Dave Gaebler has a PhD in Meat Science and has been doing Research and Development in the Meat and Vegetarian industry for over 10 years. Dave can be contacted thru phone: 608-834-9289, or email: gaebler1@spwl.net.

Great ideas come around and disappear, only to resurface in other forms. As a product developer in both the meat and vegetarian industries, I had the opportunity to work with other talented people with a variety of skill sets from marketing, packaging, quality, etc. to develop unique products and utilize some very innovative technologies. Once the target consumer was identified, we set to work to deliver these products within a set of defined constraints. By the time the product was launched, we were developing line extensions, cost reducing current products and identifying new markets, products and customers. As stagnant products are pruned from grocery shelves, newer, more exciting products must be developed to take their place to maintain market share and catch the latest trends in nutrition or convenience.

One thought kept bothering me. Where are we selling? In the grocery stores or super-centers, the very places I hate to spend any time at all. We develop products, pay large slotting fees, launch advertising campaigns and sell products in an environment where people want to spend less and less time. I go to a store with too many choices, spend too much time searching for the items I want, pick out additional “eye catchers” I don’t need, put them in my shopping cart and wait in line to check out before I can get on to other pressing matters. Where is consumer convenience in this scenario? Then it hit me.

Years ago, the dairy industry delivered their products to consumers door to door. The milkman was as much a fixture in the neighborhood as the policeman, fireman, or mailman. Every morning fresh dairy products were delivered to your door and your order for the next days needs was picked up. Talk about convenience. Over time, neighborhood grocers gave way to larger grocery chain stores that offered a wider variety of products and choices. These larger stores attracted customers in droves and in many respects contributed to the demise of home delivery in the dairy industry. Now, the larger grocery chains are facing fierce competition from club stores natural stores and super-centers and wondering how they can compete in an arena with more choices of where to shop and less time to do it in.

With busy schedules, consumers are faced with less time to get to the store, find what they need for dinner and get back to other daily tasks like work-outs or sports leagues with the children. Does the average consumer have time to ponder each product or packaging innovation that we spent so much time developing? Probably not. Perhaps some of the dollars food companies spend on advertising, product development, and market research should be spent developing partnerships with stores to deliver their products in a more efficient and targeted manner.

It strikes me as odd that with the advent of websites and cell phones, grocery stores have not embraced the idea of on-line shopping for customers looking for ultimate convenience. Food manufacturers could devote resources to developing websites in partnership with grocery chains to advertise their products and create links to nutritious and convenient recipes that utilize their brands and products being sold in the stores.

The grocery stores have at their disposal a group of expert “shoppers” who can shop more efficiently than the average consumer wandering down the aisles wading through a sea of products and displays. We call them stock clerks, deli counter workers and cashiers. Imagine going to your favorite store online to order your groceries (or a pre-developed meal solution) before you leave work, pay online and use your cell phone to let the store know when you are arriving. The expert shoppers could then get the items, bag them, load them in your car and send you on your way. Shopping convenience at your fingertips, on your own time and ready when you want it. It makes me wonder if the dairy industry didn’t have the right idea all along.

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