, .. .. . _ _ . ._ . 3 E: 11:. ., ‘ § .2 “3...: f. ‘ . .3; PACKAGED CONVENIENCE AND EDUCATION-- KEYS TO THE REVITALIZATION OF THE PRODUCE DEPARTMENT by Terry M. Ihlenfeld A THESIS Submitted to the College of Business and Public Service of Michigan State University of Agriculture and Applied Science in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION Department of Marketing and Transportation Administration Curriculum in Food Distribution 1960 Mas ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The author is greatly indebted to Dr. Edward Barnet, Director of the Executive Development Programs in Food Marketing Management, for his valuable suggestions and guidance during the preparation of this paper. He is grateful to Mr. Robert Bull of the University of Delaware and the Produce Packaging Association for the information they provided. Deep gratitude is also due the Gerber Food Products Company for giving the author the opportunity to attend Michigan State University by providing a one year scholar- ship. Finally, the author would like to eXpress his sin- cere thanks to his wife, Carol, for the patience and in- Spiration she provided during the past year and especially for the many hours she Spent typing this paper. TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER PA I. INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . 1 Age of Convenience . . . . . . 3 Scope, Purpose, and Limits of Paper. . . . . . . . . . 5 The Fading Produce Department . . 5 II. MODERN HOUSEWIVES WANT CONVENIENCE . 13 The Loewy Report . . . . . . 10 Food Leaders Talk Convenience . . 12 A Survey . . . . . . . . . 17 Analysis of Canned and Frozen Vegetables . . . . . . . . 23 III. HOW TO DEVELOP AND MERCHANDISE CON- VENIENCE IN THE PRODUCE DEPARTMENT . 29 Prepackaging for Convenience . . 29 Introduction of Prepackaging . 29 Advantages to the Retailer . . 30 Advantages to the Consumer . . 34 Building Consumer Confidence . 35 Building Faith in the Store . . 42 Preparation for Convenience . . . 43 Types of Preparation . . . . 43 [U CHAPTER IV. VI. VII. Combinations . Salads 9 o 0 Special Processing . Tie-in Merchandising for Q Convenience . Portion Control for Convenience IMPLICATIONS OF GIVING CONVENIENC State and Federal Laws Equipment and Supplies WOMEN NEED PRODUCE EDUCATION A Survey . . . Food Experts Talk Education HOW TO EDUCATE CONSUMERS Produce Personnel Signs . . . . Labels and Packages Handouts . . . Display . . . Demonstrations . Hostess . . . Newspaper Advertising Summary . . . PRODUCE PERSONNEL NEEDS A Survey . . . Secondary Reports EDUCATION DJ iv PAGE 44 47 52 CHAPTER VIII. BIBLIOGRAPHY Summary Findings Recommendations Conclusion 0 SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS "d ?’ s. 2 Eli TABLE LIST OF TABLES Produce Department First in Gross Profit Return on Investment in Inventory. . . . . . . Shelf Life of Produce . . Comparison of Prepackaged and Bulk Produce Operations . . . . PAGE E *d *3 b1 '1 ’1 INTRODUCTION Age of Convenience This is the age of Speed-~3et Speed. This is the age of power--atomic power. This is the age of modern living--the age of convenience. The trend toward buying modern convenience products is higher and higher each year. The use of electric shavers has increased from 38.9 per cent of men surveyed in 1955 to 45.7 per cent in 1957. Shaving cream in pres- surized cans has increased from 14.5 per cent to 23.1 per cent during the same two short years.1 Ladies, likewise, have become convenience conscious. In 1958 housewives bought over $500 million worth of frozen prepared dishes, most of which were in convenient built-in containers that went from oven to table to trash can. Today almost one out of every three cups of coffee is made with instant coffee. "Postwar sales of prepared baby foods have grown some 230% to a quarter-billion-dollar industry, and sales of cake mixes and other prepared mixes have more than doubled to $253 million."2 1"'Convenience' Sets the Consumer Pace," Executive Digest, August, 1957, p. 2. 2"Modern Living-~Just Heat and Serve," Time, Decem- ber 7, 1959, p. 94. This trend is in line with the fast pace of living of the American people of today. More and more stores and businesses are catering to the American housewife today and are helping her reduce the time she spends on her time-consuming chores of washing, ironing, cleaning, shopping, and cooking so that she will have more time for P.T.A. and church activities, taking the children to music and dancing lessons, reading the bestsellers, and keeping up with the many other new interests and responsibilities in the home and the community. The super market and food manufacturers have joined forces to give the housewife quality food in a convenient form in an effort to make two of her household jobs less tedious and more enjoyable, namely grocery shopping and cooking. One only has to look down the wide aisles of a modern super market and he can see convenience on almost every shelf and in every refrigerated case: instant coffee in three size jars; over 70 different kinds of cake, pie, frosting, and dessert mixes; a choice of ten different frozen TV dinners; casserole dishes in plastic bags that can be tossed whole into a pot of water, cooked, and served; horseradish and garlic whip in aerosol cans; com- plete pizza mix in a tube; frozen potatoes whipped, French fried, crinkle cut, hashed, puffed, pattied, diced, stuffed baked, escalloped, creamed and home fried; and prepackaged fresh meats and produce that have previously been cleaned, trimmed, weighed, labeled, and packaged in clear film. This list of convenience foods is growing every day as is evidenced by the long lists of new products pub- lished in the trade periodicals every month and the samples of products that keep appearing on the desks of grocery buyers across the country every week. ScopeI PurposeI and Limits of Paper What has caused this increased demand for convenience? Where can convenience be improved in the super market? How can it be further developed and merchandised? What are the housewives like who are demanding this built-1n maid service? These are some of the questions that will be analyzed in greater detail in this paper. This paper will deal with convenience, however, only as it relates to the produce department of a super market. Although there have been a few articles written on the convenience of individual produce items or small groups 0f produce items, according to the 1960 Directory 22 Research Reports Relating £2 Produce Packaging there have been no Papers written that develop how to merchandise all these items. As far as the writer knows, this paper is also unique in that it directly analyzes and compares the con- v"enience of processed fruits and vegetables with fresh Produce. It will first analyze reports and surveys of indus- trial leaders on the subject and then it will compare the Convenience