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DELI & SMALLGOODS FROM PAGE 39 good at-home entertaining products. “We saw from our own sales that we were hitting Christmas sales figures throughout the lockdown,” QFW CEO Erez Shahak said. “With entertaining back on the menu following lockdown, as soon as our consumers could invite guests over, they were keen to celebrate. We found that led our consumers to seek artisanal products to impress their guests with high-end cheese, antipasto and charcuterie platters. “With life heading back to normality, we also found a surge in sales of our grab-and-go products. With less prep time, consumers are keen on convenience. We offer a number of products that are as healthy as they are convenient, which ticks a lot of boxes for our consumers.” The Lord Boucher brand specialises in fresh, smoked, cured and dried smallgoods sourced from artisans both locally and internationally. Its deli meat products are made using traditional and modern techniques and include a vast selection, including, for example, chorizo, saucisson, prosciutto and Spanish jamon. “With such a variety of products under this brand, we can match the specific needs of different key demographics, enabling us to work closely with the stores we supply, to ensure they’re meeting the needs of their customers,” Mr Shahak said. With a shift to healthier eating, consumers are more aware of the ingredients in their food. This bodes well for QFW, which avoids preservatives wherever possible, despite challenges created by not “artificially extending shelf life”. “We know that our customers appreciate our all-natural approach,” Mr Shahak said. QFW continues to review ways to offer “more delectable options” to customers and will soon be adding new grab-and- go formats to its range. Major player continues to innovate Don invests millions of dollars in the smallgoods category each year and this is set to continue with both above- the-line and below-the-line initiatives that aim to “educate, excite and inspire consumers and shoppers to shop the category”. 40 RETAIL WORLD MAY, 2021 Identifying the snacking occasion as a key area of growth, the brand launched Don Kabana Minis & Dips/Cheese range. The product pairs ready to eat, bite sized kabana with dips (hommus or avocado) or cheddar cheese in a single serve tray. Within the ambient salty snacks category, Don has maintained the momentum of its successful range of Donskis with a new range of bite sized salami for meat snacking on the go: Donskis Bullets. The launch will be supported with an OOH media campaign from mid-April until July. In the bacon segment, Don has introduced Don Crafted Cuts Ready Bacon, a pre-cooked streaky bacon that is ready to eat straight from the pack. The brand is also improving and repackaging its ‘premium’ bacon range with a greater focus on process and quality, providing shoppers clear differentiation and reasons trade up to its ‘better tier’. Don Crafted Cuts Bacon range is crafted using Don’s signature cure, “lightly seasoned with sea salt and smoked with Australian real hardwood”. It’s promoted as sow stall free and is available in Pansize Bacon Doble Smoked 200g, Pansize Bacon Butcher Cuts 200g, and Streaky Rindless Bacon 180g. Identifying the growth in lunch meats and the opportunity to trade customers up to more premium products, Don has released the Crafted Cuts Sliced Meat range. Crafted Cuts Sliced Meats 100g range is said to offer a significantly better eating experience compared with everyday sliced meats, at an accessible price point. It’s available in Hardwood Leg Ham, Grass Fed Roast Beef, and Oven Roasted Pork Loin variants. Don is also refreshing its family sliced meat 250/180g range with a fresh new look expected in market in the coming months.