By Joanna Pruess

prepared food focus


Adding interesting ingredients and trendy flavors to traditional side dishes is a fast way to increase oomph in the prepared foods case—without spending too much money.

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Many customers seek new experiences in the prepared foods case. As Mitchel London, chef de cuisine for Fairway Markets, with five stores in New York and New Jersey, explains, “Shoppers who come in six to seven times a week don’t want to see on Sunday what they just saw on Saturday, so we need to change often.”

Yet it isn’t always easy balancing specialty consumers’ desire for change while also offering the signature items customers have come to depend upon. One successful strategy is adapting popular side dishes with trendy flavors like blood orange or specialty ingredients such as truffle oil, or drawing inspiration from ethnic cuisines by, for example, including Japanese ponzu sauce in the recipe.

David Renner of The Marketplace Kitchen, Sheffield, Mass., who along with partner Kevin Schmitz provides foods for Guido’s Fresh Marketplace, in Great Barrington, Mass., explains, “When shoppers come into the prepared foods department they might buy a steak to grill or chicken to roast, but then they look for things to complement the meal. It may be a potato leek cake or one of our weekly pizza specials.”

In short, the sides are what add zing to more standard entrées. Read on to hear what retailers and chefs say about ways to integrate new items, key points for communicating with customers and cross-merchandising advice.

Add Items Strategically
When incorporating trends, having a handle on what your customers really buy is critical, says Greg Topper, who has been the chef-owner of Topper’s, Aspen, Colo., for eight and a half years. “Our customers aren’t into a lot of fancy options. It’s more about great flavors from top-quality ingredients. But we do some gourmet pizzas, like one with rock shrimp, chipotle chiles, sweet corn and smoked bacon and a white pizza with sautéed mushrooms, white truffle oil and Cambozola cheese.

Using ethnic condiments is an easy way to add a contemporary spin without completely changing core recipes. Blend a little curry paste into a classic mayonnaise-based potato salad along with scallions, toasted almonds, green peas and currants and you elevate the color and flavor into an Indian-style salad. Trendy superfruits, ranging from pomegranates to açaí, are another simple way to add interest if they are a natural complement to the recipe.

London notes that adding seasonal produce is an easy way to add interest to a side dish. “Zucchini sautéed with garlic and olive oil is a staple, but when the vegetable is combined with mint and cherry tomatoes, it’s vibrant and delicious and becomes a dish that dresses up even the simplest entrée,” he explains. Another time London was making a popular pineapple, roasted pepper and corn relish, and Fairway had just received some champagne grapes. By including them in the mixture, it became more distinctive and zestier.

Adding creativity to dessert sides also helps keep your case interesting, but London suggests you take it easy with flavors that are too extreme. “You can go so wrong so quickly with exotic confections; and nothing is more disappointing than a bite of something sweet that ruins your evening.”

“One way I innovate is with cupcakes, which have become very big,” says Topper. “Some of our flavors include Chocolate-Chocolate, Granny Smith Apple, Peach and Holiday-Pumpkin Spice.”

For comforting desserts, Kevin Schmitz uses components that customers love, like an Almond Joy macaroon shell filled with candied almonds, caramel and dark chocolate ganache. Other ways to add a dash of interest include using of-the-moment flavors like a salted caramel sauce to pour over a pound cake.

Communicate to Drive Traffic
The most extraordinary dish can be overlooked if your customers can’t find it or your staff isn’t knowledgeable about it. That’s why it is helpful to create a specific location—or a specific day of the week—where specials and new introductions are regularly featured so that customers begin to anticipate their arrival.

Guido’s has a program of specials on Mondays through Fridays, including a vegetarian day, an international day and a pizza day. The specials are normally found in a specific location and with specific signage. Some of the pizzas include grilled portobello with balsamic glaze, red onion, arugula and provolone cheese; duck confit with goat cheese and balsamic fig reduction drizzled on after it is done; and kalamata olive, feta, shaved red onion, roasted grape tomatoes and fresh oregano. Over time, customers know to look for what is new and are more willing to experiment.

It is also vital to make sure your customers are communicating with you about what they like and dislike. Otherwise, Schmitz suggests, “You’ll find out after the fact that the dish didn’t sell and you won’t know why.”

Cross Merchandise Strategically
Take advantage of the novelty of new items to boost sales in other departments. If for example you are using a different type of potato, consider merchandising a bag of them nearby. If you’re using a seasoning like pimentón de la Vera to impart a Spanish note, have a jar of the spice or even a table of Spanish products located in the area.

Side dishes also offer an opportunity for incorporating fresh foods that aren’t moving quickly enough, notes Ann-Marie James, the executive chef at Wagshal’s in Washington, D.C., while educating customers about new products and flavors. “Sometimes I go to the store’s cheese department, which is large, and find cheeses that are still viable but may be just over the “sell by” date. The trimmed cheeses—there can be up to 14—are added to our popular mac and cheese, and customers are now conditioned to the mixture.”

Consider using staff and signage to upsell your sides into main courses. For example, most buyers think of pasta and grain salads as side dishes. However, with ideas from the chef and sales personnel and/or signage, a fusilli and julienned vegetable salad can be beefed up into a heartier main course with thinly sliced grilled steak or chicken, sautéed shrimp or marinated tofu. If you do not sell the additional protein pre-cooked, direct consumers to the right department with specific quantity advice.

Another merchandising opportunity is telling customers that they can create a stylish presentation by using pre-made salads to fill avocados, bell peppers or cooked artichokes (with the choke removed). Or, create a connecting theme for several side dishes and suggest customers buy several small portions to enjoy tapas-like grazing meals. Here you should guide them in choosing different colors and textures for maximum eye and taste appeal.

Ultimately, the best advice comes from Fairway’s London who explains that it is always best to create small quantities of innovative foods so that if they don’t sell, you can start fresh with a new idea the next day. |SFM|

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