offered by the produce department with that Offered by other departments of the store. Next the paper will describe methods and the rationale behind the methods that can be used in developing and merchandising conven- ience in the produce department. It will also attempt to explain and examine some of the implications and control- ling factors of convenience as it relates to government regulations and equipment involved. This paper will not deal with the technicalities of specific packaging materials that should be used or at what level in the marketing channel the packaging should take place. Rather the paper is designed to give an in- sight into how far the produce department is behind other departments in the store in giving the customers conven- ience. It is also designed to give ideas on convenience that can be adapted to individual store situations. The second half of the paper will investigate the umdern young housewife of today as portrayed through a Personal survey and secondary reports. Using this back- ground the paper will then deal with specific ways of educating the modern housewife in relation to the conven- iences and ideas eXpressed in the first part of the paper. The paper will end with an educational program designed for the personnel in the produce department itself so they can more effectively sell Mrs. Consumer on their department and the convenience it has to offer. One other limiting factor of this paper is the limi- ted scope of the personal surveys that are being used as part of the background material for this paper. Because U1 of the limited time factor, the writer could only inter- view a very small sample of the desired universe, but it is hoped that the ideas gained from this sample will be of some value in gaining some insight into the true popula- tion characteristics. Regardless of the true value of the information gathered, the interviews were a very stimula- ting and educational experience for the writer. The Fading Produce Department As convenience has become more and more important in today's marketing picture, fresh fruit and vegetable sales have continued to decline as a per cent of total store sales. The inroads made into the produce department sales and prestige have been reflected in the "cramped prepara- tion areas, the inability of many produce departments to get their full share of advertising Space and promotional effort, fewer training programs."3 During the past year super market operators and exec- utives throughout the country have become quite concerned over the depressed state of affairs in their produce de- Partments. At this year's annual convention of Super Market Institute at Bal Harbour, Florida, the emphasis was on Perishables and specifically on the decreased use of fresh produce and what could be done to combat this decline. ‘ 3Glenn Snyder, ”Why Your Produce Department Will Make a Comeback in the '60's," Progressive Grocer, XXXIX, NO- 2 (February, 1960), p. 48. The findings and recommendations of the much discussed and important Loewy Report emphasized the importance of the produce department in creating a store image and per- sonality and the report warned that "the produce depart- ment's declining share of total store sales will continue into the new decade unless super market operators take quick action."4 At this year's National American Wholesale Grocers' Association annual convention in Chicago the role of per- ishables was stressed in the form of a workshop session devoted exclusively to the subject. At this workshop, Mr. Robert Bull, produce specialist from the University of Delaware and the Produce Packaging Association and also Marketing Counsel for NAWGA, gave the results of a sur- vey that covered top produce executives in the United States and Canada. Much of the survey dealt with the importance of prepackaging of fresh fruits and vegetables as a method of increasing fresh produce volume. It was indicated that prepackaging will aid the produce industry to "hold its own" during the next few years.5 The independents were also advised to stress produce in their stores during the recent National Association of ¥ 4"SMI Members Hear Report on Competition, Loewy Survey," Chain Store Age, XXXVI, No. 2 (February, 1960), p. 17. 5"NAWGA Stresses Perishables Role," Super Market News, IX. No. 12 (March 21, 1960), p. 35. i '51. . lf Retail Grocers convention at Dallas, Texas. Mr. Don Grimes, president of Independent Grocers Alliance of Chicago, said that "progressive retailers find paying attention to fresh fruits and vegetables and buying only quality merchandise can increase their sales from eight per cent to ten per cent of total store sales."6 Other interesting figures that Mr. Grimes pointed out to the NARGUS independents were that the meat, produce, dairy, and bakery departments "took up 25 per cent of store space-~do 50 per cent of the volume-~and make 75 per cent of the profit."7 There is good reason for this great concern over one department in the store because in the last ten years the per capita consumption of fresh fruits has declined 35 per cent and fresh vegetables has declined 20 per cent according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture figures.8 Per capita consumption of all fruits and vegetables de- clined from 424 pounds to 393 pounds during the last ten years.9 This decline is especially significant in the pro- duce department because this department is first in gross E 6"Stress Perishables, Independents Advised at NARGUS," §uper Market News, IX, No. 24 (June 15. 1950). P- 20. 71bid. 8Super Markets of the Sixties, A report to Super Market Institute, Inc., Prepared by the Raymond Loewy Corporation at convention, January, 1960, p. 62. 91bid. profit return on investment in inventory, as shown by the following chart based on Progressive Grocer's Super Valu Study, and also because the average per cent margin on sales, 30.8, is higher for the produce department than for any other department in the store by 9.5 per cent. TABLE 1 PRODUCE DEPARTMENT FIRST R IN GROSS PROFIT RETURN ON INVESTMENT IN INVENTORY“ Fully Stocked Anntal Gross Profit Annual Annual Retail Gross Return Per Department Turnover Sales Value 3 Margin 3 Invested Produce 75 $109,772 $1,464 a 33,800 3 33.40 Meats 72 280,072 3,890 59,300 19.56 Grocery* 18 859,481 47,343 49,513 3.85 *Includes dry groceries, dairy, frozen foods and baked goods. aSnyder, pp. 232., p. 53- It must be remembered that it is not only the retail stores that are affected by the decline of fresh produce consumption but also the grocers and shippers. Last year Sales of the United Fruit Company decreased by some 311,464,472 from 1958.