A2B-Lancaster Fanning, Saturday, July 8, 2000
Beef Made Easy’ Brings Convenience To The Case For Today’s Consumers
Research indicates that consumers do not think about names of cuts when shopping
for fresh meat, they think about meal solutions. “I’ll certainly pay more attention to it
now that I know about it,” said Carol Franklin, Carlisle. Photo by Michelle Ranch
(Continued from Pago A 1)
director of promotions. Bom
gardner has introduced the pro
gram to 260 grocery store meat
cases across Pennsylvania and
Maryland, beginning in June
1999. Weis, Giant, and 30 inde
pendent stores now have the
program.
“The customers have
changed, they’re not as educated
as consumers as we had years
ago, and this is a way to help
them understand. The instruc
tions are on the package so they
can say, ‘Hey, I can do that,’”
said Mike Sonberg, senior cate
gory manager for Giant meat
department. “They may order it
in a restaurant but not buy it to
take home and make it. This
helps them understand that they
can do it themselves. There is a
need for education and a simple
way to provide it, and that fits
right in with the Beef Made Easy
program.”
After two years of market re
search with the supermarket
giants Kroger and Safeway, the
Top Lancaster DHIA Cows By Protein For June
(Continued from Pago Al 9)
HERBERT H BENNER
RITZY
SEVENU
JAY &JOANNE WISE
ETHEL
JOSEPH N ZEISET
610
DANIEL B ZOOK JR
RUBY
KING-RIDGE FARM
MARSHA
WILMER R MARTIN
BERRY
BETSY
DWIGHT L MARTIN
MACEY
JOHN & VELMA WENGER
197
GIDEON S. SWAREY
LICORI
MILKY SPRINGS DAIRY
3096
EPHRAIM K FISHER
FAYE
ABNER S ESH
MARGE
THOMAS C LAPP
115
138
DENNIS H FREY
29
SAMUEL S STOLTZFUS
115
134
GLENN H WENGER
42
CHRIST E BEILER
26
GARY & JENNY BOWMAN
DOR IE
National Cattlemen’s Beef Asso
ciation (NCBA) unveiled the
program in April 1999. To kick
off the program NCBA visited
the top 25 grocery chains in the
country.
“Pennsylvania is unique in
that we have a lot of stores that
don’t fall into the top 25 larger
chains,” said Bomgardner.
This translated into more leg
work for her, as she preferred to
make personal visits to not only
pitch the idea to meat managers
but also place the labels on the
beef during the initial rollout for
each store.
Dan Feathers, meat manager
for Nell’s Shurfine, has the pro
gram running in the store. He
estimates that Nell’s Shurfine
uses between 3,500 and 4,000
labels per week.
“The grilling label is defi
nitely the one we use most,” he
said, adding that the sauteing
label is also popular now. “Over
winter the pot roasts and other
roast labels will increase.”
Feathers believes that
GAP
823
802
869
1040
STEVENS
26,690
26,973
822
868
NARVON
24,828
985 822
GORDONVILLE
26,317
822
846
LEOLA
25,677
27,244
929
STEVENS
821
25,284
26,408
819
803
938
887
STEVENS
24,028
819
913
LEOLA
816
865
RONKS
25,741
23,488
960 816
QUARRYVILLE
1126 815
PARADISE
24,742 870 815
25,023
PARADISE
28,072
760
GAP
815
24,447 1007 813
25,133 997 800
ELIZABETHTOWN
836 813
26,731
BIRD IN HAND
28,389 1057 812
24,426 858 805
EPHRATA
812
24,571 1009
LEOLA
23.909
927 811
QUARRYVILLE
1110 810
29,301
meat wrappers, who are crucial
to the success of the program,
are finding the labels to be less
time-consuming than they had
originally thought. A poster co
lor-coordinated with the labels
aids the meat wrappers in plac
ing the label on the correspond
ing cut of meat.
The Weis stores now substi
tute the label for the “Choice”
label. Additionally Bomgardner
provides posters as a reference
tool for the meat wrappers and
as an educational aid for the
consumers.
The program has changed the
placement of the items in the
case to group the cuts more
closely according to cooking
method, said Feathers, who be
lieves that the “Beef. It’s What’s
For Dinner” case dividers add a
lot to the look of the case.
