SUPERVALU® Discovers the Value of Beef Training Camp

Shortly after the release of the brand new Beef Training Camp on September 30, 2008, SUPERVALU^® held a training session for meat associates in its SUPPLY CHAIN SERVICES Midwest region. SUPERVALU is one of the largest companies in the U.S. grocery channel, with a national retail network of more than 2,500 stores, and serving more than 2,500 independent retailers and other grocery endpoints. The Midwest region's marketing team decided to use Beef Training Camp as a tool to discuss current trends and continue to educate Wisconsin-area meat personnel on cooking and safe-handling practices. They believe that it is important to help keep staff up-to-date on the latest trends and reinforce time-tested practices. Beef Training Camp was the perfect resource to accomplish that.

Many of the issues covered during the seminar addressed challenges and responsibilities independent retailers are facing in their stores every day. Topics covered included:

• Beef Nutrition
• Ground Beef
• Steaks
• Recipe-Ready Beef
• Beef Basics for Retailers
• Consumer Trends
• MCOOL Update

Highlights from the day-long seminar included:

• A cooking demonstration by Virginia Hazelett, a Certified Home Economist, who whipped up 9 different recipes. She demonstrated some important cooking techniques such as braising, stewing and grilling and, of course, shared the delicious results with everyone in attendance.
• A cutting demonstration by a SUPERVALU staff member who revealed the keys to cutting strip steaks, rump roasts and bottom round roasts.
• A memorable lunch that featured flat iron steaks as well as SUPERVALU's bistro burgers and signature meatloaf.

Nearly 40 independent retailers who are served by the Midwest region, attended the day-long seminar, taught by members of the Channel Marketing Team, the Wisconsin Beef Council and SUPERVALU meat specialists. Most attendees were meat managers, but some store owners, assistant meat managers, a Midwest region area sales director and retail business consultants also attended.

"One of the most relevant lessons," according to Dave Hecht, Meat Specialist for SUPERVALU, "was the cooking instruction, where meat managers learned how to prepare different cuts with different cooking methods while providing the opportunity for them to ask questions and taste the results." Consumer trends was also a popular topic, as it shared relevant and timely information. Having the data presented by the Channel Marketing Team reinforced the need for retailers to stay ahead of the curve and be a leader in the marketplace.

To top it all off, attendees were sent home with beef-related prizes and a binder that included print outs of all the presentations as well as cooking and recipe brochures and fact sheets.

This winter, cozy up to the new Beef Training Camp. It's a fully customizable program, so your meat associates can receive training on topics relevant to their needs. Popular sections include Consumer Trends, Beef Basics for Retailers and Nutrition. And don't forget to check out the videos that are included for some sections. SUPERVALU had such success with their September session that they have scheduled additional sessions for January. Contact us for more information.