‘0 As the produce problem came up for discussion at the many conventions and meetings during the past few Years, the Speakers offered many reasons for the declining Sales and consumption figures. Some of the reasons were frozen foods, sales increases of other prepared foods, ¥ 10"United Fruit Sales, Profits Decline in '59:" §ER££_E§§§§§ Eggs, IX, No. 3 (January 18, 1960), produce Section. \0 new service departments in the store such as bakery and delicatessen, growth of the nonfood department, and the fact that relatively few of the store managers of members of top management are produce men but rather grocery or meat specialists. After reading and comparing the different reports and comments of top men in the food field, it seems that one idea seems to stand out as being paramount in impor- tance as to why produce sales have declined. This idea goes; deeper than the mere words frozen foods or prepared foods, which are often cited as being the biggest factors affecrting fresh produce sales. The underlying idea which seenned to be present in competing products of fresh pro- duce: but was absent from the produce department was CONVENIENCE. CHAPT ER I I MODERN HOUSEWIVES WANT CONVENIENCE A closer look at the reports and Speeches made thus far by top produce and food experts is now in order to see exactly what recommendations have been made. The Loewy Report Super Market Institute sponsored the 13-month, $E5,000 survey made by the Raymond Loewy Corporation. The {main emphasis of the report centered around the im- Portnance and improvement of the produce, meat, and general mercfliandise departments of the modern super market. The report pointed out the changes in eating habits Of nuadern Americans. The decrease in per capita consump- tiori of fresh fruits and vegetables that were previously Imnrtioned were offset to some extent by increased sales in crther departments. Increased sales of frozen peas, beaxus, and spinach, fresh vegetables requiring consumer procnessing, were noted as accounting for much of the de- crease in fresh sales of these vegetables. The convenience 0f Dre-trimming, pre-shelling, and pre-cleaning is a must if fresfla vegetables are to begin to compete with frozen. GeneraJJIy the fresh vegetable decrease was offset by either an increase in frozen or canned. Tflis was not the case, however, in the decrease of fruits. Iiere sales of fresh fruits have declined per 11 capita and people have purchased more sweets and instant puddings and desserts for snacks and desserts. Walter Stern, the Loewy technical director of pack- aging, noted customers also want convenience in the form of portion control and individual servings in the sizes of produce packages offered as well as pan-ready vegetables. He advocated unit packaging of related use items for greater convenience. Mr. Stern seemed to be strongly recommending a prepackaged produce department in today's modern super market when at this year's SMI convention he stated,"We found that many consumers seem to feel produce shopping; is distasteful in the areas where it becomes necessary to wait for the services of an over-worked clerk to have pro- duce bagged, weighed and price-marked. While the entire Store is self-service, the consumer has to mentally shift back 20 years when entering the produce area and be satis- fied willy-hilly with cracker-barrel packaging; methods."11 In looking to the future and the expected income growth the report said that the marketing implications *of this increase in income would mean that consumers would not be as price conscious as they presently are. This prediction is in accord with the USDA analysis of food purchases by the public which shows that as incomes rise, expenditures for fresh produce also rise. This report is based on the government economists' prediction that there ¥ 19 11 "SMI Meeting," m iarket News, IX, No. 3 (January ’ 1960) O p. 300 .-1 n1 and "of ‘l "4 '1 12 will be a steady rise in consumer buying power during; the '60's which may be a 50 per cent increase by 1970 over 1959.12 Another marketing implication is that people will want, and will pay for, delivery and other Special ser- vices. It is hard to say to what extent these services will be offered and how much the people will actually pay for them, but it is reported that one super market has pur- chased its own taxi and for an additional 50 cents, the customer, and her order, will be delivered to her door.13 There is also a truck delivery available for 25 cents as well as a phone order service available at the store. The above implications would seem to suggest several things. First, that it would pay a produce department to include some of the more unusual and expensive types of fruits and vegetables in its regular assortment of mer- chandise. Such. items as Banana squash, artichokes, Persian melons, mangoes, and tangelces suggest themselves. Second, consumers might be willing to pay a little “fire. for Special services and convenience features in a produCe department, features which the later part of this paper will recommend. Waders Talk Convenience Many food leaders have been aware of the drop in \ 12Snyder, gp. 9313., p. A9, Re 01:- 1 3"Here is a Retail Feature in a Supermarket," Roundy‘s W, VIII, No. 19 (May12, 1960), p. 6. 13 sales in this high profit department and have voiced their opinions as to the causes and solutions to the problem. It might be well to look at some of these opinions to see if there is some basic thought or idea underlying all the opinions and facts. lair. Harley V. McNamara, president of National Tea Company, stated in a Speech given before the Merchandising Executives Club of Chicago that prepared convenience foods will make the biggest gain in the coming decade. Mr. McNamara said he based this on "the growing number of work- ins homemakers who want food requiring little or no pre- paration time."14 At the 9th Annual National Conference on Produce Pa°kaging, Mr. Paul J. Cupp, president of the American Stores company, was speaking to shippers and growers as well as to retailers when he pointed out that where the ObJECtive of the shipper was to maximize profitable sales of only produce, the objective of the retailer was to please the consumer with quality, variety, and service. Therefore, "whether more beans are sold fresh or canned is a Secondary consideration for us in the attainment of our overall objectives as a business.“5 Mr. Cupp quickly \ Supe 1 [WCO‘JPOH’ Sweepstakes Use Hit by nat'l. Tea President," % Market News, IX, No. 17 (April 25, 1960), p. A. Retai 1 5Peu1 J. Cupp, "Produce, Packaging, and Profits-~The 10-1 Point of View," Speech given before the 9th Annual ennsnal Conference on Produce Packaging, Ph .ladelphia, ylvania, September 14, 1959. 