Currently, Pennsylvania re
tailers are looking at having
labels customized for a particu
lar store with a peel-off A-l
Steak Sauce recipe that corre
sponds with the cut.
the
MARLIN R BEILER
TONYA
ELMER P. RIEHL
VONNIE
FAHNESTOCK FARMS
499
AMOS M STOLTZFUS
TRUDY
EMANUEL S ESH
RECIPE
JAMES+JANET ZIMERMAN
252
CHARLES L WISE
ADA
AMOS K KING
NAOMI
TOM ZARTMAN
98
JOHN S KING
ALISON
SKY VIEW FARM
64
REUBEN S STOLTZFUS
ESTHER
CLAIR N OBERHOLTZER
IVY
STEPHEN Sc DEB SHERTZER
EVIE-2
SAMUEL F RIEHL
PET
KENNETH R MARTIN
85
LEE NOME FARM
SARAH
STEVEN M HERR
1303
LEBANON COUNTY
CURVE ACRES FARM
21
15
One of four test stores for meat supplier Associated
Wholesalers Inc. (AWI), Carlisle’s Shurfine has taken on
the Beef Made Easy program, complete with rail strips and
color-coded pictures clipped to the rail.
“With the labels they (customers) can see how to pre
pare the meat. It’s easier since it’s on the pack versus if
the meat manager has to talk to them and they have to re
member how to cook the cuts,” said Dan Feathers, meat
manager at Nell’s Shurfine store.
“It keeps the program fresh
and is an added value for the
customers,” said Bomgardner.
“It’s encouraging that a na
tional company like A-l would
see the value in teaming up with
the program, that they’re willing
to invest their time and resource
and they think it’s a quality con
sumer program.” Safeway and
Kroger have come up with an
other way to keep the program
in front of customers by running
pictures of the labels in ads.
Bomgardner’s future plans
for the “Beef Made Easy” pro
gram include promotion at the
meat case, talking to customers,
and calling on or auditing stores
that have implemented the pro
gram.
“I could have a full time job
PARADISE
876
LEOLA
924 1079
MANHEXM
942 808
MORGANTOWN
988 808
810
22,536
809
28,
24,122
25,109
PARADISE
879
EPHRATA
870
DENVER
856
DRUMORE
817
EPHRATA
919 1033
GAP
748
MANHEIM
850
NARVON
1032 805
ELIZABETHTOWN
950 804
MILLERSVILLE
728 802
LEOLA
919 802
QUARRYVILLE
1010 802
GORDONVILLE
812 800
NEW PROVIDENCE
910 800
807
23,748
807
26,546
806
25,553
806
24,160
805
805
24,435
805
25,084
27,426
25,365
23,634
27,386
25,261
26,081
26,842
NEWMANSTOWN
35,260 1051 1013
29,014 1046 871
just calling on meat managers
and still not have enough time in
the day,” said Bomgardner.
“The key is going to be a way
to keep it fresh, like the A-l reci
pes, making sure that labels get
advertised, and sales are run on
it,” sqjd Bomgardner, who re
mains enthusiastic about thp
program. “In my mind, I think
it’s one of the most exciting pro
grams that the Beef Council has
ever rolled out.”
In the coming months Bom
gardner will be evaluating the
program by comparing sales
data and looking at the sales
percentages for an increase in
profit.
“The bottom line is are we
impacting producers?” said
Bomgardner.
105
ADAM & LISA SONNEN
CHINA
MEADOW-WOOD FARM
749
801
16
20
GLEN + LINDA KRALL
67
R BRYAN BALMER
234
51
ARLIN W HIGH
42
56
FERNDALE FARMS
46
WILMER H LEHMAN
17
WALTER K HEISEY
367
WHITE BIRCH FARM
30
MIFFLIN COUNTY
ERVIN T HOSTETLER
288
18
NORTHUMBERLAND
CLAYTON H SWARTZ
35
(Turn to Pag* AST)
27,200 1102 850
27,310 890 811
HIGHLAND
988
29,862 1199
LEBANON
1178
963
575
808
LEBANON
30,774 1207
962
886
829
810
30,815
27,168
26,255
26,239
930
LEBANON
30,166 885
28,291 1125
923
889
LEBANON
950
867
LEBANON
823
LEBANON
893
890
27,451
27,710
853
24,873
864 836
NEWMANSTOWN
946 831
MYERSTOWN
850 831
28,703
24,145
27,810
BELLEVILLE
37,820 1006 1109
26,742 898 897
MILTON
30,099 974
817