New products rise 12%, a 32-year record

Prepared Foods, Feb, 1996 by Lynn Dornblaser, Martin Friedman

ENREES: Pity the poor supermarket category manager for frozen foods. Every time he thinks he has the frozen entree and dinner section set, in comes Stouffer, Healthy Choice, Campbell or Weight Watchers with yet another new line of main course meals.

Last year saw Nestle's Stouffer arrive with not only two new extensive lines -- Creative Recipes and Hearty Portions -- but also many Red Box, Lean Cuisine, and Lunch Express extensions. ConAgra expanded its Healthy Choice line and added new recipes to its Banquet and Marie Callender brand positions. Heinz's Weight Watchers entrees were reformulated and repackaged while there were new arrivals under its Budget Gourmet label.

FRUITS & VEGETABLES: This category continues to flourish mostly because consumers have embraced fresh salad mixes and now fresh prepared vege-tables. New fresh salad combinations, many now with low-calorie salad dressings, fresh peeled and cut vegetables with dips, fresh vegetable stir fry mixes, and carrot and celery snacks with dips have transformed the moribund produce department into one of the most active store areas.

In addition, a company called Andy Boy Associates is taking fresh vegetables into both the entree (Penne Primavera, teriyaki stir fry) and soup categories (vegetable minestrone and four other flavors).

PROCESSED MEAT, POULTRY, SEAFOOD: A prominent increase in new product entries was recorded in this diverse category, thanks to an assortment of new fat-free and fat-reduced entries. ConAgra's Healthy Choice added franks, smoked sausage, kielbasa and breakfast sausage to its burgeoning line, while Kraft's Oscar Mayer expanded its fat-free line into franks and luncheon meats.

Conagra also marketed Swift-Eckrich's Lean Supreme lunch meats and sausage, as did Morrell and its associated brands. Sara Lee's Bryan Foods weighed in with Southern Flavors 97% Fat-Free luncheon meats, Buddig had new Lean Slices, and even Jones Dairy created a Light Bratwurst.

Although fat reduction was a dominant marketing strategy, traditional cold cuts also appeared with emphasis on their "deli" heritage. They included Sara Lee's Pre-Sliced Deli Meats and Bryan Foods' Deli Classics (presumably both are responses to Oscar Mayer's successful Carving Board luncheon meats). Flavored ham steaks from Hatfield and other companies brought modest excitement to a dull category.

SIDE DISHES: This category can be described in one word -- pasta. In 1995, 669 varieties of pasta were reported. These consisted primarily of pasta cuts from Italy under such names as Bonilla, Guiseppe Cocco, Pasta Don Aldo, Delallo, and Sapore di Napoli. U.S. producers keep objecting to the virtual dumping of low-priced pasta on the U.S. market, but it hasn't stopped any Italian company from quickly setting up an export department.

Exotic ethnic grains headed toward mainstream use with companies like Quaker (Near East) and Mars (Uncle Ben's) promoting couscous and pilaf mixes. CPC's Knorr introduced rissoto and pilaf mixes, Sorrenti and others offered polenta, and Pepsico's World Trading is marketing Season's Harvest rices (jasmine, basmati).