14 went on to say that in Spite of this, retailers are inter- ested in improving the produce department because: 1) it's the fresh merchandise that gives stores their reputation and character, 2) there is greater opportunity for devel- oping; a competitive advantage in terms of lowering Operating costs in handling £13.53 merchandise, and 3) the store is not treating customers fairly if it offers them inferior produce because it then forces them to buy processed pro- duce. In closing Mr. Cupp suggested that produce men loci: to other packaged products and learn some fundamental les- sons from them in an effort tc improve produce packaging. The first lesson he suggested was convenience. At the same produce convention mentioned above, Mr. Donald R. Stokes of the Agricultural Marketing Service, H's-13.11., presented a talk on "The Next Ten Years of Pro- duce Packaging." Mr. Stokes also noted the decline in per capita consumption of many fresh fruits and vegetables and t-<>1cl the convention members that they should take this decline as a challenge by doing a better job and Offering more services and convenience to the consumers. In discussing seven of the important deciduous fruits and their decreased consumption, Mr. Stokes mentioned that Sales of each could be improved by more attractive, pI‘O-e 1:e‘ct1‘76, and convenient packaging. A very piercing ques- tion that seemed to get at the very heart of the produce Prob . . lem was asked by Mr. Stones. "Why should consumers," kn he asked, "who like to save a few minutes uying; ready-mixed or ready-prepared foods, go to the trouble of buying; hard green pears which take a wee}: to ripen?"16 This question brought out the fact that convenience pertains not only to the processing time of cleaning; or trimming produce, but the actual ripening time itself. Why should Mrs. Housewife have to use her refrigerator or valuable kitchen space as a warehouse or ripening room? Turnover is just as impor- tant in the home as it is in the store. Mr. Stokes also mentioned eight vegetables for which inconvenience was the major marketing problem. Convenience was also a key issue in a survey conducted by the Produce Packaging Association in cooperation with marketing specialists from the University of Delaware. The ASSOCiation surveyed chain store executives heading pro- duce divisions of companies such as Steinberg's, National Tea, Safeway, Dillon's, American Stores, Bonham's, Super V3111: Kroger, Colonial Stores, Thorofare, Stop and Shop, Publix, and other chains. Two-thirds of the executives said that frwzen and canned fruits and vegetables are still cutting: into fresh produce volume. Some executives noted that "the produce indu“S‘try has not kept its products fully competitive in \ Pack IbDonald R. Stokes, "The Next Ten Years of Produce Confagln8:" Speech given before the 9th Annual National Se‘Dterence on Produce Packaging, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, ‘ ember 16, 1954, 1/ 1*? terms of built-in consumer conveniences and'quality."17 Enden asked what recommendations they had for keeping produce more competitive, every executive mentioned more consumer unit packaging. Two-thirds of the executives considered the partial preparation of all produce in a con- venient ready-to-use form as essential to making fresh produce more competitive.13 Mr. W. E. Murphy, president of Campbell Soup Company, once stated that thirty years ago the average housewife Spent five to six hours of her day in the kitchen preparing meals and today she only Spends half that time. He attri- buted this reduction to her use of foods that have "built- in Services".19 Since servants have priced themselves out Of the market, it means the burden of meal planning; and preparation is shifted back to the housewife who in many cases is working at a full or part time job outside of the home. She is therefore anxious to do anything; that will I reduce her kitchen work. Mr. M‘ L rphy concluded that thi: U is - . . ‘ Why "what's been zooming in foods is tne matter of building; convenience into foods."2O \ butg 17Robert L. Bull, "What America's Key Food Distri- the £3 in Voluntary Groups and Corporate Chains Think About 54th Uture for Packaged Produce," Speech given before the 1960 nual NAWGA Convention, Chicago, Illinois. March 15, 1 8Ibid. * a Worl 1 9W. B. Murphy, "Revolution in the Kitchen," p.55. news ‘\d Report, XLVI, No. 7 (February 15, 1957 ), :c. 20 Ibid. 2dr. Charles G. Mortimer, chairman and chief execu- tive of General Foods Corporation, contends that if the relative costs of regular foods and convenience foods; were computed versus the time Spent by the housewife in prepara- tion, "the housewife is getting the services of a maid for 45 cents an hour.”21 The growth of convenience foods is just beginning according to Mr. Mortimer. Actually the cost of convenience foods is very low. A U.S. Department of Agriculture study showed that if a Wiclcal consumer bought $130. worth of regular food, it would only cost him 61 cents less than if he would have bought the same foods in a serviced convenient form.22 All these reports and articles then, seem to point to COnvenience as an important element in modern foods and an element that the housewife demands. If foods do not have the convenience that the consumer wants, she will quickly change and buy the many foods available that do Offer her the extra service. The Loewy Reports and the Speeches by Mr. Cupp, Mr. Stokes, and Mr. Bull all indi- Gated that consumers want but have not found the convenience they Want in today's produce department. W In an effort to discover the trend in shopping and eat a. . inc-s ha its of the younger generation of housewives, tne \ 21"Modern Living-~Just Heat and Serve," 9p. 0 t., p. 57. 22 Ibid. h ‘IV in -—-\ f author interviewed 25 housewives. All the ladies inter- viewed were wives of Michigan State University students and their average age was 26. In order that the housewives in- terviewed would not be completely "green" as to family grocery shopping and meal planning, most of the ladies were wives of graduate students and therefore a little older than the undergraduates. The average number of children the fami- lies had was 1.4. The families came from a number of states other than Michigan including New York, Texas, Colorado, Tennessee, Wisconsin, and Ohio and some of the husbands held jobs before coming back to school for graduate work. The wives were asked eleven questions. Some were direct, objective, multiple-choice questions and others were subjective questions which allowed the housewife to freely give her thoughts and ideas on subjects such as frozen foods, prepackaged produce, and the produce depart- ment in general. The first eight questions were objective and were designed to find out how much the housewives actually knew abWt the selection, preparation, and uses for 813901510 ””1108 items. After the interviewer found out what the houseW’i‘res seemed to know and what they didn't know, he could more intelligently design an educational program geared to help the housewives buy and prepare fresh pro- duce more knowingly. This part of the survey will be dealt wit h in the second part of this paper. 