Gel Bowls that offer fruity gel alongside real fruit pieces in Peaches in Strawberry Gel, Pineapple in Lime Gel and Mandarin Oranges in Orange Gel. Dole also bowed Hearts of Romaine Mix, a bagged salad TV ads, FSIs support

Going up against Altus Foods' (joint venture between Quaker Oats and Novartis) W.I.N. line of functional foods for women (Brandweek, April 2), General Mills and DuPont will unveil 8th Continent, the first product in a line of functional foods for women. Refrigerated Soy Milk in Original, Vanilla and Chocolate is due in limited distribution in July A print effort in women's and health titles, via Campbell Mithun, Minneapolis, plus sampling and FSIs support.

The line will go up against entrenched category leader White Wave's Silk, which bowed a 12-oz. easy-grip single-serve soy milk in Chocolate and Vanilla which can be consumed on-the-go or packed in lunchboxes, backpacks or briefcases.

For those wishing to refuel their vitality Kellogg is testing a new energy bar called Kellogg's Krave in the Midwest. A source of protein and calcium, Krave comes in Chocolate Delight and Chocolate Peanut. TM via Leo Burnett, Chicago, tagged "Krave something better," continues a print theme.