Infuse Grains With New Life

Just as cooking a meal based on pasta or rice invites creative embellishment, so does selling it.

Alone, these grains fill the belly, but our appetites require more. Sauce? What kind? Vegetables? Which ones? What, oh what to add into the mix?

So retail executives involved in store brand decision-making need to pour on their creativity to bolster sales and also respond to consumers' desire for more — more health benefits, more convenience and more cooking ideas.

Know your competition

Sales of dry pasta, noodles, rice and rice mixes have been "fluctuating in a disruptive economy," according to a March report from global market research firm Mintel. The report, "Dry Pasta, Rice and Noodles - US" projects good news, though, noting that sales hit an estimated $5.1 billion in 2011 (counting all channels) and are projected to reach $6.1 billion on growth through 2016.

Competition, Mintel notes, comes from broadening consumer tastes and the gluten-free trend, leading shoppers to alternative grains such as quinoa. In addition, concerns over obesity, diabetes and heart disease are driving interest in products with more healthful attributes, including those containing whole grains, a reduced sodium content and a higher fiber content, the report states.

Do

invest in rice and pasta offerings that meet today's health-minded, ethnic and convenience trends.

Don't

forget to tout a product's benefits on the front of the pack and on the shelf.

Variety, with restraint

Consumers, particularly baby boomers and Gen Xers and Gen Yers, focus a lot of attention on food products that are "better for you," and in pasta, this means whole wheat, whole grain, vegetable and gluten-free varieties, notes Mike Cunningham, national sales manager, private label, for Carrington, N.D.-based Dakota Growers Pasta Co. The company produces a wide variety of organic and better-for-you private label pastas.

"Store brands dominate the pasta category," Cunningham says. "Don't give up shelf space to the national brands."

But opportunity lies in high-quality store brand pasta products — store brands need to be out in front of the national brands and be better in quality than the national brands, Cunningham declares.

"If you're going to create loyalty, you need to have the full complement of items in your store brand mix," he adds, "even if that means sacrificing some of the lesser national brands in the process."

Within this framework, the best opportunity for retailers to build loyalty, Cunningham adds, is by offering store brand pastas that are unique and that can be purchased only from their stores.

But Cunningham warns against "overkill" in the product mix, saying too many choices of any single type of pasta can lead to diminishing returns.

Though "consumers are a lot more segmented than they used to be," and are in search of multiple choices, Cunningham advises retailers to make sure they launch the right items.

"Analyze your consumers and ask what's most important," he stresses.

He also advises retailers to be mindful of the subgroups of pasta consumers: upscale "foodies," families and ethnic groups. Also, Italian food remains the No. 1 ranked ethnic food choice, he adds.

Vegetable pastas are the next new big thing, Cunningham adds, pointing to a successful store brand pasta his company supplies for numerous retailers. The vegetable pasta offers a full serving of vegetables per serving, plus significant amounts of vitamins C and E, he adds.

Embrace innovation

On the rice side, increasing interest in ethnic cuisines and a more diverse population within the United States will continue to boost new product development and sales, according to an April 2012 Category Insight publication from Mintel, given rice's inclusion in many ethnic dishes. The key here, Mintel says, is a focus on quality and authenticity.

And after price and quality of ingredients, health-minded and natural claims are critical purchase drivers not only for dry pasta and noodles, but also for rice, Mintel says.

Health-conscious consumers of conventional dry brown rice often are put off by its long cooking time — typically 40 to 50 minutes. But individually quick frozen (IQF) rice offers significant time savings, convenience, quality and value, says Brian Wendelschaefer, manager, sales and marketing for Sage V (pronounced "Sage Five") Foods, LLC, headquartered in Los Angeles. Consumers can prepare self-venting ("steamable") IQF brown rice in the microwave in three minutes, with no mess to clean up, he points out.

Sage V is a pioneer in the technology, introducing Organic Rice Expressions, the first microwavable rice available in steamable pouches, to the natural foods trade in 2003.

Call attention to benefits

With consumers' interest in health benefits on the rise, Wendelschaefer also suggests drawing attention to key pasta and rice product features and benefits with a few front-panel callouts touting positives such as gluten-free, organic and no-sodium.

In the same vein of making consumers feel good about what they are purchasing, Cunningham points to Dakota's packaging logos that highlight how the company helps protect the environment. Dakota's packages are made from 100 percent recycled materials, and one of its suppliers' facilities operates on 100 percent wind-generated energy.

Consumer education and information points, including clear usage directions, preparation ease and recipes, also the package draw in consumers, Wendelschaefer says.

They play well with others

When it comes to merchandising, pasta and rice can be tremendous vehicles for selling other foodstuffs, Cunningham and Wendelschaefer remind retailers.

"You are not just selling pasta, but a lot of other things to go with it," Cunningham emphasizes. "Pasta is associated with high related-item sales."

Wendelschaefer suggests placing IQF rice (or other rice products) in the main frozen aisle with other IQF rice items or frozen vegetables and entrees. Retailers also should consider merchandising IQF rice with other easy-to-prepare convenience items such as frozen teriyaki chicken and stir-fry mixes or items that call for rice in their preparation or recipes, but do not provide the rice.

Shelf placement and merchandising rice with Hispanic and Asian items can also be very effective, Wendelschaefer says.

Pallet programs with display-ready cases present pasta merchandising opportunities and make merchandising more efficient for retailers, Cunningham says.

And in-store demonstrations can be very effective generators of consumer trial and product repurchase. When demoed with — or showcased in recipes with — other related store brand products, rice (or pasta) can boost sales of the accompanying products as well, Wendelschaefer says.

Do

cross-merchandise store brand pasta and rice products with other store brand meal components.

Don't

discount the effectiveness of recipes.

Look what's new

Market Pantry Vegetable Farfalle from Minneapolis-based Target is said to be an enriched spinach, tomato and carrot macaroni product. A 4-oz. serving of the pasta contains one serving of vegetables and is a good source of fiber. The kosher-certified pasta retails in a 12-oz. box.

New from Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market, El Segundo, Calif., is Fresh & Easy Organic Penne Rigate. The macaroni product is said to complement rich pesto and one-pot dinners. USDA organic certified and GMO-free, the kosher product retails in a 12-oz. box made from 100 percent recycled paperboard and featuring a recipe suggestion.

Delhaize America (DZA Brands), Salisbury, N.C., launched My Essentials Long Grain Instant Brown Rice is a precooked whole-grain product that is microwaveable. The kosher-certified product retails in a 14-oz. pack.

Source: Mintel's Global New Products Database