10 I The last three questions in the survey were designed to find out if the housewives would really admit that they wanted convenience and if so, what specific convenience features they wanted, eSpecially as related to the produce department. The first of these subjective questions was, "do you prefer prepackaged or bulk produce and why?" Six of the wives or 24 per cent said they preferred prepackaged, 55 Per cent preferred bulk, and 23 per cent were undecided. The consumers who preferred prepackaged produce said they enJoyed the convenience, individual price on each package, freshness, and cleanliness of prepackasinféo Of the wives who preferred bulk produce, 71 per cent said they had tried prepackaged but found it contained bad merchandise when they opened it at hone. In 35 per cent 0f the cases the bad item mentioned was potatoes. One lady Strongly stated that "there's Just W to be something bad in the package or bag." Other reasons given for PI‘G' ferring bulk were "I Just like to pick and pinch my own DPOduce", "prepackaged packages are too big for only two peOple" , and "soft fruits and vegetables are especially bad prepackaged." The women who were undecided said that they bought bOth prepackaged and bulk "depending on what looked the best at the time they bought it". The author concluded from this question that most W0 men when asked directly, will say they prefer bulk Over 20 prepackaged produce. The main reason for this preference is £93 that the prepackaged does not offer them convenience, but because of the bad merchandise the ladies have found in the packages, they are forced to buy bulk. In other words, they have not really been given an equal choice of products and therefore they were compelled to buy bulk after their bad ex- periences with packaged. The second question in this section asked "what do you think about frozen fruits and vegetables and if you buy them, what kinds do you purchase?" f the 25 young housewives interviewed,- 24 per cent said they never or hardly ever purchase any kind of frozen foods. The reasons "no given were "it's too eXpensive", "lack freezer Space", flavor to frozen foods", and "too big a package size for only two people". Thirty-two per cent of the wives said they bought frozen fruits and vegetables only 0003510331137 Such as when the fresh were out of season. The remaining 44 per cent said they bought frozen fruits and vegetables regularly. Of this 44”. per cent, 5+ per "3'311‘2; said they bought frozen fruits and sepecially Vegetabl es because they were convenient and easy to prepare. Other reasons given for their regular use were "economy of the larger bag, packs, or pouches of vegetables", "fresher flaw”? and more vitamins than canned", "no spoilage", "they las t 1~°Ilger in the refrigerator than fresh if the entire Pack \age is not eaten at the first meal", and "they are not nmssy and they don't take much time to prepare”. One house- ydfe with four children remarked that frozen vegetables look greener than canned and sometimes fresh, therefore her children thought they looked fresher and would always eat all their frozen vegetables. This was in contrast to another housewife who especially didn't like frozen peas because they looked 322 green. From this question it would seem that the young house- Wives of today really do want convenience. Over SO per cent of the wives regularly buying frozen fruits and vege- tables said they were buying it because it was convenient, emxy to prepare, and took less time to fix than fresh. Those housewives who were not buying the frozen fruits and vege- tablxes regularly or who were only buying them occasionally were ‘buying other forms not because they didn't like the Convenience the frozen offered, but because they didn‘t like ‘the flavor of frozen foods or because they preferred the flavor of fresh or canned over frozen. The third question was, "what would you suggest the SuPeI‘ Inarket do to improve its produce department?" The most .iirequent reply to this question was, "have a person on the floor to weigh produce and answer questions at all times‘." The ladies freely spoke of the many times they h . . ad tr) stand in line and wait for procuce to be weighed 9 w ithexr loecause there were not enough scales or because th 1 ere 13218 no one on the floor to weigh tne produce. Twenty- 0 he p91? cent of the housewives wanted menu ideas either in 22 the form of printed recipes or pictures. Some of the ladies noted this was especially important for unusual items in the department. Other features that were suggested were a sample table where consumers could try unusual produce items, signs telling how to select ripe fruits and vege- tables, wider aisles in the produce department so the women could easily browse through the department without bumping; into other people's carts, putting the produce department at the end of the store layout, more tie-in merchandising with other departments, and a list of best weekly buys. It was also interesting to note that 21 per cent of the women interviewed said that a produce department that had the Vegetables iced was definitely fresher than a department that didn't use ice (even if they had refrigerated cases). It Seems that just the fact that they could see the ice covering or surrounding: the produce, psychologically gave them the feeling; that the produce was fresh. A few ladies mentioned that it was a good idea to have a buzzer in the Produce department just like they have in the meat depart- ment, If the consumer wanted a Special type or quantity of PrOduce she could easily summon the produce clerk. One housewife was perturbed by the fact that there was so little Variety in the produce department. "I get tired of seeing the Same old lettuce, carrots, apples, and oranges every time I go into the produce department. I'd like to see more Weird fruits and vegetables when I go into the store," She Stated. Since all but three of the housewives interviewed had some criticism for the produce department, it would seem that the main value of this question was that it showed there is definite room for improvement in the produce de- partment especially in the areas of personal service and in offering meal planning and shopping suggestions to the consumers. If the produce department is supposed to convey the personality of the store to the consumer, it seems that these improvements should be made quickly in all stores where these services are not now available. Some of the ladies were so dissatisfied with the produce quality, Variety, and service they were receiving at the super mar- ket that they were now doing their produce shopping at the local farmers' green market or produce Specialty store. AHal sis of Canned and Frozen Vegetables According to the Agricultural Marketing Service rePorts, the average person today is buying over 50 per cent more frozen and canned vegetables and nearly 12 per cent fewer fresh ones than he did. 20 years ago.23 Almost all the items mentioned in the report as having increased in frozen and canned consumption and decreased in fresh were items such as snap and lima beans, green peas, broccoli, asparagus, and spinach that require quite a bit of consumer procesSing when sold in the natural fresh form. It would ¥ M 23”Frozen and Canned Vegetable Consumption Up," Super m Merchandising, XXV, No. 5 (May, 1960), p. 127. 