Ham for the holidays: Boston Market carves new sales niche

Nation's Restaurant News, Nov 6, 1995 by Kramer Louise

GOLDEN, Colo. - Boston Market continues to build its business on the fact that harried working couples don't have time to cook home-style meals and are willing to Pay to have someone else do it for them.

During the winter holidays, however, it's a somewhat different story. Guilty moms tend to try to make up for a year of not cooking by plunking down their food dollars in supermarkets and firing up their ovens for holiday meals and entertaining. That means a dip in sales for Boston Market.

This year, following a successful test in a handful of markets last year and at Easter, Boston Market is hoping to liven up the lackluster holiday selling season by introducing a new program created around boneless baked ham and "banquet-sized" side dishes.

"This year we want our customers to let Boston Market do the cooking so they can spend time with their families instead of spending all day in the kitchen," said Saad Nadhir, vice chairman of Boston Chicken Inc., franchisor and operator of Boston Market stores.

The hams, dubbed hearth honey hams, are available chainwide from Nov. 5 to Jan. 31. The double-glazed ham starts at $26.45 for a 5- to 6-pound half and starts at $52.90 for a 10- to 12-pound whole ham. The hams can be served cold or heated in their own tins. Heating instructions and serving suggestions are available at the stores. Side dishes the chain suggests pairing with the ham include mashed potatoes, stuffing, hot cinnamon apples and creamed spinach.

Customers can place orders by calling or visiting a Boston Market.

The chain, which has some 765 units in 36 states and Washington, D.C., will advertise the hams in television and radio ads as well as in print. The campaign, to debut in late November and early December, depending on the market, was created by Boston Chicken's ad agency, J. Walter Thompson U.S.A.

Kelly Jorgenson, a spokeswoman for Boston Chicken Inc., said the ads would focus on holiday entertaining and would not be tied into the company's recent nostalgia-tinged ad campaign with the theme, "Deja Food."

Turkey breast is also on the holiday menu for the chain in three test markets this year, Jorgenson said. Rotisserie turkey breast is being tested in Cleveland, and smoked turkey breast is being tested in Orlando and Pittsburgh through Jan. 31.

Patrick Lenow, director of marketing and public relations for Boston West, Anaheim, Calif., a franchisee of Boston Market with 48 stores, said the holiday hams would be featured in print ads with dollars-off coupons.

"We're extremely excited about the potential it has," Lenow said of the hearth honey hams. "There is no doubt that the period between Thanksgiving and Christmas is a slower time of year because, guess what, Mom is cooking our kind of food."

Lenow said company research shows customers almost expect coupons. He added that coupons for about $5, off whole hams and $2 off half-hams were slated for newspapers Nov. 5 and Dec. 10.

Keeping up with demand will be the biggest challenge, Lenow said. "Even though we view the ham-selling season as Nov. 1 to Jan. 31, most will be sold Dec. 22nd, 23rd and 24th."

To cope with the expected rush, Boston West is encouraging customers to preorder both hams and side dishes.

"We were clamoring for this type of product," Lenow said. "Based on the results we saw last year in Florida, we were thrilled to see a program of this quality put together so quickly. We are thrilled to death to see that this time of year will not be as cyclical as in other years."

Boston Chicken reported revenues of $38.7 million for its third quarter. Through three quarters the company posted $23.4 million in profits vs. totals of $10.6 million last year. Revenues through three quarters totaled $113.6 million, compared with revenues of some $69 million in the year-ago period.