Consumers and Food: Perceptions, Realities and Steps

Towards Instilling Confidence

Tom Heinen

Co-President

Heinen’s Fine Foods

Our History

♦ In 1929, our grandfather

Joe Heinen opened the

doors of a small butcher

shop on the east side of

Cleveland. His aim was

to establish himself as

the city’s purveyor of

high quality meat.

♦ His philosophy and ours

is to provide world-class

customer service while

offering the

freshest, highest quality

foods

A Simple Strategy for

3 Generations

♦ Be the very best at:

– People

• Our most important asset to be leveraged and not an

expense to minimized

• Associates who love working for Heinen’s and come to

work every day wanting to make a difference

• Enabled and empowered associates who own their jobs

and are given the freedom to create highly satisfied

customers

A Simple Strategy for

3 Generations

♦ Be the very best at:

– Product

• Our grandfather believed that to sell the best, you have

to buy the best and we still believe that today

• We seek out the best from all over the world and “know

your sources”

• We continue to expand our private label offerings both

in packaged goods and perishable categories

Heinen’s Commitment to Fresh

♦ Supermarkets desperately try to win produce and

meat

♦ Other departments such as Deli, Prepared

Foods, Seafood, Wine and Beer, Wellness have

become important over time

♦ A relevant and not necessarily the largest selection

of all food categories

♦ The “experience “ of shopping has never been

more important than it is today

What is Important to the Customer

that a Retailer Needs to Understand?

What is Important to a Customer for a

Producer to Understand?

♦ Where does their food come from?

♦ How was the food raised?

– In fields?

– In pastures?

– In feedlots?

– In the oceans?

♦ How were the animals treated?

♦ What were animals fed?

♦ How were pesticides used in the raising of fruits and

vegetables?

♦ We want organic food

The Concerns Customers

Have Today

♦ Product of the USA

♦ Hormones

♦ Antibiotics

♦ Pesticides

♦ Humanely Raised and

Handled

♦ Non-GMO feedstuffs

♦ Wild Caught

♦ Artificial ingredients

♦ Sustainably raised

How does Heinen’s Work to Address

Customer Questions and Concerns?

♦ Sourcing of Products

♦ Detailed specifications

♦ Work hand in hand with our suppliers

♦ Honest and open communication with our

customers

♦ Offer choices and alternatives. Allow them to

choose.

♦ Enable and empower our associates to

communicate and share

♦ Third Party Verification

Heinen’s Commitment to Source

and Process Verification

♦ Allows us to speak with confidence about the

products we sell.

♦ Heinen’s requires that our fresh meat suppliers are

audited by an independent third party to verify and

ensure that all products meet and exceed our strict

production specifications.

♦ Our beef, pork, lamb and chicken now all meet the

Source Verification requirements of the USDA.

Current Heinen’s Meat Offerings

♦ Heinen’s Own Premium Beef

♦ Heinen’s Own Premium Pork

♦ Local Grass-Fed Beef

♦ Organic Grass-Fed Beef

♦ Niman’s Ranch ABF Pork

♦ Spanish Pork

♦ Shepherd’s Pride Lamb

♦ Gerber Chicken

♦ Attributes of the products

Where are the Gaps in the

Supply Side?

♦ Producers are very slow to respond to customers

needs and wants

♦ Often what is best for a producer is not what the

customer wants

♦ Retailers can be caught in the middle

– Producers refuse to add cost

– Customers are unhappy because they cannot get the

healthy and wholesome food they are looking for

How has the Role of the

Butcher Changed?

♦ Old Days

– Butchers were behind a one way glass rarely

interacting with customers

– Butchers had limited knowledge about cooking

♦ Today

– Butchers need to build relationships with

customers on the sales floor and over the

counter

– Butchers need to be culinary experts

Rock Star Butchers

Heinens Commitment to Open

and Honest Communication

♦ We are continually

seeking ways to help

our customers make

informed choices

about the foods they

purchase

Many Ways to

Communicate

♦ Where Food Comes From® is a program that traces food back

to the American farms and ranches where it was raised. As

part of the Where Food Comes® From program, Heinens

requires that their suppliers are audited by an independent

third party to verify and ensure that all products meet and

exceed their strict production specification

– Heinen’s Own Beef and Pork

– Shepherds Pride Lamb

– Gerber Chicken

Honesty and Transparency

Honesty and Transparency