24 be, however, a hasty conclusion to assume that it is only the convenience of preparation that entices the consumer to buy these produce items in the frozen or canned form rather than the fresh. Therefore let us now look a little closer at the frozen food cabinet and the canned vege- table shelves to see if there is something else that tempts the consumer to buy the merchandise in these processed forms. To make a comparison of the three different depart- ments, frozen, canned, and fresh, the writer went into a large national chain store in Lansing and first checked the labels on some of the canned vegetables. This store had three different brands of asparagus and also offered three different sizes. A national brand was offered in a 303 can and an eight ounce can. The 303 can offered several good serving suggestions on the label. Another national. brand was offered in a 1 lb. 3 oz. can. The sug- gestion on this label read "heat and serve or serve cold in salads". A private label was also offered in a 303 can. There Were also several serving suggestions on this label. All the labels included the size can, size of asparagus, net Weight, number of cups, and number of servings. LCoking at some of the labels of the peas and carrots he found these clever and catchy "sales talks": Jiffy Stew--Pantry--Quick for You Egjoy your favorite stew minus the problem and mess of Eleaning vegetables. Just'open and heat a can ~----- peas and carrots to top your casserole. gfe ------- mixed garden vegetables for hearty main sh casseroles. Mold ------- mixed garden vegetables TU U! in gelatin for a colorful salad. (Pictures showing colorful salad and casserole.) Cut on dotted line. See reverse side for appetizing recipe ideas. Special notice should be made of the first "sales talk" which aims its arrow directly at the fresh produce depart- ment competition by directly stating it's a mess to clean fresh vegetables. Another sales point was used by a national brand packer who freely used descriptive adjectives to put this information on a 303 can of aSparagus: Selected, tender, young leaves, carefully hand-sorted, washed clean and free from grit. Cooked to retain its fine, natural flavor and uniformly green color. An excellent source of Vitamin A (as carotene) and \Titamin C. It also contributes nutritionally valu- able quantities of riboflavin (Vitamin B2) and of iron to the diet. Five serving suggestions followed this information. The above label information was not "hunted for" but was Selected at random as the writer walked down the canned veg- etable aisle. He spot-checked many other vegetables and they too had a variety of recipes, serving suggestions, Colored pictures of appetizing menu ideas, and other point- Of‘sale information about the particular vegetables in the can. Next he examined some of the packages of frozen vege- tables - This was the information printed on the back of a package of lima beans: ‘~—---- Fordhook Lima Beans are quick frozen to retain their garden-fresh flavor, color, and food value. They are washed and all ready to cook without further prti'paration. These beans require less cooking time an ordinary beans. (10-12 minutes) There were also several serving suggestions on the package. This package was a national brand of frozen foods and looking at some of the other vegetable packages, it was noticed that they too had the same type of information on the package including the fact that they could be prepared faster than the particular fresh vegetable, and the fact that they were "garden-mg". Even the private label brand frozen vegetables had serving; suggestions on the package. Packages of okra, SQuash, cut wax beans, and blackeye peas each had three different serving suggestions on the rear of the package. Finally the writer looked at the produce department of this same chain store. Most of the produce was not pre- Packaged. The avacados and aggplant were overripe and soft and had no identifying signs or serving suggestions. The green beans were not packaged and they looked old and wilted. The diSplay of strawberries looked like it was closing time on Friday night. There were very few signs of identifica- tion for the fruits and vegetables much less any serving suggestions or take-home recipes. The produce manager was putting up celery as customers walked past him while going through the department, but did he offer a "good morning" 0 n r have you tried our delicious grapes we have on sale this we " ek to any of the customers who walked past him? No, he didn' t - From this quick comparison it seems only too obvious th ' at the convenience of processing offered by frozen and 27 canned vegetables is not the only reason for their increasing consumer acceptance. It would seem from this brief survey that the pictures of appetizing dishes, serving suggestions, recipes, identification of contents, catchy point-of-sale infoxnnation as to vitamin content, previous processing, and easy cooking instructions, and the direct comparisons made with fresh produce on the labels of frozen and canned veges tables are all contributing factors to the increased sale of these processed products. They are also factors that are usually M found in the produce department. Therefore, we might classify the serving, cooking, and identification information as convenience factors that are not offered in the produce department. It would seem logical then for women Who had a choice of three forms to pick the one that gave them the most cooking and serving information. This would be eSpecially true if the consumer had not previously pur- chased the item or if he did not know how to prepare the product. According to some reports, the frozen campaign against fI‘esh fruits and vegetables is just beginning. An official of the frozen food division of Stokely Van Camp, Inc. an- nounced that ’frozen freshness exceeds produce much of the time, and frozen substitutes for fresh produce are nutri- t1(”viii-Lily superior to their fresh counterparts every day of the Year.”24 These claims were made after produce was k IV 24"‘Fresh' Public Relations," The Produce Packager, ’ NO- 4 (January 27, 1960), p. 1+. f0 (,1.