THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, August 18, 1995 TAG: 9508160026
SECTION: FLAVOR PAGE: F1 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Morsels
SOURCE: RUTH FANTASIA
LENGTH: Medium: 79 lines
SOME OF IT'S subtle. Some of it's sensational. But Farm Fresh shoppers have noticed changes in the meat and seafood counters these past few months.
``I want to build some curiosity, some excitement, back here,'' says Dale Faunce, the grocery chain's vice-president of meat and seafood marketing. ``You get bored with chicken, beef and pork.''
So Farm Fresh is trying such exotics as buffalo, duck, rabbit, kangaroo, alligator and emu as part of its ``Wild Game'' program.
None of the products actually are wild. They're all farm-raised, Faunce says. But selling them in a mainstream grocery store is a bit unfettered.
Consumer reaction has been mixed. Some stores are selling out, while others are throwing it out, Faunce says.
At the Farm Fresh on Great Neck Road in Virginia Beach, for example, buffalo is popular. Gerry Smith, store meat manager, says he's been selling more than 200 pounds of bison weekly, from $5.95 per pound for ground buffalo to $12.95 per pound for steaks. But other meats haven't fared as well.
The introduction of rattlesnake set off a flurry of phone calls to Faunce's office, from customers calling him more than a few uncomplimentary names.
Some people threatened to never enter the store again if Faunce didn't get those vile reptiles out of there, he says.
So, no more snakes, he promises.
But other changes in the meat department have been more domestic.
The new Farm Fresh Gold-labeled chicken is poultry supplied by Fieldale Farms of Gainesville, Ga. Farm Fresh butchers trim it close.
``We're taking the tips off the wings, removing the excess neck fat and tail,'' Faunce says. ``We're just doing things people do at home anyway; we're just trying to save the customer time.''
Convenience is also the idea behind Farm Fresh's Time Tenders. The select cuts of beef, chicken and pork are marinated in Thunder Bay sauces and ready for the grill, oven or microwave. Time Tenders cook in 15 minutes or less and are packaged with instructions.
Time Tenders seafood products will be introduced this fall, Faunce says.
At the Great Neck and Kiln Creek stores, sushi bars are succeeding as well.
One morning last week, packages of California rolls and sushi snack packs were being snatched up almost as fast as chefs Khin Win and Kyan Maung could make them at the Great Neck store.
Landon Colston, 7, of Virginia Beach tried to convince his mother, Sandra, she needed two boxes of California rolls. ``I can eat these myself,'' he said, holding up a package.
It's easier and less expensive to stop at Farm Fresh for sushi for lunch than it is to go out to a sushi bar in the evening, says Sandra Colston, whose two-cart caravan included 3-year-old Ryan and 12-week-old Tanner.
``Landon loves sushi and Ryan likes the sweet rice, and it's good for them,'' Colston says.
``Sushi is not raw fish,'' explains Elsie Pon, assistant to the president of AFC Corp., the company operating the sushi bars in Farm Fresh. ``Sushi is actually the sweet rice used to make the rolls,'' Pon says.
Raw fish is called sashimi.
``California rolls are imitation crab, avocado and cucumber wrapped in sweet rice and toasted seaweed,'' says Pon. ``Only five percent of our sales include raw fish.''
The average sushi package contains about 12 pieces and costs about $4.
AFC Corp., of Long Beach, Calif., runs sushi bars in more than 200 grocery stores throughout the United States, Pon says. The chefs are trained in Long Beach and, for quality-control reasons, the ingredients are ordered from AFC's California headquarters.
Eventually, Farm Fresh will expand the sushi bars to eight or 12 of its upscale stores, Faunce says.
In the meantime, some customers will have to be content with buffalo if they want to get a little wild. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
Pamphlet from Farm Fresh's new campaign: Bison meat has proved a
best-seller.
by CNB