Specialty Food Magazine

JAN-FEB 2013

Specialty Food Magazine is the leading publication for retailers, manufacturers and foodservice professionals in the specialty food trade. It provides news, trends and business-building insights that help readers keep their businesses competitive.

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(continued from p. 22) (continued from p. 44) FOOD TRENDS CHEESE FOCUS On-the-Go Grocery Shopping Goes Live G PHOTO: BIGSTOCK rabbing your groceries on the way home from work has new meaning. Peapod.com, the nation's leading Internet grocer, has unveiled 100 virtual grocery stores at commuter rail stations in Boston, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and Chicago. With commutes averaging an hour each day, online grocery shopping has increased 44 percent in two years, according to a new study from Nielsen. The research company finds more than one-quarter of global respondents reporting that they planned to purchase food and beverages via a device with Internet access in the next three to six months. The first of its kind in the U.S., Peapod's virtual stores feature billboards of larger-than-life grocery aisles on train platforms. Commuters with iPhones, iPads or Android phones simply scan a QR code on the billboards to download a free PeapodMobile app, which lets them scan bar codes of more than 11,000 popular and store-brand products and then schedule home delivery at their convenience. "It's maddening when somebody decides that they're going to raise sheep, and ... then they price their cheese so it's twice the price of the European cheese they're paying homage to, and it's nowhere near the quality." PHOTO: PEAPOD — Jeff Diamond, Farmstead Cheeses & Wines Snackers Are the Healthiest of Them All H ere's a surprise. The more consumers snack, the healthier their eating behaviors, says The NPD Group, a market research company. Further, more consumers view snacking as a way to improve healthy eating habits. Consumers with the healthiest diets consume 36 percent more snack meals a year than the average consumer, according to "Snacking in America," which examines long-term attitudes and behaviors about snacking. The report, which identifies and examines the consumers who drive current and future snack consumption, also finds those following a "most healthy" diet eat a wider variety of healthy snacks such as fruit, yogurt and bars. READ MORE food and menu trends at specialtyfood .com/onlinehighlights. Denise Shoukas is a contributing editor to Specialty Food Magazine. 116 ❘ SPECIALTY FOOD MAGAZINE ❘ specialtyfood.com KS: I wish that some cheesemakers would consider working with distributors. They think, "But I'm going to lose some of my margin." Yes, but the distributor makes it easy for small, independent retailers to get the cheese. If a cheesemaker from Montana wants to sell to us directly, it's difficult and expensive because of the shipping. But if they sell their cheese to a distributor, we can add it to our order and it's a consolidation. New cheeesemakers do ask us what their cheese should sell for, but they don't listen. Some are priced too high for the quality. People are more forgiving of inconsistency if the cheese is affordable. RR: Because my customers can taste before they buy, an amazing cheese can be priced higher. But it's a lot harder to get that price in a shop that isn't cut-to-order. You can price yourself out of the market, depending on what else is in the case. JD: It's a little cheeky to come out of the gate with something that has to retail at $40 a pound when, frankly, the only thing you have going for you is that you're local. It's maddening when somebody decides that they're going to raise sheep, and be nice to their sheep, and then they price their cheese so it's twice the price of the European cheese they're paying homage to, and it's nowhere near the quality. Please be more sensitive about what you're comparing your cheese to and price it accordingly. My cheese case is not made of elastic. For a new cheese to come in, another cheese has to go.|SFM| Janet Fletcher is the weekly cheese columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle and the author of Cheese & Wine: A Guide to Selecting, Pairing and Enjoying.

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