- purchased fresh in the store and compared to similar frozen products. The results were fantastic enough to warrant Stokely to start a major advertising campaign across the nation with such claims as: "110% more vitamin A in frozen green beans", "212% more vitamin C in frozen spin- ach", and "36% more vitamin A in frozen lima beans". It seems thct the frozen food processors have caught the fresh produce shippers and produce associations napping in this reSpect; little has been publicized either on a national or retail store level as to the real nutritional value of fresh produce and the fact that no sugar or salt has been added to it. From this frozen and canned analysis one can see that the convenience of processing is not the only enticing factor that the processed vegetables have over the fresh, but it is also the convenience of the point-of—sale infor- mation given on the packages of the processed products and the general national advertising campaign conducted by the processed food manufacturers promoting their products. CHAPTER I I I HOW TO DEVELOP AND MERCHANDISE CONVENIENCE IN THE PRODUCE DEPARTMENT Reports of produce executives, Speeches by produce and food experts, personal surveys of young housewives, and an analysis of the sales and labels of frozen and canned fruits and vegetables all indicate that convenience is the essential factor that is needed in the produce de- Partment if it is to survive the inroads that other depart- ments are making into fresh produce department sales. Since prepackaging in general is a prerequisite for developing convenience in a produce department, this chap- ter will begin with a review of the advantages of prepack- aged Produce for both the retailer and the customers and it will then develop some suggestions for promoting pre- Packaging and building consumer faith in the package as W911 as in the store. Pre acka in for Convenience Introduction of Prepackaging hflsen first introduced, prepackaged produce met resis- tance from both consumers and retailers. ReSiS’Caflce to r P epackaging has been decreasing, however, and in 1957 a 3 “may by DuPont showed that 52 per cent of the consumers 30 in America today prefer prepackaged fruits and vegetables.25 Since this is only about half of the consumers in America, there is a large number of people who have to be shown the advantages of this new type of merchandising. What is needed, therefore, is an educational program for the cus- tomers that is planned and promoted by the produce depart- ment. Actually the entire store would help promote this Program, so faith can be built not only in a package or a department, but in the entire store or food chain. Advantages to the Retailer In order to do a good selling job of prepackaging. the produce department itself must first believe in the 335138111. The entire produce staff should be told why they are Prepackaging, how to prepackage, and what its advantages are. Only after this has been done can the produce depart- ment Work as an efficient team and gain all the benefits 0f the system. Possibly the biggest advantage of prepackaging is the Education in spoilage. In a bulk operation the spoilage usually amounts to four to six per cent of sales. Using prePaCkaging, however, spoilage is cut to one and one-half to two per cent of sales.26 This saving in waste is often ‘ pre 2‘5"‘959 Guide to Profitable Retail Selling," Booklet pared by The American Institute of Food Distribution, Inc, (New York 17, New York, 1959). Pp. 28-29. 2 6George E. Kline, "Cut Produce Spoilage to 1%.;% of S #2?" WM. mm. No. 1 (January. 1951+). more than enoue h to cover the material costs of prepackaxinq. Waste reduction takes place in several ways. First, spoil- age is reduced from excessive customer handling. Secondly, prepackaging reduces a lot of‘ retrirming because the pro- duce stays fresh lon F1..allv, the wrapping, over the as er. Produce curtails the ‘_ .7: ;;f moisture and. ffiierezfgre reduce-s wilting, discoloration, ard the dehydration of the itemS. test under idecl conditions gave these results on the shelf life of produce. Eulk not refrigerated. 3 dags shelf life Bulk re f‘rijerated 5?: days. shelf life Prepackaged hot refri gerated A days shelf life Prepackaged efrnerated 1") days szelf‘ life “0“» - "m- 1 3 ~. ' 2.. '5 -1. Lara Lapi es, .eerznir- es. :1: Pro-luce treppaun- aging." Super Mario" Pier (2’9 ardi sing, XTK, No. 1C rOetoLer, 195147, *. 3': ‘ " I" . lr" - \r $._ 1 2 4‘ A Second importer” advantage to one zetaiier is the ’d *1; O L—JJ I 4 JO 0 decrease in labor costs and increase in volume and. The ease of picking up a ten pound bar; of potatoes rather than inc: ividually selectih e; ten pounds of bulk potatoes exemplif'i as why impulse sales are also so much gar-eater W3“- Prepackaging t115m Wit; bulk. Following is a case study of Se." Jen Super markets in St. Louis, which provides a concise an ~ . . d typiCal survey of the positive results of prepacrzafzing. 32 TABLE 3 COPEMRISON OF PREPACKAGED AND BULK PRODUCE OPERATIONSc Produce Produce Produce Annual Volume Net Profit Spoilage Labor Storms Volume Before After Before After Before After Cost A IeMii- 10% 13% 6% 10% 7% 2% Down 1/3 lion B 1% " 8%% 11% 6% 14% 8% 2% Same for 1 30% more volume C 1 " 10% 11% Up 3% 8% 3% Down 1/3 D 1 " 10% 13% 9% 14% 7% 1% Same for more vol. E e " - 8% - 12% - 2% Same for more vol. F 250,000 8% 11% Not Stated 7% 1% Same for more vol. G 125,000 7% 13% Not Stated 11% 2% Same for double volume Cfigpid., p. 54. .A. study, which has become almost a classic in the field of prepackaging, was made by the DuPont Company of 10.000 produce shoppers. The careful observation showed that the average shopper Spends twenty-four per cent less time in the self service produce department than in the SerVice department; yet she buys sixteen per cent more Produce.27 This documents the theory that customers buy more produce and in less time when the items are prepackaged. E 2 Pamphl 7n5931'(“313816kaging---An Approach to Produce Prodits,” Inc gt Published by E. I. DuPont de Nemours and Company, " 11m:Lngton, Delaware, 1951, p. 9, 33 Packaged produce is very conducive to gummed labels and twist-on price tags which makes pricing easier and fafiler. It also saves time at the check-out stands where the Checkers can clearly see the price on every package. Legible and accurate price markings also Speed customers through the produce department. This is especially impor- tant during peak shopping periods. Stock rotation can be easily facilitated with pre- packaging because of the ease of coding each package to assure proper rotation. Attractive displays can be quickly built with rela- tively few units of each item when a store uses prepack- aging. This advantage is especially important during a Slow period or at the close of the day when few items are needed but there must be enough on display to make the dapartment look attractive. It is also quite easy to set up tie-in displays in other parts of the store with pre- Dackaged produce. Another advantage to the retailer is that prepackaged Produce is conducive to a smooth flow of operations, there- fore increasing the efficiency of the produce department as each member of the department works as part of the "human