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Small Consumers, Big Sales

ALTHOUGH THE BABY BOOMER CONSUMER IS GETTING MOST OF THE PRESS THESE DAYS, targeting very young shoppers can add significant bottom-line benefits. The latest census shows that three to 11-year-olds make up about 12 percent of the U.S. population, says Larry Finkel, food and beverage research director for Packaged Facts. Sales of kids’ foods and beverages exceeded $15.1 billion in 2006, a growth of 8.5 percent over the prior year. From 2001 to 2006, they increased 37.8 percent, and are estimated to surpass $26.8 billion by 2011.

Whether you want to implement a kid-friendly program or beef up your existing one, here are five strategies to help.

1. Keep it Simple
Sixty-five percent of six to 14-year-olds prepare food for themselves one to five times a week, according to Packaged Facts. That makes convenience and ease of use paramount.

Libba Letton, Whole Foods Markets spokesperson, notes that the southwest region is “seeing good demand for kid-friendly items such as packed lunches and snack packs, or ‘snackables,’ which are four-compartment containers with diced ham or turkey, carrots, fruits and veggies.

Other retailers as well are seeing the benefits of compartmentalizing food and allowing kids to see what they are eating. At each of the three Dorothy Lane Markets around Dayton, Ohio, a new program called “4Square,” has been initiated. “We are launching a variety of healthy nutrients packed in a cute clear, four-compartment container, like healthy snackables for kids,” says Corporate Chef Carrie Walter. One container offers Dorothy Lane’s “Honestly Better” turkey, fresh cut fruit, Colby Jack cheese and organic graham bunnies. Another consists of sweet sliced ham, mozzarella cheese, Cheddar cheese, grapes and organic cheddar bunnies.

Other options are to highlight family-friendly foods such as pizzas, meal trays and snacks that independent children can cook easily in the microwave.

2. Focus Merchandising Efforts
One way to capture parents’ and children’s attention is to create a special food destination. In New York City’s Tribeca neighborhood, the new 69,000-square-foot Whole Foods features two sections where kids’ products are grouped; the larger has a full aisle plus half freezer cases dedicated to child-oriented groceries and meals.

Kidfresh, another Manhattan retailer on the Upper East Side, sells a wide range of store-made items that are organic, without additives, artificial colors, preservatives or transfats. In addition to its storefront, Kidfresh products are in more than 65 Whole Foods Markets in the northeast corridor and as far west as Chicago, and are also in kiosks at New York’s JFK airport.

The foods are eye-catching—often cut into fun shapes—and nutritionally balanced. Matt Cohen, co-founder and CEO of Kidfresh, notes, “The children’s segment is finally catching up to the level of the adult’s in terms of quality and selection.” He adds, “Portable, single-serve items marketed just for them, like containers of snacks to stash in a car’s cup holder or toss into a backpack, have great appeal.”

Other products available at Kidfresh include a variety of packs such as the Gingerbread Man Sandwich with organic veggies, hummus, fruit and a small juice, or Chicken Breast Tenders with ketchup, alphabet potatoes and broccoli florets. Another popular offering is the Piggy Tail Pasta with turkey meatballs and tomato sauce as well as sugar snaps.

3. Involve the Kids
Parents want their children to eat more nutritiously—even when snacking—but kids are usually more focused on finding a sugary cereal with a cartoon spokes-character than on checking the box label for transfats. One way to encourage parent-pleasing selections is to create opportunities where children are actively involved with choosing their food.

Dorothy Lane has a kids club that allows children to sample items throughout the store as their parents shop. At the Pasta Shop in Rockridge Market Hall, in Oakland, Calif., kids can get a history lesson through their food choices. “Every Thursday to Sunday we feature a special menu based on a holiday, something happening in the world or various countries like India or China,” says Sandy Sonnenfelt, prepared foods coordinator. “Our customers are well traveled and adventurous eaters. These menus afford us a hook to do something different and most times it includes something good for kids.”

At Kidfresh, while most of its items are pre-packaged, the store also has counters with mix-and-match options so that a child can pull together a lunch or dinner. One child may grab a Turkey and Cheese Handwich and pick up creamed corn to go with it. Another child may choose Chicken Breast Tenders with strawberry ketchup, a side of mashed broccoli and a dessert of Brownie Feet.

Russ Vernon, of Akron, Ohio’s Westpoint Market, notes that they merchandise the store with kids in mind. “There are small plastic toy shopping carts and we built a four-color stair step in our bakery so kids can climb up at get a free cookie. Parents can also buy smaller prepared-food portions for children.”

Cooking classes get kids involved and also help them make better food choices. Draegers Market in San Mateo, Calif., offers 17 classes in its Junior Chef Club, including The Toddler Cafe: Parent & Me, cooking for three to five-year-olds; Fun Fiesta Food, ages eight to ten; and Doughs with Yeast, ages 11 to 13.

At Dorothy Lane’s cooking school, Walter notes, “We offer classes including an American Girl Cooking Camp (grades 1 to 6) that explores our history and culture with American Girl dolls.” Each day, a kitchen of the past is explored and recipes tried from different time periods.

4. Know Your Market
To create foods that appeal to the widest audience of kids, start where they are today and reinvent their favorite foods, suggests Kidfresh’s Cohen. For example, “pizza made with whole wheat dough, organic tomato sauce as the vegetable, and low-fat organic cheese is familiar but, made according to our standards, it is a nutritiously balanced meal. On our mini pizzas in the store, we even add smiley faces made with vegetables.”

It’s also important to recognize the range of tastes your customers may enjoy, and not limit your focus to only sandwiches and chicken fingers. An increasing number of young people have been exposed to foods like Mexican, Asian and other flavors, and want to have them every day. Cohen is working with Whole Foods on creating Kidfresh stations where kids can eat on the premises, including sushi stations for sophisticated markets.

The Pasta Shoppe’s Son-nenfelt notes that kids adore the zucchini and onion fritters on their Indian menu served with raita. “Raita is a good way to get youngsters to eat yogurt and cucumbers,” she says.

5. Keep the Entire Family Happy
If you want a piece of this business, it is important to create options that make for a positive experience for the entire family. Whole Foods, for example, wants to make shopping an “immersive” experience rather than a chore by offering in-store dining facilities. And at The Pasta Shoppe, meals aren’t merchandised as being “good for kids” specifically, explains Sonnenfelt. Instead, the retailer offers healthful family-friendly options to appeal to everyone in the household.

Look at the younger shopper’s needs, but then expand your focus to see how they fit into the entire family-food-and-lifestyle picture. Because, as valuable, independent and influential with mom or dad as this junior shopper is, little Jimmy isn’t paying for the food himself.

Joanna Pruess is a regular contributor to Specialty Food Magazine.