The Patak's Network

Austin, Minn. -- When Hormel Foods entered into a 50-50 agreement with the British company Patak's in 1996 to market the latter's full line of Indian foods in the U.S., it recognized the need to translate the product's appeal for American consumers.For several years, Hormel relied on live, in-store demonstrations to satisfy that need. However, in late 2002, it came up with a less expensive, more effective solution: A movable display rack that can carry 25 to 30 cases of Patak's food and a TV/VCR console that broadcasts a half-dozen recipes that last 1 to 1-1/2 minutes each."Demos are a good way to promote the product, but you're only there for six hours a day, and you can't always control the message," says Drew Schwartzhoff, Hormel's brand manager for Patak's, which has been in existence since 1957. "When you're promoting macaroni-and-cheese, that may not be important. But we thought that our message wasn't always getting out there, depending on the person promoting the product."That message control -- and the ability to be in-store all the time -- have contributed to a 700% sales lift for the line since Hormel began its rollout in late 2002, Schwartzhoff says."We definitely have a target of higher-educated, higher-income consumers that are more predisposed to trying specialty and ethnic cuisine," Schwartzhoff says. "Somebody who may be stir-frying Asian food or trying authentic Mexican, but has never tried Indian food, we want to get them exposed to it." Patak's, he explains, "is a full line of Indian food, from cooking sauces, to chutneys, to basmati rice."Schwartzhoff says the 64-inch-tall by 21-inch-wide by 26-inch-deep solid steel racks are refillable and can be permanent. Hormel, he adds, hopes to have them up for at least a month in each store. Targeted to supermarkets with specialty-food aisles nationwide, each contains a tear-pad with all six featured recipes."It could be up weeks or months at a time, 24 hours a day, and it controls the message in a minute or two on how to prepare these recipes," he says. "Not that we think the consumer is going to sit and watch six different recipes -- we'd love it if they did -- but it's just to keep it fresh."Visual Marketing Inc., Chicago, produced the displays, which Schwartz-hoff says cannot be shipped fully loaded due to their weight. A third-party merchandising company assembles them at retail, usually on the perimeter of the store. However, they include casters, so store personnel can move them even when fully stocked. "It's turn-key from the retailer's standpoint," Schwartzhoff says.Hormel is continuing to hold a smaller number of live demonstrations, Schwartzhoff says, recognizing that consumers lose the ability to actually taste the cooked product with the TV broadcast. "They're still part of our overall marketing program. Sometimes we do it in conjunction with these [displays]," he says. With the broadcasts alone, he adds, "You gain the time, you gain the controlled message, but you do lose the ability to sample the product."

The Patak's Network

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