Chain”, packaging, sealing, weighing, marking, and diSplay- ing the produce. Accurate weighing in the back room mini- mizes "giving away" merchandising from fast service weighing. I'-'a-Stly, prepackaged produce gives the produce depart- me nt a Clean and neat appearance. There are no messy and 54 811Dpery leaves on the floor that can cause an accident. These advantages can be realized in various degrees in different stores depending on each store's present oper- ations, personnel, volume, and degree to which it goes into prepackaging. They may not all be apparent right after adoption of a prepackaging plan because it sometimes takes several months to realize fully the savings and profits of the system. Advantages to the Consumer Since produce is only touched once, by the packer, and is not handled again until the consumer opens the pack- age in her home, prepackaged produce is very sanitary. Dust and dirt is also kept out so the merchandise stays clean after it has been washed by the produce department. In response to some people who say they can‘t select their produce when it is all wrapped, it should be noted that "instead of taking away the customer's right to select the merchandise she wants, produce prepackaging actually offers her a double check. First, by quality-trained and qua'11‘by-conscious produce personnel when they make up the package and second, by the customer herself, as she has a variety of packages and sizes from which she can make her SBIection."28 Therefore, the produce'is of better quality because of the double check, and it is also fresher. be- - Packa 8George E. Kline, "Tests in Sixty Stores Prove Pre- Groc Sing Lifts Produce Sales, Margins, Profits," Progressive ~39 XXXIII, No. 7 (July, 1954), p. 45. 35 CEluse the wrapping keeps moisture from escaping into the dry store air. 0f major importance to the consumer should be the Increased speed at which she can shop when the store has prepackaged produce. There is no waiting in line to have merchandise weighed and priced, no doubt as to amount or price of a unit because it is clearly marked, and finally, she can move through the check-out line faster because the price is easier to read by the checker. Finally, there is no waste wth prepackaged produce. All excess waste is trimmed off before the item is pack- aged. The customer is therefore assured that she can use all the produce that she is paying for. Also, when she gets home, she won't have to wash, trim and package the produce, but simply put it in the refrigerator in its own reuSable plastic refrigerator bag or convenient paper tray. Building Consumer Confidence Because the housewife has many doubts as to the qual- ity and freshness of prepackaged produce and because she wOnders if the produce men in the back room can be trusted to P101: out the kind of produce that she will be proud to serve to her family, the produce department must plan and pmmote a definite educational campaign especially geared t° dispelling the fears and doubts that Mrs. Consumer has ab°ut prepackaged produce, and build up her faith in this new method of merchandising and packaging. This program 36 can be promoted on two levels, one in the store and the other outside of the store. Promotion in the Store The first and most important step in any prepackaging program is to pack only top-quality merchandise. Since customers are used to picking out their own fruits and vege- tables; of only the finest quality, they will not give up the right unless they are convinced that the produce man can do a better job of selection. "Withered grapes, bruised peaches, Spotted apples and similar items can put any Packaging program in the doghouse as far as customers are concerned" diSpite all the signs and ads and personal sales work a store might try to do to convince customers otherwise.29 The best place to begin the educational pro- gram, therefore, is with the people in the produce depart- ment itself. Instructions on what and how to package, con- stant Checking of incoming produce, and buying and accept- ing only top-quality merchandise is an important prerequi- site for any prepackaging program. A. standard approach 15° Selecting merchandise for packing is to tell the packers 13° Pack only items they would select if they were customers. once these packages are put in the display case, a periodic OM-Q‘K Should be made of the merchandise throughout the day ‘60 be Sure it looks good and that there is no damaged pro- ‘129"What's in the Package,” Chain Store Age, XXXV, \‘i' 0° (August, 1959), p. 126. 37 duce on diSplay. Only if one has quality merchandise in every package will he benefit from the following factors of the program. To complement this top-quality merchandise it must be packaged in materials that enhance the appearance of the produce. Sparkling cellophane and shimmering poly- ethelene can give real impulse and increased sales poten- tial to fruits and vegetables that already have a beauti- ful natural color of their own. It behooves every produce manager not to detract or cover up this natural color by “31118 packaging material that has advertising or distract- int Pictures on it. Some stores prefer to use backing boards instead of trays to package their produce. This increases customer faith in the commodities in that Mrs. Consumer can get a better look at the sides of the items t° be Sure they measure up to her high quality standards. Other Stores use trays with arm lock hinges that cross the t°P of the tray to keep the produce from slipping out, yet they allow the consumer to touch and smell the produce it- self. All produce managers should always be on the look- out for new types of packages that offer the consumer more cmvenience. Two examples of some of the latest are the voilable bags, which might be a possible package for pre- ghelled limas or peas, and the waterproof asparagus con- t::.:—ainer. The container can be used by growers, packers, giipPerS. and retailers. It allows a large handful of 38 asparagus to be placed upright in the container to which water can be added to keep the asparagus fresh. Market tests of the container have been very successful.30 A criticism often directed at prepackaged produce is that it doesn't offer the consumer merchandise in the size or amount she wants. A good produce man can easily over- come this criticism by offering the consumer different size units within one type of fruit or vegetable. He can quickly recognize in a few weeks what the size and weight prefer- ences are of a community. Piggly Wiggly Stores use fifteen different size trays plus pliofilm or acetate bags to pre- pack their produce.151 This is an unusually large number, however, but it illustrates how far some companies will go to make sure that Mrs. Consumer is offered produce in vary- ing Sizes and weights. No matter how many sizes a store has on display, it should always be ready to fill Special re