Consistently Convenient

Prepared Foods, April, 2000 by Lynn Dornblaser

Convenience assumed many different forms, from handheld foods to complete kits with separate components.

Quick and convenient entrees--either handheld or pre-packaged with everything needed to make a quick lunch or snack--dominated the meals category. Products that were easy to prepare but required a bit more participation from consumers also were hot.

Ready-to-eat products included one of the more unusual items we've seen in recent years. InerEdibles portable entrees, Breakaway Foods, Columbus, Ohio, skipped the dough and instead encased its six entrees in a microwaveable tube that consumers push from the bottom to eat, similar to the frozen push-up treats.

Other more standard on-the-go products included Morning Stuff'Z Handheld Breakfast Pockets and Healthy Choice Bread Stuffs from ConAgra Frozen Foods, Omaha, Neb. New varieties of pre-made, microwaveable or chilled sandwiches popped up in convenience stores. Deli Express, Eden Prairie, Minn., and Jimmy Dean Foods, Cordova, Tenn., both released similar lines.

Plenty of lunch and snack kits were available to on-the-go children and adults alike. For kids, Kraft extended its Oscar Mayer Lunchables line with Waffles, Pancakes and Taco Bell varieties. Reichel Foods, Rochester, Minn., also debuted kits for kids. Its Dippin' Snax Snack Kits and Stack A Lunch Meal Kits aim to be the affordable alternative to Lunchables, retailing at about half the cost.

Finally deciding enough was enough, two cereal companies reasoned that if consumers were going to snack on their cereals, they might as well make a meal out of it. Both Snack-A-Longs Snack Kits from Kellogg's, Battle Creek, Mich., and Snackits from Keebler, Elmhurst, Ill., contain a snack-sized bag of dry cereal, a juice drink and dessert.

Adults no longer have to scramble around assembling a lunch for themselves either. StarKist Foods, Long Beach, Calif., introduced Lunch to Go Seafood Entrees. The three canned varieties consist of tuna mixed with pasta sauce and vegetables. Just open and eat. Campbell Soup, Camden, N.J., rolled out Soup to Go Lunch Packs that paired one of two versions of its microwaveable Soup to Go with Pepperidge Farm Goldfish crackers, cookies and a spoon.

While consumers are busy at lunchtime, dinner presents even more challenges. Here again, heat-and-serve entrees and kits lead the way. There were plenty of frozen entree extensions to choose from, but some manufacturers offered new brands and ways of conveniently producing a meal.

Several manufacturers tied their products to existing brands. Boudreaux's Foods, New Orleans, branded the Sugar Busters! diet name to its line of refrigerated Cajun-style entrees, while Heinz USA, Pittsburgh, did the same for its Boston Market line of frozen entrees, meals and side dishes.

Crockery Foods, Edina, Minn., went retro with the introduction of its Crockery Creations Family Meals For Your Crock-Pot, which could possibly be called the original convenient meal solution. Boxes contain all ingredients needed for a savory, slow-cooked meal. Philly Cheese Steak Kits from J.T.M., Harrison, Ohio, also contain everything to make a meal--all the way down to the sliced onions and buns.

Two brands usually known for their side dishes also entered the meal kit ring in 1999. Rice A Roni Simmering Suppers Dinner Mixes, Golden Grain, Pleasanton, Calif., need only the addition of meat for a slow-simmered meal in about 30 minutes. Lipton Family Meal Packs, Unilever Foods, Greenwich, Conn., are similar, creating a meal for four in about 20 minutes.

Salad kits for lunch or dinner are nothing new, but new developments hit the produce section last year. Fresh Express Farms, Salinas, Calif., added carrots and snow peas to its Veggie Lover's Salad Blend. Noting that tomatoes are the most popular item consumers add to their bagged salads, Tanimura & Antle, Salinas, Calif., created Saladtime Fresh Tomato Salad Kits. Finally, Dole Food, Westlake Village, Calif., hoped to bring the dining-out experience home with the introduction of its Great Restaurant Salads. The salads feature packets of marinated vegetable dressing with roasted bell peppers, sun-dried tomatoes and mushrooms.

Side Dishes Sans Prep

The biggest news in pasta and rice dishes in 1999 came from that old familiar face, Betty Crocker. General Mills, Minneapolis, introduced Betty Crocker Pasta and Rice Side Dishes, two separate lines of instant mixes in upscale flavor combinations and stand-up pouches that set them apart from the rest of the pack. Typical varieties include Tomato Parmesan and Garlic Alfredo Pasta Mixes and Southwestern and Garden Vegetable Pilaf Rice Mixes.

It would be fair to describe many of the pasta and rice dishes offered in 1999 as being "restaurant style," because so many went above and beyond the basic flavor profiles usually associated with dry mixes or even refrigerated products. Perhaps manufacturers are attempting to lure consumers back home away from restaurants.

Alaska Smokehouse, Woodinville, Wash., offered a Pasta and Creamy Smoked Salmon Sauce Mix complete with a can of fresh salmon. Monterey Pasta, Salinas, Calif., introduced both its Restaurant Style Chicken Rosemary Ravioli and Tortelloni Grandi fresh pastas to natural and gourmet food stores. Deva, Fairfield, Iowa, introduced both Risotto and Pasta mixes in exotic combinations like Fusilli with Bell Pepper Sauce and Risotto with Italian Radicchio.