DELI BUSINESS

FEATURE
Specialty
Meats
Drive Sales
Ring up incremental dollars during the holidays
BY KEITH LORIA
With more than
three quarters of
all charcuterie sales
estimated to occur
between Thanksgiving
and New Year’s Day, savvy retailers
should start preparing such popular items
as pâté and spreads for the busy, upcoming
holiday season.
Jay Holt, senior vice president of sales
at Columbus Foods, LLC, headquartered
in Naperville, IL, says over time the company’s
supply chain and manufacturing
teams have refined the process of preparing
and supplying its salumi products to
retailers during the peak holiday period.
“To build a holiday forecast, our sales
team meets with our customers in the late
spring, timing it to lock in their high demand
for our products,” says Holt. “Pâté, spreads
and similar products are making a strong
comeback. The best way to incorporate a
pâté or spread into the consumer’s usage
is through a charcuterie platter alongside
cheese, pickled products and, most importantly,
high quality salami. We are happy
to share our platters with pâté and spreads
because we share very similar specialty
craftsmanship and philosophies. They also
look great.”
Preparing For The Holidays
Richard Kessler, vice president of sales
for Specialties Inc., Millington, NJ, says
anticipating seasonal demand cycles is part
of the business for charcuterie, and the
company regularly adjusts for new business,
emerging trends and other market
conditions that impact demand.
“Spreads are a growth category,” he
says. “The utility factor makes these products
easy to understand and use.”
Camille Collins, marketing director for
Les Trois Petits Cochons in Brooklyn, NY,
says the company does projections on each
year’s sales and estimated growth, and by
researching the previous year’s performance
is able to accurately forecast sales
and order raw materials appropriate for the
year ahead.
“We have seen a trend among producers
creating higher-end specialty meats and
pâté,” she says. “A good example is game
pâté. It is a little more high-end than a traditional
country pâté because of the meat
and garnishes used in the recipe.”
Keith D. Roberts, wholesale sales manager
for S. Wallace Edwards & Sons,
based in Surrey, VA, says planning for
any upcoming holiday season is a process
nearly two years in the making, especially
where the company’s longer-aged Surryano
hams are concerned.
24 DELI BUSINESS OCT/NOV 2015