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With vacation season behind us, fall promotions everybody is buckling back into their routines in preparation for spending a lot more time at home," notes Quinton Neely, produce manager at the Hen House Market in Merriam, Kansas. Fall promotions also translate into robust opportunities for other key reasons, Neely continues, including heightened consumer interest in festive home decorating that sets the stage for more frequent visits with family and friends. From a culinary standpoint, autumn-themed displays are especially well suited to generate incremental sales by playing up to consumers' appetites for foods and flavors associated with cooler temperatures, says Neely. "Sales are rather flat this time of year, during the gap between now and Thanksgiving, so it's especially important to create unique displays that generate excitement and additional sales in the process," he adds. Cross-promotions are also key in the autumn months, notes Neely, pointing to main-course salad components, apples and caramel candies and wraps, apple cider, and cinnamon sticks, as well as other traditional fall favorites such as garlic, fresh herbs, nuts, potatoes, peppers, and, of course, pumpkins.
Iron-clad success Flat iron steak, developed by America's beef producers through the Beef Checkoff Program, was the main ingredient of a unique in-store cookoff event that took place in late September in Cincinnati-based Kroger's signature Houston store. The event pitted four premier local chefs in an "Iron Chef"-style challenge to whip up the most delicious quick and easy beef main dish using Flat Iron steak. The competition, the first of its kind for the Centennial, Colo.-based National Cattlemen's Beef Association and joint sponsors Kroger and Springdale, Ark.-based Tyson, was part of a monthlong promotion that Kroger launched for flat iron steaks in 200 Texas stores. The steaks, provided by Tyson Fresh Meats in vacuum-packed case-ready format, retail for $4.99 every day and $3.99 on promotion. Chef Doug Atkinson of Carol's at Cat Spring Restaurant ultimately won the tie-breaking competition with his Peppered Flat Iron Steak With Black Eyed Pea Succotash dish, which was chosen by a Kroger shopper who was asked to step in to cast the winning vote. Chef Atkinson donated his $500 purse to the Austin County Food Bank. Natalie Carter, NCBA's retail marketing account manager, says the event was "lots of fun, complete with a play-by-play narration just like the real ["Iron Chef"] show. Our judges had a blast interacting with the chefs as they cooked, and undoubtedly added fun and excitement to the pressure as the clocked ticked off 30 minutes." Carter says the event provided the opportunity "to showcase the flexibility of the product and take the flat iron full circle from retail to restaurants," which she says is generally how consumers learn about beef cuts and cooking methods. Flat iron cuts range in size from six to 14 ounces and resemble a flank steak in shape. They can be found in the meat case in Houston exclusively at Kroger. Growing in popularity, the up-and-coming steak item can now also be found in 20,000 casual and white-tablecloth restaurants.
